1 Year Later

Today marks one year since I have left my home in Malaysia.

Today, last year, I was halfway across the world in Emirates Airlines. My flight was in the evening and the stopover was in Dubai, and continued to Stockholm. I was excited and nervous at the same time to leave my country, my home, my family. 

Tomorrow, last year, I arrived in Stockholm. 1 June 2017. 

In this one year, I have experienced so much things that I never thought it was possible. The feeling of excitement to be in a new place. I experienced summer for the first time. It was still cold for me. I went to theater parks, outdoor movie, ate strawberries, visited all of the free museums. 

Then, it was autumn. I started studying Swedish. Gosh, it was such a headache! I don't miss that moment. I am so glad to get over that learning phase. I am in my next course to study Swedish now. I can speak but writing is still a challenge.

Winter came. I built a snowman! Did a snowangel too. Skied and skated. What a dream! I got accepted into a job employment program to look for an internship. I started my internship in March. It was still winter. It will end in 2 weeks time. I got an internship in an international consultancy firm because you just need one person to believe that you are capable although your Swedish is not at a work-proficiency level. You just need one person to see beyond your language handicap and background differences. And when that one person says 'Yes, let's have her because diversity is crucial' - it opens the door for you to a whole new world. A Swedish working world. For that, I will always be thankful to her. The working culture here is different from Malaysia. I was lucky to experience a open work landscape where one can sits wherever they wish. You have your own locker. You have to ensure that you leave the table clean for the next one to use. You are given a mobile and a laptop. The table is adjustable i.e. it can be moved up and down. The employees have access to office utensils. Trust is high here. You don't have to feel inferior with your bosses. You can speak to them anytime. When I started my internship, I met with the CEO, partners, directors and senior managers in one week. I was shocked that this was possible. Everyone speaks in Swedish and they can of course, speak English too, but I needed them to speak to me in Swedish. It was an overwhelming Swedish environment for the first 2 weeks but I survived it. 

Spring started in May and it lasted for just 2 weeks, as it was too warm to be considered as spring. I saw cherry blossoms. So pretty. 

It is summer again. I have experienced one year of 4 seasons. 

***

In all these excitement, there were sadness too. I missed my family. I missed hanging out with my nieces. I worried if they will forget me. I missed Malaysian weather, my car, the convenience of going out to buy food, cheap food, slippers, shorts, running, pole dancing, friends and speaking the Malaysian way. 

I did not have any friends here. I made friends in school but it was just different. 

I missed working. I was excited to not work for a while being away from the work pressure but I got bored after a while. I wanted to work again and get my financial independence back. It was difficult to find a job in Sweden. I sent so many job applications and got rejected in most of them if they replied. I have never sent so many job applications in my life and I got upset and disappointed. I knew the reason was due to my language barrier. I have seen videos and read on how difficult it is for Asians to get a job in Sweden. I did not believe it, but when I kept getting rejections after rejections, I began to believe in them. Employers here would not dare to hire a foreigner. They are more willing to hire Europeans or Americans. Will this mentality ever change?

While I was excited to learn Swedish, I was pushing myself to learn it as quickly as possible because I want to be able to work again and not hear the reason I am not being hired was due to my language incapability. I was stressing myself till I felt angry on how unfair this was. How I was being judged based on my language skills and not my actual competencies. How my working experience in Malaysia does not make any difference in my resume. But I could not do anything. I had to start from the bottom again. 

***

I don't know what holds in the coming years, but I know that I am more prepared than I was one year ago. I am more confident when I could speak and understand Swedish. Understanding the country's language is definitely the most important thing one should attempt to do. I have gradually blended into the country's environment.

I am grateful to be given a chance to experience a new country. I moved and took a chance into my relationship so that I don't live in regrets. While my relationship has its ups and downs, I tried to understand and while sometimes it has not been easy due to many differences, I can still write in my post today that it has been a worthwhile journey. 

