Hej! Jag är född och uppvuxen i USA. Jag kom från Chicago där jag jobbade på PricewaterhouseCoopers i sex år. I nio månader har jag bott här i Stockholm. Det är en stad som är mindre än Chicago men jag tycker om Stockholm. Det var svårt att säga hej då till familjen och vänner i USA, men det var svårare att komma hit utan vänner här.
Varför kom jag till Sverige? Många tror att livet i USA är perfekt, och jag vet att jag hade tur som föddes där. Jag förstår. Jag är Amerikansk och kan inte glömma mitt bra liv där. Det finns många bra saker att se och göra i hela landet. Jag har sett och gjort många av dem, och jag ser fram emot att berätta vad jag har upplevt. Jag vill dela med mig till er alla vad jag kan ge.
Varje dag är en ny dag och jag vill ta del av era liv också. Livet börjar på samma sätt och slutar på samma sätt för allihopa. Mellan början och slutet har vi mycket i mitten. Varför inte skapa varje dag som vi vill? Livet är en resa som vi måste göra tillsammans. Det är viktigt för mig att känna till livet utanför USA. Jag vill förstå hur det känns att vara en gäst i USA. Jag vill förstå hur det känns att bli Svensk. Jag kan lära mig om Sverige och delta i samhället. Om jag ska veta vilka ni är måste jag lära mig svenska och lära mig hur ni tänker. Javisst, jag vill gå i era skor.
Identiteten är en stark sak. Allting som jag har gjort och upplevt skapar vem jag är idag. Varje dag gör jag val som påverkar vem jag ska bli imorgon. Det är sant att världen förändras runt mig men jag kan förändra mycket också. T. ex., är det enkelt att säga jag tog möjligheten att bo utanför USA för att ofta kunna ta semester i Europa, men vet du at jag har familjerötter i Sverige? Mina farfars far och farfars mor flyttade från Blekinge till Minnesota. De sökte sig till ett bättre liv i USA. Nu vill jag ha en del av det som de efterlämnade. Jag lär mig vad livet skulle ha varit för mig om saker var annorlunda. Så kanske kan jag säga en dag att jag är det som jag aldrig förväntade mig att bli.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Europride 2010
I arrived back in Stockholm Sunday night after an exciting and fun filled few days in Warsaw, Poland for Europride 2010 with the Stockholm Gaykör. Because the trip was powerfully moving and emotional, I feel like I have to share a little bit about my experience on the trip.
Although Europride had started a week ago and concluded Sunday, we did not arrive in Warsaw until Wednesday evening. We took a walk to Pride House in the Warsaw Old Town area to pick up gay maps and Europride program information. I have never been to pride outside of Chicago, and I noticed that the city of Warsaw hadn't made any effort to visibly promote the fact that they were hosting Europride. The only pride flags to be found around the city were at gay or gay-friendly bars and restaurants. It would have been a pleasant surprise to see rainbow flags lining some key streets like they do in Chicago, but since there isn't a gay neighborhood, maybe nobody thought of doing something like that.
The first of the Europride events we took part in took place on Thursday with a guided tour through a temporary exhibition about homoerotic art (although I want to point out, not pornography) at the National Museum, Warsaw (the Polish equivalent of an art Smithsonian). The exhibition often combines ancient art and modern art in a variety of mediums (ranging from traditional oil on canvas and sculpture to photography and video performance) on the same wall. Many of the pieces came from the museum's own collection and it was really quite surprising to see how so many works of art can be brought together from a museum's internal collections and displayed in a way that specifically excludes the traditional information we would normally be informed of to focus on how sexuality had an impact in these pieces of art. You can get some sense of the exhibition and have a look at specific pieces on their website. http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/temporary_exhibitions/exhibitions/art55.html
We sang a joint concert with the London Gay Mens Chorus on Friday at Sala Kongresowa (Poland's largest and premier concert hall in the Palace of Culture and Science). At first, I thought it was only mildly interesting to be singing in that concert hall. I have sung in some magnificent concert halls, but only one other national concert hall, while on tour with the Notre Dame Glee Club in Taipei. So, since a national concert hall was willing to host a university's glee club, I realized it must not be that difficult to get a slot for a night. As I thought about it more though, and reflected on the conservative political climate in Poland, I thought it was really amazing that the country of Poland would be so willing to allow a concert with two choruses that have gay in the chorus name at their most prestigious concert hall! Only 700-800 of the hall's nearly 3000 seats were filled, but all of those people watching us were delighted to see us since it is so unusual to have such a large gathering of out men in one place that is not a gay bar in Poland. Both choruses received many positive comments from attendees since the concert. I think that speaks to the powerful message we can bring as musicians--within Poland's conservative atmosphere, we served as ambassadors of pride and hope. I hope that our combination of serious music that established our credibility and campy songs that screamed 'gay' have provided some inspiration to the Polish GLBT community.
