tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15631448730210102732024-03-14T06:39:43.728+01:00Life in Blue and YellowMy new life: a 20-something American girl living in Sweden!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-62963752648277052702015-01-15T16:02:00.002+01:002015-01-15T16:02:40.222+01:00A long hiatus I hope you find that what I will link we be an enjoyable read. I stumbled across it earlier today and this other blogger's post resonated so much with me that I felt I had to share it on my very own blog. If you're truly interested in what it's like to live abroad - this is it.<br /><br /><a href="http://masedimburgo.com/2014/06/04/17-things-change-forever-live-abroad/">17 Things that Change Forever When You Live Abroad</a><br />
<br />
I find that all of them apply, but especially numbers 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 14 really hit home with me. I would say most definitely that those capture parts of my experience living abroad in Sweden. I've now lived here for 4 years and just over 2 months. Even thinking back to the beginning of my time here is beginning to feel like "a long time ago".<br /><br />What happened since last April? Recap. I had one month of vacation in June, most of which I spent on a family vacation in Greece with my in-laws and the last 2 weeks at home in Ohio. I came back to Sweden and worked for 1.5 months before beginning my studies at Handelshögskolan (The School of Business) at Göteborgs Universitet (University of Gothenburg, or Gothenburg University, I'm not sure how they translate it). I'm studying Samhällsvetenskapligt Miljövetarprogram, aka Environmental Science with a focus in societal science. Studying in Swedish is not nearly as intimidating or scary as I thought it might be (mainly because I thought writing papers would be super difficult, but I find that is not the case, happily). Next week begins the second semester of the year. <br />
<br />
Over Christmas break J and I decided to completely skip Christmas this year and take a week long sun vacation on Gran Canaria (the Canary Islands off the coast of western Africa). It was much needed. I find each winter gets more and more, yes I dare say it, depressing. I have a self-diagnosed case of seasonal depression. Somewhere in between late October and early November, the clouds roll in. Not just individual clouds, but an entire blanket of clouds. It's one giant gray mass that covers the sky 90% of the time in winter, I'd be willing to bet. Apparently this year was even more extreme, as Gothenburg's amount of sunny hours during the month of November amounted to something like 20 hours. According to a quick Google search, the average amount of sunny hours in November for Gothenburg should be 58. Some people may think it's not such a big deal, but I find that my brain is especially dependent upon the sun! J seems not to be affected, but maybe that's because he was raised in Sweden. I look very much forward to springtime and the days getting longer and longer. Currently it's light for about 6-7 hours a day, and as you can guess, it's usually a constant, dim grey light. So, as stated, running away to the sun over Christmas was much needed indeed!<br />
<br />
And that about sums it up as quickly as I could manage. Had a wonderful summer, school started and I've met a lot of new people and have needed to adjust to becoming a student again (I admit I miss working and having a set routine and making $$$). Christmas came and went in a blink, and here we are in cold, grey, wet snow/raining January. Hope this post finds you well!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-43025312679675960162014-04-27T11:10:00.002+02:002014-04-27T11:11:37.902+02:00Working towards summerSpring has come to Sweden in full blast! I read in the newspaper the other day that this weekend in Gothenburg, it has actually, officially become summer due to the median temperatures in the area averaging at 10C for a specific number of days (10 days, I think?). I suppose the mild winter and early spring (which came in late February) has caused an early summer =) You notice that everyone is enjoying the lovely temperatures and sunny skies. The grills have come forward, it is Sweden after all. All the flowers are in bloom as are all of the trees. Sadly, for allergy sufferers like my J, the pollen from everything has them sneezing, coughing, sniffling and just plain tired. Luckily for myself, I've been spared of all of that as I have yet to come across something in this life that I am allergic to.<br />
<br />
Life has been trucking along as usual. Work, work. My official vacation this summer will be (according to the Swedish way of operating) weeks 24, 25, 26 and 27. In "American speak" my first week off is the week of Monday, June 9th and then I go back to work on (my birthday, sniffle) Monday, July 7th. That's 4 whole weeks of paid vacation! Woohoo! I'm very much looking forward to my vacation as it will be lovely to get away from all of the hard work, but mainly because I will be travelling so much! From June 10-17 I will be in Samos, Greece with J's family, celebrating his dad's 60th birthday. It'll be great getting to a beach and catching the rays and just being able to relax. Then it's home to Sweden for a couple of days, and on June 20th it's off to visit the U.S. of A.! I'll be home for roughly two weeks. I'm extremely looking forward to going home as the last time I visited was for 2 weeks in March 2013. It's been well over a year since I've seen my friends and family from home! (Besides my brother, of course). I figured it was now or never since I hope to begin university studies (yet again) this fall - more on that in just a bit. I will be travelling by myself this summer as we couldn't afford for both J and I to visit, but that's okay! I'm paying for this trip out of my own pocket, so our vacation savings won't be touched. Our big hope is to be able to visit home again this Christmas! I haven't been home for Christmas since 2011, so I am really hoping that that plan will work out.<br />
<br />
So, university studies! Roughly translated I want to study Environmental Science with a focus in social sciences (I've already applied to get into the program, I'll find out sometime in early July if I've been accepted). The program is 3 years long and results in a bachelor's degree. But wait, don't you already have a bachelor's degree? Why yes, yes I do, in Philosophy with minors in Sociology and English from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Sadly, though, I'm not really using that degree to obtain any sort of career-like path, so I've decided to somewhat start over. Luckily, university in Sweden is free (at least tuition is) since all universities are state run and funded by tax money. You can even apply for student aid money, some of which is simply a grant which doesn't need to be paid back, and the rest of which count as student loans that you do need to pay back. The good thing about the student loans here are that they don't have ridiculous interest rates like student loans in the U.S. J pays off his student loans each month, and they cost only about $100 a month, which is a completely reasonable sum to pay monthly. We've worked very hard over the past year to pay off most of my student loans in the U.S. from my Philosophy degree, and we've shrunk my debt down to 1 remaining loan from 3. Everything seems much better now, as I don't need to siphon off my salary here nearly as much to send over to the U.S. in order to pay off those loans. In any case, I am super excited to start studying again and begin working towards a career. Yes, as the program is a bachelor's degree program, it will be taught in Swedish. I am very confident in my abilities now, though, so I believe I will do just fine. I'm a teeny bit nervous about paper writing, as it will be quite proper writing in contrast to the every day speak that I'm used to, but I think I'm up to the challenge. I have almost no doubts about getting in, as my "merit value" (based on your high school grades plus you get extra points if you've taken certain classes, e.g. foreign languages) is 22.42 out of a max of 22.50. I'm just looking forward to my summer vacation, putting in a month and a half or so of work, and then beginning my new path!<br />
<br />
Here's a shot of an item I found in the store the other day. I still get a kick out of finding items with the title "American" slapped on them just to make it seem more exotic, as if cola is a strictly American item anymore =)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1538806_10100426123033040_2953226834651517446_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="320" src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1538806_10100426123033040_2953226834651517446_n.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-78838263177482441172014-03-01T10:22:00.002+01:002014-03-01T10:22:29.137+01:00HibernationSo I've been hibernating, regarding the blog, all throughout winter. I just have not had any motivation whatsoever to write anything on here! Luckily, the winter has been surprisingly mild. We have had very little snow. We've also had very little freezing temperatures. My home state of Ohio cannot say the same! It seems we switched winters, this year. Even though it's been mild, it still gets depressing having only a few hours of daylight each day, and that daylight only consisting of a constant greyness with no hope of seeing the sun any time soon. Luckily for me, as I was watching the news last week, the weather man said that it's now officially spring in the southern half of the country! Yay! They determine seasons here based on temperature averages, and not based on dates the way we do in the US, following the equinoxes.<br />
<br />
So last time I posted we had just ended the summer, and I was settling down into a heavy fall and winter workload. That's a quick sum up of what I've been up to! Fall came, with lots of working and mail-slinging, as did the winter time. I will say I caught quite an evil cold in the beginning of January which knocked me out of working for a week. I rarely get colds where I actually need to be home, but something was going around the entire country because I knew several people with the same symptoms.<br />
<br />
I do, however, have several highlights to mention regarding my hibernation. First of all, I am now a Swedish citizen! In the beginning of November I had officially been living here in Sweden for 3 years, and so was eligible to apply for citizenship. Moving here on a "sambo visa" (aka relationship visa) makes it easier to become a citizen, you only need to wait three years. If you come on another sort of visa, work or student related, you need to have been living here for at least 5 years, if I recall correctly. Anyhow, I forked out the 1500 Swedish crowns for the fee to apply, and settled in to wait the 10 months that the website said it would take for them to process the application. Surprise!! One week later I received a document in the mail stating my citizenship was granted! Woohoo! A few weeks later I took my butt downtown (during my super evil cold of death) and applied for a Swedish passport. I received the passport 3 work days later, that easy! I am now a dual citizen of the USA and Sweden, with passports from both countries. Not bad, eh?<br />
<br />
Another super highlight of my winter - my brother came to visit for two weeks in January! I took a week off of work so that we could do some fun stuff together. I showed him Gothenburg, of course, and we also took a train ride to Stockholm (my mom loved Stockholm so much when she visited, I figured it would be mean not to take brother there when he'd made it all this way). The sad part was that I was still recovering from the evil cold of death, so I don't think I was as fun as I could have been. It's just hard to trek around a cold, windy city like Stockholm (at least this time of year), when you're coughing up your lungs as well as blowing your nose every other minute. I really do think he enjoyed himself, though, as I did! It was just great having another family member able to come visit and see my life here in Sweden. I have, after all, been living here for about 3.5 years now. It was about time.<br />
<br />
