D & J - a personal note

How are we doing? Truth is, we miss our kids. It is harder for J - she misses her job and all the fantastic folks she worked with. It is harder to break into society without a job and the interactions a job provides. I also miss my colleagues, but have met plenty of great people at the new office in Kista. J misses the jogs around Waneka lake and I miss the lunch time "pack" bike rides over Olde Stage road and Lee hill. J misses the pets and I miss my woodworking. We've discovered "Skype" - a low-cost way to communicate (although sometimes the connection quality is poor) with famiy and friends.

We've also found lots of good restaurants, but we don't go out very often. Prices are really high here in Stockholm...even most Swedes eat at home.

J is experiencing some career withdrawal pains. However, she's really learning to get about in the city and I'm not worried about her safety - Stockholm is a safe city. Swedish language classes at the Folk Univerity in Stockholm were full the last session: she'll probably take them in the fall. However, she's seriously considering attending Regis University online. This would be quite a boost to her career when we return to Colorado two or three years from now.



I'm extremely busy working. I feel I'm doing a pretty good job but I've made a few blatant mistakes. Live and learn. I wanted to start learning Swedish in a big way but I don't know where I'd find the time. I'm still working long hours and try to get in some exercise. After that, there's not much left. I do enjoy my bike commutes to work but I'm growing a little tired of the same old route every day. It's time to find some other routes. Plus, I still don't ride if it even looks like rain...and that's pretty often these days.

Back in 2000, when I lived in Stockholm I dwelt on the differences between Swedes and Americans. This time I tend to see more similarities. I am seeing many preconceptions some Americans have about Swedes to be wrong and vice versa. There is usually an element of truth in stereotypes but often it's greatly exaggerated. There's also a matter of scale. Sweden is approximately 9 million people so comparisons should be made with 9 million people in the US, not to 350 million. Similary Swedes (and others) sometimes extrapolate attributes of one small group of Americans or one city (especially New York city) to all Americans. I'm learning to let first impressions simmer awhile and they will almost always soften.



We've got several Swedish freinds that make the Swedish experience so much richer. We also got some other American friends also on assignment that enrich the sojirun. Several folks in our apartment building have become our friends, too. They are from all over Europe. Of course, we still communicate with all our friends in the STates through this blog, email, and the good old telephone.