"I dreaded coming to an unknown country" - Natalia Rybak to seher.no, 1.3.2009

HAPPY IN NORWAY: - It was difficult to leave home,
but we met so many nice people in Norway, says Natalia Rybak.
Photo: Ingrid Treborg, Seher.no

"I dreaded coming to an unknown country"

... but then everything went brilliantly for the Rybak family from Belarus.

Text: Kjersti Haugtrø | Published: in seher.no | 1.3.2009 

Translated by Mónika Menyhért who is not native either in the Norwegian or in the English language, so any correction is welcomed and appreciated

- Alexander went to be Norwegian from first class, Natalia Valentinovna Rybak tells Seher.no.

Also read the interview with Igor Rybak, telling the story about how he was living and wandered through the country in the first years after he arrived in Norway - until his family could followed him to their new home land and received the citizenship.  HERE

Emigrating from their home country and settling in a foreign country with unknown language and culture can be a big challenge. And not everyone thinks it's that easy.

Natalia and Igor, the parents of MGP winner Alexander Rybak (22), moved as known from Belarus to Norway when Alexander was a little boy. Natalia says that other emigrants had prepared her that it was not going to be difficult and boring to be in Norway.

- I dreaded coming to an unknown country, and leaving family and friends was difficult. But it went surprisingly easy. We met so many nice people and integrated easily, Natalia tells.

It was the musician Igor who first travelled to Norway. He was offered a job and initially chose to leave wife and child.

- He did not feel that he had the opportunity to do what he wanted as an artist in Belarus. Then we followed him.

Alexander had only spent four months in Norway before starting school in first grade, but he learned the language quickly. For the adults, it took a little longer.

- We are still struggling with the accent, but I feel that we are stuck now, says Natalia.

Luckily, the family had a last name that sounds good in Norwegian.

- Rybak is a common Belarusian name, so we were lucky that way. It means fisherman, but it is pronounced only slightly differently than here in Norway, we say "Rybaak", Natalia Valentinovna Rybak tells to seher.no.

***

Translator's note:

The two "a" probably means that in the word Рыбак (Rybak) the stress is placed on the second syllable and you can hear ➡HERE how their last name is pronounced in native Russian (click on the 📢).