Learning the Swedish Language

Many immigrants I have come across say the Swedish language is difficult to learn. Is it really difficult? Personally I do not think so. I think everything can be learned if the time, patience and motivation is invested in the learning process.It also depends on how you want your life to be in Sweden.Language makes live easy for you and others to communicate together. Learning a new language is always a bonus credit in life. The more languages you know the more you have easy contact with people if you are the friendly type of course.

I now lots of people studying at various universities and studying complicated mathematics and software engineering everyday.They say the Swedish language is difficult to learn and also barrier to get a job here if you cannot speak it.Its true in Sweden and everywhere in the world. Getting a jobs in Sweden takes more than knowing the language.But know the language gives you an edge over others who do not know the language.So learning the language is one step forward in getting a job.These guys will say is difficult to learn the language.I always ask them this questions.If you can calculate complicated stochastic processes,probabilities and write complicated code whats difficult to learn a language that just needs verbs and grammar?

"I love you"="Jag älskar dig"
"Hej" = "Hello" or "Hi"
"Kom" = "Come"

or

an example of a stochastic process involving mean reversion.
dP = h P (M - P) dt + s P dz
Where M is the long-run equilibrium level (or the long-run mean price which the prices tend to revert); and h is the speed of reversion.

or

C Program recursive function
include

int factorial (int n)
{
if (n == 0)
return 1;
else
return (n * factorial (n-1));
}

Which of these is easier to grasp directly?
You can make your choice? Anyway personally i think the language is easy to learn and the C program beautiful to write to solve a problem and the stochastic process boring.
If you really want to live in Sweden i encourage you to learn the language.It not difficult and it not easy.You have to make an effort.The choice is yours.

Global Uppvärming

Jag har tänkt hur jag kan hjälpa för att reducera global uppvärming. Jag kommer på att jag älskar frukt från andra länder t.ex banan, avocado, cashewnötter och många andra. De där frukterna kan man inte plantera i Sverige. De måste importeras från andra länder och de också tjänar pengar för att deras växter säljes utomlands.
För att frukterna kan komma till Sverige ska man använder båtar, lastbilar, flygplaner etc. Alla de här metoderna att transportera varor höja växthus gas.
Ska jag sluta köpa tropisk frukter och börja äta bara äpple eller frukter och grönsaker man kan plantera i Sverige eller ska jag fortsätta leva mitt liv som ingenting kommer att hända?
Jag vet inte vad jag ska göra. Jag vill verkligen hjälpa med global uppvärming.

Do not follow the crowd. Go your own way

Everybody is an individual and has to choose their own route in live. I have noticed a very common pattern amongst immigrants that come to Sweden. They always want to stick together, speak their home languages, compare Sweden to their countries and complain about Sweden. It is good to speak your language and have a talk with someone from your country but I think it should not be the goal or something you take as a huge part of your life when you move into a new country. I know it can be tough to make Swedish friends here but everything takes time and you must have the will and motivation to have them , know them and want to understand them before you want to think about friendship.

The truth it takes time to build relationships here and people are so skeptical of just getting into friendship with someone new. You just have to take it slowly. I encourage immigrants who come to Sweden to get out of their holes and stop sticking with a crowd of individuals from the same country confront the society, try to understand it than give up. Stop looking for negative things to say about the people to make you feel better. Are you really better than them? If you are really better than them you should not even be here in the first place. The airport is not that far. Instead take steps to understand the society; they are different of course as you are also different. There is nothing to compare about two nations. I say Cameroon is just a wonderful nation with wonderful people just as Sweden is a wonderful nation with wonderful people. From this point you are relax you start looking for opportunities and challenges. You understand a culture and make the best of it.

