For the cold and long months when you can’t get enough sun, you’ll need to supplement your body. Norwegians do this with vitamin D pills. You can find them in just about any supermarket (matbutikk) in dissolvable tablet form, or go to a pharmacy (apotek) for the actual pills. As I covered at the start of this book, you may find the Norwegian versions of vitamins usually have fairly low dosage. So you need to purchase the good stuff in your home country or online at iHerb for delivery to Norway.
It’s also easily possible in Norway to get your vitamin D levels checked. This is something I, hailing from sunny California, had never had to do, but apparently it’s very common in the Nordic countries. I guess for a Scandinavian it’s the same as checking the oil in your car. It’s good to do it at least once a year and top things up when needed.
It should also be noted that Norwegians, in addition to recommending you top up your vitamin D, will also try to get you to take Tran. Basically, it’s fish oil. It’s full of omega-3s and vitamin D as well. If you can manage to drink this concoction, you’re not just surviving Norway, you’re pretty much already a Norwegian!
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Living and Working with Norwegians?
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Working with Norwegians is the guide to work culture in Norway.
Living with Norwegians is the guide for moving to and surviving Norway.