I’ve retired this blog…
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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…and I’ve set up shop elsewhere… It won’t be as “personal” a blog, in fact nobody should know my first name. I want to try to just be an anonymous voice for a while… so please, feel free to stay in touch at Plus 46
Life as an expatriate
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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I’m an American who has spent a fair amount of time living outside of the country. For starters I wasn’t even born in the United States, I was born in the Philippines. After I was adopted I spent about a year and a half in Thailand, where I learned how to count to ten and handle the routine ingestion of spicy sauces. Then we moved permanently to the San Francisco Bay Area. Growing up we kept a second home in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, so I continued to rack up frequent flyer miles. When I was fifteen my parents sent me to Weybridge, Surrey, UK to live with friends for a month, and I picked up extended family over there. It wasn’t for very long, but I also lived and worked temporarily in Gliwice, Poland in 2007. Today I live in a beautiful historic city called Stockholm, in Sweden…
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My problem with Stockholmers…
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Filed under: Swedish culture
Activity: 1 comment
Since I first moved here I’ve always heard the term “Stockholmer” being used by non-Stockholmers in a negative way. Stockholm people are usually considered rude, close-minded, and they “think they’re special”. Now to be fair I’ve met a few Stockholmers who don’t fit this criteria, however these are usually Stockholm natives who have lived outside of Sweden before. They are already aware that an entire world exists outside of the 08 bubble.
I’m going to leave Sweden
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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Well, it looks like my time here is coming to an end — it’s been a year and a half!
Unfortunately the job market is not agreeable in Stockholm
I’ll be headed west in another month or so!
Swedes and Cigarettes
Monday, March 9th, 2009
Filed under: Swedish culture
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You know… Swedes sure do smoke an awful lot… They seem to start young too… I just walked past a half dozen 13-year-olds lighting up on the sidewalk…
Searching for a new job
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Filed under: Earning money, Life in general
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About 2 weeks ago, around 5pm the very night before I flew to California I found myself unexpectedly unemployed. I haven’t told too many people until now because I was intent on having a nice stress free vacation. However my vacation is over…
If you know of any job openings in the Stockholm area, please send me details! I will look into just about any job at the moment, but food service is something I simply refuse to work in ever again. I’d rather clean bathrooms than serve people dinner…
If within the next 2 months, I am unable to find a job that provides a steady income, I’ll probably leave the country before the summer arrives. I can’t survive in Stockholm without a reliable income, because I still have many bills back in the USA to pay off.
Sad but true!
The Spider Story
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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I am a murderer.
I just killed two completely innocent living beings.
On vacation in Mexico
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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My Dad dropped me off at San Francisco International Airport in the early hours of the morning, and I checked in at the Alaska Airlines counter. My reverse culture shock has forced me to remember that Americans happily make small talk with strangers on a regular basis, so I responded appropriately to a middle-aged couple’s cheerful “Hello! Good morning!” I think it may have taken me a few seconds to realize that a reaction of some kind was not only expected, but it needed to sound genuine as well. Have I really been away for this long? I don’t recall casual social interaction being this difficult.
On my flight to Los Angeles I was seated beside a middle-aged Norwegian couple who convinced me that I need to take a weekend and see their hometown of Bergen. They had just recently disembarked from the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco. My Dad took that same flight in 2007. Fresh of the plane from Europe, the jet lag hadn’t quite hit them full on yet though. For me, I can now live comfortably with the knowledge that my time zones are completely off with my natural circadian rhythm. I wake up at weird times no matter where I am. I feel hungry at weird times no matter where I am, and I expect this to last another 2-3 weeks.
On vacation in the USA
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
Filed under: American culture, Life in general, Swedish culture
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I’m on the other side of the world for 2 weeks, so I decided to note some differences.
Why isn’t Swedish toilet paper nearly as luxuriously soft as the American brands?
I’m not used to people smiling and saying “hello, how are you?” everywhere
I can actually eat out in a restaurant and not spend more than about $20 USD
I was wide awake at 4am this morning… the jet lag is noticeable
It’s great to see my Dad again
You know what? I kind of miss Sweden…
BOHICA in Sweden
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Filed under: Life in general
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It’s been a little while since I last wrote. I seem to have a bad habit of staying away from my blog. I think the idea of writing can stress me out. I’m already stressed out, and longing for my vacation next month. Last month was pretty bad.
My roommate and I were kicked out of our flat unexpectedly and spent the last 3 weeks of December essentially homeless, and staying with friends. I moved around at least 5 times during those 3 weeks. Friends left the country over the holidays and let me look after their place while they were gone.
Now I’m somewhat settled – at least for the next 3 months. It’s not the best situation, but the housing market in Stockholm is far from desirable. I will have to write a post about that… it might be hard to comprehend if you aren’t familiar with the system.
Anyways, I’m at work right now, and I have a lot to do. On a sidenote, I introduced the acronym “BOHICA” to a few of my co-workers today. They find those kind of things pretty amusing. I’d like to learn some Swede specific acronyms and slang terminology…