Today I've got to clean and get the apartment ready for a little get together (pre-party, you could say) that I'm having before heading out to my new favorite thing to do on the first Saturday of every month. On these Saturdays I like to go out with my girlfriends from work to a place called Röda Sten (the Red Stone) which by daytime is actually an art gallery. They open up their small restaurant area, though, on these Saturday nights as a club for a dubstep artist group called Dubstep Bastards. If you have no idea what dubstep is for music, here is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep" target="_blank">link to Wikipedia</a> for a quick explanation. Back in August I happened to be going out with said girlfriends, and we ended up at Röda Sten. It was love at first sight (or experience?). Dubstep, I think, can only truly be appreciated if you experience it live. We haven't been since November, so I'm really hoping the Bastards bring in some really good artists tonight (they always invite guest artists in). Here's a video of one of my favorite artists / songs:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/WtMlB-BEMso?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You've gotta stick with the song, it always takes a little time for it to get going. I won't be surprised if you don't like it. As I said, you've almost got to experience it live to really enjoy. Or at least just have really loud speakers, with a lot of strong bass. If your speakers are fritzy, you just won't get the point or experience. There are so many different kinds of dubstep, too. I've really enjoyed the reggae kind of dubstep, some people like the video game kind. It's up to you! If you do some searching, I'm sure you'll find out what I mean. If you already are familiar with the genre, good for you! It seems like it's really catching on in the US, as when we were watching Breaking Bad while my brother was here, he was like "Oh yeah, that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-IWRmpefzE" target="_blank">Bonfire song</a> is super huge and popular now in the US!" The most well known US dubstep artist is Skrillex.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Okay, I'll stop going on and on about dubstep now. Time to get cleaning!</div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-59502220304850406952013-09-29T16:31:00.003+02:002013-09-29T16:31:42.666+02:00100 postsNearly three years later and reaching my 100th post. Yes, it took quite some time to reach 100 posts, but I've finally done it!<br />
<br />
Summer came, and went, as it usually does here in the North. But what a lovely summer it was! As some say, the third time is the charm. This was my third summer here in Sweden, and finally we had what was the closest to a real summer here in Sweden. It got warm, and stayed warm! And sunny! There was hardly any rain! Which we are now paying for in the fall season. It's been getting noticeably darker and cloudier these past few weeks. I'm saddened by summer leaving. I think a large part causing that sadness is that, here in Sweden, there isn't nearly as much to look forward to in autumn. Almost nothing, really. In the States we have Saturday college football (or NFL if you prefer that league..on what, Sunday nights? Monday nights? Apologies, I don't follow NFL). You also have Halloween to look forward to, and not long after that is Thanksgiving! If you have the same traditions as my family, you even have a trip to the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch to look forward to - hot cider drinking and all. But here in Sweden there is nothing to curb the angst that darkening days and falling temperatures call forth. You know that winter is coming and that it will consume the next 5 months or so. That's nearly half of the year! To combat this, I hold steadily to the tradition of cooking Thanksgiving dinner each year. The past two years I cooked for J's family in Tibro. This year we'll be holding a get-together with some dear friends here in our new apartment in Gothenburg, killing two birds with one stone in having them to see our new (owned!) apartment and celebrating Thanksgiving.<br />
<br />
I pretty much breezed over the entire summer there in just a couple of sentences. Where did we leave off? Oh yes, Midsummer. Well we then moved on into July and made a trip to Norway which was enjoyable. It's always great getting out of the country - I love to travel. We basically did a reprise of last year - grilling out, playing games, fishing and of course socializing (the weather this year was just as sunny and beautiful as last). What's exciting is that our Norwegian friends will be visiting us in November for Thanksgiving! How great to be able to see them not only once this year but twice. =)<br />
<br />
Eventually in August we had two weeks of vacation and spent the first weekend of it in Tibro, the rest of the first week here at home in Gothenburg and then the second week we went to Cyprus! It was so lovely to get out of the country again and into some real <span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">heat! </span>It was so hot. And by hot, I mean it was 38-40C (100-105F) every single day. I'll admit it, it was almost too hot. I only say that because you could hardly be bothered to do anything during the day. We stayed in a wonderful, luxurious adult hotel (age limit 16+) that did not sit right on the beach, thus resulting in J and I only visiting the beach twice during our stay. We opted most often to laze beside the lovely, serene pool on some sun chairs (and J always under an umbrella - he's like a vampire when it comes to the sun). This also happened to be our very belated honeymoon trip, hence the luxurious adult hotel. I will add, though, that we did go on a boat excursion one day! We were able to see basically the entire southeastern coast of Cyprus by boat. The water in the Mediterranean is beautiful, however, I would still argue that the Caribbean has it beat hands down. This from my little experience of seeing Cyprus to compare it with the Riviera Maya in Mexico. On the boat excursion we even went swimming twice, one of the time snorkeling. Here are just a few shots from the boat adventure.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yDPgqmqEiw/Ukg5cgFtesI/AAAAAAAAAl4/S3SxixbgZhc/s1600/DSC00612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yDPgqmqEiw/Ukg5cgFtesI/AAAAAAAAAl4/S3SxixbgZhc/s320/DSC00612.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wkDpJocXTq0/Ukg5c5DmLzI/AAAAAAAAAl8/D6DOw5s-JNk/s1600/DSC00617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wkDpJocXTq0/Ukg5c5DmLzI/AAAAAAAAAl8/D6DOw5s-JNk/s320/DSC00617.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H8df7pFWeII/Ukg5c2hggDI/AAAAAAAAAmA/KJE44fE95ys/s1600/DSC00632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H8df7pFWeII/Ukg5c2hggDI/AAAAAAAAAmA/KJE44fE95ys/s320/DSC00632.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Since coming back I resumed working as a mail carrier, and not much has happened since. Life goes on in our little corner of the world. I'll allow this to serve as a catch up on what our lives have been up to and try to start posting more often as done in the past. I (still) have all sorts of thoughts about living abroad that I surely should be able to write on here so as to paint a more colorful version of life here. Until next time...adjö!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-40883358919042752292013-06-24T19:58:00.004+02:002013-06-24T19:58:50.200+02:00Summer is off to a startYes I'm still alive and kicking. I think I've come to terms with the fact that writing here on my blog just won't happen as often as it once used to. Life has a sense of normalcy about it now that I've been living in the country for nearly 2 years and 8 months. It's difficult finding new and interesting topics to speak about. Some of you may have noticed that I use the blog more as an update for those across the pond who may still wonder about what I'm up to over here. =)<br />
<br />
Swedish Midsommar just passed this weekend. J and I spent it in Stockholm, as mentioned previously. We picked up our good friend O on the drive there, and thankfully we got to take the faster highways back to Gbg since O took the train home a day earlier than we wanted to come home (he came back on Saturday, we left Sunday morning). It was a bunch of fun! I always love getting out of town and getting out of the normal routine of things. We have a few friends who live in the country's capitol, so we decided to spend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsommar#Sweden" target="_blank">Midsommar</a> with them, celebrating in some of the traditional ways. We devoured a lunch of pickled herring that came in jars resembling <a href="http://www.google.se/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.resume.se%2Fnyheter%2Fdesign%2F2010%2F06%2F15%2Fsilly-season%2F&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=j2T3x5Id41wI4M&tbnh=139&tbnw=363&zoom=1&docid=eDPDqYB3XjZk2M&hl=sv&ei=pIXIUYr-A8ah4gSc64C4BA&ved=0CAIQsCU" target="_blank">these</a>, along with boiled new potatoes and sour cream and chives along with onions if you desired. During this lunch you also tend to drink <a href="http://hd.se/multimedia/dynamic/00562/snaps_562441e.jpg" target="_blank">snaps</a>, which is called nubbe, tastes pretty awful in my opinion and comes in a variety of flavors. Later in the evening we grilled some meat and ate a big, fresh salad with it and finished off with rhubarb pie and vanilla cream for dessert. Yum! We did not, however, go find a maypole and dance around it on Midsummer Day. Instead, we decided to enjoy beautiful downtown Stockholm and ate lunch in Gamla Stan. We finished off Saturday evening by playing a board game called Settlers of Catan (first time for me, I'd heard a lot about it, and it ended up being quite fun!), and devouring fresh Swedish strawberries with cream and sugar! Mmm! Here's a single shot I took while walking over the water on our trek from Gamla Stan to Kungsholmen.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dIJB1k4SjNs/UciG-IfllZI/AAAAAAAAAkw/INd56veFj6o/s1600/20130622_150418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dIJB1k4SjNs/UciG-IfllZI/AAAAAAAAAkw/INd56veFj6o/s320/20130622_150418.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Even on a cloudy day I find Stockholm pleasing to the eye. The buildings and all the water are just beautiful.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thus has summer truly begun! Midsommar was the first major event I was looking forward to and it felt so nice to get out of the daily grind here in Gothenburg and see some friendly faces we hadn't seen in quite some time. It felt like a mini vacation and that it was much needed! Luckily, in a little less than two weeks we're headed to Norway so I have another big event to look forward to this week and next! I suppose I feel like I need these things to keep me going through the summer as so many are now on vacation and it feels a bit "bleh" to be working all through the summer until mid-August, and then "only" getting two weeks where many take four, five or even six at a time. At least at work it should be pretty easy going now that so many are on vacation - not so much mail to be delivered!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That's just a quick update to keep you all in the loop! This weekend nothing is on our plate (thankfully, we've had nonstop busy weekends for many weeks in a row now). I plan to finally start clearing out what we don't need to bring with us for when we move in one month's time!</div>
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-76428035655050497652013-05-09T10:23:00.001+02:002013-05-09T10:23:57.832+02:00Summer already?Spring did spring. All week it's been above 10C (above 50F) and it's felt wonderful! I actually read in Metro, the free newspaper, that yesterday was possibly the official start of summer here in Sweden! If I recall correctly, the Swedish meteorologists consider it to be summer when the national average temperature is above 10C for five days in a row. Yesterday, supposedly, was supposed to be the fifth day. The only downside this week was that yesterday, here in lovely Gothenburg, it decided to pour buckets of rain all day, and that was not fun to deliver mail in. I wear my rain jacket when going to and from the area that I deliver mail to that day if it's raining, but otherwise I take it off while I'm running in and out of stairwells. It just gets too hot and cumbersome! A nice construction man offered me his rain jacket when he saw me absolutely soaked yesterday, and I explained that I had a rain jacket and that it just gets too heavy. He responded with, "Yeah, it gets kinda gross!" It made my day that he had thought to offer me his jacket! I thanked him several times, all of this occurring in Swedish, of course.<br />
