If nothing else, it will make a good story!

It’s hard to balance the feelings I get here sometimes, for example, while riding the bus this morning I said to myself, “Genevieve, you’re kind of amazing, you got here, found your way to work, figured out the public transit systems and you blend in to the Swedes like a pro! You’re doing awesome” and yet at the same time I want to be home, with my family, or at least have them close by, in a situation that I can control, one that I know well, one that isn’t too uncomfortable. 

My mom, whose ability to comfort me has impeccable timing, sent me an article about “struggling through things” and how one must constantly exercise the brain, because it is a muscle, and intelligence is not fixed.  In order to grow and expand our minds we MUST be uncomfortable and go out of our way sometimes to experience new things. 

Today, I met a Research Nurse who was involved in research concerning multi-morbidity with elderly patients.  From my point of view, he sounded more like a social worker than a nurse, but I’m thinking that is due to the strong ties between Sweden’s health and social institutions.  We discussed the differences between the U.S.’s and Sweden’s systems, and despite the “ideality” of Sweden’s system from MY point of view; he said that there was need of some improvements. 

Here’s a short adventure from yesterday, after listening to numerous presentations about the research of the Karolinska Institut’s Division of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, my co-worker and I headed to a language fika in central Stockholm for foreigners attempting to learn Swedish.  After being overwhelmed by biological research, I was again overwhelmed by the confusing nature of the Swedish language.  Regardless, I gave it my best, however yesterday was a lång dag.  

I was sort of rushing to get home, and I got on the wrong train, oops!  I was a little flustered, and a kind swede helped me out and told me where to switch trains.  I was so anxious, I’m still not very trustworthy of this so far very reliable public transit system in Stockholm, but I started to read my YouCat, (thank you Tucker),  and I was reading as FAST as I could as if that was going to make the train come quicker… it didn’t, but it calmed my heart. 

So, now I was on the right train, but it was getting closer to 9pm – I still had a good half hour before the door to my apartment building locked (I don’t have a key), but I got to my stop, and somehow got off on the wrong end of the platform and didn’t exactly know my way home.  I was stressing majorly.  Anyway, I was able to ask another kind swede, “Var är Lokalrätten?” (the local coffee shop by my apartment) and she pointed me in the right direction.  Now, I still had a good 20 minutes to  get home, but at this point I felt the need to run home.  So I did, and I made it with 15 minutes to spare.

In the span of 5 minutes I went from an exhausted, stressed out girl to a girl who felt alive, infinite for a moment, and that feeling is like no other. 

If nothing else, it will make a good story.

Hej då från Sverige!