Scandinavian daydreams

I've always been interested in Scandinavian culture and languages. I've never lived there, but I have visited Iceland three times, visited southern Sweden briefly twice, and been to Copenhagen twice. Other than the fact that it's soooooo expensive there (I speak mostly of Copenhagen), there's a cool vibe in the air (not just the cool weather), a joie de vivre that I just love. And Scandinavian languages, mostly Norwegian and Swedish with their tones, have to be the grooviest sounding languages in the world in my opinion!

My interest in Scandinavia was rekindled by hosting two Norwegians from Trondheim at our house in Funabashi this week. The way they spoke about their country, the natural beauty, and the local variations and dialects within Norway was great. If you're interested in learning more about diversity within Norway, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenpost has an article about the make-up of the population of Oslo. (Just for an idea according to the article, there are 191 nations or 22.3 percent of Oslo's population are from overseas, much more diverse than Japan. The largest migrant groups are from Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Turkey.)

Maybe I should start learning Norwegian in preparation for any job offers anyone might have out there... any?? Let me know.