Something Swedish and fascinating

My job hunt starts early each morning, and usually starts off on thelocal.se. This morning I noticed an interesting news story about a song aired on a Swedish children's TV show last night, aimed at educating children about the human body and diseases, and featuring dancing penises and vaginas!
This has, kind of understandably, massively divided opinion. I don't fully understand the lyrics as the song is quite fast, but it's quite catchy.

You can read the news story here.

Moderna Museet

We had a really nice day yesterday. As my boyfriend, Kai, and I are both currently putting a lot of effort into job hunting I feel like we could easily get bogged down worrying about the future, so I feel like it's really important for us to also get out and enjoy ourselves, so we remember why we actually came here in the first place.

First we met Kai's friend Eddie for lunch. Eddie gave me a lot of help when I was last year, and has been a very good friend to both of us. We went for lunch at Waan Thai, opposite Sankt Eriksplan station - when I was here in September this restaurant quickly became my favourite restaurant in Stockholm. My only complaint is that the amount of food they serve is ridiculously large!

After that we went to Moderna Museet, which is a gallery I highly recommend to anyone either living in Stockholm or visiting here. I went there when I came for a visit in June last year, and absolutely loved it. It's located on Skeppsholmen, a very beautiful island in the center of Stockholm. It's very green, with lovely views of Södermalm, and is very peaceful. Last time it was in this area I noticed that you can be in the center of Stockholm but it can still be tranquil and quiet, which is such a huge contrast to London!

The current exhibition is on post-modern sculpture, and I really enjoyed it. This show takes up one room, and the way the work is laid out is great, because as well as being able to appreciate each piece individually you can also take a step back and look at everything at once, almost turning the entire room into one giant piece of art.

Another thing I found was that the permanent collection is rotated - although there were some pieces I saw during my previous visit, there were also pieces that were not there last time. I really think this is a positive thing - it can be a bit disappointing to visit a gallery and find there's only one room of new work, especially if there's an entrance fee. 

As well as having work by artists who are well-known throughout the world, such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jackson Pollock, Moderna Museet also has work by a large number of Swedish and Nordic artists who perhaps I would not have heard about otherwise. Yesterday I noticed a painting by a Danish artist, Harald Giersing, who I had not heard of before, but whose work I'm keen to look into further. 

In the piece I saw, and also in some of his other paintings that I've since looked at, I can see where the artist started to paint but then changed his mind and worked over it, which is something very relevant to my own drawings at the moment, as I'm working with building up layers, smudging mistakes and working over them. If and when I move back to concentrating on painting I think I could draw on his work even more. Thanks Moderna Museet!

Next month there will be a new exhibition of work by Louise Bourgeois, an artist who is a particular favourite of mine because of her use of textiles. I picked up a flyer yesterday, and some of the work that will be shown has never been publicly shown before, which is quite exciting. On Fridays after 6pm you can also go to the museum for free, which will probably be quite convenient once I'm working.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the new show next month, and to many more trips to Moderna Museet in the future.

It came and went

It snowed for the first time since we arrived, but has actually already melted away. I'm not really that keen on snow, or maybe just how my own country copes with snow, but on this occasion I was reminded of how magical it looks when it first starts to snow, before layers of ice develop or it melts into sludge.
There's a woody area near to our house, and it looked really beautiful covered in snow. There seem to be a lot of dogs living here too, and it was nice to see them being taken for walks covered in snow. Yesterday our time job hunting was punctuated by breaks outside to play in the snow like children. It made a nice change for me - I kept remembering that the alternative option was being in London.
I feel a bit less negative about snow now, but then this was the dry, powdery snow that it's difficult to slip on. I didn't expect it to melt quite so quickly - this time yesterday every surface outside was still covered in layers of snow. It snowed lightly but steadily throughout yesterday, and most of the night before.

On a different note, today I've had a serious lead about a job, one that exactly fits the kind of thing I was hoping to do here. I don't want to jink it, and should learn more soon, but for now I am hopeful.

Fatal errors

I suppose it's only natural that we're going to make some silly mistakes whilst we're here, especially whilst we're getting used to the language. I probably made plenty in Finland too, I just can't remember them.
First mistake: Last night in the supermarket my boyfriend said "Look, they have apricot juice!" I'm not sure why I didn't question this, seeing as he can't read Swedish. I didn't know the word "kräm", and assumed it must be another word for juice. So we bought the juice, opened it at home, and discovered that we'd actually bought a litre of apricot puree! We ate some of it out of sheer stubbornness, and there was nothing wrong with it, but it's definitely not fruit juice. We were a bit confused about why anyone would actually need a litre of apricot puree, we tried to google it and it seems to be a product for baking. So now we have a litre of puree and we're not sure what to do with it. Lesson learned.Second mistake: This morning I decided to write a speculative job application in Swedish - prior to this I've been writing applications only in English. I wrote it, felt pretty happy with it, and sent it off. Every other time I've written in Swedish off the top of my head I've then checked what I've written in a translator to be sure there are no errors. You'd think this would be especially important for a job application, but for some reason I did not do this, and as soon as I had sent it I realised that rather than saying I had customer service experience I'd actually said I had experience in art dealing! So I'm assuming that the application won't get very far, but if they read my CV I hope they'll realise that this was just a language mistake. Especially as the company has absolutely nothing to do with art!

Getting back into it

We've been back in Stockholm for a few days now, and I'm getting back into it. The weather now reminds me so much of being in Finland, it's not what I'm used to, but is also strangely familiar at the same time. This morning when I went outside for a cigarette I almost felt that I was in Turku again. Although we missed Christmas here there are still lots of Christmas trees and lights everywhere, and it makes Stockholm look even more beautiful than usual.

