Smalltown Nostalgia

Hello Dear Readers,

So, it has happened. I have landed and unpacked on Norwegian soil once more and as suspected all I want is to get my ass back abroad. Despite the warm welcome home I can honestly say that even now it feels like I do not belong. Odda is where I grew up but certainly not where I developed into who I am today. I am lucky to have found a temporary job here and the people there seem very nice. Yet, there is no doubt in my mind that this is just a transition for me, a quick stop on my journey to another adventure. I have decided to earn some money and try to find a job in a big city in Europe (no matter where this might be). Any suggestions where there are good pays and long term job opportunities? 

Seeing my family is great of course, they have been so sweet and very helpful.  Especially my dad and his gf have really been stunningly supportive. Of course there is also my granddad and granny which are as per usual there with a hug and a smile when I need them :) It feels equally good to see my siblings and my nieces and nephews. It certainly makes the situations more bearable to surround myself with their company, yet I know I cannot stay for too long in this city.

Group selfie! (May 2016)

My youngest brother (10 years old) approached me today with a smile that had a hidden question in it somehow. ¨You will move abroad again huh? ¨ Inside me I could feel a sting, as if I was already disappointing him or even myself. But something in me told me, he is my brother and he loves me very much and just maybe he realise that I am a sort of nomad or gipsy. I nodded and added the most determined ¨Yep¨ I could muster. He nodded and said ¨Yeah, I figured that much. But maybe you could move to another city in Norway instead this time?¨ Little did he know I would have loved for that to be the outcome. But already staying a few days in my hometown feels like months. You see, there is a nostalgia steaming and pumping out from this community ever since one of the 2 factories that were built here in the beginning of the 1900s went bankrupt. People talk a lot about how things used to be before when both factories ran smoothly, instead of thinking forward. People here plead the youth to stay and keep life in Odda, yet not much is done to keep us here. Political decision-making about the future of Odda goes slow and for us young and educated, a future here is non-existent. Financial cuts in the public sector and a centralised health-care system are not exactly helping either. In my opinion, if the city Odda wants to survive the next 50 years they need to invest more in science, they need to develop the infra-structure and public transport further and they NEED to invest in the young people and their business plans not only in time but ON time. If not this small-town/city will be nothing but nostalgia in a few decades. People will keep talking about how it used to be and the youth will get frustrated and move away or result in drugs. What is needed is innovation and openness to new pulses in the community. Even at a more grand rate then what we see now. I see it and I think anyone who has some kind of background in analytics or social studies also see it. Thinking logically though, I believe most people should see it even without this education because it is a simple question you can ask youth to break the ¨secret code¨...what do you need to stay in Odda? What would it take to make you stay and breathe life into our smalltown? If the politics are driven on ¨how-things-used-to-be¨, then it will keep us on this path. The innovative communities and cities which move at a higher paste will tempt and draw out the very people that could keep towns like Odda alive. 

Many people are sad about the situation yet do not try to do anything about it. The impulsive flare is gone and we young people will move once we catch a ¨good wave¨ to a better life, a future and an open minded culture. 

Honestly, I hope I am wrong in my analysis and that I one day find the elements I am looking for in my hometown. Still, I am afraid that I am correct in my assumptions. This is happening to a lot of smalltowns that have increasingly less to offer and do not keep up with developments in the world.

So far I am back for a few days and it is okay, but it does not feel like home. I miss my good friends, Dutch food, the world kitchen, other vegetarians, the ¨keuringsmerk¨ of the ¨dierenbescherming¨ on my groceries etc. Maybe it is dawning on me that this might be home for a while until I figure out my next move. I think once all my arrangements have been made with the move I will be able to continue on my book again and let my imagination take me to a inspirational  place kept safely in the back of my mind. For now though I will just enjoy being with my family, earning some money and getting my health and fitness back.

Wish me luck, come visit and ¨I´ll be backkkkh¨

xo Viking