The Europride parade on Saturday was nothing like the corporate float/party Chicago's parade has become over the years. Although Poland decriminalized homosexuality in 1932 and was generally indifferent toward homosexuality during the period of communist rule, the atmosphere for GLBT people in Poland changed dramatically in 1989 with the fall of communism. With the rising political power of the Catholic church, the political situation led to a more repressive atmosphere for the GLBT community.
Warsaw's parade route was not lined with fences and significant crowd control like they do in Chicago. Everyone on the streets could move in and out of the parade route as they wished, and it was only the 2,000 police officers keeping people from crowding the street. Despite a start time at 13:00, the parade began at least a half hour late as hundreds of police officers worked on clearing a path for the parade. The parade route was actually changed midway through to shorten the length due to several delays along the parade route due to crowding and occasional protesting in the streets. Here you can see one example of anti-gay protesters creating their own parade in the street somewhere else in the city. I think it is interesting to note that the protest parade didn't have any spectators. All of the day's spectators seemed to be celebrating the day with us! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdBna9xTMGk
The security situation was also interesting in that the police seemed generally unarmed other than a billy club, and there were also hundreds of riot police in full gear with more significant tools at their disposal should a situation turn for the worst. In this video, you can see the police surrounding some protesters who were on their way to block the parade route, around the time that the parade was supposed to get underway. A bit later in the video, you can see several gay and supportive spectators getting ready to view the parade and enjoying themselves in a spray of water. Dykes on Bikes opened the parade, as is tradition, and the semi stuck in the middle of the crowd is one of the first parade entries, although they clearly did not get themselves over to the correct staging area before being surrounded by a crowd since they are facing the wrong direction. I'm sure it took some time for the police to clear the way for the semi to get moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aB0Kk9XwPo
While we waited, members of the Stockholm chorus were spat at, inconsiderately bumped in a sort of passive-aggressive way, given the finger, and I even heard one person shouting "Fuck Sweden" at the sight of the Swedish flag and our banner announcing us as the Stockholm Gaykör. The London chorus had a closer position to the start, and one of their members was hit by a stray egg thrown from protesters further ahead. Despite a start time at 13:00, the parade began about 40 minutes late as hundreds of police officers cleared a path through the spectators and protesters. Although I knew there was a heavy police presence, I did feel somewhat scared for my safety at the start of the parade, after experiencing some of the taunting while waiting for the police to clear a path for the parade. The crowd of people near the starting point allowed a path just a bit wider than a car, and a heavy police presence was nearby circling around one of several groups of protesters. It would only take one person with some sort of improvised bomb to cause some tremendous chaos...thankfully, nothing like that happened.
