She is from Germany and is going to study law at the University of Bergen (UiB). After eleven months at UiB, she hopes to have learned some Norwegian words and expressions.

Learn from each other
Forms are being filled in and people are leafing through brochures. An English student has struck up a conversation with a student from Germany. Three students from Spain take their seats in the Peer Gynt Hall in the Grieg Hall. Monday was the official day of welcome for the 483 international students at UiB. They represent 61 different countries.

“People in Bergen were disappointed when it stopped raining after 85 days. They didn’t manage to break the record of 87 consecutive days of rain.”  

The Vice-Rector for International Relations welcomes everyone. And she gets a good laugh from the audience when she tells them about the rain in Bergen.

”But as the people of Bergen say: When the rain stops, and it does stop, Bergen is the most beautiful place on earth. It should be mentioned that the people of Bergen are famous for their tendency to exaggerate. But in this context, when talking about the beauty of their city, they are definitely not mistaken.”

Ms Fløttum emphasised that internationalisation is a two-way learning process.

“You are here to learn from us, but we are also very interested in learning from your experience and your views. I truly believe that such internationalisation will lead to greater tolerance and increased acceptance for the fact that we are all different,” says Ms Fløttum.

Impressed by the city
A friend of Amy’s, Andrea Struwe, who is also from Germany and is also going to study at the Faculty of Law, has already been impressed by Bergen.

“The air is so clean here, so it’s great just to breathe it in. And there’s so much water everywhere,” says Andrea, who is going to study at the university for six months.

Amy agrees. And she adds that she thinks the scenery is so beautiful. “And all the charming small houses, of course.” It is the first time the two students have been in Norway.

“Why did you choose the University of Bergen?”

“I wanted to get to know the Scandinavian countries, and I happened to choose Bergen,” says Amy.

Andrea says that she wants to learn professional legal terminology during her stay.