<br />
Today is a "red day" which is what Swedes refer to as holidays. It is Kristi Himmelfärdsdag, which can be translated directly to something like Christ Heaven Journey day. No one really knows (at least when I ask) anymore what the day is about, but they have it as a holiday each year and no one works. It's clearly a remnant of a Christian holiday, and my best guess would be that is has something to do with the passage of time past Easter, in regards to Christ's return to heaven. In any case, as today is Thursday, most people will just take tomorrow as a day off from work and make it a nice long 5 day weekend. Not J and I. Tomorrow we'll be back at the grind. It's only one day, though, so think of it as we can two Fridays this week!<br />
<br />
News! J and I bought an apartment! We'd been talking about it for quite some time, and thinking seriously about it since autumn. We'd just decided that we're paying the same amount of money to rent this little 1 bedroom apartment that we could instead be paying on apartment that is much larger which we can own. Of course we'll be downgrading in regards to location, in my opinion, but the area really isn't bad. We'll be removing ourselves from Strömmensberg/Munkebäck here in Gbg and settling over on Hisingen in Backa. It will be nice this time around not moving to an entirely new city that is a couple of hours away. We can take our time and move at a more leisurely pace rather than all at once. Our new place is a 2 bedroom apartment with a balcony (yay!) and has a lot more space. Currently we have only 50kvm (roughly 540 sq. ft.). The place we'll be owning has about 82kvm (roughly 880 sq. ft.). So we hope to move in by the end of July, and if not, it'll have to be sometime in August.<br />
<br />
This summer is shaping up to be quite exciting! Although I'll be working for all of it except 2 weeks (whereas many Swedes get a good 4 - 6 week chunk off), there are a ton of activities on our plate. For Midsommar in June we're planning to go to Stockholm and visit some friends. Then in early July we've been invited to go back to Norway (I wrote about our trip last year in <a href="http://www.lifeinbluenyellow.blogspot.se/2012/07/summer-happenings-and-interview.html" target="_blank">this post</a>). It was such a blast I most certainly want to go back again this year! Then, obviously, as I've just informed you, we will be moving in between the Norway trip and our honeymoon to Cyprus. Now that I type it all out, it's occurring to me that the summer is shaping up to be expensive, as well. Such is life if you want to enjoy it! Luckily I'm working all summer, so that will help in the expenses.<br />
<br />
Last week, Wednesday was also a red day. Tuesday was Valborgmässoafton, which occurs each year on April 30th (I mentioned it last year in <a href="http://www.lifeinbluenyellow.blogspot.se/2012/05/work-friends-and-more-swedish-holidays.html" target="_blank">this post</a>). This year was the first year that we finally went and saw what it was all about! Well I'm sure J had been to Valborg events before, but I hadn't (and this was my third year being here to be able to go see the bonfires). There were several locations offering giant bonfires and fun stuff like hot dogs and hamburgers with live music here in Gothenburg. Some places were more kid friendly offering face painting and jumpy blow up castles, but we decided to go to the location closest to where we live. We went down to Härlanda Tjärn where there was a big bonfire with live music (the band was good and fun to listen to!). Plus they were selling grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, but J and I had already eaten dinner, so we passed. Without further ado, here are some shots that I snapped!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bV7l8pwjVQI/UYtbQ116btI/AAAAAAAAAjs/KFKyFol3rNQ/s1600/20130430_195959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bV7l8pwjVQI/UYtbQ116btI/AAAAAAAAAjs/KFKyFol3rNQ/s320/20130430_195959.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0m8EW7EMHaA/UYtbQnW58kI/AAAAAAAAAjw/hidIHqDNwUc/s1600/20130430_200721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0m8EW7EMHaA/UYtbQnW58kI/AAAAAAAAAjw/hidIHqDNwUc/s320/20130430_200721.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C5TQYWnIChM/UYtbQORYv1I/AAAAAAAAAjo/l6IbfN6jOy4/s1600/20130430_201704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C5TQYWnIChM/UYtbQORYv1I/AAAAAAAAAjo/l6IbfN6jOy4/s320/20130430_201704.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--eFwaW1NFjw/UYtbSUwh93I/AAAAAAAAAj4/LkJW2zFd3Bc/s1600/20130430_202011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--eFwaW1NFjw/UYtbSUwh93I/AAAAAAAAAj4/LkJW2zFd3Bc/s320/20130430_202011.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="240" /></a></div>
There were a lot of people! They were always coming and going, too. I had to capture the pretty little lake, too, as it was so serene. That's the same lake that I mentioned in <a href="http://www.lifeinbluenyellow.blogspot.se/2012/07/hooray.html" target="_blank">this post</a> last year where we went swimming. I think we'll have to wait a few more months for the water to warm up enough to swim in again ;-)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-90027403601526881372013-04-14T09:13:00.001+02:002013-04-14T09:13:13.085+02:00Spring is ever so slowly springingSpring is coming quite slowly to Sweden this year. It's already April 14th and yet we've only had a couple of days reaching up towards 8 or 9C (upper 40s F). We have had plenty of sun lately, though, for which I have been very thankful. At night, though, the temperatures keep dropping back down below freezing. Just on Friday it was actually sleeting during my bike ride to work. It wasn't pleasant, as sleet in the face on a bike going downhill is rather painful! It had snowed over night, as well. Luckily, it rained throughout the day and melted the little bit of snow that had accumulated. I suppose with all this chatter about the current weather what I'm really trying to say is that I'm ready for spring! It's mid-April already, let's go Sweden, get with it!<br />
<br />
In any case, I took a couple of shots yesterday when I first saw these lovely little snödroppar (snow drops) in our back yard. They are usually taken as the first sign of spring, as they are the first flowers that usually pop up out of the spring snows, hence the name.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2R-ZSNvgfM/UWpUkJMkMpI/AAAAAAAAAi8/0ndZL28z2X0/s1600/20130413_180104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2R-ZSNvgfM/UWpUkJMkMpI/AAAAAAAAAi8/0ndZL28z2X0/s320/20130413_180104.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrqcoA7o-N0/UWpUkNljcyI/AAAAAAAAAjA/0mLycn0q_4E/s1600/20130413_180054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrqcoA7o-N0/UWpUkNljcyI/AAAAAAAAAjA/0mLycn0q_4E/s320/20130413_180054.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wt9xkOpb_-Q/UWpUkmImACI/AAAAAAAAAjE/FJJ3xO6uOu4/s1600/20130413_180057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wt9xkOpb_-Q/UWpUkmImACI/AAAAAAAAAjE/FJJ3xO6uOu4/s320/20130413_180057.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
I was so excited to see them I whipped out my phone and ran over to crouch and snap these shots. J simply continued to enter into our building without waiting upon me. Alas, he's not so delighted with nature and signs of different seasons as I am.<br />
<br />
Speaking of J, this past week he officially accepted a new job! He will be working at Göteborgs Universitet (Gothenburg University) in their library as a production engineer. Engineer, library? I know it sounds odd, but they need help converting their entire library into a digital one. We're so excited! I think the job fits his profile quite well and that he'll be quite happy in his new roll.<br />
<br />
In other good news, we also finally booked our honeymoon trip this past week! I know, I know, we got married last September, how have we not even planned or taken a honeymoon 'til now? I guess it just hasn't been very possible, we've been busy bees working. We did at least go on a short Pisa, Italy weekend trip back in October. This time, though, we'll be spending a lovely week in Cyprus in mid-August. This is the first time I've ever booked a "fancy" hotel and I am super excited! It's also an adult hotel, that is, the age limit is at 16 years of age. No one younger is allowed on the premises. I wanted this kind of peaceful and relaxing environment for our honeymoon. I am usually the advocate of saving a buck and going with more budget options and not minding children running around, but this is our honeymoon after all! I figure for once in our life we could indulge a bit. I've always wanted to go to the Mediterranean, as well, so to put it simply, I'm excited and very much looking forward to August.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-35213481905482709342013-04-02T16:56:00.001+02:002013-04-04T16:32:58.688+02:00February, March and into April...Lots has happened since my last post. For the first two weeks in March I went home to the US. It was a bunch of fun! I'm sure I will post more about it later, but I just felt the urge to write a small little interlude post so that you all (if there are any of you left anymore =) know that I'm still alive and kicking!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
February was not very eventful. For Valentine's Day, J and I decided to cook a nice homemade meal to celebrate the occasion. We don't really buy into all of that consumerism with needing to buy gifts for each other and little boxes of candy shaped like hearts. But it is always nice to celebrate the person you love and have a special evening. We decided to actually buy some steaks (those never appear in this household, way too expensive to eat on a regular basis!), and we also had <a href="https://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1920&bih=955&q=hasselbackspotatis%2C&oq=hasselbackspotatis%2C&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.668.2772.0.2779.7.6.0.1.1.0.83.327.5.5.0...0.0...1ac.1.7.img.dXqkqEWTh8o#imgrc=5GRhtBnfOWOkbM%3A%3B6qLqhfHB8FAAtM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F_X6rrkK_ISdk%252FTTiDsBKjJRI%252FAAAAAAAAAHQ%252FZJe9-P0DttI%252Fs400%252FHasselbackspotatis.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcinasrecept.blogspot.com%252F2011%252F01%252Fhasselbackspotatis.html%3B400%3B400" target="_blank">hasselbackspotatis</a> and green beans with red wine sauce with it. Mmm! I also made vanilla panna cotta and we had some nice red wine with it. Nice!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Then came my two week trip to Ohio! It was really great to get out of Sweden and the work work work with mail work work work mode. I was really beginning to feel run down in my body (i.e. physically), so that trip couldn't have come at a better time. In a nutshell (to be extended later), it was lovely to see family and friends. It was just me this time, J needed to stay here and keep working. The good thing about going alone is you really can focus all of your time and energy on friends and family. Two weeks is never long enough (I usually travel 3 weeks, but now that I work pretty much full time, that wasn't possible). But this time around I really ended up missing the States and Ohio. For the first time I was actually sad to come back to Sweden (although of course looking very much forward to seeing the husband again). I usually get my fill and then come back, but something stuck this time around. I have it as a goal to work on moving back, even if that process takes several years. We shall see! The story is never over. I also don't think I am done with Sweden, either, but there is always a pull in the other direction. That's simply a choice I've made and I've got to deal with it! You never know what life may throw you. =)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So for the past couple of weeks I've just been back at the grinding stone with work. Luckily the weather has been rather cooperative (that is, sunny!). There has been a good deal of cold, but this week it's been nearly up to 50F/9C so far! This past weekend was Easter, meaning that it was a 4 day weekend here in Sweden. We get Friday and Monday off. J and I went "home" to Tibro and visited with friends and family all weekend. We even went to a new show at his brother's place in Hjo, and then Sunday evening we spent the evening/night at my good friend M's place. It was just a lovely, getaway weekend socializing with the family and old friends from the Skaraborg district. Here are a couple of pictures to leave you with of the beautiful view his brother now has from his newly acquired waterside restaurant in Hjo!