We performed a little flag routine repetitively along the entire parade route for several hours, taking brief breaks for water. Here's a few videos posted of us. Although the people posting the videos have very good intentions, I also used Google Translate to get an idea of what people were saying in the comments. I think there is still a lot of work to be done in promoting tolerance and human decency, and I hope that the Polish people are able to reach a point where they can agree to disagree in a respectful way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw3VPS3xoWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxFT-vWR1Lo
Along the parade route, I was thrilled to see so many smiling faces and friendly waves, such a positive contrast from what some people have posted in the comments of those videos. Since there was no barrier separating us from the public, people were able to rush in to take photos and videos, and it made me feel proud to be in Warsaw participating in the parade and making a positive impression for thousands of people. Although the parade turnout was nowhere near Chicago's half million, the ten thousand or so parade spectators (it's tough to know for sure since so many people joined in the parade) stirred up a lot of positive energy during the afternoon. Since the spectators followed the parade along the entire route, there was a short but fun dance party at the end of the parade in a big square as the tractor trailers with giant sound systems competed with each other for street dancers before departing the area.
In addition to the chorus, Sweden was represented by at least two other groups. A small performing group from Stockholm called the Freddie Mercury choir marched ahead of us, and the organization for gay Swedish police officers marched directly in front of our group, and although they were unarmed, it did add a bit to my sense of security.
Overall, my impression of Poland is that the deep historical context surrounding the last hundred or so years has had a profound impact on people's attitudes, but at the same time, people will generally treat each other with respect, even if they hold an opposing view on homosexuality.
The Stockholm Pride Parade is in two weeks, and I expect a completely different atmosphere. Pride week starts in one week and there are many events planned throughout the week, sort of as if Chicago's pride month seminars, workshops, and documentary film festivals were condensed into one week, culminating with the Stockholm pride parade on Saturday the 31st of July (and various smaller events continuing on Sunday as well). I have already started to see taxis with Stockholm Pride stickers, and from what I've heard, it is pretty likely that the number of people coming to see the pride parade will rival the number of people who flooded the streets a month ago when the crown princess got married. I'm certain that it will be an exciting week and a nice break from Stockholm's smallish gay scene (simply because tolerance is so widespread here, it feels like GLBT people do not feel the same sense of needing to have their own places to associate--it's just as typical for a gay couple or group of gays to hang out with each other at a straight place as a gay place).
The attached photos are some fun action shots and definitely clearer than the YouTube videos. You can see the Palace of Culture and Science in the background of the photo where we are tossing our flags in the air. I'm the one in the middle wearing shorts in that photo, caught holding my tangled flag when it should be up in the air! I'm also in the photo where we are marching forward.
Although Europride had started a week ago and concluded Sunday, we did not arrive in Warsaw until Wednesday evening. We took a walk to Pride House in the Warsaw Old Town area to pick up gay maps and Europride program information. I have never been to pride outside of Chicago, and I noticed that the city of Warsaw hadn't made any effort to visibly promote the fact that they were hosting Europride. The only pride flags to be found around the city were at gay or gay-friendly bars and restaurants. It would have been a pleasant surprise to see rainbow flags lining some key streets like they do in Chicago, but since there isn't a gay neighborhood, maybe nobody thought of doing something like that.
The first of the Europride events we took part in took place on Thursday with a guided tour through a temporary exhibition about homoerotic art (although I want to point out, not pornography) at the National Museum, Warsaw (the Polish equivalent of an art Smithsonian). The exhibition often combines ancient art and modern art in a variety of mediums (ranging from traditional oil on canvas and sculpture to photography and video performance) on the same wall. Many of the pieces came from the museum's own collection and it was really quite surprising to see how so many works of art can be brought together from a museum's internal collections and displayed in a way that specifically excludes the traditional information we would normally be informed of to focus on how sexuality had an impact in these pieces of art. You can get some sense of the exhibition and have a look at specific pieces on their website. http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/temporary_exhibitions/exhibitions/art55.html
We sang a joint concert with the London Gay Mens Chorus on Friday at Sala Kongresowa (Poland's largest and premier concert hall in the Palace of Culture and Science). At first, I thought it was only mildly interesting to be singing in that concert hall. I have sung in some magnificent concert halls, but only one other national concert hall, while on tour with the Notre Dame Glee Club in Taipei. So, since a national concert hall was willing to host a university's glee club, I realized it must not be that difficult to get a slot for a night. As I thought about it more though, and reflected on the conservative political climate in Poland, I thought it was really amazing that the country of Poland would be so willing to allow a concert with two choruses that have gay in the chorus name at their most prestigious concert hall! Only 700-800 of the hall's nearly 3000 seats were filled, but all of those people watching us were delighted to see us since it is so unusual to have such a large gathering of out men in one place that is not a gay bar in Poland. Both choruses received many positive comments from attendees since the concert. I think that speaks to the powerful message we can bring as musicians--within Poland's conservative atmosphere, we served as ambassadors of pride and hope. I hope that our combination of serious music that established our credibility and campy songs that screamed 'gay' have provided some inspiration to the Polish GLBT community.
