Welcome Note

img_5148Hi there,

Welcome to my site where I write everything and anything.

I’m a random thinker who is always passionate about writing, traveling, and taking picture. Those are, for me, some of the best ways to capture memories in life.

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Get to Know Me

For more story about me, what I do and my everyday life in general, kindly visit my profile here and here.

Basic Everyday Info for Recently Moved Newbie*

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Lately, I’ve been receiving questions from some people who are going to move to Sweden, either for work or study in my website and Instagram. And some of the questions are actually really simple, about everyday info, which I didn’t consider important before. At least I used to take it for granted.

But I think that was just because I’m lucky. My husband moved to Sweden eight months earlier than I did so he’s kind of paves the path for me. But not all people have the same experience. So here I compile the basic information of everyday life in Sweden for recently moved newbie.

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Copenhagen is always a good idea

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For the winter break 2019, we initially didn’t plan to go anywhere. The period between October to December was quite a hectic moment for us because Zaki had so many things on his plate: journals, book chapter, manuscript, seminar, conference to name a few. As a result, the daily loads that we usually share were suddenly on me and myself, there was no time (and energy!) to plan for any kind of trip. But then prior to his third-phase PhD Seminar which was scheduled on December 19, right after he submitted his manuscript to the reviewers, he said: “Can you find a good deal to go somewhere? Just a day or two. Not too far and most definitely not too expensive. I think we’re all deserve a short escape.”

The answer was of course “no” 😄

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On K’s birthday

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Last month in 2019, Baby K turned 1 year old. It feels cruel, sometimes, how a year can passed you by in the blink of an eye. She was just this tiny red blueish baby not so long ago. Now she’s not a baby anymore, she’s officially a toddler.

She already has four teeth. She’s very messy independent when it comes to eating, but clingy when it comes to socialising :D. She’s a strong willed little girl. She drives me crazy with her unlimited energy that keeps her awake till late. Every. Single. Night. And yet, she makes me laugh with her funny behaviours, and warms my heart whenever she hugs me tight.

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Third Year Reflection*

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As the year-end is approaching, I would like to use this blog post as a medium of reflection. A look back to where it all started three years ago. This month in 2016, I moved to Sweden from my home country. Time has passed by and many things have happened ever since, including having an additional member in the family. So it just feels right to see how it was and how it has been as a newbie living in Sweden.

And here are some random facts about Sweden that I learnt during my first three years of living in the country:

Sweden is a good place to raise kid

From free education to nearly free healthcare, Sweden is one of a few places I can think of when it comes to a “family friendly” country. Yes, the system is bit frustrating sometimes and requires lots of things to do—filling out forms, queuing, making calls to name a few. But once you got in, the safety net is always there.

Sweden also seems to care about and is willing to take part in children development. One tiny example is when my baby turned 6 months old, she received a free choice book from Lund’s state library. From what I understand, it’s a part of the program to encourage reading and literacy (such important skills for kids to have indeed).

Apart from those, generous parental leave, celebrated equality and recognition of universal values are the things that Sweden offers. And those are the list I would love to tick as a parent. Anyway, read more about the rights as parents in Sweden here.

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Hang Out Ideas for Newbie Parents*

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I often say to myself, when you’re a parent, life is what happened between fresh brewed coffee in the morning and reheated coffee in the afternoon: you barely have time to enjoy your coffee, decently 😀 Especially when you live away from home, far from the supporting system called family, the struggle is real.

Luckily in Sweden, there are some hang out places that are designed and dedicated for parents so parenting can still be fun. Here are the highlights:

Local library

If you’re new in Sweden and not sure where to go for a day-out with your baby, a library could be a good starting point. The state library in Lund has special section for kids of all ages. There’s this small play area where you can read books with your children and also meet other fellow parents.The library also has baby café and book-reading events for kid in various languages (read more about the events here). The book reading is held in the reading “closet” which is set up nicely and comfy for the parents and the kids.

 

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Swedish Sayings I Wish I Knew Before Moving to Sweden*

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Like many other countries, Sweden has plenty of expressions, idioms and sayings rooted in history and tradition. Some of them can be found in other languages, or at least share similar meaning like “Beat around the bush” and “Gå som katten kring het gröt” (English: walks like the cat around hot porridge). Some others are quite exceptional.

Despite its hilarious literal meanings, these sayings are actually relatable to everyday life in Sweden. Personally, I found some sayings are helpful in understanding Swedish values, and for that reason I wish I knew them earlier 😀

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Berlin, I’m in Love

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02e6f069-5f08-44f7-84f6-5c0127b6d67d-1049-0000009b7dcbe115Germany had always been in our travel list since the first day we arrived in Europe. But we were bit on and off about the right time to visit the country. Mainly because we wanted to visit some cities in a row. Haha! What a plan indeed!

We wished we could travel to all the cities in Germany where our friends live. Like for example: 2 days in Hamburg, 3 nights in Berlin, couple of days in Frankfurt, stopping by in Cologne, Nuremberg, and so on.

But that ambitious plan isn’t so budget friendly of course 😆 So we ended up just going to Berlin last July.

Why Berlin?

Geographically speaking, Hamburg is much closer from Lund and we do have friends who live in Hamburg so we could have started from there. But, there’s no direct flight to Hamburg and we wanted to try a short and easy first flight for Baby K. So Berlin is a perfect choice as it’s just 40 minutes flight from Copenhagen. Besides, it’s BERLIN. The capital of Germany. Famous throughout history. Do we really need a reason to visit it? I don’t think so 😄

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