Our New Home

Monday, 5 days ago, was our big moving day. Since I had been working the entire weekend, Dan did a little more than half the packing (thanks!), and the run up to Monday was intense. On Monday we got up early, rented a HUGE van, and came to the empty apartment for a walk-through and key swap. It was so clean! Then the lifting started. And went on. And on. And on.

I'm used to having some parental help with moving. When I was in college and moving all the time, they'd come and we'd have a blast. We'd all ride around in the old stinky truck (now sold off), do errands together, Mom would put things away while Dad put things together. There'd be a Bruegger's bagel run in the morning, and it wasn't so stressful. So when I think of moving, I usually imagine that kind of fun.

There was of course the move OUT of Dan and I's shared apartment in St. Paul. That nearly led to my emotional unraveling, but that move was of a different caliber. Some things were sold, some were stored, some were shipped, and some were packed away. We had two of everything - beds, tables, bikes, snowboards, mixing bowls. Of course we were moving to Sweden, to make it a little more crazy.

I suppose I would rate this move as 40% less stressful than the St. Paul -> Sweden move, but it was no piece of cake. This time it was incredibly physically exhausting because it was just us for a solid 12 hours. So many times I had to set things down after 5 feet because my wrists (prior injury) just couldn't handle it. I wish I'd hired someone, I sincerely wish I had. Next time we will, mark my words.

But we're in now, and despite my crazy working schedule, we've both worked hard to get things in place. Dan has been backing me up 100%, putting things together when I'm gone. At this point, we still have a TV stand to put together, and it's going to be quite a project. We actually don't have all the tools for it. We still have tons of boxes that we can't unpack until we have more bookshelf space. We have the massive amount of bikes and other sports gear that we need to figure out what to do with. But at least the living room, bedroom, and kitchen are looking pretty good.

So far we love it. It gets lots of light, it's in good condition, we have good reports on the landlord, we like the furniture we've chosen (maybe minus the coffee table which is a little too big for my tastes), we have plenty of space, and there's the possibility of cats (which we should have news on soon). We still need lighting (only the bathroom and kitchen have provided light), all sorts of storage units, and some gear to hang up pictures. It'll take a while to get fully settled, but since we have an open-ended lease, we don't feel any rush.

Ch-ch-changes

I write to you from a very comfortable new chair in our new apartment. It's been a crazy few weeks. Everything I had hoped for in Sweden happened in one short time, which has been exhausting.

First of all, I have been given an amazing job opportunity. About a week and a half ago I was very suddenly hired as a substitute "personlig assistent," which best translates to a personal care attendant in English. That means that I work one-on-one with a specific person who has physical and/or mental limitations. I help them to meet their basic needs, as well as go to work/school, meet friends, etc. I can't really say more because I've signed a confidentiality agreement, so I can't say who I work with or the exact things that happen. The substitute part means that I don't have set hours, and I'm paid hourly rather than by a salary. It seems as though quite a few of my hours I'll know ahead of time, but that when someone is sick I will also be called to come in. For now, this is really good for me. It could of course be an opportunity for full-time work later if I so choose.

I have been working really hard for this. I've applied for countless jobs, pushed myself in Swedish as fast as I could go. But really this came down to a friend (now boss) who gave me an opportunity. She let me shadow her on the job a couple times since she knew it was in my field; then when they needed someone, she trusted me enough to take the chance. Yeah, my Swedish is on the edge. People do need to speak a little slower with me, because thick accents throw me off. But it's a lot of luck that this happened so quickly, and it feels really good.

The Swedish part has been a blast though. All the training and work is of course in Swedish, and I've been able to understand it all and of course communicate back. After 8 hours of that, the strangest thing happened last week. I came home to Dan and everything I wanted to say to him, I first thought in Swedish. It was bizarre. It was like a little reflex. It only lasted an hour after that, but WOW, what an interesting landmark for my second language journey. I've never come this close with German or Kiswahili.

Already I'm fully trained in. Today, Thursday, is my first day on the job alone.

Tomorrow, more on the move.