Embrace! Småland

I had a lovely conversation with designer and curator Pia Sjölin yesterday about her latest project Embrace! The exhibition which will be on display at the House of Emigrants, Växjö, Sweden begins 14 September and runs through January 2011, and includes the works of no less than thirty Swedish-American artists, designers, photographers and musicians. The exhibition has two themes – The American Dream and Swedish Identity. But Embrace is more than a one time exhibition. Embrace has a greater mission in that it hopes to become the source for a movement. It’s founders have a dream for the future . . .  to live in harmony regardless of origin, religion, cultural background or political beliefs.

According to their website, ¨Everyone can participate, not only as a spectator, but by being actively involved in workshops, debates, and the collaboration of many different people, cultures, and ways of life, through various Embrace! venues.¨  In addition to the exhibition, Embrace! will offer events including language cafes, fashion shows, music and film screenings. Several venues in Småland are participating.

This is exactly the type of project I had hopes of developing once I reached the Swedish shores and you know I will be attending once I get to my new home. Lycka till to Embrace! curators Lixuan An and Pia Sjölin. The exhibition opens in the House of Emigrants September 14, 2011 through the end of January 2012. The activities are run by Culture Park Småland and the event is supported in part by the U.S. Embassy in Sweden.

Discover similarities. Upptäck likheter. Celebrate diffrences. Hylla olikheter.

Artist List:
Kenth Andersson, Ulf Andersson, Ragna Berlin, Siri Berg, Suss Cousins, Kristofer Dan-Bergman, Agneta Eckemyr, Helena Espvall, Helena Fredriksson, Hans Frode, Sarah Gyllenstierna, Madeleine Hatz, Jonas Hellborg, Helena Hernmarck, Irene Hultman, Inger Jirby, Maja Kihlstedt, Alexander Klingspor, Anders Knutsson, Birgitta Linhart, Catarina Lundgren Åström, Peter Norrman, Tove Ohlander, Mats Pehrson, Agneta Persson Hauser, Irene Pluntky-Goedecke, Tana Ross, Henrik Tamm, Anne Thulin, Vivianne Tvilling, Stefan Umaerus, Rasmus Wangelin, Peter Åström.

Find Embrace at:
http://embrace.se/

And on Facebook:
Embrace Småland

Utvandrarnas Hus:
http://www.utvandrarnashus.se/eng/

Swedish Embassy StockholmÖ
http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/

Sweden’s vipers and killer slugs

Sweden has vipers and killer slugs! Oh my! Last night listening to Radio Sweden was the blurb about warmer weather coming and those walking about in the woods and forests should beware of vipers! Vipers? Between the venomous snakes and the killer slugs, I’m thinking perhaps I’ve picked the wrong continent.

Gotta run now… out shopping for really tall boots!

Dependence Not of One’s Own

I’ve always been rather independent. Ok… maybe a bit more than that. My ex-husband would say to me “ You are too independent for your own good”. Honestly, to this day I can’t see how being independent could be a bad thing but clearly the ex had some issues with it.

So, I wonder, how is it that I’ll fare when plopped into a new country completely dependent on my fiance . Everything new and foreign. How on earth will I navigate the snabbköp where there are words like tändstickor, mjölk och tvål? How about the bus system  . . . the destinations on the wall of the kiosk are 27 consonants long. How will it be when this fiercely independent, former single Mom, has to depend on her man for the simplest of instruction. He’s going to have to help me learn how to use the washer and drier for heaven’s sake. It’s going to be a whole new world

Swedish Facts II

Here are some interesting facts about the new place I’ll call home:

1.    All employers are required to provide FREE MASSAGE to their employees and it is a write off for the company.
2.    You can pay your taxes by sending an SMS (Text message) from your cell phone.
3.    Any property (with exception of fenced areas, private gardens, government or military) is open to anyone for hiking, bathing in your lake, picking berries or mushrooms or for camping overnight. This is called “Every man’s right” or Allemansrätten.
4.    The sunrises at 3:30am and sets at 10:30pm during the summer
5.    The sun rises at 9:30am and set at 3:30pm during the winter.
6.    Swedes celebrate Midsummer (Midsommar) on the 23rd of June. It is the celebration of the longest day and on this day in many parts of Sweden the sun never sets.
7.    Prime Minister, Olaf Palme, was shot and killed in 1986 when walking home after viewing a movie. His killer was never found.
8.    Thursday is pea soup and pancake day.
9.    Sex is the number six.
10.    Sweden ranks second in Europe (after Finland) in terms of technological achievement.
11.    Total taxation in Sweden amounts to 54.2 % of GDP, the highest level worldwide.
12.    The world-famous discount furniture chain IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943.
13.    On Easter children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating.
14.    Carl Von Linne, known as Linnaeus, was a Swedish botanist and naturalist who lived in the sixteenth century. He introduced the scientific method of naming flora and fauna.
15.    Yes, the women in Sweden are drop dead gorgeous (I find this daunting) but the men aren’t hard on the eyes either.

A Swedish Residence Permit

Today was a milestone day. After ten days (or more) of preparing my residence application, I was finally able to slip the application, several other forms, photographs proving Tapi and I know each other, passport photos, essays, receipts and a cover letter into the $30 FedEx envelop guaranteeing delivery by 10:30am tomorrow at the Swedish Embassy. The simply act of mailing these documents proved to be a heady experience making me feel almost as if I have one foot in the US and another in Sweden. I spent the rest of the afternoon feeling rather dizzy.

Before a person can move to Sweden, a residence permit must be obtained from Sweden’s Migrationsverket. The application and it’s accompanying forms may be downloaded from the Swedish Embassy in Washington D.C. and a personal interview will be conducted. There are several ways a person can obtain a residence permit. You can do so if you are someone who will be working in Sweden as an employee, if you are a student, starting a business, an au pair, or if you are a spouse, cohabitant or child of a primary applicant. My permit is based on a family or personal connection so there’s a special app for that.

Once I filled out the application form, I also had to fill out a Family Details Appendix and an additional form #T91 because I’m planning on living/marrying a Swedish citizen. These forms ask such information as my name, address, passport info, names of my children, my parents and of course information on Tapi and on our relationship. Filling out the forms were pretty straight forward and easy. The hardest part was trying to boil down the history of our relationship into four paragraphs but other than that it was a fairly enjoyable experience… as far as paperwork is concerned. Also included in my package were photos of Tapi and I at various locations and at various times. Receipts proving that we’ve met and been together and a copy of one of my monster cell phone bills showing our communications.

Now that I’ve submitted my paperwork, the next step will be for me to attend a personal interview at the Swedish Embassy in Boston. The Migrationsverket will also interview Tapi in Sweden. An application fee of $220 is required and then hopefully a happy decision will be made and I’m off to my new home.