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7LzjExUFuVA/UVrxVCP_BNI/AAAAAAAAAiM/q6n_rRj3cVU/s1600/20130331_112242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7LzjExUFuVA/UVrxVCP_BNI/AAAAAAAAAiM/q6n_rRj3cVU/s320/20130331_112242.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCO7Dmu2pxQ/UVrxVAu04LI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/NmSSGKKgyRc/s1600/20130331_112340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCO7Dmu2pxQ/UVrxVAu04LI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/NmSSGKKgyRc/s320/20130331_112340.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHijVpXRnvQ/UVrxVirUR8I/AAAAAAAAAiU/87DeqNilX-M/s1600/20130331_112310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHijVpXRnvQ/UVrxVirUR8I/AAAAAAAAAiU/87DeqNilX-M/s320/20130331_112310.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6A0PcRc91w0/UVrxXNEi8xI/AAAAAAAAAik/Aj4VkQsd2Y4/s1600/20130331_120013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6A0PcRc91w0/UVrxXNEi8xI/AAAAAAAAAik/Aj4VkQsd2Y4/s320/20130331_120013.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EThA8D0ZDnk/UVrxXekWTVI/AAAAAAAAAio/dbbAxnsgevI/s1600/20130331_112511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EThA8D0ZDnk/UVrxXekWTVI/AAAAAAAAAio/dbbAxnsgevI/s320/20130331_112511.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-12943818829616686852013-02-03T11:44:00.002+01:002013-02-03T11:44:51.686+01:00PUT!Woohoo! On Friday I finally received in the mail the decision that I am being granted a permanent residency permit (PUT - Permanentuppehållstillstånd)! All I need to do is go into the local Migrationsverket (Immigration) office and have my fingerprints and photo taken. I knew of this previously but still find it a bit strange that they want such information. I understand such action when someone is coming to visit your country and then is planning to leave. The US does the same thing for those visiting. If I'm being granted permanent residency, isn't that a bit over the top? Nonetheless, that is the last step and then they will mail my new residence card in the mail within a week. I've been waiting since the end of September, and it's perfect timing regarding the fact that I'm going to be travelling to the States in less than a month!<br />
<br />
A couple of shots from a street when out on a round earlier this week.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2sCeLyOMRSY/UQ4_Jhch8OI/AAAAAAAAAhU/3spI0Ztw2N4/s1600/20130201_123135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2sCeLyOMRSY/UQ4_Jhch8OI/AAAAAAAAAhU/3spI0Ztw2N4/s320/20130201_123135.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--ZT5KiHImOc/UQ4_KsIPr3I/AAAAAAAAAhg/dkiPW9jTNU4/s1600/20130201_123140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--ZT5KiHImOc/UQ4_KsIPr3I/AAAAAAAAAhg/dkiPW9jTNU4/s320/20130201_123140.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
With all the fog and frost it felt a bit like a fairy tale land on this quiet street.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-62248355964610729812013-01-26T17:45:00.000+01:002013-01-26T17:45:02.806+01:00Cold but beautifulIt was quite cold this week, and as an outdoor worker I noticed it especially. The temperatures during the daytime were anywhere from -10C(14F) to -6C(21F). It did cause some beautiful scenery, though. One or two days were sunny this week and I truly enjoyed it! I took a couple of shots while out on my rounds this week.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBY4ixtMiMg/UQQF5t_RJPI/AAAAAAAAAg0/xIdS5llL3zM/s1600/IMG_20130125_174536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="border:1px solid black;display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;<img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBY4ixtMiMg/UQQF5t_RJPI/AAAAAAAAAg0/xIdS5llL3zM/s320/IMG_20130125_174536.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Ice crystals formed on a house's mailbox. All of the mailboxes in the area actually had these on them. They were at least a centimeter or two in height.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ORWI4lEvmkQ/UQQF6IUGPeI/AAAAAAAAAg4/XxRZKdPyujQ/s1600/IMG_20130125_174233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="border:1px solid black;display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;<img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ORWI4lEvmkQ/UQQF6IUGPeI/AAAAAAAAAg4/XxRZKdPyujQ/s320/IMG_20130125_174233.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
All the bushes were covered in thick frost.
I rather enjoy spending my time outside for so many hours in the week. It makes me feel fresh and healthy. But I also get to enjoy the beauty that the outdoors has to offer, even in freezing cold temperatures. All you have to do is make sure you're dressed in several layers! People ask me all the time in wonderment how I'm not freezing. You go try running up and down three flights of stairs every minute or two and see if you feel cold, especially if you have two pairs of pants on and three layers on top. =)
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-21994464585513602912013-01-23T17:24:00.000+01:002013-01-23T17:24:23.837+01:00Just JanuaryJust January has been happening. The holidays are over and everyone goes back to the daily grind. So it has been for J and I.<br />
<br />
My vikariat (sub) position started this Monday. It's nice to know that until March 1st I'm working every day, full time. It also gives you a slightly different mindset because you're scheduled for certain times. As a timvikarie (hourly sub) you generally come in at a certain time and finish when you're finished with the day's work. This week I work from 7am to 3:30pm, so it's kind of nice having that end time to aim for regarding picking up the pace and trying to keep myself a bit faster when out on my routes. It's also become a good, dare I say fun, challenge to really try and improve my times for how long it takes me to do the routes. Even if there is a lot of mail or very little, the times don't vary too much since you still have the entire route to do. It's just that you might have to run inside of Long Street 16B and deliver one letter on the third floor instead of several pieces of mail to each apartment on each floor.<br />
<br />
A good piece of news, and I can't recall how much I've mentioned it in the past on here, or if at all (and I don't feel like looking up my old posts), is that I've lost a nice amount of weight since beginning this mail delivery gig! As I don't want to go around blabbing about actual numbers, I will just say that so far I have lost 8kg, which is about 17 pounds! I'm back down to a weight that I haven't been since my late teens. No, that isn't all that long ago but still! It's quite a handful of years. =) So hooray, I've been patting myself on the back for that accomplishment.<br />
<br />
Something else that I have to look forward to other than working a lot, making money, and improving my overall health and condition...I'm going to visit the US in March! The day after my sub position ends I'm going to be flying back home for the first 2 weeks of March. Yaaay!! I'm quite excited as I've been wanting to go home for several months now, but just haven't been able to make that call. The initial problem is, and always is, money. It's not cheap to hop across the pond (I take 3 flights, and this time it ended up costing about 5500kr, which isn't too bad compared to summer prices). The second and larger problem this time around is that my residence permit expired in mid-October. I reapplied for a permanent residence permit in mid-late September, and I still have not been given a decision. It's recommended that you don't leave Sweden while they are processing your new permit because you can have trouble coming back into the country on your return trip. Last week I simply got tired of waiting to hear from Migrationsverket (Immigration) and decided to buy a ticket as I had the money and have been wanting to go home for a while. The last time I was home was for Christmas 2011, so it's about time! The good news is that I received a letter and small questionnaire in the mail last week from Migrationsverket saying that if we (J and I) just fill out the questions, sign and return the form, they can make a decision based on that. Basically it was saying they didn't want/see/feel the need to interview us in order to make a decision on whether I get to stay here permanently or not. Seeing as how J and I are now married, I don't think there will be a problem! My fingers are crossed that sometime in the next couple of weeks I will finally receive a decision and my new residence permit card.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-45841805982975530992013-01-08T17:27:00.001+01:002013-01-08T17:31:03.593+01:00God Jul och Gott Nytt År!...or Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I do apologize for taking so long to post. I figured the last time I posted was December 9th, and with today being January 8th I'd better post before it officially was a month since I last posted.<br />
<br />
What all has happened? Well I didn't post anymore in December because life simply got too busy! We were super short handed at work (remember, I work for Bring Citymail) so I was working full time and even some overtime up through the 21st of December. I have no complaints - as stated before, I still love my job! I'll be extra happy next week when I receive my paycheck for the month. I believe it'll be my best one yet. The only bad thing about my job is that it isn't actually a full time job, I'm just a sub, I guess you could call it. I work hourly, and only when they need someone. Lately, they have needed me pretty much every day. What's more, I have good news! Starting later this month and going through until the 1st of March I have a vikariat, or substitute, position for someone who will be gone. That means I basically replace them in their full time duties. I will receive, gasp, an actual month's salary for the first time since moving to Sweden. I've been making money for quite some time now, but I've never been paid a month's salary. The downside: it ends on March 1st and so I will go back to my normal position of just being an hourly sub. Oh well, let's hope more substitute positions show up in my future.<br />
<br />
For Christmas J and I headed out to Tibro to stay with his parents for a few days. J's sister and her family stayed the same amount of time we did. So it was a nice, relaxing few days of just family time. What is even better, we had a super white Christmas! It snowed on the 23rd just after we arrived, and then again I think on the night of the 24th it snowed again. It was great! It started melting on the drive back home on the 26th so it all worked out perfectly. I'm sad to report that I didn't take any pictures over Christmas. I know, for shame, for shame. We did all the Swedish Christmasy stuff though like decorating the tree on the evening of the 23rd. Then on the 24th we got up and had a nice breakfast, ate a giant julbord around 2pm and finished eating just in time to sit down with the kids and watch Kalle Anka (that's Donald Duck) at 3pm. They play a mix and match of really old Disney clips, several including Donald Duck. It's national tradition here in Sweden for the country to sit down and watch it at 3pm. After that Jultomten (or Santa Claus) came by and handed out a bunch of gifts. Then later we had leftovers from the julbord and of course <a href="http://www.arla.se/default____17653.aspx?recipeid=15045" target="_blank">risgröt</a> (or rice porridge) with cinnamon. It's a Christmas classic here.<br />
<br />
