Settling in

So, here I am. In the Uk. In Berkhamsted. How do I feel? Like I'm visiting! Lol... It will take ages before this sinks in! I guess it's because I'm still working for a Swedish company, and because I'm so used to visiting Andy and working from home when I do. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining! I think it's quite a good thing to have a period where I can work from home and get used to things here, before throwing myself out in the job market.

So, what have I been up to? Andy and I spent the weekend doing nothing really. We went to some pubs and had dinner at an Indian restaurant on Sunday night, no big plans. It was nice not to plan too much for once. This week I've mostly been working. It's strange, but even though I only work half time, it keeps me busy! I've also started running again, three times a week canal side runs :)

A good last day at work

I have had such a good last day at work today! The SFI students had bought me flowers and a watch. I can't believe them! Amazing amazing people!! I'm sad I won't be working with them anymore. One woman started crying and off course I did too :(
It's been an emotional day, a very very good but very emotional day.




Another good thing that I found out last week is that I can keep working half time from England. This is amazing news to me! It is going to be so good to have a half time job while looking for work there.

Right now I'm on my way home to just have a quick shower and get my things and then Jenny will be picking me up to drive me to the airport. Wow, can't believe the day is finally here...


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Goodbye dinner with the best friends ever!!

I'm going to miss these girls!!











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The move is getting closer!

I went through all my jewelry the other night. Now I've only got some clothes and some kitchen stuff to go through. It's getting closer!



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Busy last week in Stockholm

Last week in Stockholm starts now! It will be a crazy busy week at work since the English teacher has left. This means I'll be teaching SFI (Swedish for immigrants) as well as grading English national tests and online assignments. I love working with English tho so it's just fun!

Bring it on! :D

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Last week in Stockholm: work, packing and saying goodbye

Not long to go now! In a week I'll be living in England, I'll be waking up in our flat every morning and I'll be seeing Andy every single day! It's a bit unreal really! I can't wait to actually move over and start a new life together!

I've been doing some preparing and packing already. I've been clearing out the basement and packing some things in the apartment. I was sorting through all the kitchen stuff today and will need to go through all the bathroom stuff and clothes as well. It's good thing I've only been living here since January because I cleared a lot of stuff out before I went to England last autumn. There's still a lot to do though. And it's hard to find the time when I'm working full time.

Another thing I'll be doing this week is seeing friends and family to say goodbye. I'm trying not to see it that way though. I'll be two hours away and I'll be visiting a lot and I hope we get a lot of visits as well!
So the plans for my last days here are: Visiting my mum, dad and sister tomorrow, laundry on Monday, going to a charity shop to drop off stuff on Tuesday, packing on Wednesday, seeing all my friends for a last dinner and drinks night at Solstugan on Thursday and then flying to London Friday evening :)

It'll be an exciting last week!

Sorting through old things

When I move to England Mikaela will be staying in my apartment. So, I will need to get rid of my things. I was down in the basement yesterday trying to sort things out and I managed to throw away quite a lot of stuff. I'm just trying to throw/give away old junk to make room for the things I actually want to save.

The plan is to just take whatever I can fit in two suitcases with me. It'll have to do for a while. It should be fine though as I've already got some things over there. Last year when I lived there in September-January I only had two cases of stuff with me and it was enough.

I think I'll be coming for a visit in October/November to get more of my things (winter clothes etc). Then at some point I'll have to come back and get rid of the rest of my things in the apartment/basement. I think I will try to sell the furniture. It is quite annoying to have to get rid of furniture and everything just because I'm moving countries. But then again, I'm pretty bored of most of the stuff anyway. It'll be nice to get new furniture, a fresh start!

I can't believe I'm actually moving in less than two weeks!!



This is what I managed to throw/give to charity shops yesterday! I will try to sort the rest out today :)

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Crayfish party!

Me and Frida had our annual crayfish party last night. It was me, Frida, a big bowl of crayfish and loads of wine. No others were invited, lol. Anyway, we sat on her amazing balcony most of the night and ended up going out to Kvarnen after. It was a great night!  

