A Fig in Sweden

a jr. pain in the butt

I told you I had officially changed my name to Lewis'. And that it was "easy peasy." Well, I called the Swedish government today to check on the status since I need to change it in my U.S. passport as soon as I get the papers. Calling the Swedish government is no simple task because they often do not speak English, and, well, my Swedish still stinks. So I called the office where I handed in the papers. They sent me to an office in Kristianstad that handles names. She told me that my husband is a "Jr" and that I may not be able to take his name because they can't separate his last name from the Jr. She said she sent my papers to another office that handles names in Simrishamn, so I had to talk to them. This woman spoke zero English, so I'm sure I sounded COMPLETELY ridiculous. In fact, after we got off the phone I realized I was using the wrong word for "think" the entire time.

I tried to explain to her that the Jr is not part of the last name... "inte efternamn" I kept saying. And then I started just spewing a bunch of Americans' names with the Jr – John F. Kennedy Jr. being the most famous. She said she understood but that's not how Swedish law works. I guess we're lucky Sophie somehow avoided this nonsense and has the correct last name, sans the Jr.

Luckily there appears to be a workaround for me. I have to change my name in my U.S. passport first and then show the Swedes. I sent my marriage certificate and application to the embassy in Stockholm yesterday, so hopefully this will be the end of this fiasco. Especially since I already have plane tickets booked in my new name!!

united states of denmark?

Sophie got her first taste of the U.S. on Friday... when we took a trip across the bridge to Denmark.

Huh?

Well, it started with a visit to the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen to register Sophie's birth and get her passport and social security number. We had an appointment at 9:30 but it was kind of irrelevant because we had to wait in line anyway, behind all the people who lost their passports and were trying to catch a flight. Oh and one woman was giving up her citizenship so she wouldn't be a target for terrorists. Luckily I pumped on the drive down so Lewis could feed Sophie a bottle while I waited in line and dealt with the woman behind the counter.

After turning in all our paperwork (her passport will be mailed to us), we decided to keep the American theme going for the day by going to a mall. I mean, I am a Jersey Girl at heart after all. Sophie needs to know where she comes from! I have to say that the mall is a great place to go with a baby. Easy access to bathrooms with changing tables plus it doesn't matter what the weather is like. A big plus when living in Scandinavia.

The mall even had an American restaurant called The President. We couldn't resist. Lewis and I both ordered the Reagan Burger (a fish sandwich). And it was a little fishy! Haha!

With her first outing into a public place, it was a big day for Sophie. But it was also a big day for me... because I had to breastfeed Sophie for the first time in public. She was having a meltdown just as we sat down for lunch. I guess I was nervous because breastfeeding is not totally accepted in the U.S. I mean, you hear about women getting kicked out of stores and restaurants all the time by ignorant people. It's different here, luckily, but I guess I'm still used to the U.S. mentality. It went fine, and I'm glad to get it under my belt.  Now I think I'll feel more comfortable about it.

A furry and friendly arrival

The family arrived! Lewis landed in Stockholm on Sunday morning wheeling his bags and two big crates out of customs. I was so relieved to see him and to see Tilly wagging her tail. I didn't sleep at all the night before because I was imagining how awful it must have been for Tilly and Harley to be in a dark cargo area for 8.5 hours.

But they came through like rock stars. We took Tilly out of her crate and she pranced through the airport like she was a traveling pro. Harley was really alert and curious, too. I was totally amazed.

Actually it's Lewis who is the rock star. He is the one that took care of all of the paperwork details and made sure the pets were OK on each leg of the flight. In Chicago he almost didn't get on the plane because the SAS person at the gate would not confirm whether or not the animals had been loaded on it. He didn't want to board in case Tilly and Harley got left behind.

For anyone who intends to travel with their pets, United was incredible (from Denver to Chicago). They went out of their way at every step to ensure Tilly and Harley were OK. The pilot even got on the intercom to say that he had just seen them load the dog and cat onto the plane, and that everyone would arrive "furry and friendly." :)

En IKEA-freak

Apparently, being an IKEA freak is BIG news in Sweden. Ha ha!

Yes, I am now famous in a very small region of southern Sweden. :) In case you can't read Swedish, the article is about how Jenny (my Australian coworker) and I left our home countries to work for IKEA.

Yeah, so you all aren't the only ones to think I'm crazy for loving IKEA so much!!

happiness

One week later ...

A full week in Sweden has come and gone, and now reality is setting in ... this place is dang cold. Many of you know that we have land in Gunnison and have wanted to settle there. Well, I think Gunnison will feel warm after this experience.

