Hej!
(Forgive my writing style. It’s been so long since I’ve written something other than song lyrics.)
A long time ago I used to keep a journal. I stopped writing in it once I became complacent in my life and it seemed that the reasons for keeping a journal had left me. But now, several years later, I am once again at a major crossroads in my life. No longer satisfied with things as they are and have been, I have decided to make a change. Something big… something BIG. I want to move to Sweden. Of course the question arises: Why Sweden? It’s a hard question for me to answer but in this first entry I will make an attempt. I hope that in time this blog will become less autobiographical and more of an outlet for my experiences in this monumental undertaking:
When I was eight years old one of my favourite bands was Europe. You might remember them… they had that one really big hit, “The Final Countdown” in 1986. Being so young there were many aspects of life and the world that I was oblivious to. The one thing I remembered about them was that they were from Stockholm, Sweden. Where exactly that was… I had no idea. And life went on.
Many years later, shortly after high school, I again found myself enjoying music from Sweden. Bands like Drain STH, Salt, Baxter, and Prime STH. Great artists. Why were these bands singing in English? I figured it was in order to be more accessible to the UK and US. Either way, being so passionate about music, the fact that these great bands all came from Sweden intrigued me.
Around 2002 I was having a real hard time getting a copy of Baxter’s latest cd, “About This”. Desperate, I found and contacted a Swedish user of a cd cataloging site who listed the album among his collection. This kind gentleman not only bought and shipped me a copy of the cd (he only charged me his own costs for the cd and shipping), but he also made me an mp3 cd containing other great Swedish artists. I wish I still had his email address. It is entirely because of him that I discovered my current favourite band, Kent. Over the next few years I continued to discover even more amazing music originating from Sweden and Finland.
“Why is this guy going on about Swedish music?” I know. I apologize…. but it does have relevance.
I’ve been living in Seattle for almost 5 years now. It is by far the greatest place that I have ever called home… so far. Before that I lived in Sacramento, CA for about 16 years. Sacramento is where I grew up; went to school; made many friends; and even started my career as a technician. But at some point I wanted (or perhaps needed) a change. I knew I’d love Seattle before I had ever even been there and a week long visit there only confirmed that notion. And so I moved.
So, as I stated earlier, I am ready for another change. (I’m skipping a big part of the answer to the “Why Sweden?” question here. It’s your typical failed relationship drama stuff. Suffice to say that said events have brought me to this point and we’ll leave it at that for now.) Having been interested in Sweden from an early age, it only seems fitting that I go there and see what it’s all about. I don’t want to just go there for two weeks, doing all the touristy things visiters may do, only to return to Seattle and go back to life as usual. I want to experience life in Sweden. And so I have begun my preparations.
Currently I am learning Swedish via Rosetta Stone. I just moved on to level 2 today! I’m planning on visiting Stockholm for about two weeks in the early Spring. Not knowing a single soul over there, I’m hoping to use this blog and other media to establish contacts and maybe even make some friends.
So that was entry number 1. I hope it wasn’t too excruciatingly boring. From here on it’s my intent to document this journey of mine from Seattle to Stockholm.
wow, i tried to look up your zoothe.com site but it told me that it wasn’t there anymore so i just searched “zoothe” and it i landed. it was so interesting to read about your upcoming adventure. i know we haven’t talked in so long but to think of you moving out of the country made me really miss all the times that we used to talk on the phone and the letters that we used to write. it seems like a million years ago. i’m sorry to hear about “failed relationship drama” that had to be hard. I hope that your visit to Stockholm is fabulous and that you are happy when you move there. i just wanted to write to you and say hi and wish you the best.
xoxo
larizza
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Hej,
Found your blog via thelocal.se – I’m another American traveling to Sweden for the first time this summer. I’m working on a farm in Rimforsa, kind of near Linköping. But it’s cool that you’re in Seattle – I study at WWU in Bellingham and am a native Washingtonian. Anyway, I’ll look forward to your blog updates and hopefully find out more about Stockholm from your experience. I’m flying into Arlanda June 19!
-Katie
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