This year, instead of all the adults getting gifts for everyone, we decided to play a swap game instead. Each person bought a gift, wrapped it, and kept it secret from everyone else as to what it was. Everyone got assigned a random number, opened his/her gift and then the game ensued. To make a long story short we played a swapping game based on the roll of a die and I think everyone ended up happy! There were 8 of us so it wasn't chaotic. I ended up with an ice cream maker machine (which I actually bought, as well as J's mom and sister! So there were 3 overall). I didn't end up with my own machine though, so there was that. J and I have already made 2 batches of chocolate ice cream and it is sooo good! I doubt I'll buy ice cream anytime soon as it is so incredibly simple to make and far more delicious than store bought. As for J's gift, he received some nice crystal long drink glasses. He gladly used them for the first time on New Year's Eve.<br />
<br />
Speaking of NYE, my good friend M and her man were in Gothenburg for the holidays so we decided that we would have the 2 of them over that evening for some nice appetizers (turned out to be a mealsworth) and some fun games. It was a blast! They printed out their own version of <a href="http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/" target="_blank">Cards Against Humanity</a> and it was so incredibly fun to play. We did not stop laughing the entire probably 2 hours that we played it. My face hurt from smiling and laughing by the end of it. I definitely recommend it as a party game for adults! We ended the night by meeting up with a couple of Swedish friends at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown. The one thing that bummed me out that night was that the cafe didn't have a countdown! Either that, or somehow we missed it. There are several levels at this one, but most were closed so we were in the most populated area. Maybe Hard Rock figured they were too cool to have a silly countdown. In any case, the evening was a blast, and it was great to see some good friends.<br />
<br />
And here we are! I worked 3 days last week and am working again this week, so it's back to the grindstone for me. J technically has off from December 21st to January 14th since he had a lot of vacation days to take out. He has, however, worked here and there since he is so needed at his job. Tomorrow he is even going to a meeting. I keep booing the fact that he's working when he should be on vacation, but only because he truly works so hard all the time.<br />
<br />
I'll try to write more often, that will be my blogly (made up, yes I know) New Year's resolution. Write more often!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-53443841908949000352012-12-09T09:08:00.002+01:002012-12-09T09:08:52.216+01:00Another photo post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As requested by a previous comment, I've taken some more photos. The first one right below was taken downtown while J and I were out running some errands yesterday. Talk about insane amounts of people out Christmas shopping. Anyway, this is a hotel that was very neatly decorated. I just had to get a shot of it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--dqA6wzJ0Fo/UMREKFfJqSI/AAAAAAAAAf0/HNIfzOcsaN0/s1600/20121208_160243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--dqA6wzJ0Fo/UMREKFfJqSI/AAAAAAAAAf0/HNIfzOcsaN0/s320/20121208_160243.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
The picture below is my lovely kitchen window. I see the most "happenings" from this vantage point in our apartment. The shot below it is if I go up to the window and look out to the left a bit. Our building is angled that way towards the street so it's pretty difficult to see the other way up the street.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HD1fp5_A5fc/UMREFvM2IoI/AAAAAAAAAfs/-3cjm92ZKdA/s1600/20121208_133849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HD1fp5_A5fc/UMREFvM2IoI/AAAAAAAAAfs/-3cjm92ZKdA/s320/20121208_133849.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FZonIjQnrU/UMRD9Q68zhI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Y3ms61SE3Dk/s1600/20121208_133826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FZonIjQnrU/UMRD9Q68zhI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Y3ms61SE3Dk/s320/20121208_133826.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Below is if I look straight out our kitchen window.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JPjBEJq47lk/UMRECKMQwaI/AAAAAAAAAfk/s4W5UQzWwTg/s1600/20121208_133834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JPjBEJq47lk/UMRECKMQwaI/AAAAAAAAAfk/s4W5UQzWwTg/s320/20121208_133834.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The view below is out of one of our living room windows.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTR3B9WivPk/UMRENyT9VkI/AAAAAAAAAf8/N0gaW60itao/s1600/20121209_084745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTR3B9WivPk/UMRENyT9VkI/AAAAAAAAAf8/N0gaW60itao/s320/20121209_084745.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
Looking the other direction from the window next to it (they both sit in the corner of the room, so one facing one direction and the other facing 90degrees in the other direction).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_EvQNREOGDc/UMRESGYrrwI/AAAAAAAAAgE/jnFX9NdNmsE/s1600/20121209_084911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_EvQNREOGDc/UMRESGYrrwI/AAAAAAAAAgE/jnFX9NdNmsE/s320/20121209_084911.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
So these last 3 shots are like starting from left and going right when using the 2 windows. This last shot is our "backyard". The little deck there is for everyone in the building to use. There are only 8 apartments I think, it's a small building, kind of like the one across the way there.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ma_B2uEI8eQ/UMREWGY6PjI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/w2kAbKEvN1M/s1600/20121209_084924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ma_B2uEI8eQ/UMREWGY6PjI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/w2kAbKEvN1M/s320/20121209_084924.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
I apologize for the crappy quality of the shots - I used my new phone. I wanted to test out the camera, but it seems you have to spend the insane amounts of money to get a decent camera equipped on a phone. I have the brand new Samsung Galaxy SIII mini. It was just released a couple of weeks ago from Samsung and is amazingly fast and I do love its performance. However, it does only have a 5 megapixel camera.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-25515327738518273902012-12-03T21:52:00.002+01:002012-12-03T21:52:27.362+01:00Photo post<div>
I cooked Thanksgiving dinner this weekend in Tibro, as previously mentioned. J was a great help in the kitchen! Without further ado, here is the result!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xTeQdNDB7g/UL0OddXyP6I/AAAAAAAAAek/boGjOSDuLnM/s1600/20121201_193438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xTeQdNDB7g/UL0OddXyP6I/AAAAAAAAAek/boGjOSDuLnM/s320/20121201_193438.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="240" /></a></div>
Salad, green beans almondine, candied carrots, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, lingon bread, turkey, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato casserole.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QChiSRN-HVk/UL0Og8mhVhI/AAAAAAAAAes/cs05g7nLDuc/s1600/20121201_193451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QChiSRN-HVk/UL0Og8mhVhI/AAAAAAAAAes/cs05g7nLDuc/s320/20121201_193451.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gDByLeOELlc/UL0OksDFAFI/AAAAAAAAAe0/xtLkneNA-2M/s1600/20121201_205623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gDByLeOELlc/UL0OksDFAFI/AAAAAAAAAe0/xtLkneNA-2M/s320/20121201_205623.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
Dessert was a pumpkin pie I made, as well as strawberry flavored jello. The cake is a princess cake, brought by one of J's aunts from a previous party. Everything was tasty!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HvpCHaHyklY/UL0OsWLu2FI/AAAAAAAAAe4/vZYBsXsNjzM/s1600/20121202_111825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HvpCHaHyklY/UL0OsWLu2FI/AAAAAAAAAe4/vZYBsXsNjzM/s320/20121202_111825.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
As it was December 1st, it seemed appropriate to see some snow on the ground, however little.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qg-m7A9LTu8/UL0OwDek4TI/AAAAAAAAAfA/PUgZFjrvKy4/s1600/20121202_111838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qg-m7A9LTu8/UL0OwDek4TI/AAAAAAAAAfA/PUgZFjrvKy4/s320/20121202_111838.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="240" /></a></div>
I love how my mother-in-law decorates her house. Every time we are there there are new decorations out, depending on the season. I loved all of the Christmas stars.<br />
<br />
Everything was a success! All the dishes turned out just as I had hoped, and everyone enjoyed the delicious food.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-81282590302488946912012-12-01T08:26:00.002+01:002012-12-01T08:26:27.384+01:00Holiday seasonNo, we ended up not going anywhere last weekend. Today, however, we are heading to Tibro so that I can cook Thanksgiving dinner all day and have a bunch of the in-laws over for dinner at 7pm. Yesterday I felt totally unprepared as I hadn't nailed down a menu yet. I got that straightened out, though, and then made a grocery shopping list. Now I have a game plan and feel much better!<br />
<br />
By the way, happy December! It's currently -5C (23F) outside according to my phone. I can believe it since when I look out the window, all the cars in sight are completely frosted over. I will say one thing - my job has become somewhat of a mini version of cold hell since it got cold this week. The beginning of the week started off with 5 - 7 C (40s F) and that was totally fine. But now it's been hovering around the freezing mark and that hasn't been too fun at all. Plus with all the wind that this lovely town never seems to get rid of, I become an icicle out on my routes! Luckily I have some more appropriate clothes being ordered for me by my boss so I can be properly attired. Still, though, brrrr! I'm so happy it's the weekend and I get to cook a once a year, delicious meal today!<br />
<br />
It is Christmas season though, and I see all the cute little <a href="http://cdn.publishme.se/cdn/8-2/527368/images/2008/_djp2479_22756239.jpg" target="_blank">julstakar</a> going up in the windows in the neighborhood. Most homes have these in the windows under the Christmas season. You also have many <a href="http://www.styleroom.se/image/scaled/normal/x3k9/1/311879-julstj%C3%A4rna.jpg" target="_blank">julstjärnor</a> (Christmas stars) being hung in the windows as well. I hope to convince J soon to get one, as I think they are so pretty! Soon enough we'll put up our lovely fake tree, too. Hooray for the holiday season! Come back soon, as I'm sure I will post some pictures of our delicious feast this evening!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-25323062869973909422012-11-18T11:48:00.001+01:002012-11-18T11:48:25.338+01:00November, NovemberDreary, grey November is here. This is my third November in Sweden although I've only lived here for 2 years. I moved here in November 2010, so there's your answer. When the darkness comes, as it is doing now, I don't mind it much. I've actually tried to embrace it, and I think I've done well at it. It's a neat happening as it's so different from my native Ohio. Sure, it gets dark earlier in Ohio during the winter, but probably around 5pm at the earliest. Here, it's currently getting dark around 3:30 or 4 at the latest. In December, it will be dark an hour earlier or so.<br />
<br />
What really gets me, at least right now, is all of the grey dreariness. The sun almost never shows its happy, smiling face during November. When it's daylight, I would rather see the sun for the few hours that it is up instead of just the giant covering of grey clouds that never seems to go away. Half the time it's raining, too. Blah to November weather!<br />
<br />
Luckily, being an American, I have Thanksgiving to look forward to! No, the Swedes don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I make sure that a few Swedes celebrate it each year, at the very least. I simply cannot let Thanksgiving come and go without cooking and celebrating it! The food is just too good to pass up. This year we'll be going back to Tibro to J's parents' house and cooking for them and a currently unknown amount of guests. We'll have Thanksgiving on Saturday, December 1st, but better late than never! His parents are going to invite some aunts and uncles and cousins and we'll see who shows up. At most I think it should be around 12 folks so I shouldn't be too bombarded regarding cooking!<br />