When I woke up yesterday, it was 18 degrees F. I have one of those weather stations that I brought along so I can see how cold it is outside in Fahrenheit instead of having to do the math all the time to convert from Celsius. Today it's been hovering around 33 degrees, so a nice little warmup.

Yesterday afternoon/evening I met up with a girl named Donna (pictured above). She moved here from south China the same day I did. We met while registering for our "personalnumber," a number you need to do everything from setting up a bank account to getting a mobile phone. It's kind of like a social security number, I guess. Anyway, we hit it off and made dinner together last night. She showed me how to make authentic Chinese fried rice, and I showed her how to make Pho, though it wasn't nearly as good as Lou's. She seemed curious about the Indian food I make, so maybe I'll try that next time.

One thing that was really interesting about hanging out with Donna was her perception of Americans. We got on the topic of politics, and I mentioned that I don't like Bush. You should have seen the relief on her face. She said people in China don't like Bush either and don't understand why he has killed so many people. She said when she told her friends in China that she had met me, she had to add, "Yeah but she's not that kind of American." Because of Bush, and the fact that we voted him into a second term, their view of Americans in general is not very favorable. They think of the typical American as arrogant, privileged and superficial.

With IKEA being such an international company, I'm sure this isn't the last time I'll hear things like that. In my department, 99 percent of the employees are Swedes. Five of us are not. Peter is a copywriter from Great Britain, Patrick is a copywriter from Ireland, Mike is a project leader from Great Britain and Jenny is an art director from Australia. Jenny and I work on the same team and sit next to each other, which is really great since everyone else speaks Swedish around us. I've also gotten to know a girl named Jit from Singapore, who is my assigned "buddy" to help me get acclimated. Jenny and Jit are work pals, and the two of them have invited me to lunch a few times this week, which is really nice. Jit has also offered to teach me Swedish swear words! :)

My first night in Sweden

When I woke up this morning I had a strong, underlying feeling that this was the right decision for us to come out here. Fear is such a strong emotion ... and it could have easily kept us back in Denver.

My HR manager, Karin, is a big reason for my positive attitude. Last night, she picked me up from the train station, loaded my 4 bags in the car as well as a cruiser bike and brought me to our temporary apartment. She also picked up a few groceries for breakfast for me. Then, if that wasn't already plenty, she invited me to her house for dinner. I biked over there at 6:45 and enjoyed a great evening with her and her husband, Per, and her three boys, Jakob (10), Joel (8) and Johannes (2). As I approached their home and went to park my bike, Jakob peeked his head out the door and yelled "Hello!" Little Johannes, with his blond curly hair, kept trying to tackle me once I was inside. Then Joel came home from Swim practice and it was a full house, full of laughter and a lot of positive energy. Per made pasta with mushrooms and bacon ... and, yes, I ate the bacon! :)

I can't tell you how good a home-cooked meal was after traveling all day .. and to be welcomed with open arms by everyone in Karin's family, including her feisty toddler.

As I was leaving, Karin told me to stop by anytime, saying, "If we only have a piece of bread in the house, we'll all share it." 

Pics of our Swedish pad here ...

 

New meaning to HIGH-speed Internet

In theory, being apart from your husband for a month or two may not sound like a HUGE deal. In reality, it means one very weepy goodbye at the airport.

On the plane, I finally managed to think about something besides the fact that I already miss Lewis miserably. Good thing, too, because when I flipped through the Lufthansa magazine, I discovered that they have wireless Internet on the plane. I signed up and then skyped Lewis ... we talked over the Internet while I was on the plane! He knew it was working when he could hear the German-speaking flight attendants on the intercom. That is just so cool. So get Skype and then you can talk to me over the Internet for free! Even while flying over the Atlantic ...

So the journey begins, and I have about 11 hours to figure out how I'm going to get my gynormous bags on the train. Lewis lost feeling in his arm carrying my huge duffle bag to the check-in counter. :)

T-minus 3 weeks

I owe it all to our uncomfortable porch chairs.

On a Friday night in June, I decided to see what wicker chairs I could find to replace the lame bistro chairs that started hurting my butt after an hour. I scanned the websites of the usual suspects: pottery barn, crate & barrel and Pier 1. Then, I thought, maybe IKEA has something.

They didn't, but when I looked at the job postings, there was something even more enticing ... a copywriter position at their Swedish headquarters.

Most of you know what an IKEA freak I am, so you can imagine my excitement. Since then, it's been a series of phone interviews, emails, a trip to Älmhult and Swedish work permit bureacracy.

Now we are cleared for takeoff, and my start date is scheduled for Nov. 15. Stay tuned as we eat our first dish of pickled herring, find our way around the Swedish version of Home Depot and teach Tilly to fetch, come and sit ... all in Swedish.