Thank you, Sweden for this amazing one year. You have been a real roller-coaster! 

Namaste India Festival 2018

26 May 2018

India is here in Stockholm! Well, that should not be surprising because there are LOTS of Indian folk here because of IT and Science. As we all know, there is a reputation among the Indian folk for their IT competency and since Sweden is all about technology, it is natural that they are here.

Today, I am here to see their India Festival. It was extremely crowded. Lots of food booth. I love Indian food but I don't love the prices here. I gawked at almost all the prices because I compared them with its price in Malaysia. 

I did not know that Saravanaa Bhaan is the World's Number One Indian Vegetarian Restaurant Chain. Well, I have not tried them in Malaysia, also not sure where they are in Malaysia. Probably in Little India in Klang or Bangsar. Anyway, check out their prices.

I usually have plain dosa (or 'thosai') for dinner in Malaysia after my usual evening runs and it costs SEK75 here! OH MY GAWD. That is like RM37.50. I pay like RM3.50 back home. 2 pieces of chappathi for SEK70/RM35. I could not bear to buy them. Chappathi is one of the cheapest Indian meal back home - even cheaper than Dosa. Even the mango lassi which is usually an expensive drink in Malaysia costs SEK60/RM30 here. That is way too expensive for me to consume. 

Varmland: Part 4 - Day 3: Alfred Nobel House, Art on a Hill

12 May 2018

Today, we made a visit to Alfred Nobel House in Karlskoga. We bought a guided tour in the house and while waiting for the designated time (which was delayed for 1.5 hour!), we visited the Bofor Industry Museum which was just next to the cafetaria. Guided tour in Alfred Nobel house costs SEK125 per person. I did not particularly enjoy the Industry Museum because it is full of machinery, cannons, bullets, and just lots of heavy stuff for me.

Varmland: Part 3 - Day 2 Evening: Eda Skans, Peace Statue Sweden-Norway Border, Kongsvinger Fortress, Eksharad Church

11 May 2018

From Fordonsmuseum, we continued our way towards Norway. Along the way, we stopped at Eda Skans. We sat by this view to have our ICA lunch. I had salad while he had grilled chicken. 

Eda skans is a fortification in the municipality of Eda between the central areas of Charlottenberg and Åmotfors on Bysjön. The site was chosen to defend the pass between the lakes Hugn and Bysjön . An attacker who came from Norway on the way from the Norwegian Wings, the current Kongsvinger , could easily be shot with artillery from the heights south of the Eda church . In the winter, artillery from Eda Skans was able to master the winter road over Lake Bysjön. Source from Wikipedia.

Varmland: Part 2 - Day 2 Morning: Byamossarna, Fordonsmuseum

11 May 2018

This is the view of what we woke up to in Byamossarna Nature Reserve. We had slept in a windshelter the night before. It was cloudy. Thankfully, it did not rain.

Varmland: Part 1 - Day 1: Picasso Structure, Overnight at Byarmossarna

10 May 2018

The decision to go to Varmland County was impromptu. As it was a public holiday on 10 May (Christian holiday) and it was a Thursday, I took off on Friday and my partner chose Varmland. 

The first place of stop was a Picasso statue in Kristinehamn which was an idea by Picasso but not done by him. He saw the works of the sculpture via video recordings.

In the late 1950s the artist Bengt Olson, a native of Kristinehamn, came across the Norwegian sculptor, painter and photographer Carl Nesjar, who had just begun experimenting with a new concrete-based material. At the time, Nesjar was involved in a project with Pablo Picasso, who was fascinated by the expression of art through the medium of concrete. They were working with a series of sculptures and painting called “les dames des Mougins” (The Ladies of Mougin), the theme of which was Picasso’s wife Jacqueline.

