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Tag archives for big change

Frogs in the Road

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Sign that says "frogs on the road"

Sign that says “frogs on the road”

 

This is my final post as Work blogger for Sweden.se. It’s been a great experience for me. I began writing in October, 2011 while I prepared to move to Sweden and waited for my work visa. I moved to Uppsala and began working as a technical writer in Stockholm in late November. That was nearly six months ago. The gift of writing a blog was that it made me really pay attention to the little things in my transition from American life to Swedish life.

I’ve come a long way, baby.

  • I learned to drive in Swedish roundabouts and reacquainted myself with the manual transmission.
  • I navigated the complicated waters of being a foreign citizen in Sweden; learned how to work with the Migration Board and the Tax Agency.
  • I convinced a Swedish bank to let me open an account so that I could get receive paychecks from my employer; then waited the months it took to get registered in Sweden so that I could have an account with more benefits, such as the ability to send money owed and to pay for things online.
  • I learned to ride the commuter train to work and complain about the delays like a real Swede
  • • I watched wacky cartoons and film clips on Christmas and New Year’s eves. Crazy old lady and her butler, anyone? (Who knew about these hidden Swedish customs?)
  • I basked in the amazing gluten-free alternatives readily available in Sweden. Wow, gluten-free bread can actually taste good!
  • I discovered that Swedes love candles and there are even lit candles at my workplace, outside restaurants and in the airport.
  • I discovered what the Swedish ice claw is (not a horror film!)
  • I found out that offices in Sweden can be highly mobile. In my office, there aren’t even any landlines.
  • I worked on having a Sweden-friendly CV and cover letter. They didn’t have to be in Swedish but they had to have the right tone.
  • I went to my first social and professional networking meetings in Stockholm. that took all my courage for some reason.
  • I got my work permit extended, obtained a personal number and a Swedish ID—keys to accessing the benefits of Swedish society and moving freely in and out of the country.
  • I learned about feathers and witches at Easter and bonfires and rafting at Walpurgis.

I learned that, in Sweden, sometimes you dance around the Christmas tree or the May Pole singing about frogs. And sometimes there are frogs in the road.

You can read my own blog at http://3menandaswede.blogspot.se/

Thanks for reading!

Kristin Lund

May 10, 2012

Bikes and Birthdays in Sweden

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bike

My trusty "Made in Sweden" bicycle...The color makes it easy to find in a bike stand full of bikes.

 

I love how so many people use bicycles in Sweden as a central form of transportation. Although I have always owned a bike, I can’t say that I have ever used it seriously as transportation. Now that I have moved to Sweden and don’t own a car, I am even more interested in this bike-riding culture.

I recently inherited (well, long term borrowed) an old 3-speed bike from my friends. They had an extra bike that used to belong to Helen’s mother who is now an old person’s home. It’s a women’s bike, bright orange with a rack on the back. It’s the kind of bike that I wouldn’t have been caught dead riding back home in Northern California where everyone rides a souped-up mountain bike even if they are just going on asphalt to the local 7-11. But this bike is perfect. It has the requisite bell for letting people know you are approaching from behind on the bike/walking path. It has a sticker that says it was made in Sweden and is of “Sweden quality.” You don’t get too many things that say that, it’s more likely to say it was “designed in Sweden” which means it was made somewhere else. The bike has a full chain guard and long tire fenders—perfect for when protecting pant legs from chain grease and muddy conditions.

I filled the neglected bike’s tires, oiled the chain, tightened the gear changer on the handlebars, and adjusted the chain guard so it would stop rubbing against one pedal. Then I took her for a spin. Not bad for an old lady’s bike. Not bad for an old lady. I was ready to ride to Uppsala for Walpurgis (Valborgsmässoafton).

But no sooner did I get the bike all ready for my trip to Uppsala, then I read that more bikes are stolen in the Spring in Sweden than any other time of the year. Last year, 65, 000 people in Sweden reported a stolen bicycle. And the day that the most bikes are stolen is on Walpurgis when there are twice as many bicycle theft as any other day.