<br />
Yesterday J and I went to the big ICA Focus here in town right next to Liseberg. It was our first adventure there. I had heard, however, that they have the biggest American food section of any store so I had to go. It wasn't marked at all as the American section, but it very clearly was! It had Hershey's chocolate sauce, American candies like Reese's, bacon bits for salads, Swiss Miss hot chocolate, French's mustard, Jell-o and the list goes on and on. I was so tempted to buy so much of it, like the mac n cheese, but everything was so expensive due to being imported. The reason I needed to go there was to purchase cranberry sauce and pumpkin puree. I got both! We also happened to buy a box of strawberry jell-o to share with the family (I love sharing the little bit of American "culture" that I can share). We'll see how the cranberry sauce is...it's canned. Last year and the year before I made my very own cranberry sauce from frozen berries as I couldn't find sauce anywhere, but this year I thought I'd go a bit more traditional and lazy (the way I'm sure many Americans are regarding cranberry sauce). Now that I have my pumpkin puree I can make a pumpkin pie for dessert. Yay!<br />
<br />
Last week J and I sold our <a href="http://autopazar.co.uk/media/800/Used_Vauxhall_Astra_2008_Blue_Hatchback_Petrol_Manual_for_Sale_in_Shropshire_UK.jpg" target="_blank">2008 Opel Astra</a> and bought a barely used <a href="http://www.bytbil.com/ViewImage.aspx?MediaId=17213988&type=main3" target="_blank">2011 Opel Astra Kombi</a> (or station wagon in English terms). Neither of those links are the real cars we had/have, but they look exactly like them. 2008 isn't very old, only 4 years, but the inspections had begun on the car which of course cost money (the first 4 years of a car's life it doesn't need inspected in Sweden to be roadworthy). But also as a car ages you have to spend more money on maintaining it and J is not one for needing to spend money on a vehicle. He'd rather have a newer one and have lower costs on it. This new car, after all is said and done now, costs actually just about the same or even very slightly less than our old car. The insurance costs less, it's better on fuel consumption, and actually the loan costs about the same. So yippee! says I. In case you don't know me personally, I am very, very fond of cars. As you can see in the pictures, you can tell how much of an upgrade the new car is. Opel has really come along these past couple of years. It's got 140hp instead of the 116 our old car had, and it has 6 gears. It's a much nicer ride, and is quite practical with all of its loading space. All of the extra technological features also feel luxurious to have. So far, we are loving it! We're even considering a road trip possibly next weekend just to take it out. J has been to Skövde and back, but I've only gotten to piddle around town with it. I'd like to see how it does on long distances. <br />
<br />
I'll try and get some pictures up of the real car! Perhaps next weekend if we do go on a road trip we'll take a ton more pics and then I'll have some more interesting picture material to post again.<br />
<br />
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-39888475979509503572012-11-06T17:07:00.004+01:002012-11-06T17:07:41.473+01:00Election Day!I just got home from being out in the lovely couple degrees above freezing (and raining) weather for my mail job. Suddenly I am super pumped about the election!<br />
<br />
Sadly I can't stay up all night and watch the returns as I would have liked to have done, as I am working again at 7 in the morning tomorrow. I will, however, get up just a bit earlier than usual and see the results (at least the ones so far). I also plan to at least watch a bit tonight as I'm sure there will be something to watch before going to bed! I'm very happy that even in Sweden the US election results and commentary will be playing here on SVT1.<br />
<br />
One thing that I have enjoyed and am glad about is how engaged Swedes seem to be in American politics. Of course, this is for purely selfish reasons as I actually have had people at work to talk to about politics and the election a bit. It doesn't surprise me, in reality, but it's somewhat of a pleasant surprise for lack of better words. In the US we never talk about other countries' elections. That just never occurred in my experience there. But here I have a few people at work I've talked to quite a bit about politics and the election and this and that. It's also quite fun to answer their questions about things they aren't so sure on. They do, though, seem pretty informed as to how the whole process works compared to their own. Kudos to the Swedes for being internationally well-informed! I know this is just from my tiny little perspective, but from what I've seen it seems the Swedes I've met are much more in tune with the world than most US citizens.<br />
<br />
I will be holding my thumbs the entire evening and probably when I wake up tomorrow morning! If any of you readers are in the US right now and are citizens, please go vote! Every vote counts!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-49427505822287967072012-11-05T15:33:00.000+01:002012-11-05T15:33:10.491+01:00Interesting...Just a small side note. There is something I've noticed lately and I wanted to comment on it before I forgot about it.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Whenever looking at myself in the mirror, say when brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I don't only see myself in the mirror anymore. I have a theory that this is born of the distance I've put between myself and my home. Whenever I look at myself in the mirror, I see not only myself, but I see even moreso my parents. At first I thought nothing of it. I attributed it to "growing up", you know being an adult, and seeing more and more of my parents in me. Now, though, it happens so often (several times daily) that it just now got me to think differently about it. I think that because I so rarely see my parents, I've begun to see them in me. I'm not accustomed to seeing their faces anymore. If I saw them regularly like when I lived in the US, I wouldn't at all see them so often in myself. I never used to, anyway. However, I truly do resemble both of them when I look at my face. It's not just that, though. When I look at my hands I see their hands, too.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My question to you other expats out there: has this occurred to any of you? Or is this just some little oddity I've found in myself since moving abroad? I'm quite interested to hear you what you have to say!</div>
Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-21571242921818333152012-11-04T08:58:00.001+01:002012-11-04T09:00:33.733+01:00The Great Catching Up Part 2I figure that I have kept you all (yes the many millions of you) waiting long enough! I just have to muster up the energy to post and this morning I seem to have woken up with it.<br />
<br />
The wedding day, as I'm sure most wedding days are, was a bit hectic and pretty much a blur. The first thing on our plates was for my mom and I to meet up with my good friends M and W so they could keep us girly company while we got our hair and makeup done. I decided to go with M's hairdresser, and she did not disappoint!<br />
<br />
After the hair and makeup we picked up my bouquet, J's bouttoniere and I also ordered smaller corsages for both my mom and J's mom. It's apparently very rare to order corsages for the mothers here in Sweden, so they didn't at all turn out like those giant American style mother-of-the-bride corsages. I was happy about that, though! We headed back to J's parents' house, got dressed for the big day, then commenced a photo shoot! We did not hire any professional photographer as everything happened rather quickly, but we also have the good fortune of knowing a couple of friends who are quite wonderful at photography and have their own awesome cameras with all the attachments.<br />
<br />
Before you knew it, it was time to head to the renovated bygdegård where J's brother and fiancee operate their catering/show business. At 18.00 (6pm) is when the mingle began, so J and I had to wait in his brother's house until 18.30 (6:30pm) to sneak over to the main building for the ceremony. That was the only nervewracking time for me. I just couldn't stand the waiting! I'm not at all one to be the spotlight or center of attention, so it was driving me a little bonkers to sit there waiting to be the center of attention walking down the aisle and all that jazz. I just wanted that part to be overwith!<br />
<br />
When the time came, however, it was absolutely magical. Everyone who set up the wedding for us (thank you thank you! to J's mom, dad, siblings and all the rest who helped!) had surprised us with bubbles as we walked into the area where we were having the ceremony done. As it was evening and dark outside, the place was lit up with wonderful mood lighting, and with the bubbles it was instantly magical. The ceremony we chose to do once in English and again in Swedish so that everyone attending would surely be able to understand. Even then, it only took about 10 minutes tops.<br />
<br />
Long story short, the meal commenced and then some show tunes by J's brother and fiancee and of course some speeches ensued. J even surprised everyone (including me) with singing to me "Your Song" by Elton John! It was a perfect day and night. As stated before, the only thing that could have been better was if more of my family and friends from home were there. Here is just a tiny, tiny taste of the whole experience.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6FiDfkpwyxA/UJYda5IqPAI/AAAAAAAAAdE/7jCYMBQFN9Y/s1600/me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6FiDfkpwyxA/UJYda5IqPAI/AAAAAAAAAdE/7jCYMBQFN9Y/s320/me.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d9bOxtIFl9o/UJYdsvGj08I/AAAAAAAAAdM/Q0HOZBv4v7M/s1600/_MG_5225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d9bOxtIFl9o/UJYdsvGj08I/AAAAAAAAAdM/Q0HOZBv4v7M/s320/_MG_5225.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O2u6VPTf85k/UJYeB6PM2UI/AAAAAAAAAdc/IbrTMDF5TU4/s1600/DSC_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O2u6VPTf85k/UJYeB6PM2UI/AAAAAAAAAdc/IbrTMDF5TU4/s320/DSC_1047.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gBl-2n_Xb5k/UJYeTYR24tI/AAAAAAAAAdo/CswvhC5Rmds/s1600/DSC_1050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gBl-2n_Xb5k/UJYeTYR24tI/AAAAAAAAAdo/CswvhC5Rmds/s320/DSC_1050.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hOXxRlYvenM/UJYeg_55_II/AAAAAAAAAd4/lWtH6OBKvGA/s1600/DSC_1468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hOXxRlYvenM/UJYeg_55_II/AAAAAAAAAd4/lWtH6OBKvGA/s320/DSC_1468.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAPvnowch7M/UJYewDIixpI/AAAAAAAAAeI/eiTSx85dnys/s1600/DSC_1809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAPvnowch7M/UJYewDIixpI/AAAAAAAAAeI/eiTSx85dnys/s320/DSC_1809.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
There you have it! I think each photo explains itself. The night ended with just a few of us left (it was, after all, a Wednesday evening). J and I headed to our hotel by the lakeshore and that was that!<br />
<br />
The next day followed with meeting back up with J's family and my mom at J's parents' house (I should now say my parents-in-law), opening wedding gifts, running around Tibro collecting discs and cards loaded with wedding pictures, and finally heading home to Gothenburg. By the time we got home we were tired out!<br />
<br />
The last 3 days of my mom's visit were nothing super exciting the way the whole first bit was with being in Stockholm and preparing for a wedding and all. We showed her around Gothenburg, took her shopping in the lovely Haga area, and even took her on a ferry ride from Klippan all the way to the other end at the <a href="http://jokar.se/bilder/foto/da44c4cbc9b1fecc06fda66c3f4e7cca.jpg" target="_blank">Lipstick building</a>. She really enjoyed it! Early Monday morning I took her to Landvetter and we said our goodbyes. It was rather a whirlwind and went by so quickly!<br />
<br />
