I think I'm green...

I haven’t used a car in almost 5 weeks – instead, I’ve been walking, running, taking a bus, train, or “tube” to get to places, even if I head to Ikea and come back with tons of stuff that I would otherwise at home think is "too heavy to carry". I have started to try and conserve the soap I use – learned a Martha Stewart like trick from my host family – putting some of the dish soap into a squirt bottle and diluting it with water makes it really easy to wash dishes in the sink – cuts down on how much soap you waste, as well as how much water you waste when washing dishes! I purchased a re-useable shopping bag, and I’m buying wine in a bag!!! Yes, wine in a bag – not a box even! It’s 90% less waste and a smaller carbon foot print than any other wine container. Pretty darn cool, and I do have to admit, the wine tastes pretty darn good! (and if you’ve ever looked at the wine in a box – it’s in a bag anyway, just surrounded by cardboard to make it ‘look nicer’). FYI – Wine in a box is very common here! Yes, I am going greener!
I moved into my new apartment this past weekend (6th floor - as you'll see in the picture "6 tr" for "trappe"...I'm "six 'trappe upp" - meaning 6 floors up), and even though it is quite lonely, I have to say I LOVE IT! I don’t have children coming to me at 8:00 on a Saturday morning, asking me to read to them about Mollie and her Opposites. Granted, I did learn some words through reading those books, but when I’m training until 9:00 at night and taking the train/bus back home, I treasure my sleep too! I have 3 lamps – that’s all that lights my way for me right now, so it’s kinda weird when I come in and use the light from the hallway to take my shoes off. I need some hangers and then I think things will be pretty much organized – who would have thought that finding hangers like we have in Target (where we have rows and rows of color selections even for $1/10 hangers) would be hard to come by here in Sweden?!? I can only find “the best” wooden hangers – 3/20 SEK --- meaning – 3 hangers for almost $3. Oh the things we take for granted in the States!

The location of my apartment couldn’t be better, and the price isn’t bad either. At 45 square meters, it’s not bad in size, and it has what one needs to get through 6 months of life – granted, if I bought this place, there’d be some re-modeling getting done, but…for the time – it’s perfect. The location is SO awesome! If I walk across a bridge, just 5 minutes, I’m at a park – HaganPark – a great place to take the dog or go for a trail run (on my “own training days”). It’s just one bus ride (2 if I’m lazy) to the bandy rink that is about 20 minutes. It is 15 minutes walk to “Solna Centrum” (basically a shopping mall) by foot, or 5 minutes if I’m lazy and want to take the bus. It is under a 5 minute walk to the grocery store, liquor store, and a sports store; probably would take me longer to wait for the bus than it would to walk there! If I walk just 5 minutes past that, I’m in the northern side of down town Stockholm!!! I couldn’t believe it today when I got off of the train on my way home from work (which is only 30 minutes from the apartment) and looked around as I strolled from the commuter train to the bus back home; the ride home on the bus was very short --- I realized then that I could have walked on a sunny day….or even at night if I had already done this route before! I’m also learning that to walk around here – CARS STOP for people!!!??! Yeah, really! I saw some lady carrying her dog to get onto the train (dogs are only allowed on certain cars of the trains) I cannot wait for Thom and Reese to get here to experience this stuff with me - including my new "dessert' - "Nutella" on "Digestive" Crackers -- it's like a chocolate spread on top of graham crackers! YUMMY! I LOVE IT!


Training this week – we were supposed to get back onto the ice, but there were some problems with the tractor (that floods the rink) and some other issues with the compressors that chill the rink. Therefore, the warm temperatures (about 8-10 C = roughly 46F – 50F) have not helped with creating good ice. We are supposed to have our first game this Sunday , and we can only hope we will have ice. I hear that in Minnesota, there is snow, and the men have already started their season!!! I’m a bit jealous --- but it’s not to say that we haven’t been doing our training! Monday, we went by the rink – through the running trails to a hill. Ugh – yes, hill work again! Sprints up and down the hill, backward jumps (try doing them uphill…not so easy!), lunges, long steps, more sprints…An hour of hill work plus 20 minutes warm up, 20 minutes cool down and I was toasted! We had a strategy session afterwards, and I was mentally and physically exhausted, but I had yet to move everything into the apartment – thank you Miska for being such a great person and doing so much for me!!! Tuesday was running at the track in the pouring rain with interval sprints. Yes…again. 1 hour worth of that, and today (Wed), my body is ready for the day off!!

I went to the office for the first time today and was well received. I jumped right in with a meeting at 9:00 and discussed the planning for the project, how they should try to prepare for it, what things they need to think about, and I helped them create their visual planning board. I have an “office” here (better than in the states with a cube!) and it will also be the project meeting room. Each Friday, I am expected in the office for the meeting – should be ok – as much as I’d rather work from the apartment – exposure to helping is awesome and I’m learning new things and meeting great people. The project team here is only 8 people or so (including me), so it’s quite a great group and very receptive to me.

I’ve been asked the same question(s) by many people back home
First one is along the lines of “Are you glad you did this?” I can honestly say “YES!” If I put aside the fact that I miss Thom and Reese, I’m having such a great time here. If there wasn’t the visa issue (and my friends and family I’d have to leave behind), I’d love to stay here and continue life forever – as if it were normal. It is very easy for me to pick up on the language (more written language and some verbal language) and my vocabulary of Swedish words is expanding daily. I seem to impress many people that I talk to with some of the phrases I can already say.

Next common question: Yes, the days are shorter... The sun rises around 7:30 and sets around 4:00, and the day shave mostly been overcast. The days that are not wet are cold and windy – but that is typical for their “fall”. Their winters will be more mild than they are at home in Minneapolis (whew!), but they will have short days as well. The weekend Thom gets here it will be the shortest day of the year, and the days will get longer. I can see how some people would get depressed as I’ve heard the stories, but I guess I just don’t have time to be that way. My days are pretty packed trying to figure out where I am and where I’m going (as far as the metro is concerned), training and learning plays (I have asked one of the veteran players to write down some plays for me so I can “study”), to trying to get the things that one needs to get through daily life – like light bulbs, food, and figuring out the laundry system in the apartment complex!

Because it is all so new to me, there is so much to figure out. One thing I have learned is that you have to be willing to embrace the adventure. I feel safe in the city, but a little fear never hurt anyone. I don’t roam alone at dark – I pick a mission and stick to it – get there, and head back, know the route and don’t stray from it. Carry both phones at all times – one for Swedish communication one for US communication. Carry some maps of the city bus lines and you are set to get to where you want to go.

My times of missing connections are fewer and far between. My wrong turns to get to the stations are almost non existent now, and if you were to watch me from afar, I might even start to look like a local…listen to me speak, and it tells a different story. I’m green – I’m new here, but I’m also learning how great it is to be able to work with the systems set in place, reduce, reuse, recycle, and live like a minimalist.

So, with that I sign off as I sit on my foam mattress that has been my office, but also acts as my couch and bed for the time being – yes, I’m living the lifestyle of a stereotypical bachelor – playing a sport, training daily, going to work to pay my bills, and living with the basics. Can’t say I’d change a thing, other than having someone to enjoy this adventure with me.