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Catalans Abroad
7 November 2021 2.00 h

Juan José Ruiz Gómez

He works as a lawyer in Norway

In the far North

Juan José Ruiz Gómez is from El Papiol, Baix Llobregat. He works as a lawyer in Norway, as he did in Catalonia. He is a founding members and president of the Casal Català in Tromsø

“Once I learned the language and my studies were validated, I found a job in my field” “We want to let newcomers know they already have a family they can count on”
Why did you leave Cat­alo­nia?
I left in search of a bet­ter life. My life in Cat­alo­nia didn’t make me happy. On a per­sonal level, I found it dif­fi­cult to be­come in­de­pen­dent and live with my part­ner with­out hav­ing to give up many things we enjoy, such as trav­el­ling. On a pro­fes­sional level, I had a job which didn’t allow me to progress... and the lifestyle in gen­eral was quite stress­ful. I didn’t re­alise it then, but I know it now since I’ve been here.
Are you happy with the job op­por­tu­ni­ties you found in your adop­tive coun­try?
Ab­solutely. And the op­por­tu­ni­ties mul­ti­ply when you learn the lan­guage. At first I worked in hostelry, but once I learned the lan­guage and my stud­ies were val­i­dated, I found a job in my field. A job where I am very happy and I have the op­por­tu­nity to help a lot of peo­ple. Among the Cata­lan com­mu­nity of Tromsø we have peo­ple who work in the fields of ed­u­ca­tion, health, who are doing doc­tor­ates and post-doc­tor­ates, or who work in cater­ing or tourism, to give a few ex­am­ples.
You founded the Casal català in Tromsø: when was it founded, and what ac­tiv­i­ties do you do?
The Casal Català in Tromsø is the first recog­nised casal in Nor­way, and I wish it wasn’t the only one. It only re­ceived recog­ni­tion as a casal on Sep­tem­ber 28, 2021. The peo­ple who are here, we know how dif­fi­cult it is to get to a place so far north, with­out any kind of con­tacts, and we want to let new­com­ers know and feel that when they ar­rive they al­ready have a fam­ily they can count on that will help them with what­ever they need.
What do you think is the best thing about liv­ing there?
The pos­si­bil­i­ties of being able to build a dig­ni­fied fu­ture, the good qual­ity of life, na­ture and the thou­sands of hik­ing trails we have around us, the qual­ity of the air and water, the zero level of stress, the lovely peo­ple we meet around us,...
What would you most like to change?
All I need is a di­rect flight to Barcelona, and cheaper. That way, it would be much eas­ier to get vis­its from the peo­ple I love.
What do you miss most from home?
Fam­ily and friends, of course. The food was also some­thing I missed a lot. With­out a doubt, we eat much bet­ter in Cat­alo­nia than here. The so­lu­tion, how­ever, was to learn how to cook dishes from back home.
What is the best ex­pe­ri­ence you’ve had in your adop­tive coun­try?
I can’t say I live in Tromsø and not an­swer that ques­tion by say­ing that the best ex­pe­ri­ence has been see­ing the North­ern Lights. When my part­ner was not yet liv­ing with me, she came to visit me in Sep­tem­ber and we had some spec­tac­u­lar, very in­tense au­rora bo­re­alis, al­most daily. My par­ents also came in Sep­tem­ber the fol­low­ing year, and they were also lucky enough to see some amaz­ing au­ro­ras. For me, the best ex­pe­ri­ence has been being able to enjoy those mo­ments, both with my part­ner and my par­ents.
Do you plan to come back to Cat­alo­nia?
It’s not some­thing I have in mind today. I think it would be nice to have a sec­ond home there to visit from time to time. Per­haps for re­tire­ment we would then re­turn dur­ing the dark pe­riod (from No­vem­ber 21 to Jan­u­ary 21, when the sun doesn’t rise in Tromsø). But I think if I left Tromsø, rather than re­turn­ing to Cat­alo­nia, it would be to move to an­other part of Nor­way.

CATA­LANS ABROAD Tromsø (nor­way)

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

What do you consider the highlights for any brief visit for the first time?
Ifyou come for only two or three days, I recommend a walk in the centre, visiting museums to understand a little history, going to Lake Prestvannet and taking a walk through the Telegrafbukta area or going to the famous Fjellheisen to see the views.
And if visitors have more time or make a return visit?
Get to know the Sami community and do some activity with reindeers. If you rent a car, it’s highly recommended to visit Grotfjørd Beach, Ersfjordbotn Fjord, and drive an hour from Tromsø to Sommarøy. A spectacular area. Also, exploring the Lofoten Islands area and the Senja area. You can go by car or by boat.
When is the best time of year to plan a visit?
The high season is from September to March, when we have the northern lights dancing in the night sky. I especially like September, because I’ve seen very strong auroras this month, and it’s not cold in February, for example, and you can spend more time outdoors. The bad thing about this time is that there are very few hours of light, and from November to January the sun does not rise. This means that there are not too many opportunities to see landscapes. But we also have another phenomenon that is not so popular but is very spectacular, and that’s the Midnight Sun. For three months, the sun rises and doesn’t hide again until August. At 12 o’clock at night, the sun, instead of hiding, rises again. It’s beautiful and the light from the sky at that moment is magical.
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