It’s been almost seven months now that I’ve been living in Bergen and I wanted to share a few things that I’ve learned that I wish I knew when I arrived here rather than all this time later. To be honest, I really can’t believe that the time went by so fast.

Back in August 2010 when I first arrived here, I only knew one single person in the entire city and that was my girlfriend Maria who was just as new here as I was. She was starting a new school but I had no network here at all. I didn’t yet have my working visa and I wasn’t going to school so I really didn’t have any established ways of meeting people. I’m not the kind of person who is brash enough to just walk up to random strangers and strike up conversations. Nor do I drink often at bars (even if I could afford it in Norway!) so that is out of the question.

It took some time, but I now feel pretty well established here and this is how I did it.

1. Find out about clubs, meetings, groups that are of interest to you. I started by going to a weekly meeting to play Magic cards (call me a nerd haha) but when that didn’t pan out and my unemployment fund dwindled, I looked into film clubs. Eventually I decided to

2. Volunteer for something. That’s when I found out that the local film festival was about to begin. So I volunteered. I worked a couple days, met some people with similar interests, got some free movies, free drinks/parties in the city. It was a great time. Now I’m also volunteering for another film festival and have met some great people in the process.

3. Get a job. This one is pretty obvious, but now that I’m able to work it’s a great way to establish a network.

4. Use email and the internet. It’s not always the easiest thing in the world to find out about events, volunteer opportunities,  jobs, etc but using the internet is a huge help. Don’t be afraid to call or email  people directly and when looking for jobs or volunteer opportunities, realize that most of the time people will ignore your emails so contact as many people as possible and use call their phones when possible. Or better yet, go in in person.

Also utilize social networks to get in contact with people of similar interests.

5. Don’t be a shitty friend. Making new friends and contacts is definitely a challenge, especially when you’re not such a social butterfly, but what’s even more challenging is being a good friend. Keep up with your new friends, remember their names, return their calls/texts, and take initiative. It’s easy to have a lot of people that you’ve met once, but turning those acquaintances into actual friends is where the real work comes in. I remember after hanging out with a couple of guys from the film festival, it felt really awkward asking for their phone numbers so we could keep in contact, but it’s totally worth it. Unless you work with them, chances are people that you meet will just disappear into obscurity unless you maintain contact. Facebook can be useful for that too.

The most important thing is not to  be afraid to take chances. You’re in a new place and there are most likely plenty of people around who would make great potential friends and contacts. Worst case scenario, you meet someone and you don’t click or whatever, you never have to see them again. Best case, you make a new friend who might introduce you to their network and eventually you have a whole bunch of new friends.

This is my first time ever moving to a new place without the safety net of being placed into a network from the start. Because the last time I moved to a new city I made a lot of friends quickly through my school, I just assumed it would be the same here, but it really took a lot of work this time. Even still, I only have a few friends that I keep in contact with consistently.  I’m still working on it too, but these are just things I wish I had known going into it all.

Cheers.

1:25 am  •  27 March 2011  •  view comments

I lost seventy Euros in Spain. That’s how I always start the story. I took the money from the ATM, and then I reach into my wallet about an hour later and the money is gone.

I suppose everyone who’s ever lost money before has a similar story, but mine’s made even more mysterious by the fact that my ‘wallet’ was a security wallet, tucked deep within the front of my pants. Unless muggers in Barcelona have begun borrowing invisibility cloaks from Harry Potter I think I would have noticed any man, woman, or child who got close enough to dig their gritty hands into the front of my pants, fish out my money, and even have the guile to zip the pouch back up. This made it all the more difficult to attempt to explain it to my girlfriend.

“So I’m walking, money safely tucked in my pants, when this little seven-year-old midget reached down into my nether region with hands so small and delicate that I had no chance of feeling it. I’m sorry, honey, I really didn’t stand a chance. Kids in these countries are taught to steal before they’re taught to read.”

“Wait,” she says, “was it a child or a midget?”

“Both!” I shout, thinking that a child-midget must have enough magic to pull all kinds of trickery if he or she desired.

“I don’t think his arms would be long enough,” she replied. She would need a little more convincing, but she’d come around. After all, what were the alternatives?

“Sorry honey, I thought I put the money in my pocket, but instead I missed and threw it on the ground and didn’t have enough mental ability to notice.”

No I couldn’t say that, not even if that’s most likely what happened.

They say one of the greatest skills is being able to admit a mistake when you make one, but I disagree. I think an even greater skill is never making a mistake to begin with. That would negate the need to admit anything and totally one-up the admitters. 