Oh no! I can’t get my friend’s mother’s bike stolen! The good news is that bicycle thefts actually decreased during the last ten years, according to 8 Sidor (25 april 2012)

And since we’re on the subject of statistics in Sweden, 8 Sidor had some more interesting facts and figures this week as well. Did you know that the 15th of April is currently Sweden’s most common birth day? In other words, more Swedes are born on this day than any other. Second place goes to the 22nd of March and the 10th of April. When I mentioned these statistics over lunch at work, all my Swedish peers knowingly nodded and said something along the lines of, “Well March 22 is obviously a Mid-Summer celebration thing and the other dates are due to summer holidays.”

But this does not explain why it appears that in the future,  summer will have the most Swedish birthdays instead of Spring. Throughout the 2000s, the most Swedish children were born in July. Last year, according to 8 Sidor, the most children were born on the 8th of June.

Hmmmm…wonder how they’ll explain that away at work?

Kristin Lund

May 6, 2012

Witnessing Free Speech in Sweden

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Crowd outside Congolese embassy

Crowd outside the Congolese embassy in Stockholm

 

Recently I got my first exposure to political protest in Sweden. I was working in my Stockholm office when suddenly I heard loud voices outside. Around the corner there was a protest at the Democratic Republic of the Congo embassy. It was a very peaceful protest but there were at least 12 police officers standing by, some guarding the door to the embassy. The group was protesting the integrity of the re-election of President Joseph Kabila as this past December. If you want to know more about that, you can do some research and/or read what the Carter Center had to say back in December.

It was interesting for me to contemplate the fact that I am a foreigner living in Sweden and here was a different group of foreigners protesting about the political situation in a whole other country. It’s hard to explain what I mean. I guess I realized I had to do some mental gymnastics to realize that these people were Swedish citizens who cannot go protest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But they want to express their opinion and they live in a country where they can do that. I am an American ex-pat and the protesters appeared to be mostly Congolese ex-pats. I wonder how my immigrant experience compares to theirs? Many (some?) probably had to flee their homeland. It goes without saying that my path was much easier. I wonder if they like their life in Sweden?

There is a famous half-Swedish, half-Congolese performer named Mohombi. He calls himself an “Afro-Viking” in this interesting video interview.

I have been absorbed in integrating myself into Sweden these last three months. Going out and mingling with the protesters for a few minutes allowed me to pick my head up and witness something other than my day-to-day life in this country.

The protest lasted less than an hour. I wondered if that was a factor due to the cold? It’s hard to protest when it’s freezing cold outside. I hope they felt their voices were heard.

demonstration in Stockholm

Another picture from the demonstration in Stockholm...

Kristin Lund

March 1, 2012

Shopping at Ingvar’s

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Diners at IKEA cafe

IKEA diners. Photo by: Nightscream (CC BY 3.0)

 

I have always loved IKEA.

There, I’ve admitted it.

For a long time, there weren’t any IKEA stores in the San Francisco Bay Area but they finally built one in Oakland some years ago. Going to IKEA was a shopping adventure and I always found something I could not live without. Plus, I got to fill up on meatballs, lingon, and fresh potatoes, dreaming of the next time I would be able to visit Sweden.

And since this is a work blog, I don’t mind saying that I’ve done a lot of work from home at my various IKEA desks. And as I posted in an earlier blog, even my Swedish workplace buys some of its desks at IKEA.

When I took Swedish lessons in Berkeley, I had a reader that had an article about the history of IKEA. It was there that I learned the name ”IKEA” is a made-up word composed from the initials of the founder’s name, Ingvar Kamprad, the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd, in Småland, Southern Sweden).

I was surprised to see that although the first IKEA opened in Älmhult, Småland in 1953, it wasn’t until 1985 that an IKEA opened in the United States.

As I mentioned, my family enjoyed eating at the café in IKEA in Oakland and when they started selling food you could take home, we happily started doing that. We bought jars of lingon, frozen meatballs, gravy, and sliced potatoes with cheese (not unlike Janssons frestelse (“Jansson’s temptation”)—a traditional Swedish potato dish.)

One day we were disappointed to find that the fresh, small potatoes in the restaurant had become mashed potatoes and that IKEA had pulled the products we liked best from its food department. It turns out that we weren’t the only ones who were disappointed.

According to an article in Svenska Dagbladet, (article in Swedish) Ikea decided in the Fall of 2011 to sell predominantly its own brand of food. They planned to offer a range of food, approximately 150 products, but for unclear reasons, it hasn’t been working out and now IKEA is considering adding back in their previous suppliers—at least for the time being. (IKEA says that they are interested in customer feedback but that that is not the reason they are adding back in products.)