Staying in your little groups just will make you a frustrated individual and the group will never help you get any better here. Live is tough everywhere in the world. You have to come out from the little group and say goddamit! I am now in Sweden. Let me make the best of it. You will see how your life will change for the better. You will be happier and more relax and as I always say to everyone I meet Learn the Language if you got the chance. If you live in your little groups and stuck too it you will not even be interested to learn it because you speak your home language everyday and get by just fine but are you really living in Sweden or staying in Sweden? But you are living and behaving just like you did back in your country of origin. How can you integrate yourself ?

So the question is what do I do?

•Go your own way, do not follow the crowd
•Seek help and advice from those who have live here for a long time. You will be surprised what kind of help you can get from them.
•Be humble and honest. You can get your way just fine by being honest and humble.
•Ask questions and get to free seminars or forums to meet other people.
•Have fun and go to parties.
•Date a girl
•Be yourself and have and set clear goals for yourself and everyday move towards them and you will get to enjoy this lovely country and its people. You will be relaxed
• Meet your folks at times and have a chat and some fun and talk about your home country.
I hope you enjoy your stay and go your own way in Sweden.

Fees for Swedish Universities

This is just a follow up of what i wrote before about fees in Swedish Universities. This time the commission required to study this issue came out with an estimate of 80.000sek and can probably be instituted from the 2008/2009 academic year. This is really much money but i hope this information can make you to start thinking if you want to come to Sweden or already a student in Sweden.I will write more on this when i get more details.

The new work permit law in Sweden

Many people have been asking me about the new work permit law in Sweden that implementation started on the 15th December 2008. Its really an interesting law because the government is now realising that its time to soften up those old rules and let people with skills get job permits in Sweden.
Another thing here is these jobs should have been announced in the whole of Sweden and EU and the employer has no choice but to employ a NON EU immigrant and that is where you can see the real aim of the program.It is actually to to let companies employ highly skilled engineers from other countries easily.

If you an immigrant and already got a job or doing some unskilled job somewhere and think that with that job you can get a work permit because of that then read on and understand what this is all about.I always encourage others living and studying here and wish to work here to learn the swedish language and become really good in what you are studying.If you think you are ligible for this kind of visa then ask yourself what skills you really have that some company will want to invest in you? If you got no skills or got them but doing some unskilled job in another field then you better drop that now and upgrade you skills and begin to apply for real jobs that warrants some skill learned.With that said you might get an employer that really wants to invest in you.I am ready to answer questions about this but here is a summary of the conditions to apply.

Here is the new law
EU/EEA citizens, Swiss citizens, their family members and people with long-term resident status in another EU country are not required to apply for a work permit. There is more information on our website under ”EU/EEA citizens”.

Other foreign citizens who want to work in Sweden must have a work permit. A residence permit is also required if the person is going to work for a period of more than three months. Citizens of certain countries must have a visa to work for periods of less than three months. See www.ud.se for a list of nationalities required to have a visa.

What is required to get a work permit?
A person who wants to work in Sweden must have an Offer of Employment from an employer in Sweden.

The following are also required to be granted a permit:

The employee must have a valid passport.
The employee must earn enough from employment to support him/herself.
The terms of employment must be equivalent to those provided by a Swedish collective agreement or to customary terms and conditions for the occupation or industry.
The relevant union must be given the opportunity to state an opinion on the terms of employment.
The job vacancy must have been advertised in Sweden and the EU. Where should the employee apply for a residence and work permit?
The main rule is that the employee must apply for a residence and work permit in the country of origin or another country outside Sweden in which he/she resides. The permit must have been granted and the permit sticker affixed to the passport before entering Sweden. However, in certain cases, employees may apply for a work permit in Sweden.

People who may apply in Sweden:

Students with a student residence permit who have completed at least 30 higher education credits or one semester/term of postgraduate education in Sweden.
Job applicants who have received an offer of employment and who are in Sweden to visit an employer, and there is special need to begin the work immediately. The occupation must also be found on a special list, which is posted on the Migration Board website.
Asylum-seekers whose application for asylum has been rejected and the decision has taken legal force.
What applies to family members?
Family members of employees may be granted a residence permit for the same duration as the residence and work permit granted to the employee. If the permit is valid for at least six months, family members may also be granted a work permit.

