6.10.08
How to Get a Job in Sweden
Tomorrow is my first day of work at my new job as youth leader at Ansgars Church in Västerås. I don’t know much about what I will be actually doing, except that I will get to hang out with awesome Swedish youth and their impeccably coiffed hair. I do know this much: I will not be delivering advertisements, working as a cashier or receptionist, cleaning floors, or wiping poopy bottoms (hopefully). I have the graced privilege to get paid to do that which I am educated for, that which is a life-giving challenge, something I am passionate for and that will be riotously fun! This is far more than I ever imagined would be possible for my first real job in Sweden. I am convinced I will make many mistakes, but I look forward to growing more and enjoying a new phase in my life.
Following is my analysis of how I finally got to this long-awaited place of employment.
Things I have tried in the last 15 months:
1 - Utilize my 6 years undergrad and graduate education to get a job teaching.
2 - Utilize my English fluency to get a job teaching.
3 - Utilize my education and many years experience in Church work to get a job in a local church.
4 - Utilize my general skills as a human being to get a job doing anything.
5 - Volunteer excessively at local churches to try to show my value and get a job that way.
6 - Submit to being called princessa bajskorv and being constantly sick while doing an internship at a local preschool in hopes of showing my value and getting a job that way.
7 - Attend local jobless program, update my resume, write a portfolio profiling my skills and experiences, and apply for any jobs remotely plausible.
8 - Watch 5 seasons of Alias, 2 seasons of Ugly Betty, 3 seasons of Project Runway, 3 seasons of The Office, 2 seasons of Heroes, 3 seasons of Desperate Housewives, and 2 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, et. Al. to distract myself so I don’t know I’m going crazy.
9 - Get the proper Swedish language credentials so I can go to university and get the proper Swedish teaching credentials so I can get a job teaching.
Did any of this work for me?
Nope. #6 was the only one directly influential. May Princessa Bajskorv’s memory live on in imfamy!
Things that actually worked:
1 – Pep talks by Zenita. Zenita convinced me last October that my Swedish was good enough to pursue the kinds of education and church work that I am educated for and helped me with my resume. Without her encouragement, I wouldn’t have had the immediate vision that anything could be possible for me besides retail or mail delivery.
2 - Russian employment officer who actually makes things happen. Danna got me the internship at the preschool and taught me that the way to succeed in the Swedish job market is to never give up and don’t get pregnant.
3 - Being called Princessa Bajskorv and being sick. Co-worker at preschool must have noticed my skill and resilience because she said something nice about me at Ansgars Church in February.
4 - Divine intervention at theological conference in Prague which I did not attend – My friend Josh attended said theological conference in Prague and met a pastor from Ansgars church in Västerås. Josh said he knew a girl named Laura in Västerås. Pastor Daniel said he’d heard about a girl named Laura in Västerås. Somehow it was established that I was educated in church work and looking for a job. Josh said nice things about me. Daniel returns to Västerås from conference and calls to ask if I would like to interview for a youth leader position they have had open. Interview results in 2nd interview which results in a job!
Summary of important elements for getting job in Sweden:
Have really awesome friends. (speaking of which, happy birthday, Josh!)
Try at least to trust God – an unexpected providential connection may be the key.
Get Russian employment officer – they get things done.
Be nice to children who call you dirty names. (notice on their alphabet chart that B is for Bajs!)
Don’t give up and don’t get pregnant.
Keep medicating to target inevitable depression.
Mobilize Bhutanese Refugee prayer force.
Following is my analysis of how I finally got to this long-awaited place of employment.
Things I have tried in the last 15 months:
1 - Utilize my 6 years undergrad and graduate education to get a job teaching.
2 - Utilize my English fluency to get a job teaching.
3 - Utilize my education and many years experience in Church work to get a job in a local church.
4 - Utilize my general skills as a human being to get a job doing anything.
5 - Volunteer excessively at local churches to try to show my value and get a job that way.
6 - Submit to being called princessa bajskorv and being constantly sick while doing an internship at a local preschool in hopes of showing my value and getting a job that way.
7 - Attend local jobless program, update my resume, write a portfolio profiling my skills and experiences, and apply for any jobs remotely plausible.
