Sociology in the Wild: Norway

Electric Cars, Kind Strangers, and Why Travel Begins When Your Plans are Disrupted

I’m launching a new periodic feature this week, which puts a bookend on the past month’s theme of the Sociology of… Travel. Theory is meaningless if we’re not out there in the wild practicing and applying it, and recently, I have been engaging in my favorite type of fieldwork: international travel. Below is a piece analyzing a particular aspect of a journey that became an accidental social experiment.

As always, if this sparks thoughts not only about your own travels, but also your everyday human encounters, please share it in the comments. Next week we launch into a new theme, so stay tuned…

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ELECTRIC CARS, THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS, AND WHY SOMETIMES EVERYTHING GOING WRONG DELIVERS THE BEST EXPERIENCES

I’ve had a few failed attempts at frolicking in the fjords of Norway over the years, but this August, I finally made it happen. I’m a seasoned traveler, but there was one challenge I anticipated on my Norwegian road trip: the driving. I’m a fine, possibly even good driver, but it’s not an activity I particularly enjoy. Thankfully, the Norwegian roads are excellent and amongst the safest in the world, plus, they drive on the right (as opposed to the wrong…) side of the road. The only potential hurdle was the electric car factor. I’ve never owned or driven long distance in a fully electric car, but I did some due diligence and was assured by the owner that their car would only require one charge midway along a 200km trip. I was also assured charging stations were abundant due to Norway having the most electric cars per capita in the world. I was prepared. What could go wrong?

Well. A lot, evidently.

Travel begins when your plans are disrupted.