#evsiboras

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A week in Norrbyhuset

Have you ever thought about what does a volunteer actually DO at their workplace? I can’t answer for everyone, but I can give you a peek how a volunteer’s life can look like in Norrbyhuset - a meeting place with youth activities:

Mondays are for staff meetings - like in a lot of youth centres. It is a good way to start a week, when everyone's gathered around and we go through the questions that have popped up among the group. (Not of course forgetting the fika! You can’t write a blog post without fika!) After the meeting, we still have time to open the house for visitors, even though it is a shorter day for them.

Tuesdays can start off with studying Swedish and coming to Norrbyhuset afterwards. At the house, there’s homework help, language café, helping in the library, playing cards with the kids or table tennis with the youngsters... You might have a certain room/place in the schedule, where you need to be in - for example in the "reception” welcoming everyone - or you could be going around helping, where needed. 

On a Wednesday you can start your day in the office checking emails and planning for your activities - maybe even writing an evs blog post ;) When the visitors start coming in, it's good to move in to the “verksamhet” (= activities/functions) to help out there. There might even be an event that needs preparations. We have had author visits, theatres for children, NorrbyDagen, Finland Day, party for women (on women's day) and many more...

On Thursdays you might work an evening shift. There is also the meeting with the youth workers about youth activities and how youth work is organized in the house. After that you might have your own activity for the visitors. I have done handcrafts with kids, arranged a table tennis tournament with staff and had reading for dogs, for example.

And Fridays we close earlier (at 16 o'clock), so they are usually a bit more quieter days. There's some more time to finish your things in the office, catch up with colleagues and help those visitors who find their way in. Or maybe you want to even use one of your vacation days to have a longer weekend.

(And every Saturday is a family day in Norrbyhuset, and you can find yourself working every fourth one. Doing your own activities or helping other staff members - maybe you even have a visitor who wants to create their own thing.)

Every day of the week starts with either a morning meeting (for day shift) or a “handover” meeting (for evening shift), where we go through, how we feel and what is going on in the house that day. Every evening we end with “logging" the day - going through if there has been something special happening and how did we deal with it / how could we improve.

Some other weeks there might be trainings about violence prevention or meetings with other EVS volunteers. You probably will do other projects, as well, outside of your youth centre.

Every week looks always a bit different and that is what keeps it interesting!

- Katja

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Vad är ditt personnummer?

Hej Hej Allihopa!

Today I would like to talk about the Swedish Holy Grail, the not avoidable personnummer (PN - personal number).

This number is delivered by Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) and is E-SSEN-TIAL if you plan on staying in Sweden more than a year. Even if it feels a little bit like a tracking number sometimes, I will explain to you why I think it is important to get one, and how you can apply for it.

Samordningsnummer och personnummer, olika saker, olika rättigheter!

(Coordination number and personal number, different things, different rights)

Example of a personnummer - Wikipédia

When I arrived in Sweden, my hosting organization applied for a samordningsnummer (SN - coordination number) which identified me as a foreign worker in the Swedish tax system. This coordination number is necessary to apply for schools, or universities for instance. It is also your recognition for living in Sweden. But why applying for a PN when you already have a samordningsnummer?

Well, first of all, you will be able to tease your co-volunteers who don’t have a PN (Hej Nata!). But of course, this is not the only reason. The PN is required for the simplest things that make you feel member of a society, a key to the Swedish system.

For instance, when I opened my bank account, I could not access to all the services with my SN: look at my account through the internet banking or order something online were therefore impossible for me.

This might seem very small, but I can assure you that it is very difficult (and annoying) to keep track of your expenses when you have to go to an ATM to know how much money you have, or if you have been payed.

Impossible to create an account for the public transportation either, you have to take a non-nominative card, meaning that if you lose it, you lose your pass also and have to buy another one (I was so scared to lose mine that I was constantly checking my pockets). Same story for a membership card in most of (if not all) the stores: personnummer required.

Hur kan jag få ett personnummer?

(How can I have a PN?)

Skatteverket’s logo - Skatteverket.se

I quickly became annoyed by not having access to the same comfort I had in France, for things that I (wrongly) took for granted. I was very surprised that a country like Sweden, member of the European Union, was, de facto, creating differences among people through a very dehumanizing way: through a number. Then, I remember that we also have a number in France, as well as in many countries. But since I did not do the application for it (thank you Mum), I never realized it before. I keep thinking about how hard it must be for an immigrant who is not aware as I am about bureaucracy and procedures… Another proof that traveling broaden your perspectives, and makes you think about others point of view.

Annoyed and impatient to live as a recognized citizen, I applied for the personnummer. Thanks to Lotta, my former mentor, we filled the file and gave the papers to Skatterverket. The process is pretty simple: a copy of your ID and job contract, and some questions to answer. After 30 minutes queuing, 10 minutes of interview and 6 weeks waiting, I received the so desired number in my mailbox! I “just” had to go through the Swedish ID process which also took approximately 6 weeks and finally, after 3 months I was handling my ID, my key to insertion. I just hope now that one day I will have an ID that has a more flattering picture of me, or I will start to think that the problem does not come from the picture itself, but more from the model.

Anyway, if you are looking for more detailed information about the application process, you can find all the information on Skatteverket website (different languages available).

Förbättrar personnumret ditt liv?

(Does the PN improve your life)

I will definitely answer yes to that question! It’s not like it is not manageable without it (there is an article from “The Newbie Guide to Sweden” that gives some advices on that topic here) but it makes your life way easier.

