...being trained, 3 months in!

Hej!

Well the sun is still out here in Helsingborg....or rather it was until about 12pm (midday) It seems to be hiding behind a rather large cloud just now.
But generally speaking it has been a glorious couple of weeks! I have had several very nice 'after works' down by the sea front, making the most of the sun to get these Swedes socialising...not the easiest job, but I have a core group that seem to join me quite regularly now :)

So since my last post I have hardly been sitting at my desk at work... I have been partaking in some training. The first couple of days after the Easter break I was in a 'Welcome to IT' training...yes, that’s right...3 months after starting my job I was introduced into the way my company wants to run its IT setup. It was actually quite good...well, the second day was! The first day was really an introduction to the company, whom I have worked for for 8 and a half years, so wasn't massively important for me! The second day was much more information about things I didn’t know, so I found it much easier to stay awake for that :)
In this training there was also 3 people from Shanghai, so I felt much better about the training having to be in English, as I wasn’t the only one that didn’t speak Swedish!

Then the Thursday and Friday I had a very different kind of training...'Take Personal Leadership'. This was REALLY good! All about how you (me) is the most important part of being able to lead, and showing by example, and taking a step out side the situation...you know, all the really obvious things that you forget about when it comes to work and stress. This training I was the only non-Swede...so felt quite guilty when people were struggling to find words and feelings in English when I was the only one who needed them!
The Swedes are generally very happy to do tings in English, most of them have been learning it from about the age of 7, so know loads! (Also, none of the TV and films are dubbed here, so they pick up very unusual words too!)
I also made a couple of new friends on this training, people whose faces I had seen around work, but hadn't really spoken too...but they liked my invitation to a beer and so I think they will join me more often now. I seem to have built a reputation for always being available for a drink or dinner....which I think is a good thing, even though I don’t actually drink that much!

Saturday I was back in the UK to see Sarah, and had no problems with SAS at all this time! In fact, both flights arrived early, so maybe they were trying to make up for last time...?? So I had yet another really nice weekend in the Sun with Sarah. We didn’t do a massive amount, but did things every day, so it felt like we were busy most of the time, but also got to spend a lot of time just being together which is very important when we see each other so little. It really is hard leaving to come home though.
We did do a lot of looking around shops and things...always quite depressing when you (I) don’t have a lot of money! I keep seeing things that I want, and keep having to think 'wait a while, and see how it goes', a situation I haven't been in for a long time! ... anyone want a Honda S2000 and therefore help me out with money??
We were mostly (kinda) looking for things for me, as it is my birthday in less then a month (hint hint) and I didn’t really have a clue what I wanted, but as usual Sarah had a fantastic idea (or two. 3 actually...) so I know a little of what to expect...but still love the surprise factor! I think it helps that my memory is so bad I never remember details, so although I have picked what I want, I will still be surprised when I open it!

So now I am back in Sweden, but have an English (well, Geordie...I guess they have to be counted as English) friend staying with me for the next 2 nights as he is here with work. He is cooking me and Steve a curry tonight...hope he finds what he needs in my kitchen...its not the best stocked kitchen in the world as I don’t do an awful lot of cooking for one!

Plans for this weekend?? I have no idea! Its quite nice to not really have anything planned, as it means I can do whatever I feel like!

By the way, if anyone wants to know more about a particular thing, just say...ideas are always welcome! I keep thinking of things to blog about...and then when I get to it I forget what they were...

So what have I learned this week:
Swedes form very close knit friendship circles...hard to break in to, but very strong once in
Swedes speak very good English, but don't always appreciate having to speak it...make an effort!
I need more money, as I want to buy loads of things!

PS. Sometimes it is really good to listen to other peoples ideas, as they can see things you can’t. That goes for anything from clothes, to watches, to things to do. Thank you for knowing what I want and what will suit me even more then I do! You make me look good! (in a good way...not in the 'compared to you' way...)