On Being An Ex-pat Blogger

When I moved to Sweden internet was still mostly dial-up and blog was a rarely heard word. I've lived here awhile. And yet, I didn't start this blog until the end of last year.

So why did I become an ex-pat blogger ten years after making the move?

1. Many ex-pat bloggers are fresh of the boat. This is great, as it is important to get those first impressions, the 'Where do I buy my vanilla extract?' moments, the 'Why does no one offer to help me when I just fell off my damn bike?' moments. And maybe this blog isn't that different – but I've had a few years to let some of these things melt in. The things that annoyed me then – some of them still annoy me – and some of them? I do them now, too.
2. I love Sweden – Yes I bitch and moan here about things that I don't like. But I try to keep things generally positive here – because I like living here. I want to live here. I feel, in a way like, I've come home. I'm not a type A personality. I like to work to live not live to work. And I'm OK with that. I think it's important to be able to talk about the country you are living in and be able to look at the positives and negatives. The things I really don't like about Sweden? Well – I get involved in helping change those as much as possible.
3. It's personal without being too personal – I love to write. The internet is a great medium. But to be honest, I hate talking about myself and my life. It's really not all that interesting. Writing about being an ex-pat lets me talk about myself without actually talking about myself. Oh, and the same thing with ex-pat parent-blogging, I get to blog a little bit about being a parent, without putting my child's entire life out on the internet.
4. Viva la difference – When I blog about the difference between Sweden & the USA it's mostly what I find interesting, funny, amusing or annoying. But don't start thinking I want Sweden to become Little USA. Most of the time I think the differences keep things interesting. And to state the obvious, I think I could write just as many, if not more, snarky comments about things in the USA (I come from NJ – does that tell you enough?). It's just that this is a blog about Sweden. And me living in Sweden.

Also, I realize that I get pretty sloppy with my grammar, spelling and even the occasional word-choice. Sometimes, when no-one is looking, I go back and edit. But I mostly write these posts while Little Swede is napping – and I don't always get around to proofing before posting. I'm sorry about that. But I figure if I don't hit 'post' I'm never going to hit post.

So if you go back to a post and find some changes – it's usually just me fixing up some grammar. If I make any content changes I will make note of it in the post.

Thanks for reading!