IKEA previously sold well-known food brands and when they stopped, many shoppers were unhappy. On the internet, protests were posted on blogs and groups formed on Facebook. Trade associations protested that IKEA is an important “window” around the world for Swedish food producers.

I always assumed that Swedes didn’t really shop at IKEA, that it was considered too cheap and low quality. I assumed that the other IKEA shoppers I saw in Sweden were mostly students and tourists. I still go to IKEA today even though I now live in Sweden and you know what, I think a lot of Swedes do shop there. The things you learn!

 

Kristin Lund

February 14, 2012

Contract Work in Sweden

42 comments
Stockholm crowds

Maybe coming to Sweden for contract work is very rare... Photo by: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se

 

I have gained an important, important piece of information. It very difficult to get all the pieces of documentation you need to participate fully in Swedish society if you come to Sweden on a contract that is less than one year. My hard-learned advice to those of you trying to move to Sweden on a work permit is to make sure you get a contract that is over one year.

I had a very challenging day last week when I took the subway around Stockholm, going from one Tax Board office (Skatteverket) to another (they kept referring me to different offices), trying to get a Swedish ID card. The ID card is used as proof of age and proof of identity, for example when collecting prescription medication from pharmacies, paying by credit card in stores and in banking transactions.

Obtaining a Swedish ID card was to be my next step after getting assigned a Coordination Number (samordningsnummer). You will recall I wanted a Personal Number (personnummer) but instead I could only obtain a Coordination Number.

The Personal Number means a person is in the Swedish Register. In order for me to get a Personal Number, I must have permission from the Migration Board to stay (and work) in Sweden for at least one year. I came to Sweden on a six-month work permit because my job contract was for six months. So, since the work permit is six months, I do not qualify for a Personal Number. Instead I qualify for the Coordination Number.

After receiving the Coordination Number, I went to the Tax Board to get a Swedish ID. First I had to follow a complicated set of instructions which included getting a co-worker to pay 400 Swedish kronor in advance of my visit online (ironically the very thing I can’t do since my bank requires a Swedish ID card in order to have online banking services).

What I did not understand was that that I was not “registered.” I thought I was registered because I had been assigned a Coordination Number. But this does not count as registration. Here’s what the Tax Board says:

Swedish ID card and information

The Tax Board would not give me an ID card. To make matters worse, they informed me that I was not covered by the national health insurance (försäkringskassan). I argued with them that this did not make any sense since I am paying over 30% of my paycheck in taxes and, in addition to this, my employer pays another (roughly) 31% for health, disability, and other services for me.

I have since been assured by the insurance office that I am, in fact, covered. The next step is for me to send the insurance office my registration form along with various work documents and then I hope they will send me a piece of paper telling me I am covered. I have received so many different opinions that now I want some hard proof. I have not, since I came to Sweden, needed any health care but, should the need arise, I don’t want there to be confusion for obvious reasons.

Believe me, it was upsetting for the woman at the Tax Board to tell me that. There were tears involved. The problem is that I get a different answer depending on who I talk to and I don’t know which person to believe.

Up until very recently, I resisted the idea that this job process could be so challenging. I thought that there must be lots of people who go through this so there must be a logical process. But it has dawned on me that perhaps there aren’t many people going through this. Most people who come to Sweden to work probably come as employees and so they have no end-date on their application. Therefore they get the Personal Number, therefore they get the ID card, therefore the insurance, and it all falls into place. It would be the same thing for the “relationship visa” in which you come to Sweden to live with someone. The assumption in those cases is that you will be in Sweden forever.

Even though I have moved here permanently (assuming I find lasting work), my situation does not look that way on paper.

That is why I recommend you make sure your contract is more than one year if you plan to come to Sweden for contract work. The best thing would be to come as an employee but this is hard to arrange when you are in another country. Like me, you may have to come as a contractor and then try to parley that into longer-term work. (There is also the possibility that my current contract may be extended.)

To that end, I have recently re-done my CV in a more Swedish-friendly style (more on that in future posts) and you will soon learn about my adventures looking for work in Sweden.

Kristin Lund

January 31, 2012