Half a year in Sweden

We had a group of Dutch visitors here last weekend. They work with Jochem, I had never met them before and they had never been to Sweden. Every time you meet someone from a different country who has no previous knowledge of your country you end up talking about differences or similarities between the two cultures. So did we. What is typical Swedish food, what is the main difference living in Ulricehamn compare to living in Nijmegen (our previous hometown in the Netherlands) or is life better in Sweden then in the Netherlands? Difficult but very interesting questions I think (well, the Swedish food question is quite easy to answer but the rest…).

We lived in a big city before and we now live in a small town. We commuted a lot. I travelled 5 hours a day, four days a week and Jochem usually spent 10 to 12 hours commuting every week. We had a cleaner (oh, how I miss her!) and we had Francis – our babysitter who was like a family member. Life was pretty chaotic! Now it takes me 5 minutes on the bicycle to get to work. I’m home at five every day and the kids can do almost any sport they want after school. Crime rates are low and house prices as well. We have two pubs but from Sunday to Wednesday they are closed. Is this typically Swedish? No, this is typically small town life and we could probably have found something similar in the Netherlands (if we had moved to Friesland or to Limburg). However, life here is different and it is not easy to explain why. The paste is slower and life is more organized (not ours but for normal people I think it is :)!) and the surroundings here are fantastically beautiful. I never knew how beautiful Sweden was until I started travelling. It is also accessible in the sense that you can walk, run, and bicycle or put up a tent almost anywhere. And, it is all for free! Great!

Is there a downside to our life in Sweden or is everything better here? No place or culture offers the complete package but almost every place offers something special and what that is can only be in the eyes of the beholder. We miss family and friends and the weekend tournaments at the local tennis club. I miss the shopping and the cafés and sometimes the anonymity a big city brings. At the same time we see more of our Swedish family and our Swedish friends and that is really nice. I spend a lot more times with the kids and that is obviously a fantastic advantage! We still have to work on expanding our social network locally.

After 6 months in Ulricehamn I now know that I need to stay updated with the ice hockey scores if I want to be part of the discussions at the coffee break. I have seen more wildlife than ever before and I have improved my driving skills in snow and on ice. The job is challenging and I feel that I’m part of a great team. The kids have learned to speak Swedish really well and feel at home at school and with their friends. With the changing of seasons we have been picking apples and peers today (several bags) and I guess it is time to show the kids that I once knew how to bake. In other words, the move to Sweden was a step in the right direction.

I’ve been kicked off

With the end of August in sight it is kick off-season at work. In other words we are making plans for what’s to come this year and setting up new targets. Last week I spent two days in Göteborg with my unit, which was a lot of fun (despite the fact that I lost the games we played in the evening. Getting back is the only option!!). We got a lot of work done on Thursday and for the first time since I moved to Sweden I had a night out in Göteborg. Göteborg is the second largest city in Sweden with approx. 600 000 inhabitants (I think) and it is also a very beautiful city. We stayed in a converted ship located in the city centre (it’s a coastal city) and went out for dinner together in the evening. The atmosphere, the enjoyment of looking at people strolling by and the nice summer breeze made me miss city life a bit. Life in a small town has its benefits but so does life in bigger cities. Luckily Göteborg is only an hour away from Ulricehamn so if I feel a need for some opera, some sushi, more people or a visit to get some clothes at Zara I know where to go.

Yesterday it was time for the second kick off. This time with all the departments located in my office building. We had different workshops during the day and dinner together in the evening. I know people who really dislike kick offs or other type of arranged teambuilding activities but I like them. It is nice to get out together, work in new teams and to get to know each other a bit more outside an office environment. I was responsible for a group of people looking at how we can increase staff competence by international activities and the group had lots of ideas and thoughts about the subject. My job is to increase the international activities in the municipality and with the help of my colleagues this is bound to happen.

Tomorrow I am off to a two-day conference in Strömstad. I’ve been told that there might be a chance to get some home cooked moose here at home on Saturday (and the chef will come to our house and cook it for us!!!) Lucky me! I’ve been kicked off and now I’m kicking in! Time for bed!

A near death experience

Summer disappeared the moment I got back to work. With the current rain I felt that it was time to get serious again and start exercising for real. I haven’t had the time to do any fitness for a year. Other people exercise to loose weight or to feel better. I do it to be able to sleep at night and I decided to start with some boxing at the local fitness centre. After ten minutes I had a cramp in my left leg and at half time I though my ending was near. How much can a person hyperventilate before you pass out? God knows how I will be feeling tomorrow! Not only was I unfit but I was probably the oldest one in the hall which made me think about Napoleons comment when he heard that I had taken up golf; “gosh, how middle age!”
It is not easy when you reach an age where you are too old for some sports and too young for others. Since I can’t take a hint I will go on mixing golf and the combat/boxing training and if I don’t get fitter – at least I get to meet many different people.

Yesterday I heard about how unfit we are getting in Sweden (and probably elsewhere in the world). The last 60 years the Swedish military has collected fitness data (and measured lung capacity) from 18 year olds. With the expansion of TV and computer games many of today’s 18 year olds are seriously unfit. 20 % of people working in an office do not even have the lung capacity to perform at an optimal level or to concentrate properly!

Despite the rain and the ending of my holiday I feel good about being back at work. There are many things on the agenda this fall and I think I enjoy it the most when there are many projects running or developing simultaneously.
Now I will try to move from this table, up the stairs and into my bed. At the moment I am not sure which body part hurts the most but I bet I will sleep as a donkey!

I am having an affair with the gardener

I am having an affair with the gardener and the handyman. How did this happen and what changed after almost ten years of marriage? Well, Jochem has proven me and mostly himself wrong. I married a guy who always stated that he had two left hands (a Dutch expression for someone who cant do anything practical). He never cooks. He has never ironed a shirt and he is terrified of anything revolving around a hammer. At least, this is how it used to be. Since summer arrived in Sweden I have gotten a new husband who has taken on the role as gardener and handyman. I run around the house calling his name only to find him out in the garden cutting the grass or working on the boat. The office chair stands empty and Jochem has a suntan worthy a professional tanner (on the back that is as he is always standing with his back towards the sun!). This new interest in practical work will be seriously put to the test as we bought a new summerhouse this summer. It is a charming house with a wonderful lake view where the word “renovation” gets a totally new meaning. I will let you know further on how we are getting on with this second round of renovations this year.

Last week we had 29 visitors and it was really nice that so many decided to spend some of their vacation with us in Ulricehamn. I actually got the question if I get paid extra if I mention this towns name in my blog but unfortunately this is not the case (should definitely talk to my boss about it :)). The beautiful weather, swimming at our summerhouse in Vegby, spending long evenings on the porch in great company makes living in Ulricehamn a real pleasure and I think that all of our guests (who had never been here before) felt the same. Thank you all for a wonderful visit! Please come back soon!!! Jochems holiday is over but I still have one more week and tomorrow Jenny and little Ebba are coming for a visit. 20 years of friendship and lots of ups and downs comes down to one thing – we will have a great week this week.
Enjoy the summer! Ulrika