Half Way Done

Friday December 18th marked the half way point in my MBA program. It’s been an incredible experience thus far and I’m truly excited that there is more to come. The first year of the SSE MBA is structure to provide a general foundation in strategic business management for the following areas: Economics, law, finance, accounting, marketing, strategy, and operations. That’s a lot of material and I’m proud to say my grades have never been better.

Outside of these core classes, I have been working on a “change project” with a very large Swedish company called Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA). My now very good friend is a manager at SCA and we have spent countless hours developing a new supply chain interface. This doesn’t sound very exciting, but it was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever worked on. After presenting our project last week, we were asked to return next semester and lecture incoming master’s students about our project. A very nice complement I would say.

Writing this post is the first free time I’ve had in over two months. I can’t wait for the holidays and my trip to California in January!

Thanksgiving in Latvia

No, they do not actually celebrate Thanksgiving in Latvia. They also don’t celebrate in Sweden or the rest of Europe for that matter. Thanksgiving is American. The Europeans don’t care about the band of religious refugees that shipped-off to a foreign land in the 1600’s and ate dinner with some native peoples. I say too bad for the Europeans; stuffing your face with turkey and watching football is a great way to spend the fourth Thursday in November!

To celebrate our pseudo holiday, DUS and I took a Baltic cruise to the capital of Latvia, Riga. Why Riga you may ask? Because it was cheap (about $40) And who am I to pass up the chance to visit another European country for $40? We boarded the vessel at 4:00pm (in total darkness) and settled in to our cabin. We were kinda excited because our room was “semi-budget” on B deck towards the front of the boat. Pretty fancy. Unfortunately, our good fortunes turned to yet another lesson in budget travel: In stormy weather, higher rooms at the front of the boat make for poor sleeping arrangements… We arrived in Riga the next morning with sea legs and some sleep deprivation.

Our time in Riga was very interesting. In WWII, the country of Latvia was invaded by the USSR and occupied from 1940 – 1991. To put it mildly, the Latvians are kinda upset with the Russians. Rightfully so. We toured the beautiful historic city, visited the major attractions, but most of all we left in a very sober state. 50 years of war and oppression to political freedom and trying to eek-out an existence in the modern world.

Thanksgiving takes on new meaning this year. I’m thankful a wonder life, family and friends. I’m thankful for food, shelter and education. I am thankful for being an American.

The Swedes Hate George W. Bush

I don’t want to bring politics into my light hearted blog.

But, I read an article today that inadvertently touches on a core issue in Sweden.

1) The Swedes hate George W. Bush.
2) The Swedes love Barack Obama.

The media here, as in the U.S., skewered old GW on an hourly basis. As matter of fact, the Swedish news media STILL talks about “the cowboy” and how he clubbed baby seas for fun on holidays (he didn’t really do that, I was trying to be funny).

Anyway, this is an interesting article: What if George W. Bush had done that?

My favorite part: “During a trip to Europe in June, Obama chastised German and French reporters for suggesting that he was snubbing those countries by making only brief stops in each. “There are only 24 hours in the day. And so there’s nothing to any of that speculation beyond us just trying to fit in what we could do on such a short trip,” he told reporters in Germany.
But after taking his wife out for an attention-grabbing date night, Obama promptly jetted back to Washington. Within about 90 minutes of arriving at the White House, the tightly scheduled president was on the move again — headed to Andrews Air Force Base to play nine holes of golf.”

How does the Media shape your judgment of the world?

Gallivanting in the World of Socialized Medicine Part 3

A reflection note:

This was not the only time I’ve been to a doctor in Sweden. In the spring, I was tested for allergies and received a prescription. It was very professional and extremely easy process. Great care I would say.

So here in lies the problem. How does an American discuss health care while living in Sweden?

This general topic is one of the hardest arguments I’ve debated on. Honestly, how do you answer the question of why the richest nation in the world doesn’t provide all its citizens with health care?

I can provide a laundry list of reasons why, but it’s still a difficult question to answer. It’s even harder when talking with someone who has payed generously in taxes to support it.

The Swedes will admit that the U.S. has the best health care facilities in the world. The best doctors, the best research and the best medicines, but the age old question remains: If you are the best, how come we can provide it for everyone and you can’t?

Chew on that one America. I’ve had to try and answer it at LEAST 20 time’s in the past 10 months…

As a final though, I want to give a BIG shout out to Sweden for providing me wonderful care while I’ve been living in this great county.

Länge leve Sverige!