The following people are considered family members:

Husband/wife, de facto (“common law”) spouse or registered domestic partner.
Children (under the age of 21) of the employee or his or her husband, wife, de facto spouse or registered partner.
Children over the age of 21 cannot be granted a residence permit unless they are financially dependent upon the parent. Note that the age limit for residence and work permits is 18 for family members of asylum seekers.

How much does it cost?
Most applicants are required to pay an application fee. The fee is SEK 2,000 for the initial application and in certain cases for an extension. When an application to extend a permit concerns the same employer or the same occupation the fee is SEK 1,000.

The fee is SEK 1,000 for family members over 18 and SEK 500 for family members under 18.

How long is the permit valid?
If the employment is temporary, the employee will be granted a residence and work permit valid only for that period and for a maximum of two years at a time.

After 48 months, the employee will be eligible for a permanent residence permit.

What happens if the employee changes employers?
For the first two years, the residence and work permit is restricted to a specific employer and a specific occupation. For that reason, the employee must apply for a new work permit if he/she changes employers or occupations during the first two years. If the residence and work permit is extended after two years, it is restricted only to a specific occupation. In that case, the employee must apply for a new work permit if he/she changes occupations.

What happens if employment is terminated?
A residence and work permit in Sweden is always temporary. If the employee loses his/her job, the Migration Board may withdraw the residence permit. However, the employee may look for other employment in Sweden for three months after the date the previous employment ended.

If the employee does not find a new job during that period, the Migration Board may withdraw the residence permit and the employee must leave the country.

If the employee gets a new job and the current permit does not cover the duration of employment, he/she must submit a new application for a work permit. The Migration Board will then examine the conditions of employment by the new employer.

Appeal
Rejection of an application for a work permit cannot be appealed.

Further information
For further information about work permits in Sweden, contact the nearest Swedish embassy/consulate or the Swedish Migration Board's Public Contact Unit.

The TooMuch Syndrome

You might ask your self what is the TooMuch Syndrome? What is this guy writing about? It is syndrome created by parents in developed countries who buy too many toys and offer too many choices to children in about everything.What i have noticed is that child even become more aggressive,arrogant and confused because of too much choices they have.Parents become friends to their children and when children take control .Children become confused and angry even though they got everything i call it the toomuch syndrome.May be they are adults who have this problem of obsession with things but things will always be things and we have to be parents from day one till when the relationship changes to an adult one when children move to their own homes.

Anyway parenting is not about buying too many toys.I think kids should have time to enjoy each toy they have and really make some connection to it before new one come in.They learn how to focus and appreciate things.
I will end by saying that after living in Sweden for all this years i see the Too much syndrome in many people and i ask myself if they do not get it.THINGS WILL NEVER MAKE US HAPPIER THEY CAN ONLY MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR US. I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE IS OUR LIVES AND BODY AND FAMILY.To get that balance we need to eat good healthy food,love , have a passion and have fun.

In a country like Sweden where basic needs of life is not really a problem it is easy for your children and your self to develop the TooMuch Syndrome.You can avoid it buying what is really necessary or needed and let your children grow and learn that things are not what that makes us happy because they are just things and you do not need to pay for happiness.

Back to the university

I have not posted for a long time now because i am now studying computer science (Datavetenskap) at the university.I always wanted to be a computer engineer and this dream of mine finnaly came true when i got admission for the program entirely in swedish and partly in english.I worked very hard to get the requirements for an entrance into the university.I had to do lots of maths in the swedish language but anyway maths is maths and i had really great support from my darling wife .Without her support and care i do not think i would have made it through.

The truth is there is no short cut to make money or get a good job in Sweden.You have to be good in something and the opportunity is there for you if you have the will, motivation and determination to study free of charge in one one thier excellent universities.I will keep on posting on issues i think are important and will like to get ideas on what you guys want to know.I always say good things do not come easy.

