The question I hear most.

How's Sweden?

And it's a tough question to answer.

Sweden is filled with familiarity, but things are different enough to keep me on my toes.

I spent much of the weekend hanging out with colleagues.  Saturday, we cheered on a colleague and his wife who ran in the Stockholm Half Marathon (www.stockholmhalvmarathon.se). Later that night, I trekked the furthest south I've been in Stockholm: the Slussen station on the T-bana. It was getting a bit rainy, but we decided to visit an outdoor bar nearby that has an amazing view of the central city. I discovered Stockholm has a pretty cool looking amusement partk in the city!

Sunday, after some chores in the morning, I rode the train and then two buses, all on time and with minimal waiting in between each leg, about 30 km north of the city to attend a colleague's birthday party.  I brought a box of chocolate since it is apparently tradition in Sweden to bring either chocolate or a plant when you visit someone's home for the first time.  I had a great time attempting to have a campfire in the rain, saw some of the new Batman X-Box game, and watched some football.  And wow, what a delicious cake!  All around good times!  On the way back home, those of us from the city were dropped off at the Mörby Centrum station on the red line and caught the train perfectly.  Then, when we arrived at T-Centralen, there was a green line, also perfectly timed.  Such synchronicity!

Today, I was at the airport for my first domestic flight in Sweden.  The Bromma airport was filled with confusion, and it took me quite awhile to figure out whether or not I was standing in the right line to check in for my flight.  Thankfully, I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare before my flight and slowly figured things out.  It turns out, the entire check in system for Malmö Aviation was down so they had to check everyone in manually, making paper flight lists, checking bags manually, and so on.  So my flight was delayed 1 hour which caused me to be a half hour late for my meeting.  Which overall wasn't a big deal for the client; they were understanding.

During that confusion and extra hour in the airport though, I feel some frustration due to the unfamiliar surroundings/language, trying my best to figure things out without help. I also smiled a bit since my first flight in Sweden was delayed. So much for a perfect on-time rating in all of my travels so far.

Then there are more amazing moments like tonight, return flight to Bromma with a window seat on the right side of the plane.  We were on time(!) and landing with a nice low evening sunset ahead of us.  I was delighted at the runway placement because I had an amazing view of central Stockholm, the island I live on, and other areas of the city I still need to explore.

How's Sweden?

Making a change by moving to Sweden

Everyone encounters change throughout life.  These changes are driven from evolving circumstances and new opportunities.

I'm making a big change in my circumstances by moving to Sweden. And it's tough. I'm filled with excitement and optimism, fear and stress.

For a few days, here's what it felt like:
Your sleeping and eating patterns are off.  Your attention level is elevated. Your head aches. The pressure around you feels strangely elevated.  You feel dizzy. You feel like you're getting a cold.  And you are.

But then, little by little, you start getting used to little things.  You still feel like an outsider, but a little less so every day.

Like today, when I randomly found Jello and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at the grocery store.

Things may be very different here, and I'm looking forward to experiencing that, but those things that remind me of the past help me feel a bit more comfortable and at home as I develop my new home in Stockholm.