I know a lot of people who, when something bad happens, brings in little bits of good things that happened around the same time to excuse away feeling ashamed or embarrassed. I do it too. It’s really hard not to. So when I lost the 70 euros, I thought to myself: “hey Nick, it’s not so bad. Think about how cheap the plane tickets were. And the hotel too. Hell, that 3 euro chicken kebab wasn’t half bad either. It would cost at least twice that in Norway!”

It’s weird, but that kind of give and take logic actually works a bit. It works even better than the “maybe someone found it who needed it more” logic. 

I’m not sure why I always have to justify things in my head and make everything even out. I feel like it would be so much easier to just accept the ups and downs without comparing them.

But on the subject of ups and downs, I got some really sweet photos in from Barcelona and maybe even sweeter ones from the smaller nearby city of Sitges. I’ve got nothing to complain about.

3:11 pm  •  21 February 2011  •  view comments

I ran across a dilemma while using my Zorki camera this fall. I swear I had taken somewhere around 30 photos on the 24 roll and somehow it just kept going. Obviously something wasn’t working properly, so instead of taking photos I may or may not ever see, I just decided to remove the film, but I didn’t get a chance to develop it until just yesterday. 

Turns out, something had happened with the film advance mechanism and the 30 photos compressed down into 18. Some were totally normal, but the beginning ones were crazy! Some double and some triple exposures. Definitely not your average vacation photos.

Strangely enough, I really love some of them. They’re weird and quirky and totally perfect.

It makes me wonder how much stress and anxiety is just a product of perspective. If I was a professional photographer shooting a wedding and that happened I would curse my unlucky stars. But instead, I’m just pleasantly surprised.

4:00 pm  •  9 January 2011  •  view comments

I have noticed some things I like about the Nook over a book and vice versa.

The Nook lacks:

- browsability. You can’t flip through an ebook like you can with paper.

- durability. Gotta charge it. Can’t drop it. Dust, etc.

- personality. Each paper book has a distinct look, feel, weight, and smell. Ebooks lack these. This is just personal preference, but I miss those things.

- shareability. Although Barnes & Noble is implementing a new lending system, the borrower must also have a Nook. Due to licensing, there is no way to resell a “used” ebook after completion.

The good stuff:

- travelability. As someone who is always on the go these days, I can’t overstate the importance of fitting all your books into something the size of one.

- affordability. Ebooks tend to be cheaper than their hardcover (and sometimes softcover) counterparts. There is also the option to rent ebooks from many public libraries.

- sustainability. Read books without killing trees.

- added features. The Nook has wifi and a web browser. Handy if I need to check email or look something up. It also plays audio books and music if you’re into that stuff.

So there you have it. That’s my take so far. The travelability alone is enough to make me love it. It probably saves me some 5 kilos in my checked luggage.

2:48 am  •  8 January 2011  •  view comments

I probably shouldn’t be sharing this because maybe if too many people start doing it Apple will make it not work anymore, but it’s just too good to keep inside.

As you may know, I’m back in the USA for a few weeks over the holidays and such. Well obviously, living abroad I haven’t kept up any sort of cellphone plan here in the States. I do, however, have an iPod Touch (4th Generation) and so I figured there must be some way to use it as a phone, right?

Right!

Using only free tools I am able to call and text any phone in the US or Canada for free from my iPod (anywhere where I get wireless internet). Here’s how it works.

First you need a Google account. If you have Gmail then you’re set. Next, go to Google Voice. You should be able to login with your Google account and and get a free number. I’m pretty sure they’re past beta and you no longer need an invite.

It might ask you to setup a phone to ring when someone calls your Google voice number. Just cancel that, you don’t need to.

If you are only interested in texting then get the Google Voice app and you’re done.

To add the calling (and receiving calls) features go to the settings option on the Google Voice homepage and click “Voice Options.” Now check off the box that says “Google Chat” under the “Forwards To” option. It should show your Gmail address underneath.

Finally, download the Talkatone app for your iPod. Login with your Google account. Talkatone gives you the option to call using Gchat’s Call Phones option (which is currently free within the US and Canada) and all the calls will go through your Google Voice number. Pretty freaking sweet, if you ask me.

To be able to receive calls, have people ring your Google Voice number and make sure Talkatone is running or running in the background (i.e. if you open the app and then click the home button or sleep button).

So there you have it, your iPod Touch can be a WiFi phone that calls and texts for free.

I haven’t tested compatibility with any iPod other than my 4th Generation one, but I assume any one with a microphone should work.

1:51 am  •  5 January 2011  •  view comments