Howdy.

This spot is designed to be the locale for my thoughts. An online journal, if it remotely interests anyone. Who am I and why do I think I have anything interesting to say? Well, let's start with the simple introductions, since most people start off that way.

You can call me Helen, and I am an American living and working in Europe. Yes, I know-there are millions of us Yanks living and working abroad. This place is my journal, my way of finding out where home is, and what lies there once I get there.

I moved to Sweden nearly four years ago. I packed up my things (fitting in as many boxes of Cap'n Crunch as could be fit on the way) and moved my life to Stockholm, known as "Beauty on Water". Much like Missouri is called "The Show-Me State" and Australia is called "The Land Down Under". I do not name these things, nor do I know how they got said names. But the names thus far seem to fit (although I have to wonder-what are they going to show me in Missouri?) Let's move on, yes?

How on earth did I get here, you may wonder. And it's quite ok for you to wonder that, since I wonder about it too, everyday. And what am I still doing here? Well, I am still working for a nice Swedish company. I still live in my nice Swedish house, with my nice, er, German car, and will be here for a while. After all, jobs being what they are, it's rather hard to move around (and a tad ungrateful, I must say).

I find that I travel a lot. More than a lot, but yet not enough to my liking. In the past five years, I have bounced around all over the world. And the more I travel, the less American I feel. It's as though, for every mile I accrue with BA (you have to love British Airlines. At least the flight attendants on BA make it quite clear that they don't like you up front, instead of being like the other airlines and simply lying to your face) I grow one more inch away from feeling comfortable in the US. Which I still travel to a lot for business. And every time I go to the US-other than frequent Starbucks, Benny's Bagels, Nine West, the Gap, and stand in sobbing awe of the incredible and duly-missed cereal aisle of the grocery stores-I find that there are more steps that have made me less comfortable.

For instance-what happened to Must See TV? Now it's more like Eh, Just See It If Nothing Else Is On. The newspapers-why do they mention so little of other events, that take place outside the US? Who are all these women on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, saying they are also Slayers? And why is it I can't figure out where can I get a good curry?

I am not having a go at the US. Although I am a lost person, travelling the great big world, I am first and foremost an American. Even if saying it will get me beaten up in a pub. And it has done, as well.

A few comments about Sweden-yes, there are a lot of blond people here. No, they are not all named Sven and Inga. And I have yet to see a Swedish Bikini Team, unless you count the throngs of Swedes that bail and go to Greece during the summer. It is indeed VERY cold here in the winter, and the chocolate is good here (although many people get Sweden confused with Switzerland and ask about the chocolate. They make it in both places). Want to find Sweden on a map? Find England, and go to the right and up a bit. There you will find Scandanavia. We are situated in between Norway and Finland, and should you take away these two countries, you can see that Sweden looks uncomfortably like part of the male anatomy.

It is my intention to update this site as often as possible. Comments and suggestions are welcome, just mail to: EverydayStranger@btconnect.com.

-H

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 05:28 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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