Some advice if you have decided to do without it or if you are waiting for yours:

- Ask a friend to associate your buss card to his or her personnummer so if you lose it, he or she can get it back for you

- Use an app that allows you to keep track of your expenses. Personally, I used CoinKeeper.

- If you come from an EU country from the eurozone, open an account in a bank that does not take a commission for your transactions in a foreign currency. I have one at the German Online Bank N26, and it works very well. It will allow you to use your euros with the rate exchange without paying a commission.

- Be patient

“Big brother is watching you”

(Storbror tittar på dig) 

Banksy’s exhibition - Amsterdam - July 2016

I will just finish this article with a small thought about data. I must say that I don’t feel very comfortable with the idea of a single number tracking me, my expenses, my travels, my center of interests, etc. I discovered that having a SN and, later on, a PN got me registered on a website that said everything about me: salary, address, phone number, etc. Since, I asked them to take me out of their database, but the fact that it was done without me knowing makes me question the other uses that are made with this number: marketing profiling? Tracking my memberships? My locations? I will look deeper in how the data are used and protected.  

This is all for today, I hope you have found this article interesting, and if not, entertaining!

Until the next time

Ha det så bra!

Alex

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Tre månader senare

Hej Hej!

It has been three months now that I arrived in Sweden, and I think it is a nice duration to start to write on this blog! I would like to start by my first impression and what are, to me, key components of my experience here. I will develop later key point in hope to help people who consider coming here (through EVS or on their own) to have some insights on how life is, what is important to know / do when you are freshly arrived in Sweden.

Now that this short introduction is made, I wish you a pleasant and instructive reading.

Sol vind och vatten

As some of you maybe know, I arrived on the 5th of February, during the cold and snowy Swedish of the winter. Apparently, the only week it had not been raining that winter was the Christmas week, how ironic.

From where I’m from (south of France) we are not that used to the snow and arriving in this white country made me feel like a child.

Picture on my way to work - 12th of february - Borås

The first two weeks were very intense, but everything was very well organised. I met the other volunteers the first evening and Sebastiano and I were here warmly welcomed.

Since I arrived on a Monday, I could not really unpack before the week end, the schedule was pretty tight and there were many things to do: getting to know my co-workers, my co-volunteers, my job’s places, the city, getting familiar with my room, etc. Emotionally speaking it was very tiring but thrilling at the same time.

I must say that I had underestimated the winter, and how I was used to the sun and its presence. Meanwhile I am writing these lines, leaves are carefully popping out of the branches, the sun is finally looking in our direction, it feels like a rebirth. I think this feeling is as close as I can be from a bear waking up from its hibernation.

Botaniska trädgården - 5th of may - Göteborg

A tip if you want to find the people who have been in Sweden for a long time: they are the only one thinking that 20 degrees is too warm! To me it is perfect.

There are good side to be conditioned to weather, I don’t take sure for granted and I enjoy every moment of sunshine more than if I were in France, where I took it for granted.

Arbestmiljö

I work in two different places that are connected. One is a youth center (before 18 - fritidsgård) and the other is a community center (over 18 - mötesplats). The job is different according to which place I’m working in. At the youth center, my job is mostly to do activities with the kids and to be a referent and to provide a safe space for youngsters in a neighborhood that is perceived by some as problematic. At mötesplats it is more to assist people with their administrative tasks, to talk with people who are seeking some company or guide them to social services that are able to help them. Both places are thought to provide people with assistance, to prevent violence and to bring people closer.

Front window of Hulta’s Mötesplats - 21st of February - Borås

My experience as a worker here is very different than the one in France. Here, people are more … chill I would say. They take time to have brake, to bound, to discuss. I cannot say if it is only because of the field I’m working in, or if it can be extended to all working places. Anyway, I could observe some specificity that appears to be pretty common here: the comfort of employees is central in management policies. Therefore, it is not unusual to bring comfortable shoes to be at work, like slippers for instance. You can also adjust the height of your desk to go from a sitting position to a standing one. Regularly, your computer suggests you some stretching exercises, so you don’t get muscle cramps.

And then there is « Fika »…

Fika is the best thing about Sweden so far, and it only stands in a cup of coffee and something to snack (pastry or little piece of bread with cheese). But what makes it so great, is that it is a sacred thing. Everyone stops working and gather to share this moment. But pictures are often better than words. Also, from now on, I’ll take a picture of different fika so you can see what it looks like.

Banoffee made for Lotta’s (mentor) departure - 29th of march - Borås

Vad pratar du för språk?

A Swedish friend warned me before I came to Sweden (Hej Linnea): It will be hard for you to practice Swedish because Swedes switch to English very easily. And she was right… In some way I am lucky, some people I am working with are not that fluent so they were kind of relieved when I asked them to speak Swedish with me, so I could practice. However, when I order something in Swedish, it happens pretty often that they answer in English… I have to work on my accent I guess. Blessed will be the day I get an answer in Swedish, I will take that as a sign of improvement.

I started SFI this week, (Swedish for Immigrants) and before that I learned through listening and observing. I also took some Swedish lessons to have some basics before coming, and it helped me a lot to improve without regular lessons here. (Some were provided but because of changing schedule and a lot of red days, I had only 4 or 5 lessons in 3 months).

I will give you updates about SFI and how it helps me to improve, and if it is an effective way to learn.

I think I should stop this article here, otherwise it will be too long. But I promise, I will come back with some tips and life experience that I think might help you if your goal is to come here and experience Swedish lifestyle.

Until then: ha det så bra !

Stenspiren - 23rd of February - Göteborg

Alex