Finding North

«Strength means blessed with an enemy» I received the dreaded letter on the 22nd of March - the refusal . Sweden couldn't assign me with a personnummer because I hadn't been able to get my S1 form or show any "reliable proof" of my health insurance cover within the EU. It seemed like it was over... After a two-month wait, I felt ready to accept defeat. There was no way for me to get my hands on that form, which was the only thing that was missing.  I was shocked when I received the news. Part of me had always known that it was an option, but had never really prepared for that possibility to happen. I was ( still am ) mad, frustrated, scared. What did this mean for me? Would I have to give up and leave behind the idea of living in Sweden? And what would happen to my relationship, my boyfriend currently dealing with a particularly fragile mental state, unable to move anywhere with me? My mind flooded with questions and I decidedly wanted to roll into a ball and...

«They say home is where the heart is,  But my heart is wild and free. » Two days ago, I found myself crying. At first I wasn't too sure what I was crying about ( one of the perks of being an emotional wreck... ), but soon after I realized the answer was quite simple - I missed my family and my friends. It was a strange feeling, not because I had never missed them before, but because I never thought it would hit me this hard, this early on. So, much like in a bad movie, I did the responsible thing ( but really, the only thing I could do ): I went through some of the pictures I have with the people I love, while I listened to sad songs and cried my heart out. And I knew I wanted to write a post about it, because not only would writing about it help me, but hopefully it could help someone out there who has moved and is currently far away from home.  I'm fortunate enough to be living with my boyfriend and his lovely family, who have always treated me so kindly. I co...

Frustration is a tricky thing to deal with, isn't it? Well if you ever plan on moving to Sweden, you'll be well acquainted with that concept - lots and lots of it. Today was a difficult day ( I know, my blog posts haven't exactly been bubbly so far... ), but I had actually been doing so much better lately. I've been taking it easier and trying to enjoy life as much as I can. I haven't been fighting my situation at all, the only thing I've been battling with these last few days is just my anxiety really ( leftovers of my struggled February, don't worry! ). Before I start my angsty rant, I would like to say that I really like Sweden and I think it's a great country. I believe it has several great qualities and that I will be able to make a comfortable living here, once things start going my way. That being said, I wanted to write this because lately I have been seeing a lot of posts related to the idea that Sweden might be the perfect country or that ...

Last week my boyfriend took me to a place called Vitberget, right in the middle of Skellefteå. Even though we are currently living outside of the city, he used to live there, so it was astonishing to me that I had never visited it before. From there you can see the entire city, the view so amazing that I had to catch my breath. It was lovely up there, with what felt like the world at your feet. We could hear the faint traffic noise, which from afar almost sounded like a calming lullaby to me. In a way, I guess it reminded me of my own previous city life ( it is, however, a very different place ). But not only that, it gave the city a new outlook in my mind. When we're down there, in the midst of it all, we can't see the big picture. See all of it at once, for what it truly is. When we are immersed in our lives, walking around on the streets, going from place to place, it's impossible to see how majestic it is - even if it is a small town. I really loved standing th...

Note: From this point on, I'm going to be referring to the place where I live (in the north) with the general term "Sweden" for the sake of simplicity. Please bear in mind that this is a big country and things vary a lot between the north and the south, so a lot of what I post might only apply or make sense in regards to the north. I'd also like to point out that I'll be sharing things I personally experience and the impressions I get from specific situations and people. I don't want to step on anyone's toes or make anyone upset by thinking that I'm generalizing in any way.   I arrived to my destination late at night on the 24th of January. I had planned to take the first week off to relax and enjoy some free time with my boyfriend and his family. But I couldn't do it...a mere three days in and I let my anxiety roam free - I became restless. Suddenly I had no time to lose and certainly shouldn't throw away those first few days away. The al...

Hello internet! My name is Joana and I'm from Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. For those of you who might not know a lot about it, Portugal is a small and very sunny country in Western Europe. I lived in the same street, house and city for my entire life! So it's safe to say it is very overwhelming to find myself living...in the north of Sweden right now! But how did this happen? What brought me to this cold little corner of the world? Well, let me start from the beginning... To tell this tale, we have to go back to my high school years, when I started talking to a swedish guy on the internet, who was really funny, smart and sweet. We quickly became friends and had great talks about the movies we loved, but also shared things about our lives and what made us into who we were. Time passed and I entered a local university to study Psychology, which if you don't know ( because why would you? ), is a degree that requires you to take a bachelor (3 years) and a mas...