The Europride parade on Saturday was nothing like the corporate float/party Chicago's parade has become over the years. Although Poland decriminalized homosexuality in 1932 and was generally indifferent toward homosexuality during the period of communist rule, the atmosphere for GLBT people in Poland changed dramatically in 1989 with the fall of communism. With the rising political power of the Catholic church, the political situation led to a more repressive atmosphere for the GLBT community.
Warsaw's parade route was not lined with fences and significant crowd control like they do in Chicago. Everyone on the streets could move in and out of the parade route as they wished, and it was only the 2,000 police officers keeping people from crowding the street. Despite a start time at 13:00, the parade began at least a half hour late as hundreds of police officers worked on clearing a path for the parade. The parade route was actually changed midway through to shorten the length due to several delays along the parade route due to crowding and occasional protesting in the streets. Here you can see one example of anti-gay protesters creating their own parade in the street somewhere else in the city. I think it is interesting to note that the protest parade didn't have any spectators. All of the day's spectators seemed to be celebrating the day with us! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdBna9xTMGk
The security situation was also interesting in that the police seemed generally unarmed other than a billy club, and there were also hundreds of riot police in full gear with more significant tools at their disposal should a situation turn for the worst. In this video, you can see the police surrounding some protesters who were on their way to block the parade route, around the time that the parade was supposed to get underway. A bit later in the video, you can see several gay and supportive spectators getting ready to view the parade and enjoying themselves in a spray of water. Dykes on Bikes opened the parade, as is tradition, and the semi stuck in the middle of the crowd is one of the first parade entries, although they clearly did not get themselves over to the correct staging area before being surrounded by a crowd since they are facing the wrong direction. I'm sure it took some time for the police to clear the way for the semi to get moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aB0Kk9XwPo
While we waited, members of the Stockholm chorus were spat at, inconsiderately bumped in a sort of passive-aggressive way, given the finger, and I even heard one person shouting "Fuck Sweden" at the sight of the Swedish flag and our banner announcing us as the Stockholm Gaykör. The London chorus had a closer position to the start, and one of their members was hit by a stray egg thrown from protesters further ahead. Despite a start time at 13:00, the parade began about 40 minutes late as hundreds of police officers cleared a path through the spectators and protesters. Although I knew there was a heavy police presence, I did feel somewhat scared for my safety at the start of the parade, after experiencing some of the taunting while waiting for the police to clear a path for the parade. The crowd of people near the starting point allowed a path just a bit wider than a car, and a heavy police presence was nearby circling around one of several groups of protesters. It would only take one person with some sort of improvised bomb to cause some tremendous chaos...thankfully, nothing like that happened.
We performed a little flag routine repetitively along the entire parade route for several hours, taking brief breaks for water. Here's a few videos posted of us. Although the people posting the videos have very good intentions, I also used Google Translate to get an idea of what people were saying in the comments. I think there is still a lot of work to be done in promoting tolerance and human decency, and I hope that the Polish people are able to reach a point where they can agree to disagree in a respectful way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw3VPS3xoWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxFT-vWR1Lo
Along the parade route, I was thrilled to see so many smiling faces and friendly waves, such a positive contrast from what some people have posted in the comments of those videos. Since there was no barrier separating us from the public, people were able to rush in to take photos and videos, and it made me feel proud to be in Warsaw participating in the parade and making a positive impression for thousands of people. Although the parade turnout was nowhere near Chicago's half million, the ten thousand or so parade spectators (it's tough to know for sure since so many people joined in the parade) stirred up a lot of positive energy during the afternoon. Since the spectators followed the parade along the entire route, there was a short but fun dance party at the end of the parade in a big square as the tractor trailers with giant sound systems competed with each other for street dancers before departing the area.
