My first year in Sweden
Jan. 1st, 2012 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareinaAs I type this it is New Year's Eve—there are occasional sounds from outside of people's fireworks being shot off, and I am contentedly curled up at home with my sweetie, who is at the next computer, within easy reach.
One year ago today I was visiting a friend in Geneva, on my way to Sweden from Italy. One year ago tomorrow I landed in Stockholm, took a train to Tierp to the home of some friends I had first met in Alaska the winter before, and visited with them while![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lord_kjar drove south to meet me there for the start of our first "date"—a 10 day road-trip which included a trip to Gotland to introduce him to my Queen, visits to the homes of three out of four of his siblings (and the chance to meet his parents, too, when they also visited one on them whilst we were there), attendance at a play put on in southern Sweden by one of his friends who lives up here in the north, and attendance at the SCA 12th night event, where the above mentioned Queen stepped down and became a countess. Then we did the long drive north to Luleå, and I moved in with him. At that point I had only one suitcase full of stuff with me, and the rest was in storage with a friend in Scotland.
The rest of January was a delight. He introduced me to Swedish Folk Dancing, which is one of the most fun dance forms I have tried, I joined the student choir he has been singing in since he was a student himself (being a student is not a requirement—the only thing they require is that you love to sing), I joined his gaming group, and I started taking Swedish classes. Perhaps even more importantly to me after a decade of living places where snow falls rarely, if ever, it snowed! There was a good thick coating of snow when I arrived, and more fell on top of it, and even the trees were covered in snowy wonderfulness. The only thing I noticed then, or since, that we are lacking is mountains—there are none on this coast of Sweden.
The highlight of the month of February was a trip he and I took to Tromsø to meet with some geologists there with whom I would have loved to have done collaborative research. They are working in northern Norway on a project that would have been much fun. Sadly, we never were able to work out funding for me to join their team, but it was a fun trip nonetheless. There are some lovely mountains between here and Tromsø.
During that month I also decided I should look up the local geology now that I had moved, and when I searched for "Luleå geology" the very first hit was a job announcement at the local uni (a 10 minute walk from our apartment) for someone to be the person in charge of the Ore Deposits department. Since I am marginally qualified for such a position I applied. After applying (the deadline was the day after I saw the ad for the position) I contacted the person listed under "for further information please contact" and let him know how I had found the ad, and let him know that while I didn't see the ad on time to take advantage of the "further information", perhaps he could help me with the original question and tell me a bit about the local geology? He invited me to his office, and we had a lovely chat about local rock types and my background as a geologist. He indicated then that perhaps there might be a possibility of my teaching metamorphic petrology on a part time basis, and I expressed interest in such a position.
One of the highlights of March was an SCA day at the forge in Gammelstad—the original Luleå city center—they had to move the town in the 1600's when the sea level changed and they could no longer use the harbour.
These forge days happen now and then—SCA people gather at the forge to make things. We each made steel nålbinding needles, and then we used his as a model from which we cast a handful more of them in bronze. Much fun. We also did a small road trip to a town a couple of hours north of here to visit the shop of a man who makes shoes for Swedish folk dancing to get my feet measured for my own pair. They are so comfortable to dance in!
The very end of the month saw my stuff finally arrive here from being shipped here from Scotland, and we started saying that we really ought to move to someplace with a bit more room.
Slight pause in typing, while we went to enjoy watching fireworks out our windows. The widow at the front of the apartment gives a good view of the big display being put on at the University, while the window at the back of the apartment gives a nice view of the (much further away) fireworks display happening somewhere over near the city center.
In April we took the night train to southern Sweden to attend Gothcon, a gaming convention in Göteborg (also called Gothenburg, hence the name of the con). Not only was the convention much fun, but we had an added bonus of sneaking away to visit some distant cousins of mine who live not too far away.
