Unikum 3 – 2002 (september)

Valentina Colò (22) from Italy, Abbas Momin (23) from the USA, Ingrid Cavé (22), Jof Loff (26) and Chloe Moei (20) from France.
Norway is a special place
Agder College is technologically
savvy and
Norwegians are attractive.
But they don’t pick
up their trash. The international
students at HIA
like the new campus at
Gimlemoen and are excited
to start their semester
abroad.
Abbas Momin (23) from Kennesaw,
Georgia, USA, Valentina Coló (22)
from Bologna, Italy and Ingrid Cavé
(22) from Saumur, France are three
out of a total of 110 students from 21
countries around the world that attend
classes at Agder College this semester.
– Why did you apply for Agder
College?
Valentina: It was a great opportunity.
I couldn’t miss it. Norway is a different
country. In Italy we don’t have a
campus, it’s spread out around the
whole city.
Ingrid: I was planning to go to
Canada, but they didn’t have the classes
I needed. Norway is a special place,
so I chose Norway.
Abbas: Everybody goes to Spain,
France or Germany. I wanted something
different. Everything fell into place
and I think it was destiny that I
came to Norway.
– What’s your first impression of
the college?
Ingrid: It’s very beautiful, very good.
Abbas: It’s very technologically savvy.
They have computers with Internet
all over.
Valentina: There are a lot of PC´s
all over campus. We don’t have so
many in Italy. In Italy there is also a
distance between the teacher and the
student. I haven’t been here long
enough yet, but I think it’s more personal
here.
– What’s different here compared
to your college back home?
Valentina: The organization here, it
is all very well organized. I can’t say
more, because my classes haven’t
started yet. Everybody speak English
here.
Abbas: It’s smaller than my university
(University of Georgia), but that’s
not entirely a bad thing. It gets
more personal here. In a big university
it is more difficult to meet people.
– How do you finance your stay
here and your studies?
Ingrid: The region my university is
in support me, and also my family.
Valentina: The EU and my university
give me 200 Euros a month, but
that’s not even enough to cover my living
expenses.
Abbas: I’ve got a few scholarships.
I also worked really hard this summer
to get some spending money.
– Have you made any friends here
yet?
Valentina: Mainly other international
students.(And the other two
agree.)
Ingrid: We did the race last
Saturday, and there we got to meet
some Norwegian students that invited
us to a barbeque.
– What are your plans for the future?
Valentina: You’ve got me there!
(Laughs.) I want to travel the world, I
want to work for a Non-governmental
organization, but I want to see as
much of the world as possible. I am
confused still, but I have time.
Abbas: I want to work as a CEO in
a multimillion-dollar corporation!
Ingrid: I want to travel as much as
possible. I would like to work in a communication
agency. I’m not sure, that’s
my problem.
– What do you like and dislike
about Norwegians?
Ingrid: I was surprised. I thought
Norwegians were more respectful, but
they leave all their trash around on
the grass after lunch.
Abbas: I think Norwegians are very
attractive. Most all of them are physically
fit and nicely dressed. They’re
fashionable. Some of them, and especially
the older crowd, seem to be fearful
of strangers. Another thing I’ve
noticed is that there are bikes everywhere.
I have never seen so many bikes!!!
Tekst og foto: Ingunn H. Olsson
September 2002
Unikum
11