Over the threshold

Things are finally coming along with Norwegian. After a year I feel as though I am crossing a threshold, gaining at least basic proficiency. Whew! Something clicked this last week and suddenly it felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I just started subscribing to Aftenposten, the main newspaper which has been engrossing my attention. There is a quiet thrill in being able to make it through a few pages without a dictionary. It reminds me of what it was like to learn how to read in English the first place - that burning desire to know what on earth people were talking about, and why the comics were so funny. Jealously infused with intense curiosity. I devoured up magazines and books with an insatiable appetite. I sank my teeth novels as one savors a seven course meal.  

Enough with nerdom. I am looking forward to taking a much needed break from the exercise books, changing focus from grammar to content, from foundation to action. I feel as though it about time to shake things up, to try new activities, to be more social and to really get a feel for the pulse of Oslo. Prepositions and idioms will pester me for a few more months, if not years. Letting go of the reigns, I have to accept that will take more time to really sound fluent. But, there is no better way to go forward that to dive straight in. 

If anything, the whole learning process has given me some insight into what it is like for other people to pull up roots and start up life again in a new country. It must be so difficult for women especially who move here from non-English speaking countries to be reunited with family members seeking asylum.  There are complaints and debates in the paper about immigrants who live here their entire lives and never learn the local language. But, it is damn hard to get the language, despite some free classes, support and resources. 

We have it relatively easy here in Oslo, having English as an default option at every turn. But, English can also be a dangerous crutch.