In addition to the chorus, Sweden was represented by at least two other groups. A small performing group from Stockholm called the Freddie Mercury choir marched ahead of us, and the organization for gay Swedish police officers marched directly in front of our group, and although they were unarmed, it did add a bit to my sense of security.
Overall, my impression of Poland is that the deep historical context surrounding the last hundred or so years has had a profound impact on people's attitudes, but at the same time, people will generally treat each other with respect, even if they hold an opposing view on homosexuality.
The Stockholm Pride Parade is in two weeks, and I expect a completely different atmosphere. Pride week starts in one week and there are many events planned throughout the week, sort of as if Chicago's pride month seminars, workshops, and documentary film festivals were condensed into one week, culminating with the Stockholm pride parade on Saturday the 31st of July (and various smaller events continuing on Sunday as well). I have already started to see taxis with Stockholm Pride stickers, and from what I've heard, it is pretty likely that the number of people coming to see the pride parade will rival the number of people who flooded the streets a month ago when the crown princess got married. I'm certain that it will be an exciting week and a nice break from Stockholm's smallish gay scene (simply because tolerance is so widespread here, it feels like GLBT people do not feel the same sense of needing to have their own places to associate--it's just as typical for a gay couple or group of gays to hang out with each other at a straight place as a gay place).
The attached photos are some fun action shots and definitely clearer than the YouTube videos. You can see the Palace of Culture and Science in the background of the photo where we are tossing our flags in the air. I'm the one in the middle wearing shorts in that photo, caught holding my tangled flag when it should be up in the air! I'm also in the photo where we are marching forward.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Skidresan!
Vecka 12, tog jag en resa till Åre i norra Sverige. Jag åkte med kollegor från Bonnier Huset på torsdagen kl. 13.00 till Åre. Dagen före, hade jag flugit till Stockholm från mitt uppdrag i London, och jag hade jobbat för mycket. En skidresa skulle bli en perfekt paus från jobbet.
När jag steg på bussen till Åre, hade jag förkyld, så jag hade planerat att sova mycket och att dricka mycket vatten under resan. Många andra på bussen hade tagit med sig öl, cider och vin. Jag sov lite på bussen.
På fredagen, hade jag feber och ont i huvudet. "Kan jag åka skidor?" tänkte jag. "Nej." Hela dagen, sov jag. Kl. fem, gick jag till ICA för att handla lite mat och till SkiStar Shop för att hyra skidor. Jag hoppades att jag skulle kunna åka skidor på lördagen. På fredag kvällen och natten, drack mina kompisar mycket och de var bullriga. En av dem sa "Tänk på Scott! Tänk på Scott! Shh!" och jag log.
På lördagen och söndagen, åkte jag skidor. Vi åt lunch till fjället och jag behövde energi! Mina ben blev mycket trötta på lördagen och jag fick ett kramp i mitt vänstra ben på söndagen.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
One month in and...
the honeymoon period is over.
But that doesn't mean I am through adjusting to life in Stockholm.
A little over one month ago, I was almost continuously awake for 72 hours as I prepared to move. Most of that time was spent handling my accumulation of stuff in Chicago- getting things prepared for the movers who came on Thursday of my last week, and getting things prepared for donation, which the actual donation task unfortunately was left to my amazing roommate Aaron because I ran out of time.
In all of the crazyness of those last days, there were a couple of teary moments. I thought I'd really get slammed with sadness in the taxi ride to O'Hare. My mind turned on the sad playlist so I had all sorts of lyrics about final this and last that. During that last taxi ride, since I was busy talking to my parents, the wave of tears never came. I checked into my flight, went to the lounge and grabbed a quick glass of juice and then it was time to head to the gate. Before I knew it, I was on the plane, headed to a life in a city and country I had never experienced before. And I hate to say it, but in that moment, I was filled with excitement for the adventures ahead.