As far as my life since...well that will have to continue in another episode of The Great Catching Up. A sneak preview - it's not all that exciting, just life back to usual!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-21451244114121513692012-10-17T20:48:00.001+02:002012-10-17T20:48:28.850+02:00The Great Catching Up Part 1Life has been busy! I know it's been nearly a month since my last post, but I have been up to a lot!<br />
<br />
The week before my mom came to visit I came down with a severe cold, so as not to worsen it I called off delivering mail (as running around in chilly, rainy weather would truly only worsen an already bad cold). I took that week to do preparations but also, J needed me to do a ton of testing for the program he develops so I did indeed end up working that week. It all worked out for the good!<br />
<br />
I drove to Stockholm on Friday the 21st and stayed with a friend in Stockholm that night so that I could get up early and pick up my mom, aunt and uncle from Arlanda early in the morning. The Stockholm trip went great! My mother loved it there (she had never been to Europe before and had always wanted to see Scandinavia, it was truly a dream come true for her). My aunt and uncle very much enjoyed it as well. We did a good amount of touristy things like walking around and taking a bunch of pictures in Gamla Stan. We also visited Skansen (yes, we took the trolley/tram/spårvagn there), the Wasa museum, visited the royal palace and rode on a boat tour around Djurgården (the island in Stockholm that contains Skansen). Alas, we did not do the Skyview on Globen. Here is a little taste of Stockholm!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TBRYYdHU34o/UH76clfoqzI/AAAAAAAAAcI/PAGsHJUck8Y/s1600/DSC00331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TBRYYdHU34o/UH76clfoqzI/AAAAAAAAAcI/PAGsHJUck8Y/s320/DSC00331.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qCZbSYL77h4/UH76pMg8PQI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/TkuFG5oEwXk/s1600/DSC00339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qCZbSYL77h4/UH76pMg8PQI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/TkuFG5oEwXk/s320/DSC00339.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJkjQdL01Jg/UH765glXGYI/AAAAAAAAAcc/eM3s4tpc77c/s1600/DSC00384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJkjQdL01Jg/UH765glXGYI/AAAAAAAAAcc/eM3s4tpc77c/s320/DSC00384.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RC9TFGEFAuc/UH77BL6NlDI/AAAAAAAAAck/9aBH3LG8O7s/s1600/DSC00396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RC9TFGEFAuc/UH77BL6NlDI/AAAAAAAAAck/9aBH3LG8O7s/s320/DSC00396.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18Qf35cZ-Io/UH77YZ6vKvI/AAAAAAAAAcw/fOLakNAipaU/s1600/DSC00365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-18Qf35cZ-Io/UH77YZ6vKvI/AAAAAAAAAcw/fOLakNAipaU/s320/DSC00365.JPG" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="320" /></a></div>
The second picture is a water view of Östermalm, the posh area of Stockholm where many famous people live. The third picture is a popular square in the midst of Gamla Stan - we sat and had a lovely fika under the orange awning there. The fourth picture is of the Nordic Museum (Nordiska Museet) as seen from Skansen. The final shot is one of Gamla Stan, again from the water.<br />
<br />
Monday evening my mom and I said farewell (until Wednesday evening) to my aunt and uncle and drove back to Tibro where J's parents live. J came to Tibro the following day. It makes sense on the way from Stockholm to Gothenburg to stop in Tibro to visit J's parents, but that wasn't the only reason! There's something I haven't been outspoken about, but now that it's all said and done, I can out it now!<br />
<br />
Back in August J and I decided to get engaged! But why this? When we found out that my mom was coming to visit, we decided that we should get married (as we'd talked about getting married for a while but we weren't in any rush, and had no immediate reason to). As it would mean very much to me to have my mother at my wedding, we decided to get married while my mother visited Sweden. So! On September 26th, J and I tied the knot! We're now very happily husband and wife. I would have wished to have more of my near and dear from the U.S. attending, otherwise the wedding could not have been more perfect. More on the continuation of my mom's visit and the wedding later! To be continued...Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-20113137961194777282012-09-19T08:51:00.002+02:002012-09-19T08:51:23.129+02:00A visitor!<b>I'm so happy and excited!</b><br />
<br />
My mom is coming to visit me...this Saturday! Actually, her brother (my uncle) and his wife (my aunt) are coming along with her, but they will only stay in Sweden for a couple of days as they'll be heading further into Europe. So I get to see several family members! I'm just so excited!<br />
<br />
The thing that excites me most about it is just the fact that finally some people near and dear to me from home (my original home) are finally going to see with their own eyes my "new" life here in Sweden (can you really call it new after you've been living somewhere for nearly 2 years? The newness has faded a bit - although, when you compare it to living your first 20-odd years in your home country, it still could possibly count as pretty new). But I digress.<br />
<br />
They will be landing in Stockholm bright and early and I just know they'll be tired, but they will most likely just have to suffer through a day to get their body clocks on time. It'll be nice to meet them in Stockholm as the whole week will start off as a vacation kind of for me, too, in the pretty east coast city. I'm excited to do some more touristy things there, as the past times I've been there have mainly been to visit friends in the area, so we didn't exactly go on boat canal tours and the like. I have seen some of the city, but I would love to see more. Then we will stop by in the Tibro area in the beginning of next week, and we'll end up in Gothenburg area for the last few days of her visit.<br />
<br />
So the clock is ticking! Tomorrow J and I leave for the Skövde/Tibro area, as he has a meeting in Skövde in the afternoon. I've made a date with my friend M to hang out while he does is work stuff. It'll be nice to see her! We never just get hang out time anymore. If we see each other, it's generally for some event or party or other where it can't really be just the two of us getting some good time in together.<br />
<br />
Then we'll be sleeping over at J's parents' house in Tibro, as on Friday I'll be driving to Stockholm, and his parents have graciously offered for me to use their car instead for the trip. I am very grateful for this, as our little car just wouldn't fit 4 people with several bags of over-the-sea luggage (I will be picking up my mom and aunt and uncle from the airport in Stockholm). Why do I need to leave on Friday? Well their flight gets in at 7:35am on Saturday and there is just no way I'm getting up at 1am to drive there on Friday night/Saturday morning! So I'll be staying the night with a couple of friends in Stockholm that J and I rarely get to see.<br />
<br />
Hopefully sometime in the near future I will have great new photo material to be posting on this blog. I know I've had a serious lack of pictures, but I just haven't really had the chance to be taking photos, and running up and down stairs while chucking people's mail in their doors isn't exactly the opportune time to be taking some shots. I'm hoping my mom's visit will provide enough pictures for several posts!<br />
<br />
I'm hoping to persuade my family members to go up into the Skyview on Globen in Stockholm. The views are supposed to be spectacular.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.globearenas.se/content/skyview/skyview-day_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://www.globearenas.se/content/skyview/skyview-day_l.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.publishdev.se/cdn/5-1/1659957/images/2010/globen_skyview_natt1_98225235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 0="0" height="320" src="http://cdn.publishdev.se/cdn/5-1/1659957/images/2010/globen_skyview_natt1_98225235.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px;" width="269" /></a></div>
<br />
Would any of you go? Or have any of you?Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-20542736175301262922012-09-10T17:39:00.001+02:002012-09-10T17:39:22.616+02:00Words in SwedishYes yes I know I know I've been fairly silent the past couple of weeks. I attribute that to being quite busy working and being busy socially and so forth on the weekends. A little over a week ago I was in Skövde for my friend M's birthday party and spent the night over at her and her husband's place. J didn't tag along as he was sick. This past weekend was filled with shopping and visiting J's sister for her birthday (Happy Birthday today, C!). This coming weekend I have a good friend from Skövde coming to visit, W. So she'll be hanging with us this weekend. Then next weekend and the following week I will be completely busy, but that is yet a secret to be revealed as to why!<br />
<br />
I get to work all this week and all next week. It was lovely to find that out on Friday. With my current job I usually get to find out the day before if they need me to work. So it's nice to know what I'm up to for 2 weeks! Another fun fact - I just got a call from J's company (I'm still listed on their roster as an hourly paid employee, so they give me odds and ends here and there). Apparently they want me to help out/look into recruiting employees from the US again (remember, I did that back in the first half of 2011 for them). So thaaat will be interesting, he was wanting to book a meeting but as you can see, I'm pretty fully packed. We'll see what happens. That's a quick nutshell of what's been going on!<br />
<br />
I actually wanted a theme with my next post, but thought I'd start off catching up on what's been consuming my life lately. I have, however, been compiling a little list of Swedish words that I think express certain concepts much better than in English. Some of the words, actually, simply do not exist in English. I find myself popping Swedish words into my conversations with J (although we do speak Swedish much more often now, if it's just what comes naturally. Sometimes I'm so stuck into Swedish mode it's easier for me to just prattle along in it rather than switching modes to English). But what I'm getting at here is sometimes I want to express something, and I actually find that a Swedish word covers it much better than any English equivalent. So here's my list:<br />
<br />
1. Hinner (conjugated verb), att hinna (infinite form) - loosely translated it would mean "to manage in time". You would say "Vi hinner inte" or "We don't have enough time" or "We won't manage" (in regards to time). I think it's such a succinct way of saying something that we have to put into several words.<br />
<br />
2. Orkar , att orka - my loose translation is "to muster", but who ever says "I can't muster the energy for this". No one really uses that word in English anymore, not in daily use. But "orka" is used all the time in Swedish. I find myself using it quite often when English feels lacking. "Jag orkar inte!" meaning "I can't muster the energy!". They also use it when talking about being pretty full. If you think you can't cram down that last piece of cake, then you "orkar inte".<br />
<br />
3. Duger, att duga - to be good enough. I think it's just nice that they have a single verb for something we need to create a phrase for. "Det duger att du har fått ett G för att fortsätta på den nästa nivån". "It's good enough that you get Pass in order to continue to the next level".<br />
<br />
4. Kvittar, att kvitta - loosely translated it basically means "makes no difference". If something "kvittar", then it makes no difference, or doesn't matter. "Det kvittar vem som vinner" "It makes no difference who wins". Again I find it efficient to have a single verb for an entire phrase in my own langauge.<br />
<br />
5. Gäller, att gälla - to apply to something, when something applies, pertaining to, concerning. This one is a bit tough, but yet again a single word for something more complicated in English. On parking signs, for example, there may be times where you have to pay a fee to park there, and the sign will say "Gäller vardagar" or "Applies weekdays". That seems simple and directly translatable. But the verb is also used in other situations, such as "När det gäller barn, så måste man vara tålmodig" or "Concerning children, you need to be patient". Or "Det gäller livet" "It's a matter of life and death". It's a word I rather like in the Swedish language.<br />