Today is not a great day however. I feel like crap. This has got to be the worst hangover in the history of mankind.





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Corrie

Last time Andy was here he discovered that we can watch Coronation Street episodes on YouTube! Which is exactly what I'm doing now :)



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Great weekend with friends!!

I have had such a good weekend with my friends! On Friday I went to Jenny's house and we had a Persian BBQ, which was amazig!! It was really good to catch up with Jenny and it was so nice to see the kids again! Zeke and I played football and Loke did his Justin Bieber performance, that kid can dance!! It was such a nice night!

Warm day on Friday (this was like 6pm as well)!
Jenny and her youngest son Zeke
Loke is getting thrown in the pool
Persian BBQ  
Yesterday was also a great night! Me, Mikaela and Jenny went to town for a sushi dinner at Bauer. The food and wine were amazing as always! We stayed there pretty late and then ended up going to East after.


Me, Jenny and Mikaela
Mikaela and I

Sushi at Bauer

Cheers!
I'm trying to see as much if my friends as I possibly can before the move. I've got plans three nights next week as well! :)


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Last visit ever

So Andy was here for a visit from Friday to Monday. Can't believe it was the last visit before the big move!!

We had a great weekend. On the Friday I met him after work and we went for a couple of drinks. After that we headed home for dinner and then watched all the TOWIE episodes we had missed ;)

Andy at Mälarpaviljongen

On Saturday we went to town in the afternoon, we walked around for a bit and then had an amazing sushi dinner at Bauer! Best sushi I've ever had!


Andy at Bauer
Stockholm sunset

On Sunday we went to my mum's for fika in the afternoon. After that I wanted to show Andy where I grew up so we took the t-bana to Husby and walked around there for a bit. I was surprised about how much had changed since I used to live there, the area looked a lot better now! After Husby we headed back home and went for a walk around this lake that's close to where I live. Great weekend all in all!

Andy and Felix
Me and Bella
Husby - where I grew up
A glass of wine by the lake
Me by the lake
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Flights booked for the move!!

I booked a one way ticket to London yesterday!! I'm moving on the 16th of August! Yayyy, can't wait!!

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My office

I realized I haven't blogged much about my new job that I have over the summer. So, here's my office :) I'll tell you more another time! I love it here though!!





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Planing the move to England

It is high time to seriously start planning for the move to England! I'm working till August 16th and the plan is to move as soon as possible after that. There are loads of things I have to look up and think about.

Here's the list:

1. Apply for teaching degree -This is done but there's a 1-2 month wait.
2. Apply for QTS-Qualified teacher status - I need to wait for my degree for this one.
3. Start applying for jobs - I've had a look and there aren't as many teaching jobs out there as there were a few months back. Most of the positions starting in September will have been filled. I will keep looking but I'll also look into other jobs. I've seen some customer service positions where they're looking for someone who speaks Swedish and Finnish so that could be something!  
4. Get a national insurance number - I think you need this to work in the UK. The application process seems easy enough, so I will do this once I've moved.
5. Look up rules for bringing pets to England - In case I want to bring my cat Bella over in the future. My mum has had Bella since I went to England last fall to study. When I came back me and Mikaela decided to share my (tiny) apartment which meant there was no room for a cat as well. Mum has another cat as well and I think Bella enjoys the company. So she's fine where she is for now and I don't know whether it's right to move her. My mum is not always happy about having to take care of two cats though so we'll have to think about this one. Another problem for moving Bella to England is that I don't think we're allowed pets where we live right now. Anyway, I actually had a quick look last night and what's needed is a microchip, rabies vaccine, EU-passport for pets and using an approved route & transport company. I would think the total cost is about 5000-6000 kr.

I think  that's the list for now. I'm sure it will grow though!

Unhealthy stuff for tonight

I'm usually pretty healthy and I try not to eat sweets and crisps too often. But something went seriously wrong when I went shopping today... Maybe I'm more hungover than I thought...