What or who is a Swede?

I just thought of sharing this with you guys.Anyway i have my own reservations about this but i think the person that wrote this had really good points. I will update it later with what i think is Swedish. You can get an image of how the majority Swedish people are and do not forget to always take a queue in what ever place you need a service e.g.bank,shops etc . Its always first come first served in Sweden."Just stand on the line or take a number and wait. Isn't that nice?

A Swede is tall, blond, blue-eyed, and wears a woolly hat in the winter. By nature he is shy, reserved, serious, industrious, and finds it hard to laugh at himself. He is also a creature of habit and every morning gets up at 5.30 to give himself enough time to read the morning newspaper before going to work. Since work does not usually start until 8 o’clock, this can only imply that a Swede is also a slow reader.

Apart from himself, his chief interests are money, his job, his home, ice-hockey, and his family (in that order). He also loves animals – especially dogs – and spends hours cycling through the town dragging a huge and ferocious German Shepherd behind him on a leash.

A Swede is usually punctual, honest, reliable, clean, has his own teeth, and is law-abiding. Evidence of the latter is particularly noticeable at pedestrian crossings. No matter what the weather is like, a Swede would rather get soaked to the skin than cross an empty street when a red light is showing. Similarly, he always wears a seat belt, never drinks and drives, always has a television licence, usually hands in his tax-return on time, invariably has a plastic bag in his pocket when he walks his dog, and never has a bath after 10 o’clock.

A Swede is also very cautious and rarely does anything on impulse (except perhaps sneeze). To him, all decisions are a matter of life and death. Take a simple matter like buying cheese, for example. A Swede may try at least ten different sorts of cheeses before finally deciding to buy twenty grammes of Brie. It is the same sense of caution that prevents him from plunging into marriage straight away. Instead, he lives with a woman first, has one or two children, then – if all seems well – asks her to marry him.

With reference to marriage, a Swede is quite unlike most European men. Anything a housewife can do, he can do better – from cooking to sewing on buttons. In fact, everything in the home (apart from breast-feeding) is shared.

A Swede also likes to think he is well informed and spends hours finding out all he can about such things as nuclear power, the Third World, pollution, South Africa, the sexual habits of the centipede, etc. while at the same time paying little attention to unimportant matters - such as the name of his neighbor or whether certain types of beer should be banned or not.

Most Swedes as fanatics when it comes to keeping fit and regularly spend their weekends running through the nearest forest or cycling for hours in the cellar on a bicycle fixed to the floor. With his health in mind, he has also given up smoking, sugar, drinking coffee in the evenings, going to bed after 10 o’clock, and mixing with strangers.

But perhaps the greatest thing about a Swede is his sense of equality – of everyone being the same as everyone else. To help this, most Swedes have the same surnames – Svensson, Nilsson, or Persson – earn the same amount of money after tax, have the same taste in furniture, dress alike, think alike, drive a Volvo, and go to Majorca or Kreta in the summer.

A Swede also refuses to admit that he is prejudiced in any way. To him, all foreigners are just the same as Swedes and, although he doesn’t actually have any Jugoslavian, Greek, Turkish, Polish, Italian, Finnish or Czechoslovakian friends, he is certain there is very little difference between them and Swedes – apart from their names, their customs, the way they grow vegetables in the kitchen, the fact that they carry knives, rob banks, live on social security, pinch their jobs, breed like rabbits, beat their wives, and speak Swedish like someone with a gobstopper in his mouth.

Finally, a Swede loves the sun, hates queuing, gets a kick out of being first on the bus, detests winter, enjoys sex, can’t stand gypsies, believes what the National Social Board of Health and Welfare tells him, doesn’t believe in God, worships Ingemar Stenmark, only gets drunk when he drinks, is patriotic (wears Swedish flag underwear), visits the off-licence twice a week, visits his parents at Christmas, goes to English classes, and, inevitably, is deeply offended by an article such as this.

(Found in the computer lab in Umeå.)