Gallivanting in the World of Socialized Medicine Part 2

At 13:00, an hour before my appointment, I jumped on the bus and headed out for the hospital. The distance wasn’t really far, but I had to change buses and wanted to make sure I would have enough time. I’m glad I left early because it turns out that there are several stops called “Karolinska” around the hospital and for the non-Swedish speaker, what’s the difference between “Karolinska” and “Karolinskasjukhuset”? It tuns out, it’s a big difference. I ended up walking about a mile trying to find the office because, for some strange reason, they didn’t put the address of the office on the notification letter I received…? No wonder they have trouble with missed appointments.

I finally found the office after asking three random people who were obviously surprised that a tall blond man was speaking to them in Amerikanska (American English).

At the reception office, I showed my passport and personal number then paid 160kr (about $24). They sent me upstairs to the waiting room where I sat down and started flipping through the IKEA catalog. After about 20min, an older man yelled “Funfar” and I knew my time had arrived.

After they placed me in a nice office, the gentleman who yelled my name walked in and started speaking Swedish. You can guess how long that went on for until he realized it was a one person conversation. Again, it’s difficult being a non-Swedish speaking, tall blond in this country! Turns out, he was the doctor and was a little rusty with his English (not very common for most Swedes) so we were going to have an interesting appointment ahead of us.

Eventually, we got down to business. I had to strip down to my skivvies because he wanted to do a full skin evaluation. I showed him a problem mole and he decided they needed a picture of it… I said, “Okay, hopefully it’s not because you haven’t seen this kind of mole before…” Nothing…That was kinda funny, right? Guess not.

A few minutes, later a woman nurse comes in with some sweet camera gear. Now remember, I’m on my stomach, facing the wall, in my underwear. They speak Swedish for a few minutes and then the woman leaves…and leaves the door open…to the main hallway! People are walking by, nurses are joking around and I’m in the middle of the room, in my underwear. The woman nurse returns with a female doctor, the door is still open, they’re all still speaking Swedish and I’m still in my underwear. Eventually, they take the pictures and I’m allowed to dawn my civilian gear again. I should know by now that Europeans are not up tight about the no clothing thing, but the American in me won’t let it go.

When all was said and done, I survived. The gauntlet of Swedish health care formalities hasn’t broken me yet. At the end of the day, the care was basically the same as what I’ve received in the U.S. Yes, there is some red-tape to go through. Yes, you can’t always pick your own doctor. But, at the end of the day, its the same care for everyone.

Gallivanting in the World of Socialized Medicine Part 1

Socialized medicine is horribly appalling and completely unacceptable for the common man. No, that’s not actually true, I lied. But, following the healthcare debate in the U.S. is kinda funny. Comparisons somehow always seem to comeback to Scandinavian and how people are lying on the streets due to 1) Unimaginable bureaucracy or 2) death by taxes.

I, well we (DUS did all the communication) have navigated our way through several run-ins with the “socialist” system over the past several months and we are still living to tell about it, so I guess that’s good… Yesterday, I took a nice little trip to Karolinska Sjukhuset and had an interesting experience. But, before telling the story, let me give you a little background.

When I arrived in Sweden I was given a personal number. It’s kinda like a social security number but you use it for everything: Credit cards, cable bills, address/mailing information and health insurance. Upon receiving that number, I was entitled to basically free healthcare in Sweden.

So, a few weeks ago we put in a request for me to see the “hudläkare.” (months prior to this, I signed up at my local clinic and was assigned a prerequisite to see this “special” doctor) A week after making the request, I received a letter in the mail saying I need to be at Karolinska Sjukhuset at 14:30 on the next Thursday. Well, that’s interesting because I’ve never spoken with anyone about a time or a place and I can’t go that day. Hmm.., now what do we do?

Well, you call the office between 8:00-11:00 to reschedule the appointment of course. Ok, easy enough. When 10:00 rolled around the next morning we called and were greeted by an answering machine saying “we cannot take any more calls today, please call back tomorrow.” Ok.., easy enough. Next morning we called again, this time earlier. We got put on hold, nice! We entered my personal number and the automated system said someone will call us back between 13:00 – 13:30 today. Ok… better make sure we’re available at that time. We get the call at 13:20 and actually talked to a person! Sweet! DUS say that I cannot make the assigned appointment and I would like to reschedule. The nice woman says “that’s fine, thank you for calling, what time is good for you after Christmas.” Christmas? It’s not even Halloween. This is not going to do. So after some fine finagling by DUS I was assigned a new time, October 19th at 14:00pm (yesterday).

