Finding North

Ah, Midsummer. The second biggest holiday in Sweden ( after Christmas ) and the one I had been eagerly wanting to experience for the past six years. I know, quite the buildup right? And so far in life I've learnt that the bigger the expectation, the bigger the fall. So to ensure that disappointment didn't swallow me whole on this most gracious day, I tried to lower my anticipation and just tried to enjoy it as best as I could.  We opted for simplicity and decided to follow my boyfriend's family to Bonnstan ( the old Church Town ) to watch the celebrations. I wanted a real, authentic feel of what this day was really about and I have to say that it was as traditional as it gets, with the big pole in the center, a lot of singing and, of course, dancing.  Midsummer is all about greeting the arrival of summer, whilst celebrating life, light and fertility on the longest day of the year. Originally, nature was seen has having special powers that would ensure good heal...

Here I am, coming to you with a fresh update and some very exciting news ( I'll also add some pretty pictures taken over the last two weeks )! The last time I came here to rant about my situation with the good old Swedish bureaucracy, I had just received a negative answer about my personnummer and we had applied to legally make me my boyfriend's cohabiting partner through Migrationsverket...Well that was a big, fat bust since I later discovered on their website that their decision ( which might well be a no ) would take between ten to fourteen months...As you can imagine, despair followed this information - the best option for me would now be finding a job, something that was proving harder than expected because I only knew English. I handed in a dozen resumes and everyone was very polite, some even friendly, but nothing issued from there. Some people made me feel ridiculous ( wordlessly ) for trying to find a job here without knowing the language, which made my frustrati...

You can't talk about the north of Sweden, and in particular Skellefteå, without mentioning classic cars. I'd go as far as to say it's like a religion up here, like something sacred they cherish in their daily lives. People are very passionate and fiercely invested in their vintage cars, holding a particular sense of pride in the ones they own. So much so, that there is a group called Norrlands Motorhistoriker that was started in 1967 and they are all about these veteran vehicles . Every few years they host a car show in town and lucky for me, the most recent event happened this past weekend - I was more than delighted to go. They worked very hard and put a lot of effort into the organization, but it was all worth it because the result was incredible. As soon as we walked in, it was like we were transported into the past ( if you don't count the modern people around ), with so many beautiful cars, mopeds and motorcycles. Now I have to warn you that I know very little...

«Don't stop trying to find me here amidst the chaos» The week started and I...simply had no idea what to write about. Two weeks ago I had started composing a neat little text in my head about how Spring was in full bloom and how many relaxing outdoor activities I was getting to do. I hadn't known how living in the countryside could be so much hard work, but the fact is there are always things to do with the turn of the weather and I was thoroughly glad to get a realistic sense of what it was like to live here during these months. We brought out the hammock, the deck and the chairs to go on it, but it was necessary to oil it in preparation. So I did it and I fully enjoyed getting my hands dirty doing something so practical, under the sun. Someone had to rake all the gravel stones from the lawn, there due to all the shoveled snow we took from the driveway during the winter. I did that happily, slowly making it look better and better every day. The strawberry bushes needed to...

The birds are chirping, the sky is infinitely blue and most importantly, the sun is shining ( don't worry, this isn't about to turn into a Disney movie ). April started cloudy and cold, as I reported in one of the previous posts, but spring arrived unannounced and the weather changed abruptly. As you can probably guess, I was more than delighted .  I welcomed the warmth with open arms and started to enjoy the cozy garden sofa we put out on the balcony. I sat there with our dog almost every morning for a week, listening to music and soaking in the sun. Whenever I'm out there, I feel much happier and light. A slight breeze goes through my hair, keeping me cool under the hot sun and it makes me smile. Life is beautiful and I'm lucky to be alive. It's a blessing that I intend to treasure and this glorious weather makes me that much more thankful .  Our dog really loves it as well, so he takes advantage of any little sunny spots he can find. As soon as ...

I started learning Swedish on the 27th of September of 2017. Almost two years later and I don't think I have much to show for it, but I have made progress and it is important to celebrate that! It's not even close to enough, but I'm slowly getting there ( or so I hope ).  Since I'm fluent in Portuguese (my native tongue) and English, this becomes my third language. But learning those two languages was exceptionally breezy compared to this time around. I was born in Portugal and therefore learnt how to speak before I even knew what the world was and I studied English at school from the 5th to the 11th grade, which gave me a pretty solid base to my current knowledge. That base was then later on strengthened by the world around me (tv, movies, music, books) and talking to my boyfriend or friends from other countries on Skype/Discord. Long story short, I had quite a bit of guidance when it came to learning those two languages, but where Swedish is concerned, I feel like...

This year, spring started on the 20th of March for the northern hemisphere ( in theory at least ). Here in the north, the day started with a lot of snow. I walked the dog in the morning under heavy snowflakes and was mesmerized by the way everything outside looked so peaceful. All nature seemed to be asleep under this mantle of white and it was almost like time had stopped. With a slow, deep breath and the fresh wind in my face, I stood in the middle of the road to take it in.  But as the weather is known to be whimsical, it completely changed without warning. It looked like spring had indeed arrived... After lunch all the clouds had astonishingly cleared and the sun was shining again - something that hadn't happened in a few days. Because the day was so beautiful and I needed to get rid of some stress, I decided to go for a walk. But nothing could've prepared me for the stunning sights I was about to see. Witnessing nature at its best put me in a great mood and brought th...