Some Final Thoughts

Perhaps it was obvious from my lack of commitment to this blog, but I was never wholly committed to establishing a life for myself here in Stockholm. I never did become particularly Swedish or even Swede-ish. See, in the back of my mind, I knew there was a very strong possibility that we would not be staying in Stockholm for the full five years of my husband's work contract. In fact, although I didn't tell anyone this, I knew there was a strong possibility we would be staying for barely one year. There was always that voice saying, "Do you really need to learn Swedish if you'll be moving again in a few months? What's the point in looking for a job? Who needs new friends that you'll be saying good-bye to soon, anyway?" But because the possibility was only that, and not a certainty, I couldn't risk treating our first year in Sweden like our only year in Sweden. If I had, I certainly wouldn't have wasted any time looking for a job, I doubt I would have done any Swedish lessons, and O probably wouldn't have gone to preschool at all. But because our situation was uncertain until June, it made sense to hedge my bets. I just ended up doing everything rather half-heartedly, though ironically my Swedish teacher wanted me to take the exam for promotion to the next level. Thank goodness I don't have to do that now. Stockholm has been wonderful in many ways, but I am looking forward to the next chapter. I'll be in an Anglophone country again, where it should be easier for me to find a job, and where I'll be immersed in a culture with which I'm already familiar. I still have a couple more months left in Sweden--we'll be leaving just as the weather starts turning again, when the days begin to get shorter and shorter. The timing couldn't be better!