Participants:
Hetty
Hetty was born in 1957 in Eindhoven. She came to Norway in 1997. She returned to the Netherlands several times, mainly for family reasons.
She was on holiday in Norway in 1996 and had such a good impression of the country, that when she lost her job in her homeland, she moved to Norway to start a bed & breakfast. But she did not realise her plans, as she was offered a job in Norway as soon as she came. She worked at a big camping site for a year, and afterwards she realised that running a B & B in Norway is not the best idea for a single person. From 1997 to 2000, she worked in hotels and mountain lodges in Hallingdal. Hetty could not decide where she wanted to live. After a brief period in the Netherlands, she became convinced that she belonged in Norway. She sold her Dutch flat and was ready to move to Norway.
She was on holiday in Norway in 1996 and had such a good impression of the country, that when she lost her job in her homeland, she moved to Norway to start a bed & breakfast. But she did not realise her plans, as she was offered a job in Norway as soon as she came. She worked at a big camping site for a year, and afterwards she realised that running a B & B in Norway is not the best idea for a single person. From 1997 to 2000, she worked in hotels and mountain lodges in Hallingdal. Hetty could not decide where she wanted to live. After a brief period in the Netherlands, she became convinced that she belonged in Norway. She sold her Dutch flat and was ready to move to Norway.
But because of serious illness in her immediate family, she postponed her plans. During this difficult time, she became certain that her heart was in Norway and she wanted to go back there. In 2002, she got a job in Bergsjøstuen, a mountain hotel in Hallingdal. In 2004, Hetty contacted the recruitment firm Placement AS to get help with moving to Gudbrandsdalen. She looked around the area and decided that Ringebu was the place to live.
Hetty started a new job in Ringebu as an assistant to a Kosovan girl suffering from war trauma. As therapy she made a mandala for the girl for them to colour together. For a couple of years, Hetty also worked in a school as an assistant for several children. In 2008, she started work in a gift shop in Ringebu and continued there for three or four years, but she had to leave because of health problems.
After twelve years, Hetty is still fond of Ringebu. She has her own place in the community - she knows people and people know her. She bakes cakes and makes jam for friends and gives talks on her big hobby, which is embroidering mandalas. To create mandalas is her way of working through her grief over family members who died. She was awarded a Norwegian prize for handicraft in 2008. Articles about her have been written in several newspapers.
She has no family in Norway and sometimes thinks about going back to the Netherlands when she retires, but she has not decided yet.
She has no family in Norway and sometimes thinks about going back to the Netherlands when she retires, but she has not decided yet.