Thinking back on it now, I feel some sadness. I left so many people I care about behind. I can only make up for that by looking forward to their visits and my periodic returns over the next few years.
I'm nowhere near settled in Sweden, miss friends back home, and feel their pain when they say that they miss me too. Still, all of our lives are filled with change and must go on. Here in Sweden, there's new adventure ahead.
It's tough to move a continent away from what you're familiar with, but day by day, I get by, knowing that there's always something amazing around the corner.
But that doesn't mean I am through adjusting to life in Stockholm.
A little over one month ago, I was almost continuously awake for 72 hours as I prepared to move. Most of that time was spent handling my accumulation of stuff in Chicago- getting things prepared for the movers who came on Thursday of my last week, and getting things prepared for donation, which the actual donation task unfortunately was left to my amazing roommate Aaron because I ran out of time.
In all of the crazyness of those last days, there were a couple of teary moments. I thought I'd really get slammed with sadness in the taxi ride to O'Hare. My mind turned on the sad playlist so I had all sorts of lyrics about final this and last that. During that last taxi ride, since I was busy talking to my parents, the wave of tears never came. I checked into my flight, went to the lounge and grabbed a quick glass of juice and then it was time to head to the gate. Before I knew it, I was on the plane, headed to a life in a city and country I had never experienced before. And I hate to say it, but in that moment, I was filled with excitement for the adventures ahead.
Thinking back on it now, I feel some sadness. I left so many people I care about behind. I can only make up for that by looking forward to their visits and my periodic returns over the next few years.
I'm nowhere near settled in Sweden, miss friends back home, and feel their pain when they say that they miss me too. Still, all of our lives are filled with change and must go on. Here in Sweden, there's new adventure ahead.
It's tough to move a continent away from what you're familiar with, but day by day, I get by, knowing that there's always something amazing around the corner.
Monday, September 14, 2009
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?
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?
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Back on home soil
So last night, I arrived back in Chicago, safe and sound. I treated Friday as a very long day-- eating breakfast in the air somewhere over France, lunch on the street in Amsterdam, and dinner in Detroit's airport. I was pretty disappointed with my planning in Amsterdam-- I arrived back at the airport after heading downtown an hour earlier than I would have needed to so I could have spent more time seeking a nice sidewalk cafe. As it was, I ended up eating a sandwich on the go as I made my way back to Amsterdam's Centraal Station to catch the train to the airport.
I should should mention that on the plane ride home, I had a lot of time to think. The product of all of that thinking was the realization that I have been going through separation anxiety. Looking back further, I think my posts and private journal writings prior to departure have some of the same elements. I don't know what to make of that realization yet, although I think it's positive that I have learned a little something about myself on this trip. As I sat in Kilimanjaro International Airport on Thursday evening, drinking my last Tusker beer and watching some World Cup, I felt relatively at peace. I was leaving this "other world" behind but I felt like I was able to accomplish something productive while I was there and so I guess that relaxed me.
If my previous trips have taught me anything, it's that once I get back, I have a difficult time staying awake past 6:00 pm for about a week, so I'm not going to be getting bent out of shape to make sure I get everything posted this next week. I'll be posting another entry about the fun times with the kids closer to July.
I should should mention that on the plane ride home, I had a lot of time to think. The product of all of that thinking was the realization that I have been going through separation anxiety. Looking back further, I think my posts and private journal writings prior to departure have some of the same elements. I don't know what to make of that realization yet, although I think it's positive that I have learned a little something about myself on this trip. As I sat in Kilimanjaro International Airport on Thursday evening, drinking my last Tusker beer and watching some World Cup, I felt relatively at peace. I was leaving this "other world" behind but I felt like I was able to accomplish something productive while I was there and so I guess that relaxed me.
If my previous trips have taught me anything, it's that once I get back, I have a difficult time staying awake past 6:00 pm for about a week, so I'm not going to be getting bent out of shape to make sure I get everything posted this next week. I'll be posting another entry about the fun times with the kids closer to July.
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