Studying and working in North America

It’s really popular to study abroad and many choose to study in English speaking countries like USA and Canada. These countries, along with the UK, also have the best universities in the world. These countries provide good education and give the students a safe environment. There are many advantages to studying abroad, some of them are:

–  Interesting for future employers

– Personal growth

– Language learning

-Learning to be independent

– Learning another culture

It can make it easier to go through an organization if you want to study in another country, they will help you to get everything ready before you leave. There are many organizations that operate in North America. Some of the most well-known and safest study organizations are:

–          Speak

–          EF

–          AFS

–          AYUSA

–          CIEE

–          Rotary International

–          YFU

–          IBS

America and Canada are in general safe countries and there are no places that you have to avoid. The most popular states when it comes to studying in USA are California, New York and Texas. You should try to find out which state you could see yourself living in.

When it comes to acquiring VISAs, it isn’t a problem. If you have a clean criminal record and fill in all the forms you need, you won’t have any problems getting your VISA.  To get your VISA you’ll probably have to pay a small fee.

It may be smart to at least know some English before you leave. You will probably learn a lot during your stay, but it can be difficult at first if you don’t feel like you master the language.

If you want to work in America, you’ll have to apply for a special permit to work.  If you intend to move there and live/work permanently you will need a green card. You can get this through a family member or an employer. It can be smart to check out this page: http://www.usa.gov/visitors/work.shtml.

Oliver Mtukudzi

We saw an interview with Oliver Mtukudzi in class today. He is a musician from Zimbabwe and is also an ambassador for the UN. In the clip he talked about how he feel his best when he’s on stage. And that even though he has been doing this for about forty years his success still surprises him. He is an international star, but his largest fan base remains in Zimbabwe.

Most of his songs are in his mother language Shona. It is really important to him to keep his identity and never forget his background. In his songs he often addresses politics and economics, but never points a finger at the government or anyone else. He says: That is the beauty of Shone. And with that he means that the language makes it easy to talk around subject without being to direct. Others describe him as a person that everybody loves and respect.

I didn’t have any problems when it came to understanding what he said in the interview. And in my opinion it was easy to understand him. I wouldn’t say that I’m surprised about this clip, but I think it’s really fun to get an insight when it comes to one side of the culture in Zimbabwe. I don’t really know a lot about the country, and the little I know is mostly Mugabe related.

There are many artists who perform in English even though it’s not their mother language. I think they do this to reach out to more people. If you have a song where the lyrics are in English the possibilities for it to become an international hit is a lot bigger.

If you want to see the interview with Oliver Mtukudzi then just follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86jM2OmnpqE

Being young in Norway

When it comes to being young in Norway, I consider myself quite the expert.  As I’m 17 and have been living in Norway my whole life. I believe that being young in Norway is really easy compared to being young in many other countries. We get all the education in life and we don’t have a lot of worries. The opportunities Norwegian teenagers have access to are truly amazing, but I don’t think we know how lucky we are. Most of us don’t have to worry about money or safety. We are very fortunate to live in a safe environment and the majority of us have enough money to live a good life. We also have free medical care and health care in Norway so we don’t have to think twice about going to the doctor or huge medical bills if anything should happen.

I think I’m really lucky to be young in Norway. We have everything a teen could ask for just minutes away from where we live, like cinemas, soccer fields and shopping centers. We also have a lot of different subjects and several options when it comes to education. This can really help us to figure out what we want to study at university when we finish High School.

Being young in a county where everyone has more than they really need can also be difficult. The society can become really materialistic and the pressure to have expensive items can be a problem.  The pressure to follow trends and wear the same things as everyone else is wearing can be humiliating for the people who can’t afford to spend that kind of money. I think it can be a bit unhealthy to live under that kind of pressure, because in my opinion it’s not the clothes a person wears that defines them.

Neither more I am thankful that I get to experience my teenage years in Norway. And I am really excited to see what the future brings.