Ninyn

After having finished my first workweek and my second weekend in Sweden, it's time for another short blogpost!

I don't have that much to say honestly. I'm very much enjoying it here and obviously adjusting to all the changes; the new environment, the new people, living in the apartment, getting frustrated finding out how the most basic stuff works (like doing your laundry, getting a vacuum cleaner, how an oven works and throwing away your garbage.). Eventually we figured everything out, now it's time to figure out a nice weekly routine!

During the first couple of days I took a small walk through the town, to get a feeling for where most of the things are located. The city centre is small and cute, and there are plenty of shops and pubs to explore. So far the people are very nice and I feel comfortable thanks to the fact that everyone speaks English. Despite being able to communicate in English here, I still sit and learn Swedish for 15-20 minutes everyday; it's nice to one day hopefully be able to follow along with conversations.



Liefs, x.

Sunday, my third day in Sweden! After around 8 hours of smooth travel (and 18 hours of being awake and active) I arrived at my new home for the coming time: Skövde. (Only recently I found out that this is pronounced as ghuvde.) I am so happy, stoked and excited to be here. Yesterday I met two of my soon-to-be-coworkers when we went out for a drink.

FIRST! Let's take the time to look back on the trip here!

Day 1

Departure

On Friday morning, Birk and I got up at around 6.30 AM. I woke up crying, because I was feeling too many things at the same time. Up until the point of getting to the airport I felt a little sick and lightheaded, probably because my brain was doing a great job of making me think about all the things that could go wrong. Luckily, Birk and Anthea were there to help me focus on all the good things: I'm going to fricking SWEDEN! I'm going to do what I LOVE doing! There's nothing to worry about!

The Flight

After dinner I had a proper after-dinner-crash and pretty much fell asleep around 9.30 PM.

Day 2

The numbers!

After returning from a glorious trip to Hamburg and Bremen, I am happy to be back home. One of the reasons being that this home will only be my home for three more weeks. After that, it's time to move to Sweden for at least 6 months!

The three week trip was amazing. It was my first time in Germany, and the first time that I went to a city of this size (~2 million). Although I loved being there, I also felt lonely at times. It's the same with any bigger city; it's both liberating and disconnecting. I felt free since no one really looked at me or cared about what I did, which can be a great feeling. I felt lonely because it felt like there was no human connection or interaction with the people in the city. For me it confirms that it's truly important, for your own sanity, creativity, and productivity, to create your own little hub of safety. People to love and be loved by, to accept and be accepted by, and to support and be supported by. We need it. All of us.

It was a trip I will never forget, a trip full of love, good talks, good beers, tasty food, forest walks, silly moments, tears, and beach sunsets. A trip full of warm welcomes and happy hugs. One I'm very grateful for.


Now that I'm back in the Netherlands for a little while, I want to make the most out of it. It takes time to create time, so back to the planning board it is. How can I use my time best?

Looking at my previous short term goals:

• Sell the last couple of things in my room.
• Buy flight tickets and plan the route to Skövde.
• Learn Swedish, 30 minutes a day.
• Buy a PlayStation 4.
• Set up my monthly budget.
• Get to know the area in Skövde.

Last summer, I wrote down 5 goals (or promises even) that I wanted to achieve in the next 5 years. Some of them I have achieved already. some of them were moved to a later stage and some of them are in the process of being achieved. I've always been a goal-oriented person, as it helps me 'measure' progress. If it's something personal, if it's a project, or if it's simply getting through the day: I need goals. Stagnating is something that scares me, and something that I want to avoid; I'm always on the move towards something new.

Totally stealing this format from another blog, but here goes. My goals for the next year:

Short Term Goals: 1 - 2 months

• Sell the last couple of things in my room.
• Buy flight tickets and plan the route to Skövde.
• Learn Swedish, 30 minutes a day.
• Buy a PlayStation 4.
• Set up my monthly budget.
• Get to know the area in Skövde.

Medium Term Goals: 3 - 6 months

• Pick up my hobbies again.
• Meditation.
• Writing.
• Some form of exercise (Gym or yoga. Thanks to my stupid ankle I cannot run anymore).
• Get back into regular gaming again (Perhaps make a list of games owned and games I want to finish).
• Furniture my flat with the basics.
• Shift the focus of my blog towards documenting my daily work, habits and life in Sweden.
• Have my friends come over in Sweden.
• Go to Stockholm.
• Go to Gotenburg.
• Create a polaroid diary. (Take polaroids of whatever I'm doing that moment. Write the date and a little reflective story of how I felt about it.)

Long Term Goals: 1 year or longer
I honestly suck at creating such long term goals because I know they'll change anyway.

• Get better at UI and game design.
• Get a better feel for 2D art, how to use shapes and colours, speedpainting.
• Save enough money for a roadtrip through possibly multiple countries.
• Plan the graduation roadtrip with Anthea, Hannah & Cristina.
• Well, graduate.
• Go on the roadtrip.