At the end of May we drove south, along with a group of local SCA folk, for Double Wars, the biggest camping event in the Kingdom. The road trip involved two rental vans full of people, armour, pavilions, etc., and was much fun, but the event was even more fun. I had missed camping events! I also had an email from my contact at the Uni letting me know that they still had no clue what was happening with respect to hiring for the position I had applied for, but that he would soon be advertising a post-doc position and that he encouraged me to apply for that one when it came open.
June was very busy. It started out with the second half of the Double War trip, and another good road trip with friends home (and it was the first time in my life wherein I travelled with so many people and we actually stuck to schedule! The following weekendlord_kjar and I drove over to the border with Norway to spend the weekend in the mountains—very pretty! The weekend after that (and Midsummer itself a few days thereafter) was a big folk music and dance weekend, including performances by our folk dance group. That gave us one weekend at the end of the month to stay home and simply enjoy one another's company before I had to fly south.
I spent most of July in Australia, since it was necessary to leave Sweden in order to apply for my permanent resident visa, and to remain there until the visa was approved. During my nearly four weeks there I managed to apply for the visa, visit friends in Canberra, visit family in Melbourne (including my mother, who was also visiting Australia at the time), visit friends in Tasmania, apply for that above mentioned post-doc position in Luleå, and meet with my erstwhile advisor and make some good progress at writing up a paper for publication based on my PhD research. I enjoyed the trip, but I missedlord_kjar and Sweden, and the day I got the notice that my visa was approved I was on a plane that same night.
I arrived home to Luleå the last week of July, which gave us just enough time to build a rope bed and pack and organize things to take with us on a 10-day road trip to southern Sweden for the Medieval week in Visby, on the island of Gotland.
Starting in Septemberlord_kjar and I taught the intro to Swedish Folk dancing on Monday evenings. That month also saw us attend two different weekend SCA events, one 1.5 hours south, the other 3 hours south, both of which involved plenty of dancing, good food, and fun times with friends. In between the two events we took a trip to his parent's house for the weekend (something we manage every couple of months), and the final weekend we participated in a local mini gaming con. At the end of the month I heard from my contact at the uni with encouraging news on my prospects for the post doc position and he agreed that I should attend a geology short course in Tromsø that I had been interested in.
At the beginning of October I met with my contact for a "job interview", which is to say he let me know that I was, as he had hoped I would be, the sole applicant for the post doc position, and was I still interested in taking the job? Yes, of course I was! We agreed to a 1 November start date, and he gave me a bit of "light reading" I could do in the meantime.
The second week of October I did a road trip to Tromsø for that short course.lord_kjar couldn't make it that time, but one of our gaming friends had been looking for an excuse to go somewhere else to try to focus on his writing, so he came along, and even did all of the driving through the mountains so that I could enjoy the view.
We flew to Germany late in the month to attend an SCA event. This one was special for me because it was the first time that I got to be the person organizing a vigil and peerage ceremony for a friend of mine. (The local guy who taught smithing at the Forge day I mentioned back in February).
Then, at the end of the month I attended another short course, this one at LTU focusing on how to use a 3D modelling program. Since my new job is based upon doing 3D geochemical modelling, this was a very useful course.
In November I started my new job, got an office, and found out that I wouldn't need to invest in my own smart phone because the University was moving away from land line phones and that all employees would get a smart phone that is also set up to work with the uni switchboard as well. We also went to a gaming con a couple hours drive to the south, and attended a local SCA event.
December has always been my favourite month, since it contains my birthday, and it brings us back into winter and snow! This one has been a lovely one, with my birthday party, a visit to a friend one weekend, the local SCA holiday potluck, and the trip to spend Christmas weekend with his parents. The snow arrived a bit later than I had wished it to, but it is well established now and looking wonderful.
One year after moving to Sweden for love, and I am still head over heels in love. This is the most togetherness relationship I have ever had—we work together on so many projects, we enjoy so many of the same activities. We "click" in ways that make I, who have always been lucky in love and always led a charmed life, go "wow, this is wonderful". I have a good job, a happy relationship, enjoy good health, and have an active social life in addition to having a loving partner. Life is truly wonderful.
