Monthly Archives: February 2012

Royal Baby! Royal Baby! ROYAL BABY! | the Expat Blog

Written on February 24, 2012 by in Sweden, The Expat Blog

Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Victoria had a daughter at 4:26 a.m. on Thursday, February 23. (That’s today.) The baby was 51 cm tall (20 in tall) and 3280 g (7.2 lbs). Which is really exciting and all, but just wait until you see this video of Prince Daniel announcing the birth of his first daughter.

It’s all in Swedish, but if you skip to about 1:27, you’ll see the cutest thing ever. Prince Daniel must have gotten a little overwhelmed or strayed from the script because he said, “Mina känslor är all over the place,” a Swedish-English mix meaning ”My feelings are all over the place!” Adorable.

Also, you may notice that when he starts off, everyone is all quiet and rapt with attention and everything, and then the second he says he’s had a daughter, ahem I mean Princess, there are a few squeals that just burst out of grown adults who are also professional journalists. You don’t get that everyday.

For the full post on the Expat Blog, click here. You can also keep up with the latest on The Local’s Live Blog, where news and commentary is being uploaded as we speak. Princess Cakes are flying out of bakeries in honor of the little one (for an in-depth history of the Princess Cake, check out “Princess Cake Demystified” on SemiSwede here). And of course, you can “Like” the Royal Family on Facebook for all the official updates.

Most exciting for the bettors out there is, of course, the new Princess’ name. Desiree, Kristina, Ingrid, and Märta are leading the pack with Anna at the bottom for those who love to play the long odds. You can throw in your suggestions on Twitter at #royalbabynames.

For more, check out “Royal Baby! Royal Baby! ROYAL BABY!” on the Expat Blog at Sweden.se!

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

How to find a job in Sweden from abroad | from The Expat Blog

Written on February 20, 2012 by in Expat Life, Sweden, The Expat Blog

To read the whole post, check out “How to find a job in Sweden from abroad” on the Expat Blog at Sweden.se.

If you want to live in Sweden and you’re not an EU or Swiss citizen, you’ve got basically three options: one, study; two, have a lasting and genuine relationship with someone else who has permission to live in Sweden; or three, find a job.

Choosing to study in Sweden is probably the one you have the most control over; the second is a little more up to fate. And then there’s the third option.

Finding a job in Sweden is tough, especially since the EU has certain protectionist laws that make it difficult for European countries to hire non-Europeans. (This does not necessarily apply to international companies, which are free to transfer employees throughout the organization.)

I get questions about searching for a job in Sweden all the time, so I thought I’d share some of my experiences as well as a letter from a blog reader.

To read the whole post, check out “How to find a job in Sweden from abroad” on the Expat Blog at Sweden.se.

 

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Airport Days

Written on February 15, 2012 by in Language Nerd, Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish, Travel

I’m sitting on the bus from Malmö Airport to Lund now, thank goodness, because I am one tired chiquita. Two days of teaching nonstop is totally exhausting! It went well, though, and I’m really happy I got the chance to work with such interesting people.

At the end of my trip, I got a little tour of the VIP areas at the airport and then got escorted to my gate in one of their VIP cars (BMWs, strangely enough, since you’d expect them to go Swedish with Volvos). I even got to see the room where the Royal Family stays when they fly… Very cool.


I learned lots of cool facts about Arlanda, so now I’m just hoping that our next quiz night has some airport questions thrown in. You never know, it could happen…

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this little fact. In Swedish, the words avisning and avvisning sound the same and mean “de-icing” and “deportation,” respectively. I witnessed one of these things through my tiny plane window and not the other.

20120215-192104.jpg

6 Comments - Leave a comment!

15 Ways To Say I Love You In Swedish | The Expat Blog

Written on February 14, 2012 by in Holidays and High Times, Sweden, Swedish, The Expat Blog

Click here to read 15 Ways to Say I Love You in Swedish on the Expat Blog at Sweden.se

20120214-224031.jpg

We Americans are known for throwing around the word “love” to mean everything from “This is an amazing sandwich” (I LOVE JIMMY JOHN’S!) to “I want to spend the rest of my life with you” (I love you).  We think this is normal, but the rest of the world tends to express their feelings more subtly.

If you’re coming to Sweden, a straight up “Jag älskar dig” might be hard to come by, but listen closely enough, and you’ll hear it being expressed in other ways.

Click here to read 15 Ways to Say I Love You in Swedish on the Expat Blog at Sweden.se

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Off to Stockholm, sort of

Written on February 13, 2012 by in Stockholm, Travel

20120213-163947.jpg

I’m headed off to kind of Stockholm right now for a two day business trip… Very exciting, mostly because the seminar I’m leading will be interesting and a new experience for me, but a little disappointing because I’ll be sooooo close to Stockholm and yet still not there. I was also a tiny bit disappointed to miss Valentine’s Day with Simon, but we’re going out to dinner next weekend. Plus, we are seriously romantic lovebirds 6 days out of 7 so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on the one day when Simon is compelled to be lovey dovey by the force of a Hallmark Holiday Culture he doesn’t understand.

Anyway. I’m teaching Business English to the VIP coordinators and Visit coordinators at Swedavia, a company that owns 18 airports within Sweden or something like that. Basically, when the King goes to the airport, VIP staff members take care of him, take him through separate security areas, escort him to a private waiting area, etc. All celebrities who come through Sweden get the same treatment, and for a “reasonable price” so can regular old people too (mostly being marketed to honeymooners, as you might expect).

So Swedavia employees have to speak impeccable English for all the foreign celebrities and hotshots, and I get to teach it to them. Yeah!

20120213-161842.jpg

I’m also excited because I like traveling, I think airports are interesting (and now I’m going to be in airports for the next 2.5 days or so), and I get to stay at the Radisson Blu Hotel at the airport, which is totally swank. Woop woop!

As you can see, I’ve got food, water, and the obligatory chocolate supply… Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are officially easy to find in Stockholm. (Side note: what is it about traveling that compels me to stockpile food like a cult member before he end of days? Like clockwork, I go into a frenzy right before I leave!)

Last but not least, that little scroll rolled up with a green ribbon is my personal VIP pass to Starbucks’ super secret VIP night before its official opening on Feb 22.

Life is just insane right now, and I’m loving it!

UPDATE: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Delicious, irresistible crack. I resisted the temptation to eat it for about 15 minutes. Then it was gone again.

20120213-171824.jpg

4 Comments - Leave a comment!