8 - Watch 5 seasons of Alias, 2 seasons of Ugly Betty, 3 seasons of Project Runway, 3 seasons of The Office, 2 seasons of Heroes, 3 seasons of Desperate Housewives, and 2 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, et. Al. to distract myself so I don’t know I’m going crazy.
9 - Get the proper Swedish language credentials so I can go to university and get the proper Swedish teaching credentials so I can get a job teaching.
Did any of this work for me?
Nope. #6 was the only one directly influential. May Princessa Bajskorv’s memory live on in imfamy!
Things that actually worked:
1 – Pep talks by Zenita. Zenita convinced me last October that my Swedish was good enough to pursue the kinds of education and church work that I am educated for and helped me with my resume. Without her encouragement, I wouldn’t have had the immediate vision that anything could be possible for me besides retail or mail delivery.
2 - Russian employment officer who actually makes things happen. Danna got me the internship at the preschool and taught me that the way to succeed in the Swedish job market is to never give up and don’t get pregnant.
3 - Being called Princessa Bajskorv and being sick. Co-worker at preschool must have noticed my skill and resilience because she said something nice about me at Ansgars Church in February.
4 - Divine intervention at theological conference in Prague which I did not attend – My friend Josh attended said theological conference in Prague and met a pastor from Ansgars church in Västerås. Josh said he knew a girl named Laura in Västerås. Pastor Daniel said he’d heard about a girl named Laura in Västerås. Somehow it was established that I was educated in church work and looking for a job. Josh said nice things about me. Daniel returns to Västerås from conference and calls to ask if I would like to interview for a youth leader position they have had open. Interview results in 2nd interview which results in a job!
Summary of important elements for getting job in Sweden:
Have really awesome friends. (speaking of which, happy birthday, Josh!)
Try at least to trust God – an unexpected providential connection may be the key.
Get Russian employment officer – they get things done.
Be nice to children who call you dirty names. (notice on their alphabet chart that B is for Bajs!)
Don’t give up and don’t get pregnant.
Keep medicating to target inevitable depression.
Mobilize Bhutanese Refugee prayer force.
31.8.08
More than one room! (Pt. 2)
I made a few panoramas so you can see our apartment. Do note that I used a wide angle lens which has the effect of making the rooms look bigger than they are. I like to play around with these photos on Photoshop. I can paint my kitchen cupboards red, see what it would look like if I had striped curtains and decorate to my heart's content. So far it is totally free too, though the price may go up if I decide I want to actualize any of my digital experiments.
30.8.08
Friends from America
The Shivers are wonderful friends that we made during our time in North Carolina while I was studying at Duke. Molly was my supervisor when I did an internship at the small rural church she pastored. Mikael helped them take care of their son and we both enjoyed housesitting for them and taking care of their Labradoodle puppy. Their family has such grace and we are so glad they adopted us during what was a pretty rough time. We celebrated holidays together with their family and were always encouraged when we got to spend time with them. When we left for Sweden, we talked about the possibility of them coming for a visit in Sweden. A year later, true to their word, they arrived at Arlanda airport to spend time with us and tour Sweden for a week. With so many fun things to do and places to visit, the week went by fast. It was so fun to have them here. I was truly able to relax and just enjoy feeling like it was a vacation. I can't remember the last time I felt like that. What a blessing and joy. Thank you so much, Shivers family!
Here we are having a picnic on Djäkneberget.
We took a day to bicycle through the beautiful countryside.
We liked to stop by old churches and look inside. It was especially nice being able to do it with Molly because she studied art history and had all sorts of perspicacious and highly interesting insights into the architecture and art pieces we saw. It was also nice having Forrest because he studies Latin at school and could help with some of the inscriptions.
Here we had taught the ancient viking art of plundering. There is a lot of plundering to be done in Swedish candy stores!
Checking up on the news from America.
Buddies!
One day we took a ferry to an island - Birka - which was once the headquarters for Viking trade. It is a world heritage site and has a great museum and tours. It was really a remarkable place. Here is a picture of our tour guide in viking attire. Vikings were surprisingly technologically advanced as you can see from the accessory on her belt.
