Hello family!
With my strange work schedule I don't have as much time as I'd like to do much over and above cooking, cleaning, and the occasional fika with a friend... sorry it's been such a long time since the last update!
At Arlanda airport, I work on a 14-week repeating schedule for a six-month time period. Seem ridiculous? Well, it is. Fourteen people each follow the same schedule, which is different each week, following the 'winter' flight times decided by KLM and AirFrance. In April or so, this will switch over to the 'summer' flight times, and the planning department will come up with another way to organize us. There are a few people working with me who have been there 8+ years, and they say this is the WORST schedule they have ever had. A lot of short shifts (meaning MORE workdays) and over 50% of shifts starting at 4am... they're all as tired as I am and very much looking forward to the switchover, hoping something better is coming along!
I hate to complain too much, since I am still extremely happy to have a job. I have met a Canadian girl who moved to Sweden in August, learning Swedish, and she has just as much trouble as I did finding ANYONE who would even read through her CV, let alone give her a job!
But, two things have occurred recently which improve my situation:
1. December 16 I officially became a permanent resident of Sweden (hence the title of my post, 'uppehållstillstånd' means 'residence permit') which gives me
a) A permit to live and work which does not expire (though I have to get a new card in 5 years)
b) Right to monetary social benefits like CSN, the Swedish study grant and loan program
c) Possibility to become a Swedish citizen by April 2016
2. In October, I finally got a piece of paper which states I have proficiency in Swedish (though as I discovered in January it wasn't entered properly in the system... but I made them fix it so it's done now!) This means I have the right to study courses at any level in the Swedish language, since it corresponds to 'Swedish 12'.
I have been hoping for a long time that through Biotopia and the Uppland foundation I would be able to make contacts for jobs within nature conservation and nature information, but have found much frustration on that front. I had a lot of fun doing the translations I was offered, but there doesn't seem to be much future potential there. So, a lot of discussions with friends and colleagues has led me to choose a program of study for the fall.
You probably know I wasn't super keen to jump right back into school, OR to take on more debt since I have my Canadian student loans to think about. But on careful consideration, this program seems to be the best choice for me. One positive factor is that the Swedish study grant & loan system lets you take out only what you want to, and you can choose to only receive the grant portion (free money!!) Sounds like I'm convincing myself... but I'm pretty excited about it! The program is called 'environmental coordinator' (or something) and involves practical application of a life cycle approach to building, which involves looking at environmental costs of construction, materials, energy waste, and everything else to do with how a building affects the environment. We did a lot of work on these types of problems in my final project course at UBC and I really enjoyed it. So! That is that! It will be about three days a week, except for the semester and a half of internship, so on the off days I can work as hourly at the airport.
The weekend after next I'm off to visit my friend Sabrina for a much needed city break in Berlin. It still amazes me it's less than an hour and a half away... Then in mid-March, Fredrik and I are off to use some vacation days for a tropical adventure! We'll use my staff tickets to fly to Thailand for a week (Swedes' favourite vacation destination) and then head down to Singapore for 5 days to stay with Charles and Marie! All very exciting. Now I just need to find some time to plan what exactly we'll do when we get there! Wanting to make the best use of these tickets before I leave the airport!
My trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong really was an adventure. I was so so so happy to see my friend Su again, especially since I think it will be a loooong time before I see her again. She has set up her career in Shanghai, and they don't have nearly as many vacation days in China as we do in Sweden... :( Still working on getting pictures arranged... I'll get there!
This evening Fredrik is taking me out for a nice dinner (I got it as a Christmas gift) out in Stockholm. Very happy about that, I don't spend very much time in Stockholm at all even though it's so close. Traffic can be quite bad and the train is relatively expensive.
Mimi is still jumping about as crazy kittens do. She is quite noisy, a bit like a toddler following us from room to room and meow meow meow. I seem to have trained her to hop up on the hall shelf. She always gives a warning meow before she jumps onto something high... her new favourite jump is on to the bathroom sink. A bit impressive considering there's no counter to stand on, just the rim of the sink...
Fredrik is starting his thesis work, meeting with his thesis supervisor every few days to get everything going. He wants to write about why people are afraid of GMOs. Should be very interesting.
Weather here has been quite boring. -5 to 0 degrees most of the time, and it actually snowed for about six straight days, but just teeny tiny flakes, so there isn't much built up. That and it keeps melting a bit every few days as well. There are enormous piles around the roadsides and parking lots though.
Well, I'm hoping to hear some updates from the rest of the family! I feel pretty disconnected except for a few skype calls with mom and dad... hope to hear from you!
With my strange work schedule I don't have as much time as I'd like to do much over and above cooking, cleaning, and the occasional fika with a friend... sorry it's been such a long time since the last update!