For the last few days we've mainly been exploring because it's all totally new to my boyfriend, and still very new for me. Today we went for a long walk around Södermalm, and I noticed some galleries and art related organisations to look into further. One thing I'm really excited about is the opportunity to bring my work to a new country, as this has been an ambition of mine for a while now. I have previously sold two pieces to a buyer in Sweden, but I've never actually exhibited here. Aside from obvious stuff like finding a job and a place to live, developing my work here is one of my primary aims.

I am so much more confident with language than I was in September, but I'm still a bit nervous with speaking. I did decide whilst I was still in England that I would just speak and speak and speak as much as I possibly can here, and be prepared to make mistakes or make myself look a bit silly. I think I really need to commit to that now.

One issue that I mentioned in September, and which has come up again, is the very frustrating habit many Swedish people have of replying to me in English as soon as they can hear that I have a foreign accent. It feels quite unfair, because this happens when people have clearly understood what I've said in Swedish. For example, in a bar on Saturday I ordered our drinks in Swedish, the barman picked up two beer glasses and then asked me for ID in English, and told me the price in English. I followed the advice I was given by an Irish man I met here in September, and just insisted on replying in Swedish even though he was speaking English. It kind of knocks my confidence a bit because I start to worry that I'm not clear when I speak Swedish, which in turn makes me more anxious about speaking in the first place.

In the same bar we got chatting to a Swedish man, and my boyfriend asked him if he had any idea why people are doing this. His explanation was that there is only one language spoken in this country, and people like having the chance to speak a different language. Unfortunately that makes it sound like this will be happening for as long as I do not have a perfect Swedish accent or until I have a more confident tone of voice. Maybe I should start speaking with a bit more conviction. If anyone reading has any further advice about this I'm keen to hear it, because I am wondering how my Swedish will improve and how I can gain more confidence when I don't always get the chance to actually engage with others in Swedish. I can read and write quite easily, it's getting used to hearing spoken Swedish and having conversations with others that is my problem at the moment. I suppose the only real way around this problem is to keep learning and persevering.

And finally, tomorrow evening I'll be making a final visit to Rinkeby to collect some belongings I left at my old house. It'll be a bit odd to go there again. My boyfriend has now seen the expression on a Swedish person's face when they hear that I used to live in Rinkeby, so I think he's looking forward to this experience with some trepidation.

The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

My boyfriend and I flew back to Stockholm yesterday, and I'm so pleased that we're back now. I spent a lot of time on the t-bana previously, and as soon as I got to the platform at T-Centralen I felt like I was back!
Again we opted for Airbnb for our initial accomodation. Thankfully I gained experience when I was here in September, and will be staying here for longer. We are staying in Hagsätra this time, an area I'd never been to until yesterday, but I'm actually quite keen on the area. The residents are predominantly Swedish, which is totally different to Rinkeby, but it's preferable because I'd like to integrate with Swedish people. The building and area is more like what I would expect here, and is actually quite pretty. Last night we also met a Swedish cat, which is obviously a positive! Local amenities are much better than in Rinkeby, and although we only got here yesterday I'm fairly happy with our choice, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the area. Soon we'll start looking for a more long term place to live, and I would definitely consider Hagsätra as an option.
Obviously it's much colder than when I was here before. After I left Sweden I found out I'd caught the end of the hottest summer in 70 years! Having lived in Finland I had some idea of what to expect from this time of year, although Swedish people told me that winters in Finland are usually worse than here. I can believe this, as there's no snow on the ground at the moment - it is chilly, but it's pretty much what I assumed for this time of year.
We're going to take the weekend to settle a bit more, as it's all totally new to my boyfriend, and from Monday we'll get back to sorting our lives out. Upon reflection I realised that September was really not the right time, everything about our situation now seems a lot better, and I hope this means that we will be successful. Last time I was here was very helpful as a trial period, it made me confident that Stockholm is where I would like to be, and gave me experience of coping with living here. I'm looking forward to continuing my adventures, and settling here in a way that wasn't possible last time. It's a joy to get out of London again, and I don't intend on being back there anytime in the near future.

I'm coming back!

I am delighted to say that I will be back in Sweden this time next month! My boyfriend and I have our flights booked for 2nd January, and we've arranged a place to stay initially, again through Airbnb. I've definitely learned from past experience, and we've arranged a place to stay for 6 weeks. Hopefully this longer period of time will give us more success in finding somewhere more permanent to live. My time in England has been busy and has gone by quite quickly, and I'm so excited to go back to Sweden. The fact that this time round i won't be leaving my boyfriend behind makes a massive difference.
I'm also feeling a bit more confident, because today out of sheer boredom I looked back at some entries in Frozen In Finland. Some of the early entries I read mentioned feeling lost and confused, feeling scared, and feeling like a child because I struggled to do simple things without help. When I actually think back on my time in Finland I don't remember that - I remember being able to get along speaking Finnish, I remember being able to understand things and having confidence. This has reminded me that things weren't always like that there, and has reassured me that things can and will change for me in terms of my confidence speaking Swedish too. I also had a confidence boost after speaking to some Swedish people, in Swedish, online, and one person told me that at least my written Swedish was excellent. Mr Dictionary helped a bit, but that's ok.
My boyfriend speaks less Swedish than I do, so when we first get there I'll certainly be the more knowledgeable of the two of us, and this makes me more inclined to try, for both of our sakes. We'll learn together, and I've already concluded that I need to just try, be prepared to make a fool of myself, and keep going as much as I can, even if I feel shy or embarrassed. I can understand an awful lot, but there were occasions in September when I probably could have spoken Swedish but felt anxious that I wouldn't be clear enough or I'd make a fool of myself, so didn't even try, which I feel is totally the wrong attitude. For now, I'm more confident, and I hope that doesn't disappear the minute the plane lands. I can't wait to go!