Finally, we went to Stockholm and spent 2 days sightseeing. Besides seeing the city, eating great food, and getting very sore feet, we happened to be staying at an uber chik hotel during Stockholm fashion week. Diane Pernet herself was staying there, for which we were glad because otherwise our guests would have not had the celebrity sighting we guaranteed them.
Other places we took them to included:
Anundshög
Västerås Cathedral
Strömsholm Palace
Tidö Palace
Sigurds Rune Stone This website is really amazing. It explains all of the elements of the carving and includes panoramic pictures.
Kungsholmen resutaurant
Skansen
The Vasa Museum (Wah!!)
Here we are having a picnic on Djäkneberget.We took a day to bicycle through the beautiful countryside.
We liked to stop by old churches and look inside. It was especially nice being able to do it with Molly because she studied art history and had all sorts of perspicacious and highly interesting insights into the architecture and art pieces we saw. It was also nice having Forrest because he studies Latin at school and could help with some of the inscriptions.
Here we had taught the ancient viking art of plundering. There is a lot of plundering to be done in Swedish candy stores!
Checking up on the news from America.
Buddies!
One day we took a ferry to an island - Birka - which was once the headquarters for Viking trade. It is a world heritage site and has a great museum and tours. It was really a remarkable place. Here is a picture of our tour guide in viking attire. Vikings were surprisingly technologically advanced as you can see from the accessory on her belt.
Finally, we went to Stockholm and spent 2 days sightseeing. Besides seeing the city, eating great food, and getting very sore feet, we happened to be staying at an uber chik hotel during Stockholm fashion week. Diane Pernet herself was staying there, for which we were glad because otherwise our guests would have not had the celebrity sighting we guaranteed them.
Other places we took them to included:
Anundshög
Västerås Cathedral
Strömsholm Palace
Tidö Palace
Sigurds Rune Stone This website is really amazing. It explains all of the elements of the carving and includes panoramic pictures.
Kungsholmen resutaurant
Skansen
The Vasa Museum (Wah!!)
Church Camp
August 2-6 I was one of the leaders/ camp counselors for the Västerås Pingst Church's annual summer camp in Falun.
The camp was located on the coast of a beautiful lake.
It actually was stormy weather most of the time, but that didn't stop the campers from swimming every chance they got. The last day we finally had sun which was celebrated by all.
Setting up to play Capture the Flag
Speaking of flags, one of my jobs at camp was to lead the morning flag ceremony. I got to share my patriotic thoughts about Sweden and try to lead everyone in the national anthem. I also spiced things up by teaching them silly American camp songs. Singin' in the Rain, Boom chick a boom, and Sha na na na na to name a few.
I am quite pleased to have captured this moment of happiness.
Here's the song they are performing.
Tommy is the beloved children's and family pastor at Västerås Pingst church.
Here is another moment of happiness.
Besides raising the flag, I got to be a counselor for a group of 6 campers, I played the lead role in the daily drama presentation, preached in the evenings and organized the concluding party. I had so much fun with these great young people. I am so glad I got to know them a little bit. They encouraged me so much.
The camp was located on the coast of a beautiful lake.It actually was stormy weather most of the time, but that didn't stop the campers from swimming every chance they got. The last day we finally had sun which was celebrated by all.
Setting up to play Capture the Flag
Speaking of flags, one of my jobs at camp was to lead the morning flag ceremony. I got to share my patriotic thoughts about Sweden and try to lead everyone in the national anthem. I also spiced things up by teaching them silly American camp songs. Singin' in the Rain, Boom chick a boom, and Sha na na na na to name a few.
I am quite pleased to have captured this moment of happiness.
Here's the song they are performing.
Tommy is the beloved children's and family pastor at Västerås Pingst church.
Here is another moment of happiness.
Besides raising the flag, I got to be a counselor for a group of 6 campers, I played the lead role in the daily drama presentation, preached in the evenings and organized the concluding party. I had so much fun with these great young people. I am so glad I got to know them a little bit. They encouraged me so much.
Yay for Friends!!
In the beginning of July, our dear friends the Sanders came down from the North and paid us a visit for a few days during their vacation. It was so nice to have friends with us. We hiked and picnicked grilled and soaked up the sun together.
AWWW... Aren't they cute!?
AWWW... Aren't they cute!?
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