I wish all of my friends a Happy New Year, and hope that 2012 brings you all much joy.
One year ago today I was visiting a friend in Geneva, on my way to Sweden from Italy. One year ago tomorrow I landed in Stockholm, took a train to Tierp to the home of some friends I had first met in Alaska the winter before, and visited with them while
lord_kjar drove south to meet me there for the start of our first "date"—a 10 day road-trip which included a trip to Gotland to introduce him to my Queen, visits to the homes of three out of four of his siblings (and the chance to meet his parents, too, when they also visited one on them whilst we were there), attendance at a play put on in southern Sweden by one of his friends who lives up here in the north, and attendance at the SCA 12th night event, where the above mentioned Queen stepped down and became a countess. Then we did the long drive north to Luleå, and I moved in with him. At that point I had only one suitcase full of stuff with me, and the rest was in storage with a friend in Scotland.The rest of January was a delight. He introduced me to Swedish Folk Dancing, which is one of the most fun dance forms I have tried, I joined the student choir he has been singing in since he was a student himself (being a student is not a requirement—the only thing they require is that you love to sing), I joined his gaming group, and I started taking Swedish classes. Perhaps even more importantly to me after a decade of living places where snow falls rarely, if ever, it snowed! There was a good thick coating of snow when I arrived, and more fell on top of it, and even the trees were covered in snowy wonderfulness. The only thing I noticed then, or since, that we are lacking is mountains—there are none on this coast of Sweden.
The highlight of the month of February was a trip he and I took to Tromsø to meet with some geologists there with whom I would have loved to have done collaborative research. They are working in northern Norway on a project that would have been much fun. Sadly, we never were able to work out funding for me to join their team, but it was a fun trip nonetheless. There are some lovely mountains between here and Tromsø.
During that month I also decided I should look up the local geology now that I had moved, and when I searched for "Luleå geology" the very first hit was a job announcement at the local uni (a 10 minute walk from our apartment) for someone to be the person in charge of the Ore Deposits department. Since I am marginally qualified for such a position I applied. After applying (the deadline was the day after I saw the ad for the position) I contacted the person listed under "for further information please contact" and let him know how I had found the ad, and let him know that while I didn't see the ad on time to take advantage of the "further information", perhaps he could help me with the original question and tell me a bit about the local geology? He invited me to his office, and we had a lovely chat about local rock types and my background as a geologist. He indicated then that perhaps there might be a possibility of my teaching metamorphic petrology on a part time basis, and I expressed interest in such a position.
One of the highlights of March was an SCA day at the forge in Gammelstad—the original Luleå city center—they had to move the town in the 1600's when the sea level changed and they could no longer use the harbour.
These forge days happen now and then—SCA people gather at the forge to make things. We each made steel nålbinding needles, and then we used his as a model from which we cast a handful more of them in bronze. Much fun. We also did a small road trip to a town a couple of hours north of here to visit the shop of a man who makes shoes for Swedish folk dancing to get my feet measured for my own pair. They are so comfortable to dance in!
The very end of the month saw my stuff finally arrive here from being shipped here from Scotland, and we started saying that we really ought to move to someplace with a bit more room.
Slight pause in typing, while we went to enjoy watching fireworks out our windows. The widow at the front of the apartment gives a good view of the big display being put on at the University, while the window at the back of the apartment gives a nice view of the (much further away) fireworks display happening somewhere over near the city center.
In April we took the night train to southern Sweden to attend Gothcon, a gaming convention in Göteborg (also called Gothenburg, hence the name of the con). Not only was the convention much fun, but we had an added bonus of sneaking away to visit some distant cousins of mine who live not too far away.
At the end of May we drove south, along with a group of local SCA folk, for Double Wars, the biggest camping event in the Kingdom. The road trip involved two rental vans full of people, armour, pavilions, etc., and was much fun, but the event was even more fun. I had missed camping events! I also had an email from my contact at the Uni letting me know that they still had no clue what was happening with respect to hiring for the position I had applied for, but that he would soon be advertising a post-doc position and that he encouraged me to apply for that one when it came open.
