A Late Introduction to Living American in Sweden

Some of the people who will be reading my blog know me quite well, but this post is really to tell everyone a few things about myself and why I started this blog.

My name is Megan and I'm an American who moved to Sweden this past August, a month before my 29th birthday. I have an identical twin sister who is my partner in crime. One of the reasons I chose to write this blog is that she can see what my life is like here because we are apart. It's hard having two partners and only being able to live with one. It's hard to describe the relationship of twins unless you are one. I mean I just had a daughter and she automatically has two mothers and always will.
The decision to move to Sweden was an easy one. My beau of 10 + years had proposed and we found out we were expecting our first child after he returned home from another month long visit. We knew it was time for us to pick a country. He had always wanted children, a theme that runs in his family, so it was important for him to be present for the delivery and to be able to be an active father.
Why did I move to Sweden? Well my partner is currently finishing a bachelor's degree here and I was just finishing my master's degree in Forensic Psychology and working full time for a job that would end in August. The social benefits here help a new family make ends meet. They have an 8 month maternity leave, healthcare is covered here, college tuition is free so that PhD I had been dreaming about became a possibility, among other things. I wish we could live in both countries and teleport back and forth, but that's not possible; so here I am discovering myself in a foreign world that I could spend days and days writing about. I am never worried that I will run out of differences and new experiences here because the truth is, Swedes and Americans are very different people and tend to live very different lifestyles. You will have to read future posts to read the elaboration on the last statement!
My Swede's name is Anton. We have a beautiful 2 1/2 month old baby he named Rosalind. This summer we are having a wedding in Michigan, where I'm from. A lot of his family will be coming which makes us very happy, that our families will finally meet. I'm sure everyone will have a great time. Our future is unknown. I'm not sure if I'm ready to make another four year school commitment, I'm not sure if I can find work here not knowing much Swedish yet, and Anton is not sure if he wants to continue school or look for work. We may decide to move to another country someday. We think about having our own business often. The only things we do know is that someday we'd like more children and that for now we're happy.

Since being here, I'm sure I have amused, delighted, confused, and annoyed many people. Some people have been very kind and patient with me. Sometimes I am gawked at because of my size, for speaking American English, or even wearing my baby in a carrier in public. There have been a couple of times where people have actually been excited to hear my American English. People often ask how I am doing here. You know the good old adjustment question people ask when you've had a big change in your life. I usually tell them the truth. I don't hate it here and I am not unhappy. I think I am still feeling things out and trying to get a real sense of my new reality. I'll keep you posted.

I promise I will try to keep your interest. This blog will have it all. Adult perplexities, new mother experiences, and a lot of differences between the US and Sweden! I hope you enjoy what I write about. I am an open book here, or at least I think I am...