My plan for tonight? Watch loads of Hart of Dixie episodes and eat crap :)



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Parkhäng

Swedish summer is amazing! And when the weather turns warm something happens to the Swedes, they start living again! After a miserable winter everyone sort of comes back to life.

Hanging out in parks (parkhäng) is a big thing over here. People meet up and have wine, beer, snacks, BBQ and maybe play a game of kubb!

I've been to two different parks this week. Catrin had a bday thing in Tantolunden on Thursday so we had a mini BBQ and some wine. It was really good to see the girls again!
Yesterday I met up with some old uni friends (Mia, Annalisa and Therese) at Rålambshovsparken.
We don't see each other that much as we've all been living in different places. Therese lives in Australia but was visiting for the summer. It was really good to catch up with them!






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Music

I'm weird when it comes to music. Sometimes I don't listen to music at all for long periods of time. I sort of forget. Then one day I remember and I listen to something on my phone and remember what an amazing effect music can have on you!

Like today; Bruce just totally made my morning! I'm in the best mood ever! :)




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Beautiful Stockholm

Today was spent at the beach with my mum and sister. It is so warm in Stockholm at the moment!!

I will miss this beautiful city when I move! Here are some photos from my walk home:






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Crazy night!

I went to Frida's yesterday evening. We just sat out on her balcony all night and had wine and talked. It was a really good night!
I eventually fell asleep on Frida's bed and when I left at 9 am this morning Frida and Veronica were still sitting out on the balcony having wine! Lol, just one of those nights I guess!!




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Stockholm <3

On my way home from work, it's a beautiful day in Stockholm!



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England & Greece

Ok so I haven't been the best blogger lately. I've taken a well deserved three week break from everything. But I'm back now! Back in Stockholm and blogging!

It's been a great three weeks! We started off by celebrating my birthday in England. The day started with an amazing bday breakfast that Andy made and after that we got ready to go to London. We walked around and went to a few pubs and then Andy had booked a table at a Jamie Oliver restaurant for the evening, it was so nice! After that it was time for the Kings of Leon concert, which was amazing!

Bday breakfast

 

Kings of Leon

The following Saturday me, Andy, his dad and his brother went to the Bruce Springsteen concert at Wembley, it was such an awesome experience as well!! I remember my mum listening to Springsteen when I was a kid and apparently it's the only thing that made me sleep as a baby :) I haven't listened that much to him as an adult but I got the Greatest hits album a while ago and I just love him now. It was definitely one of the best concerts I've ever been to!

Springsteen

 

A few days after that it was time to head to Rhodes for week's holiday! It's been so long since I could relax like that! We spent the days by the pool, reading books and having all inclusive food and drinks. Since the food  and drinks were included we spent most of our time at the resort but we did go into Rhodes Town twice, I really liked it there!
I've never done a package holiday before, never done the all inclusive thing. I usually want to do things and see things when on holiday. I think it was good because the purpose of our holiday was to relax and not do anything else. I still think I'd prefer to try new restaurants and bars out on a normal holiday though. Or pay more and go to a big resort with several a la carte restaurants instead of a buffet. Anyway, all in all: amazig holiday!

The view from our room

Andy

View in Rhodes town

The sea was amazingly clear

Me

Andy, me and the boot of beer

The view from the hotel by night

Anyway, that was a short recap of my three weeks. I'm back as of yesterday and just worked my first day at the school today. It's so nice to have a 8-5 job again! I will mostly be doing grading work this week but will get to meet some students next week and the week after that I'll be teaching SFI alone when the other teachers are on holiday. Should be fun! I think I'm going to like it there!

 

I'm freeee!!!!!

Handed in the article yesterday! My last uni work ever. Can't believe it. Can't believe the fact that if I passed it, I'm a teacher and I will never ever have to study again! :D

The weekend has been great (apart from the last minute stress), we had such a nice time celebrating my bday with friends at Emelies house on Saturday. We had a combined bday/welcome home party for Catrin who's moved home from Australia. Such a good night! Yesterday I went to my mum's for some more bday celebrations which was really nice too!