June was very busy. It started out with the second half of the Double War trip, and another good road trip with friends home (and it was the first time in my life wherein I travelled with so many people and we actually stuck to schedule! The following weekend
lord_kjar and I drove over to the border with Norway to spend the weekend in the mountains—very pretty! The weekend after that (and Midsummer itself a few days thereafter) was a big folk music and dance weekend, including performances by our folk dance group. That gave us one weekend at the end of the month to stay home and simply enjoy one another's company before I had to fly south.I spent most of July in Australia, since it was necessary to leave Sweden in order to apply for my permanent resident visa, and to remain there until the visa was approved. During my nearly four weeks there I managed to apply for the visa, visit friends in Canberra, visit family in Melbourne (including my mother, who was also visiting Australia at the time), visit friends in Tasmania, apply for that above mentioned post-doc position in Luleå, and meet with my erstwhile advisor and make some good progress at writing up a paper for publication based on my PhD research. I enjoyed the trip, but I missed
lord_kjar and Sweden, and the day I got the notice that my visa was approved I was on a plane that same night. I arrived home to Luleå the last week of July, which gave us just enough time to build a rope bed and pack and organize things to take with us on a 10-day road trip to southern Sweden for the Medieval week in Visby, on the island of Gotland.
Starting in September
lord_kjar and I taught the intro to Swedish Folk dancing on Monday evenings. That month also saw us attend two different weekend SCA events, one 1.5 hours south, the other 3 hours south, both of which involved plenty of dancing, good food, and fun times with friends. In between the two events we took a trip to his parent's house for the weekend (something we manage every couple of months), and the final weekend we participated in a local mini gaming con. At the end of the month I heard from my contact at the uni with encouraging news on my prospects for the post doc position and he agreed that I should attend a geology short course in Tromsø that I had been interested in.At the beginning of October I met with my contact for a "job interview", which is to say he let me know that I was, as he had hoped I would be, the sole applicant for the post doc position, and was I still interested in taking the job? Yes, of course I was! We agreed to a 1 November start date, and he gave me a bit of "light reading" I could do in the meantime.
The second week of October I did a road trip to Tromsø for that short course.
lord_kjar couldn't make it that time, but one of our gaming friends had been looking for an excuse to go somewhere else to try to focus on his writing, so he came along, and even did all of the driving through the mountains so that I could enjoy the view. We flew to Germany late in the month to attend an SCA event. This one was special for me because it was the first time that I got to be the person organizing a vigil and peerage ceremony for a friend of mine. (The local guy who taught smithing at the Forge day I mentioned back in February).
Then, at the end of the month I attended another short course, this one at LTU focusing on how to use a 3D modelling program. Since my new job is based upon doing 3D geochemical modelling, this was a very useful course.
In November I started my new job, got an office, and found out that I wouldn't need to invest in my own smart phone because the University was moving away from land line phones and that all employees would get a smart phone that is also set up to work with the uni switchboard as well. We also went to a gaming con a couple hours drive to the south, and attended a local SCA event.
December has always been my favourite month, since it contains my birthday, and it brings us back into winter and snow! This one has been a lovely one, with my birthday party, a visit to a friend one weekend, the local SCA holiday potluck, and the trip to spend Christmas weekend with his parents. The snow arrived a bit later than I had wished it to, but it is well established now and looking wonderful.
One year after moving to Sweden for love, and I am still head over heels in love. This is the most togetherness relationship I have ever had—we work together on so many projects, we enjoy so many of the same activities. We "click" in ways that make I, who have always been lucky in love and always led a charmed life, go "wow, this is wonderful". I have a good job, a happy relationship, enjoy good health, and have an active social life in addition to having a loving partner. Life is truly wonderful.
I wish all of my friends a Happy New Year, and hope that 2012 brings you all much joy.