The idea was for the sculptures to be monumental in format and Nesjar was certain that one of the works could be constructed in Sweden for just 150,000 SEK. Bengt Olson, returned home to Kristinehamn and managed to convince the town council that this was a unique opportunity that was too good to be missed. The idea of locating the sculpture in Kristinehamn was sold to Picasso with the help of photographs, pictures and folk music so that he could get a true feeling for the atmosphere here. The deed of gift came in the form of a photograph from Picasso, with a model of the sculpture in place on the Strandudden peninsula. He had written the word Oui (Yes) on the photograph and signed it Picasso 7.7 1964. 

The 15 m tall sculpture was inaugurated in June 1965 by the Swedish author Bo Setterlind at the annual midsummer celebrations. Although Pablo Picasso followed Carl Nesjar’s work via film recordings, he never came to see his work in real life. Source from Visit Kristinehamn.

Grundsjömossarna (Ground Lake Bog)

5 May 2018

4 days ago, when I went to see Cherry Blossoms in Kungsträdgården, I was wearing a downjacket and my soft-shell jacket. Today, I was in long sleeves shirt only, and it was so warm! Summer has started. What a difference within 4 days!

Today, I followed a group to Grundsjömossarna's Nature Reserve which is located in Norrtälje. We took bus 676 from Tekniska Högskolan to Norrtälje. We continued with bus 641 to Hallstavik. This is a new area for me as I have never been to Norrtälje. Also, I have never been to a bog area - an area of wet muddy ground that is too soft to support a heavy body or you can call it marshland / swampland / wetland. I did not know what to expect and after today's hike, I can conclude that I am not a fan of bog. Haha! I found it a bit boring though as I don't have any knowledge on the flora and fauna here. Nevertheless, it is always fun to experience something new while I still can.

The organiser (the one in the red-striped shirt) mentioned that this was an exploration as he has not been here himself either. We trudged through high bushes and soft ground (looking for the small red hut), and walked on well-boarded footpath. It is definitely advisable to have long sleeves and long pants.

Cherry Blossom Flowers

1 May 2018

It is my first spring in Sweden and it still felt cold to me. There is a beautiful sign to mark that spring is in Stockholm - the blooming of the cherry blossom flowers! And I thought this was only available in Japan. You can see it in some of the houses in Stockholm (most of them have white flowers) and there are two rows of cherry blossom trees in Kungsträdgården. 

The flowers bloomed somewhat on the third week of April, and according to my friends, the flowers can last for about 2 weeks, and when it gets too warm, the flowers die. And this year, summer came early to Stockholm somewhere in mid of May. 

I was so happy to be able to witness cherry blossom flowers and need not fly to Japan for this. It costs quite a bit to fly to Japan during spring. There was a huge crowd to snap photos with the flowers. To have an empty street, one would need to be there by 7am!

I was clad with my soft-shell jacket, downjacket, and a dry-fit top. The sun came out and it was slightly warmer. 

Dalarna: Part 3 - Storstupet, Styggforsen

30 April 2018

Ta-da, this is where we slept the night before. Cozy little hut in Storstupet. Well, it was not cozy when we reached there at night in pitch black and I was afraid of what may appear. So, I survived sleeping outdoors during winter. Yay! Okay, maybe one can't call it outdoors when we slept inside a hut. It was about 1 hour walk from the entrance.

Dalarna: Part 2 - Bunkris Brandtorn (Firetower), Trängslet Dam

29 April 2018

From Njupeskär, the drive continues to Bunkris Brandtorn. 

Bunkris fire tower is a fire tower located in Bunkris in Älvdalen district in Älvdalen municipality , Dalarna County . The tower, built during the 1890's, is 24 m high and is 600 m above sea level. The tower was built to monitor the forests of the river valley in the event of fire, but the tower was also used during the Second World War by the Armed Forces . At the bottom of the tower, there is a resting cabin and in the top, reached by steep stairs, there is a viewpoint. From the top of the tower, you can see for miles in all directions in good weather. Source from Wikipedia.