One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that about 2 months ago I applied for a swedish residency permit. Because I’ve been officially cohabiting with a Swede for 2 years, I should theoretically be eligible for a permanent residency permit. I’ve been trying not to think about it much because I won’t here back about it for so long. The thought of being able to legally move back and forth from Europe to the US as I please, and to accept work/school/ life opportunities both places more easily makes me really excited. Especially after I read that in a law passed in Sweden to make college education in in Sweden no longer free to foreigners in 2010. If I want to take advantage of Sweden’s literally priceless policy, I gotta get on that!
The funny thing is that the decision about my permit could take anhywhere between 4 and 12 months (the average being 6). Applications for most Swedish graduate programs are in April, BUT for those who will require a student visa (which I won’t if I get the residency permit) have a Febuary due date AND (here’s the catch) proof that you have enough money to live in Sweden for the extent of the degree program (they determine that as 7000 kronor/month). I do not need to prove that if I’m a Swedish resident, because I could be legally employed there and would qualify for Swedish loans, grants, etc.. So it all ends up in the hands of fate, whether I receive the residency visa with time to apply to be a student in Sweden. In the meantime, I’ve been living in the moment, holding the philosophhy that if I’m meant to be a student in Sweden so soon, then the visa will come in time to apply. If not, it’s because I’m better off, for the first time since I was 4, not being a fulltime student for at least a year after graduation. Whether I’m in Sweden or the US, and my adventurous side is certainly leaning towards Sweden, I’m sure there’s other great things things I could be doing. Even if I were working at a Swedish Mc Donalds (not as easy a job to get I hear as one might think) I feel like it would be worth it. If I moved there, I would experience the changing of the the seasons for the first time in my life, meet so many new people, and (hopefully), learn to understand and speak a different language, and learn to feel at home in an entirely new culture. Watching Mats do that here has been so amazing. Hopefully I’d have the time and means to do some traveling around Europe too. Just after graduating, it seems like the time in my life when I’ll feel the most rootless (for lack of a better word). Although I don’t think it’s ever really too late, I also feel like the older you get the more and stronger ties you grow to certain people, places, jobs- and the harder it becomes to take the leap and do something different, not knowing the definite consequences. And what’s so bad about not knowing?
I feel like if I choose to move to Sweden (assuming all goes well with my visa), even if I’m NOT immediately pursuing some sort of graduate degree, I’ll REALLY be learning.
Jag håller alla tummar jag har!
You will also get to meet a lot of people you already know, who are really looking forward to get you both to the right side of the ocean
(the word “right” here has a double meaning)
We’ll be SO HAPPY to have you in Sweden!! It’s meant to be! Miss you.