Summer, couldn't have been a better time to land in Sweden, for the first time. I couldn't imagine that it got any worse in winter, even though everyone around, warned me. Soon, it was November and it was in-comprehendible to me, how could the same place wear such a gloomy and grey look. I shuddered in disappointment.
To make matters not so on my side, I was struggling with the language and a new country meant me going out of my way to find/make friends. All the above reasons lead me to explore countries, where the sun shone even in November! I did find such a far flung country. My excitement knew no bounds! Added to that, speaking English meant I didn't sound like an idiot, struggling to string together sentences that made any sense at all.
Maybe I was not in touch with my inner self as I wasn't even aware, I had let Sweden grow on me, imbibing the local values and culture and also getting better at the language (people seemed less perplexed when I spoke) while the plan for the move had taken over my life. Suddenly, the day came when I had to leave Sweden, I was sad beyond my expectation. I struggled to enthuse myself for the big move. It was a roller coaster ride from there on...
Ok, the sun did shine and I did sweat in November, yippie! But I missed the flat working structure in Sweden. The CEO's car being parked in the front most row, only the boss chomping on his sandwich and slurping on his fruit yoghurt, while the rest of us,lesser mortals, had to appear focussed on the mundane meeting agenda. The sun still shone, so I pretended to ignore (ONLY) the boss's breakfast at the meetings.
Sweden, with it's excellent public child care facilities, with a gender equality focus, has lead to more participation of women in the labour market and men playing an equal role in childrearing. Sweden's left wing politics has meant, above all, a lesser gap in the society, apart from national health service, unemployment benefits etc. The sun still shone and in November, but there were one too many things rattling on my mind....from childcare to kanelbulle, gender equality to fika, socialism Vs capitalism and it's effects to VAB, to name a few of the thoughts. I pictured my daughter growing up in a society, oblivious of the differences and respecting people as they are and not due to their social and economic status, sexual preferences and religious beliefs and most importantly, growing up in a gender - egalitarian country and took the plunge.
I signed a truce with myself "to bloom where planted" and returned to Sweden. The sun was no where in sight when I landed back in Sweden, and for a good 2 months. But it seemed less significant now.
PS - What I do miss is street food, authentic world cuisine and light hearted banter at bus stops, trains, stores and just about everywhere. Wishful thinking - Exchanging pleasantries wasn't considered hazardous!
To make matters not so on my side, I was struggling with the language and a new country meant me going out of my way to find/make friends. All the above reasons lead me to explore countries, where the sun shone even in November! I did find such a far flung country. My excitement knew no bounds! Added to that, speaking English meant I didn't sound like an idiot, struggling to string together sentences that made any sense at all.
Maybe I was not in touch with my inner self as I wasn't even aware, I had let Sweden grow on me, imbibing the local values and culture and also getting better at the language (people seemed less perplexed when I spoke) while the plan for the move had taken over my life. Suddenly, the day came when I had to leave Sweden, I was sad beyond my expectation. I struggled to enthuse myself for the big move. It was a roller coaster ride from there on...
Ok, the sun did shine and I did sweat in November, yippie! But I missed the flat working structure in Sweden. The CEO's car being parked in the front most row, only the boss chomping on his sandwich and slurping on his fruit yoghurt, while the rest of us,lesser mortals, had to appear focussed on the mundane meeting agenda. The sun still shone, so I pretended to ignore (ONLY) the boss's breakfast at the meetings.
Sweden, with it's excellent public child care facilities, with a gender equality focus, has lead to more participation of women in the labour market and men playing an equal role in childrearing. Sweden's left wing politics has meant, above all, a lesser gap in the society, apart from national health service, unemployment benefits etc. The sun still shone and in November, but there were one too many things rattling on my mind....from childcare to kanelbulle, gender equality to fika, socialism Vs capitalism and it's effects to VAB, to name a few of the thoughts. I pictured my daughter growing up in a society, oblivious of the differences and respecting people as they are and not due to their social and economic status, sexual preferences and religious beliefs and most importantly, growing up in a gender - egalitarian country and took the plunge.
I signed a truce with myself "to bloom where planted" and returned to Sweden. The sun was no where in sight when I landed back in Sweden, and for a good 2 months. But it seemed less significant now.
PS - What I do miss is street food, authentic world cuisine and light hearted banter at bus stops, trains, stores and just about everywhere. Wishful thinking - Exchanging pleasantries wasn't considered hazardous!