So, I'm off to England today! I have missed Andy so much this time!! It'll be an amazing three weeks!! And you can definitely expect more blogging now that I have more time!

Almost there!

Saturday morning and I'm on my way to uni. Last weekend now! The article is coming along, it still needs some more work but it should be ok enough to submit tomorrow. Today I will mostly be doing some grading work because I need to do eight hours over the weekend. Only today and tomorrow left and then three fun weeks ahead!

I'm taking tonight off for some early birthday celebrations with friends. My bday is really on Wednesday. Tomorrow (after uni) I'm going to my mum's for more bday celebrations and on Monday I'll be heading to England! Things are definitely looking up!


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So sick of writing

I've been writing this teaching manual and an article for the past few days. I can tell you that I'm getting really sick of all this uni work! The deadline is on Sunday but my aim is to finish everything  on Friday, then I can finally relax!! Not long to go now....

Something has happened with my blog and it keeps underlining and capitalizing everything I'm writing! It seems to be set on Swedish for some reason. It's really annoying to blog with it being like this. Anyway, will try to sort it out asap.

A couple of days off

After doing my presentation on Thursday I sort of decided to take Thursday and Friday night off. So Thursday night Mia and I went out for dinner and drinks and yesterday Frida, Jennifer and I went to a park (Tantolunden) and had a picnic with loads of wine. We ended up at Fridas after, it was a nice night!

But now it's back to work! I'm doing my 8 hours of grading today and tomorrow and then I'll need to work on finishing my project next week! I will probably be spending time at uni library because that's where I get most work done. Last week of uni ever, bring it on!

Dinner and drinks

After a long day of uni Mia and I went out for dinner and drinks :) I've missed my margaritas!!




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Beer lunch

Projects from 9-17 today! We just had a great lunch (with beer) in the sun. The amazing life if a student!




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Happy, happy, happy!

Today I had an oral exam that was based on the essay I wrote last week and I passed both! Didn't get amazing grades but couldn't care less considering I'm one step closer to graduating now. I've actually only got one deadline left and I'm not too stressed about that one so it should be fine! I've got a presentation tomorrow and then a week left to finish an article I've started.

I'm so proud of myself! I'm just having such a happy day now! I've only got good things to look forward to; England and Greece in June, an awesome summer job in July and August and then the big move in September!

Ok that's enough happiness, gotta start preparing for tomorrow! :)

I cannot wait!

I can't wait for these last two weeks to be over!! 14 more days of intense studying ahead but then I finally get 3 weeks off! And after that I'll be working the rest of the summer, work feels like a piece of cake after this! I mean yes, work can be stressful but at least you always have the nights off, no matter what!

This summer I'll be working at the school where I do the grading, I won't be teaching English though but SFI (Swedish for Immigrants). They don't have any classes in July and August so it'll mostly be tutoring and also grading online. I won't only be grading English during the summer, I think they said it'll be history, religion and tourism courses as well! History is my second subject so that should be fun! I haven't studied religion at uni but it's sort of related to history and I do find it interesting so that should be ok as well. I've also done a tourism course in the past and worked in hotels for many years so that should be good too! Looking forward to it!

Ok...time for more uni work!

Exhausted

I'm finally on my way home. With one book left to read and eight more pages to write I'm starting to realize I might not be able to do it.
I just emailed my teacher asking to postpone the deadline. He probably won't agree but I do think it was unfair to start with. It's just an possible number of pages to read in 10 days! Not feeling very positive right now. But I'll do my best anyway...


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Busy day

I've been to teacher training and a seminar today, right now I'm at the uni library.

Got my coffee, got my raw bar and got my smoothie, I'm ready for some serious reading!



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Thank you Boots!

I always try to get shampoo and hair products from England because it's so much cheaper there. I got all of the stuff in the photo for £15 (160kr). Just the shampoo alone would've been £10 in Sweden.

Can't believe it took me this long to realize that I can get stuff from Boots at Stansted as it doesn't affect the hand luggage liquid restrictions.




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