<br />
6. Trivs, att trivas - directly translated it means "to thrive". But no one says that either, not in the way that Swedes use it. "Trivs du på ditt nya jobb?" Directly translated "Do you thrive at your new job?" But what they really mean is if you're happy and you really enjoy and feel at home in your new job. People asked me many times when I first moved to Sweden "Trivs du här i Sverige?" or "Do you thrive here in Sweden?" meaning that they wondered if I like it here and am doing well.<br />
<br />
I suppose the words that I find in Swedish as "better done" would all be verbs. It's succinctly putting into one word a whole meaning that we, in English, need to use entire phrases for. Another word I find interesting is the verb "brukar" which in English is translated as "usually". In Swedish, brukar is a verb, or a help verb. We say in English "I usually wash the dishes after dinner". In Swedish it's exactly the same, except it's a verb and not an adverb. My dorky language-loving self finds that fascinating.<br />
<br />
One last thing regarding my opinion of Swedes being more efficient at saying what they mean in less words, would be a commercial I heard on the radio the other day. Some really loud, annoying sound was the beginning of the commercial, and then they say "Förlåt, vi ville inte skrika sönder din radio" which translated would be "Sorry, we didn't want to break your radio by screaming" or at least that is the best translation I can do. If I translated the words directly, it would be "Sorry, we did not want to scream broken your radio". I think their way of putting the words together more efficiently gets the meaning across that they didn't mean to break your radio by screaming so loudly. <br />
<br />
Maybe it's just me that finds the differences between languages so fascinating, but this is a blog about living in Sweden after all, and I thought I would put a bit of Swedish theme back into it!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-86408130207886108622012-08-22T09:09:00.000+02:002012-08-22T09:09:01.991+02:00So it's harder than you thinkOk so this mail carrying is harder than you think. It's not all sunshine and loveliness being outside in the day frolicking around with butterflies. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy the job, but it's tough on you! Running up and down 3 flights of stairs in every single entryway (and trust me, there are hundreds of entryways on a daily route) really kills you! If you're not used to running up and down stairs every day for several hours on end. I think I'll purchase some knee braces because they're definitely taking some beatings, and rebelling at me for it.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I was given, apparently, what is known as "slaktrundan" which I didn't know until I returned from it. Slaktrundan, translated, is The Slaughter Round. Each of us has a different round each day, of course. Apparently I got the short stick yesterday. No, what really makes a round difficult is not having done it before. You have your map to go by and you have to figure out where to go on top of figuring out how certain buildings work. It's amazing how seemingly stupid some buildings were built. <br />
<br />
Two buildings in the very beginning of my route yesterday were built, I must say, in the stupidest way possible. There is an elevator, but it only lets you off on the 2nd, 5th and 8th floors of the building, though it has 11 floors. Then off the elevator is a main hall with maybe 4 apartment doors. Then there are 2 stairwells that go off of the main corridor, the right side and the left side. Off the stairwells are 2 apartment doors on each floor. How stupid can that be? So you have to run up and down the stairs on both sides of the building. It's an unnecessary extra amount of work and time for us mail folks. I spoke to a girl around my age yesterday in the building who clearly lives there, and she was totally in agreement with me about how stupid the building was. She suggested there should just be mailboxes down in the lobby. You know, where the resident can open it with their own little key. It would save us a <b>ton</b> of time and frustration. <br />
<br />
But once you know a route, you can zoom through it much more easily and quickly. Currently I have one favorite route, simply because I've done it twice and now it's just easy as pie to do. It also has no "springtrappor" or "run stairs". You know, the buildings that have only 3 floors and you have to run up and down them to deliver the mail through the door slots. My favorite round just has some highrises where you take the elevator to the top then run down all the stairs to deliver the mail. Then it has a ton of row buildings, but they all have boxes on the ground floor so it's just go in, shoot the mail in the right boxes, go out and repeat.<br />
<br />
Enough of that. Today I have the day off, as yesterday morning I was feeling dizzy/slightly feverish when sorting mail. Then, when out on my round, I only finished 3 of the 5 boxes of mail I needed to deliver and I was just completely worn. I'm not sure why I felt so poorly even from stepping out of bed yesterday, but I did, and it reflected in my performance on the round. Not to mention it was the slaughter round. I feel bad having not finished it, but I did my best. I guess I should really start doing some strength-training at home so I can build up muscles even more so that I can have even more stamina! It's only been 2.5 weeks though so I know I'm still adjusting.<br />
<br />
It's almost September, can you believe it? Where has 2012 gone. A lot of changes have happened since the year started. It's almost strange to think about our previous home in Skövde. It's where I spent well over a year living and yet it seems like we've always lived here in our Gothenburg apartment. Life in Gothenburg is utterly different from how life was in Skövde. There, I never worked, and studied. Here, I've taken a distance course but it was never studying daily at school like I did in Skövde. I also have worked here, a lot, you could say, at least in comparison with in Skövde. I worked with J a ton from March through to June or so. Then I had that week-long stint as a personal assistant, and here I am as a freshly made mail carrier. My, how life can change so quickly! Began the year in Skövde, moved shortly thereafter to Gothenburg, and have worked 3 different jobs since, while acquiring Swedish B certification. I wonder how much more will happen before the year ends?Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-86447934825458959712012-08-13T21:37:00.004+02:002012-08-13T21:37:46.548+02:00Who knew that I would love being a mail carrier?Still loving the new job! The variation of tasks, the exercise, new and friendly people, as well as friendly people who talk to you as you deliver their mail. For me it's completely enjoyable! Today was my first day going out on a round on my own. This week there was a much larger amount of mail. Last week when I went out with the girl who was training me, we had maybe 3 boxes of mail and then that was split between us. So I was only doing 1.5 boxes of mail last week. Today I had 4 full boxes of mail to deliver all on my own! It took me a lovely 3 hours and 45 minutes to do, but I got it done! Needless to say, I am beat today.<br />
<br />
I love this new feeling of being physically exhausted at the ends of the days. I haven't felt like that in a long time (thanks to not being so active, for shame, I know I know). It's just so wonderful! I know it may sound a bit weird to enjoy being tired but compare it to that happy tired feeling after a good workout. So overall, no complaints about the job, I enjoy the variety, and I even almost look forward to going in whenever I do. That's not supposed to normally happen when you go to work, right? ;-)<br />
<br />
Not much else is new in Gbg. This past weekend a couple of childhood friends of J's were in town attending a music festival, so we got together all Saturday afternoon since the show they wanted to see wasn't until the evening. It was nice meeting a new face and seeing another face I hadn't seen in a year or so. The four of us enjoyed an afternoon sitting out, eating lunch, and drinking a couple of beers at <a href="http://www.haltalotta.se/se/start.aspx" target="_blank">Halta Lotta's</a>. It's apparently become our favorite go to little pub. It's the nicest one in our area and has good prices. The weather was just beautiful this weekend, probably around 70F and sunny as could be. Sitting outside enjoying good company was the ideal way to enjoy the good weather.<br />
<br />
Yesterday J's parents stopped over and took us out to lunch. They were in town for a birthday party and of course to visit J's sister's family as well. It was a nice weekend with some visitors from out of town. It's always nice to see familiar faces!<br />
<br />
I have an eye appointment this coming Friday with the optician. Last year I went to a friend of ours in Tibro, since he's an optician, but now we live too far away for it to be convenient. So I'll be trying a completely new place here in Gothenburg. Every year my eyesight gets just a bit worse to where I need to get a new prescription for my contact lenses. I may even get new glasses...but it feels like I just got new glasses because I got my current ones just last July. I usually wait two years to get new glasses because it just feels like money going down the drain since I get a new prescription yearly. I can really notice the difference though with my current prescription, how my glasses don't help me as much as they used to. I have a coupon for a nice chunk off of 6 months of contacts, so maybe I'll break down and get the glasses along with the contacts. Contacts are first priority, though.<br />
<br />
I don't really have much else to say! I just had to exclaim a bit more about how pleased I am with the new job! I was afraid of another fiasco like my previous job, but happily it's been completely the opposite. My biggest fear has always been language in Sweden, I just hate when I can't understand my surroundings. Even though now I've passed Swedish B, I still had a bit of insecurity about not being understood by Swedes. Things have, however, gone swimmingly!<br />
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1563144873021010273.post-87331421336165901922012-08-07T20:16:00.001+02:002012-08-07T20:16:25.284+02:00ExhaustionI apologize for not updating yesterday, as it was my first day at my new job. I was just so utterly exhausted yesterday after I got home from work I could barely do anything other than lie on the couch and watch the Olympics. I also was incredibly stiff/sore, which I am today, as well. When you're not used to riding a bike laden with mail and running up and down stairs for several hours in a day, you feel it in your body! Not to mention being on your feet for 8 hours a day. It's been a few years since I had such a job, and I can tell that those years have come and gone! <br />
<br />
That being said, so far I am really enjoying the job! I love that you work along with people and yet on your own, and I love being out and about for a few hours a day very clearly getting good exercise. You also know you're performing a service for people that is somewhat crucial (less nowadays than before) to society! Who doesn't love getting a piece of mail? (Well besides a bill or something else possibly negative...but hey you wouldn't know the good side of life without the bad).<br />
<br />
I've also learned the ropes pretty quickly (dealing out post is much more complicated than you'd think!) and feel comfortable in the job which is just of utmost importance to me now after my last experience. I guess I've dodged having an uncomfortable job up until recently - I suppose I've been pretty lucky.<br />
<br />
J is in the kitchen currently making a rhubarb crumble pie which I am excited about! We've only had one rhubarb pie so far this summer and I think that was way back in May. We're about due for another delicious rhubarb treat!<br />
<br />
<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816728508733702249noreply@blogger.com2