When in Rome...

Well, not quite Rome. But near enough. Last week we took a 4 day flying trip to Milan. Initially it was to see a football game. But the significance of that event quickly became overshadowed once it was discovered that Milan was the home of the odd fashion shop. Or two. Or 10. But that's a story for another day. This was my first real trip outside of Sweden since arriving in Sweden. I don't really count our trip to Iceland, as that was just a group of Swedes hanging around together. This was just the 2 of us, in a strange new world. And a world that embraced neither English nor Swedish as a language. And here's where I discovered something really interesting about my current destination in life. I had learnt, or tried to learn, a little Italian. Prior to our trip. Nothing too complicated or technical. Just so we could hail a cab, order a pizza, or check the price on something. When I arrived to Sweden I knew a few Swedish words and phrases. But I was very very selfconcious about my shortcomings, so was reluctant to try them out with any anger. Still am to an extent, but that's slowly fading with my sense of self respect. In Milan I discovered that, when you are crap at speaking one language, and you know that you are, and you accept that you are, and you've given up being polite........ you have no problem at all about being crap in another language. So I let those poor sods in Milan have it. Both barrels of tragic Italian. It was bollocks, they never understood a frickin word, and I couldn't have cared less. I consider that to be progress along my Swedish journey.

Language: Your number one priority

Under estimate this at your peril !!!! Swedes are highly educated and every local under the age of 60 has pretty fluent English. So you won't die. However, if you want to be treated as anything more than a nuisance or a liability, learn the language. And FAST. Most people arrive eager to dive straight into the workforce. My advice is to hold off as long as you can afford to, until you have the necessary language skills needed to function efficiently in the country. A small time delay now can save a whole lot of heartache later. I've seen a lot of online postings from people looking to come to Sweden and searching for work. I was one of those. It's a great idea when you're sitting safely at home, but the reality of priorities in a foreign speaking country is very different. As in most countries, if you have trouble with language, people often think you have trouble with everything. So the things that you are skilled at tend to be downgraded somewhat. But you can fix that. A lot has been said about the short comings of the SFI ( Swedish For Immigrants ) language programme. It's not perfect. But it's an excellent way to start and I highly recommend it. For starters it's a fulltime classroom based course. So you concentrate on nothing else but language. You'll also find yourself in the company of other people equally as traumatised as yourself. Misery loves company. It's an adults only course, so if you have children they have to go through the international school system. It's also a free course, which helps. SFI gives a good grounding in basic vocabulary and grammar skills. If you understand why sentences are structured the way that they are, it's easy to adapt later on. Expect the SFI course to take about a year to complete, depending on the speed of your classmates. And depending on the motivation of the teaching staff. This can vary a lot from school to school. Don't be afraid to stand up and make a noise if the teacher is consistently unprepared or, as is often the case, simply fails to show up. Swedes are rather frightened of controntation, and tend to move to fix problems quickly when challenged. Remember, this is your future at stake. I've been at the end of my tether at times, taking the time to go to school, only to find there is no teacher that day, and the school hasn't bothered to arange for a substitute. I'm sure they wouldn't treat Swedish adults with the same lack of respect. We don't know the language, but we're not idiots. With SFI you'll be able to live from day to day. But you'll need a more complete language education to be able to work at the level you once enjoyed in your homeland. Remember, why should any Swedish employer hire you when they can hire someone who has a Swedish education and is also a native Swedish speaker ? So you need to stack the deck a bit. A lot. The SAS Grund, Svensk A and B courses follow SFI. They will take you to the level of Swedish high school language. And that's about good enough. These courses are largely self study, with a couple of days in the classroom each week. Recommended. Most large towns offer the SFI and Svensk courses through their Komvux ( adult learning ) centres. The downside to the courses mentioned is that they are a bit light on vocal training. And obviously that is the key to surviving in a foreign land. Here it's of value to seek out private tuition. Specifically targeted at speaking and listening. Swedes are sticklers for paper based qualifications. While there are other language courses on offer, the SFI, Svensk A and Svensk B courses are all government run courses. Employers understand them and know what they mean. By all means take up other courses, but complete the official ones also. Otherwise you'll just confuse people.