Following me so far? Good, because now the story gets “better”… =)

Saturday Cleaning in Hornstull

Over the weekend, DUS and I participate in a very Swedish activity called “clean-up day”. A note was posted in the entryway that said everyone should meet outside the building at 11:00am on Saturday for “städdag”. Now, I’ll admit, I was skeptical. Who the hell is actually going to spend their Saturday sweeping hallways and trimming bushes around the building? Moreover, to find me cleaning common areas in the U.S. would be akin to seeing Bigfoot outside your bedroom window. As it turns out, everyone in the building participates. So, we joined the crowd and were assigned our duty: cleaning the outdoor balconies. The complex was bustling with paint brushes, brooms, manual lawn movers, and hand trimmers. Parents brought their children to pick up trash and clean walls. Seniors sat on benches and observed. After we finished, Swedish pizza and soda was provide in the common area for all to enjoy.

How often does this happen at a condo complex in California? More than likely you would pay an association fee have someone else do it for you. Don’t get me wrong, I would rather have paid someone to do the dirty work. But, it’s Sweden, and that would cost a 1/2 months rent. All in all, we contributed to the building looking better and helped build the “community feeling” in the complex…not the worst way to spend a Saturday. Cleaning the bathroom drain by hand is worse.

Mini Trip Cleanup

Summer has come to a close here in the Swedish Capital. I did some reflecting on my spectacular summer and realized that I needed to do a little “trip report” cleanup.

In May we took the free cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland. I call it free because, well, it was free. Viking Cruises had complimentary C level rooms to destinations all around the Baltic and I am not one to pass up a good deal! Upon boarding our ship, we learned that C level is below where they keep the cars. We also learned that the main reason people go on these boats is to buy cheap booze in tax-free international waters. We watched the Fins sunbathe in near freezing temperatures and enjoyed the slight smell of urine seeping in from under the door into our room. These “free” room deals are actually pretty common on Viking. The key is to book your tickets on the Swedish, not English website. Make sure to call your Swedish speaking neighbor to help you out when booking!

Helsinki Photo's

I was also afforded the opportunity to visit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a cool city; a lot of culture and hedonism. It feels like the Las Vegas of Europe. I highly recommend a visit, especially if you like Dutch Post-Impressionist paintings and “coffee” served in Amsterdam’s “Coffee Shops.”

Amsterdam Photo's

Germany: The Rhone Valley

The last stop on our road trip was in Zell, Germany. Zell is a small village located in the Rhone valley which is the heart of Germany’s wine country. This area is well known for white wine, most notably the riesling varietal. We stayed at a “zimmer” located in the middle of town. Zimmers or B&B are inexpensive here; our two night stay in a nice room was about $100. Zell is also a perfect destination when flying with Ryanair as it is located about 20 minutes from the Frankfurt (Hahn) airport.

This was an excellent finish to our vacation. We spent two days relaxing by the river enjoying good cheap wine.

Zell Germany Photo's

Why Did I Move Here?

Most of my blogs are geared towards the lovely time I’m having in Europe. For the most part, this is true. But, lately I’ve been missing the United States. I assume this happens to most Americans after living in a foreign country for some time. Typical life comforts like a nice home, close family and caring friends are so often taken for granted. So I’ve been wondering: Why would I ever move here?

To be closer to DUS? Yes.
To earn an MBA? Yes.
To live in a foreign country? Yes.
To work internationally? Yes.

These seem like pretty easy answers. But, after contemplating this for quite some time I’ve realized an amazing thing; this “short list” of extraordinary values are only a part of what I have come to value in my experience. My travels have brought me so much more. So, I started asking myself some different questions:

Have you been discriminated for a job because of your native language? Yes.
Have you been cast out of a social/professional group because of your nationality? Yes.
Have you lived in a country where holistic public transportation works? Yes.
Have you lived in a country where all citizens have health care? Yes.
Have you lived in a country where prison is not the only solution for drugs? Yes.
Do you know people who really believe life & family is more important than money? Yes.
Do you know people who truly believe in the common welfare of all people? Yes.
Do you know people who like paying higher taxes for a bigger government? Yes.
Do you know people who would rather live somewhere else than the U.S.? Yes.

This list, all be it short and somewhat discriminate, tells a whole different story of living abroad. Most of my friends reading this will wonder if I am joining the socialdemokratiska party in Sweden. I’m not. I am an American patriot. But, there are untold benefits of opening your eyes to a new culture and a new way of doing things. It’s not a matter of right or wrong; it’s a matter of understanding. More Americans should participate in this experience to gain a better understanding of the world, and themselves.