Expat Jon takes on the world (well... Sweden)

Most of my blog posts about Sweden are filled with my affection for my new home.  I'm glad to be here and I love this country.  HOWEVER, the job search alone made me consider going back to the US.  I became completely frustrated by what seemed like a total disregard of my professional experience.  The worst thing is the way I'm received in social settings.  It's completely misleading.  Most Swedes are open and inviting to you when they find out you're American.  They are interested in you and your American story.  They want to know your journey and how you got here.  It's great.  My confidence was soaring as I filled out application after application. I must admit that there is a cultural difference here when it comes to one's relationship to their occupation.  I like to say that in Sweden you work to live, in America you live to work.  We wear our occupations on our sleeve.  One of the first questions we ask someone i...

With one Thanksgiving celebration under my belt now I had confidence.  I knew I could make the food (besides the cornbread) and the friends would be awesome as always.  The (affordable) turkey had been thawing all day Saturday.  It was ready.  I didn't know if I'd be ready though.  My visiting friend would be leaving on Sunday morning.  This meant he wouldn't be at the dinner.  It also meant that I'd have to show him a good time on Saturday night.  I mean, who wants to take a flight NOT tired and hungover? We went out Saturday and met some friends of mine.  Half the night was spent deciding if we'd go to this other party that was kind of far from city.  With my friends, leaving the comforts of "the city" had better be worth it.  Plus that other party had port-a-potties!  How dare they?!  I wanted to go check out the party (that I had RSVP'd to), but as the night crept on, the comforts of the city felt like the place to b...

Each year we plan a trip to the US for Thanksgiving.  I hadn't given thought to the importance of the holiday for me.  I guess I took it for granted.  Thanksgiving was always there for me.  I still consider New Year's my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving is a very close second.  The warmth and love and food and football is always amazing. I had hosted Thanksgiving dinner in Sweden back when we lived here in 2006.  I wanted to spread the spirit of the holiday to my new family.  That dinner went well.  I had my mother on speed dial to make sure I got the recipes right (I did).  Everyone loved it.  I still remember the satisfied faces of my in-laws as they sprawled out on the couch with a case of "the itis".  Ah, memories. This year we wouldn't be able to go home for Thanksgiving.  Apparently Uncle Sam and his cohorts did a little research and Expat Jon had crunched his numbers wrong at tax season in 2012.  Vacation mone...

Weddings are awesome.  That's not just my opinion that I'm trying to impress upon you.  That there is a fact.  Weddings are awesome.  They're so awesome that whenever they make a movie about weddings, that movie is a success.  Think about it.  Wedding Crashers, Bridesmaids, The Hangover, The Best Man, Four Weddings and a Funeral, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Wedding Singer, The Wood, My Best Friend's Wedding and the list goes one.  They are all good movies because they are all related to weddings .  It's a huge day for the couple celebrating and everyone is generally in a great mood.  Generally people go to weddings with the intention of getting drunk and having fun.  One of my favorite things about weddings is everyone's inhibitions on the dance floor.  People don't care if they look like they're dodging bullets while being electrocuted, they just want to dance! We had a wedding ceremony here in 2008.  I consider it one ...

I think my Swedish friends think I'm a little bit crazy.  I even think I may be a little bit crazy.  But in a good way.  I'm that "good crazy".  You know how you have that one friend who always has some crazy new idea?  Then the next week, that friend has a new, crazy new idea?   I'm that friend.  The thing is, my ideas are good.  Really good!  With the proper resources, all of my ideas would be successful and heralded by all that know of them. But then another idea comes along.  And that earlier idea becomes... meh.  I mean, it's still a good idea -  a great idea even - but this one is better and it needs all of my focus.  Even though the plan is for me to fully execute the first brilliant idea and then follow up with the even better idea.  But that new idea is so tantalizing that I just have to go all in on it.  Then the other slightly less brilliant idea gets left in the shadows.  You know how this sto...

So Pride Week just happened here in Stockholm last week.  The week of festivities is culminated by a huge parade.  Word is, there were 60,000 people at the parade this year!  That's a lot of pride.  I had to work on Saturday, so I was unable to attend.  I hadn't thought about attending, though.  I didn't know how big it is here.  I didn't know the level of support that the gay community gets here.  I must say, it's remarkable. While I was working, Young Cousin called me to see what I was doing.  I told him I was working.  He said that was unfortunate.  He was calling to invite me to watch the parade from his friend's balcony.  He said they were having fun and the view of the parade was awesome.  I tried to hide my surprise.  Young Cousin is 23.  At 23, a gay pride parade would probably have been one of the last places I would have gone to.  I wasn't homophobic or anything (or was I?), but I was more ignoran...

I heard all of the chatter.  I read all of the seemingly meaningless Facebook posts with the obligatory "#GoT" included.  I figured it was hype.  This show wasn't my type of show anyway.  I had watched a bit of an episode when I visited my brother one day.  It was a soft core porn period piece.  No thank you.  Then I heard there were some elements of fantasy.  Dragons?  Ghosts?  Magic?  Nah.  This wasn't a show for me.  Then Saturday Night Live spoofed it as if it was directed by a horny 13 year old obsessed with nudity and that confirmed my decision. This may have continued to be my view on this show if we had stayed in the States.  There are countless shows on countless channels to keep you busy in the US.  That's not so much the case here.  The shows on TV here are mostly cooking competitions, some type of singing show or a reality show from the US or UK.  I'm surprised there isn't a reality singin...

I've stood by my word to smile and nod at, hold doors for, say hello to, laugh and overall connect with strangers here.  But sometimes my happy, approachable Americanness backfires on me.  It's the drunks.  The drunks here make me wish I was a stone cold Swede.  For some reason if there is a loud, obnoxious drunk, he/she will engage with me.  It's gotten to the point where I just expect it now. A few weeks ago I was heading out to meet my friend in the city.  It was about the normal time when people are going to begin their evening of partying.  No one should be plastered at this time of night.  The ride back home, maybe.  That's when people could have had too much to drink.  But now?  No.  So naturally, this drunk is completely passed out on the train in the group of seats next to me.  And naturally, my first instinct is to take a picture of him.  Don't judge me.  I have an Instagram account to keep interestin...