At Arlanda airport, I work on a 14-week repeating schedule for a six-month time period. Seem ridiculous? Well, it is. Fourteen people each follow the same schedule, which is different each week, following the 'winter' flight times decided by KLM and AirFrance. In April or so, this will switch over to the 'summer' flight times, and the planning department will come up with another way to organize us. There are a few people working with me who have been there 8+ years, and they say this is the WORST schedule they have ever had. A lot of short shifts (meaning MORE workdays) and over 50% of shifts starting at 4am... they're all as tired as I am and very much looking forward to the switchover, hoping something better is coming along!
I hate to complain too much, since I am still extremely happy to have a job. I have met a Canadian girl who moved to Sweden in August, learning Swedish, and she has just as much trouble as I did finding ANYONE who would even read through her CV, let alone give her a job!
But, two things have occurred recently which improve my situation:
1. December 16 I officially became a permanent resident of Sweden (hence the title of my post, 'uppehållstillstånd' means 'residence permit') which gives me
a) A permit to live and work which does not expire (though I have to get a new card in 5 years)
b) Right to monetary social benefits like CSN, the Swedish study grant and loan program
c) Possibility to become a Swedish citizen by April 2016
2. In October, I finally got a piece of paper which states I have proficiency in Swedish (though as I discovered in January it wasn't entered properly in the system... but I made them fix it so it's done now!) This means I have the right to study courses at any level in the Swedish language, since it corresponds to 'Swedish 12'.
I have been hoping for a long time that through Biotopia and the Uppland foundation I would be able to make contacts for jobs within nature conservation and nature information, but have found much frustration on that front. I had a lot of fun doing the translations I was offered, but there doesn't seem to be much future potential there. So, a lot of discussions with friends and colleagues has led me to choose a program of study for the fall.
You probably know I wasn't super keen to jump right back into school, OR to take on more debt since I have my Canadian student loans to think about. But on careful consideration, this program seems to be the best choice for me. One positive factor is that the Swedish study grant & loan system lets you take out only what you want to, and you can choose to only receive the grant portion (free money!!) Sounds like I'm convincing myself... but I'm pretty excited about it! The program is called 'environmental coordinator' (or something) and involves practical application of a life cycle approach to building, which involves looking at environmental costs of construction, materials, energy waste, and everything else to do with how a building affects the environment. We did a lot of work on these types of problems in my final project course at UBC and I really enjoyed it. So! That is that! It will be about three days a week, except for the semester and a half of internship, so on the off days I can work as hourly at the airport.
The weekend after next I'm off to visit my friend Sabrina for a much needed city break in Berlin. It still amazes me it's less than an hour and a half away... Then in mid-March, Fredrik and I are off to use some vacation days for a tropical adventure! We'll use my staff tickets to fly to Thailand for a week (Swedes' favourite vacation destination) and then head down to Singapore for 5 days to stay with Charles and Marie! All very exciting. Now I just need to find some time to plan what exactly we'll do when we get there! Wanting to make the best use of these tickets before I leave the airport!
My trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong really was an adventure. I was so so so happy to see my friend Su again, especially since I think it will be a loooong time before I see her again. She has set up her career in Shanghai, and they don't have nearly as many vacation days in China as we do in Sweden... :( Still working on getting pictures arranged... I'll get there!
This evening Fredrik is taking me out for a nice dinner (I got it as a Christmas gift) out in Stockholm. Very happy about that, I don't spend very much time in Stockholm at all even though it's so close. Traffic can be quite bad and the train is relatively expensive.
Mimi is still jumping about as crazy kittens do. She is quite noisy, a bit like a toddler following us from room to room and meow meow meow. I seem to have trained her to hop up on the hall shelf. She always gives a warning meow before she jumps onto something high... her new favourite jump is on to the bathroom sink. A bit impressive considering there's no counter to stand on, just the rim of the sink...
Fredrik is starting his thesis work, meeting with his thesis supervisor every few days to get everything going. He wants to write about why people are afraid of GMOs. Should be very interesting.
Weather here has been quite boring. -5 to 0 degrees most of the time, and it actually snowed for about six straight days, but just teeny tiny flakes, so there isn't much built up. That and it keeps melting a bit every few days as well. There are enormous piles around the roadsides and parking lots though.
Well, I'm hoping to hear some updates from the rest of the family! I feel pretty disconnected except for a few skype calls with mom and dad... hope to hear from you!
The F&F train keeps rolling on. Alles ist gut! Have fun in Berlin...have a Berliner for me (mmmmmmm)!
ReplyDeleteDad
Thanks for the exciting blog post. Love to hear about your life & travels. Enjoy Berlin, Thailand & Singapore. Best wishes to Fredrik with his thesis & and to you with applying to that new program. Love Mom
ReplyDeleteYou'll love Singapore - it's the only Asian city I've seen or heard of that is not gridlocked 24x7. Transport is easy and there are so many things to do and see. Since you only have 3 full days, you'll have to decide what your priorities are... man-made spectacles (not specs), nature ("city in a garden"), culture & history, or a combination.
ReplyDelete