Overall, the work life here in Stockholm, Sweden is rather laid back, easy going, and manageable. Everyone here is rather flexible with their schedules and has an extraordinary work-life balance.

As I have stated in previous blog posts, the company at which I am interning is rather small in terms of employee numbers. There are about ten of us, myself included. The company is close knit in the sense that we meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to discuss everyone’s current projects. I work closely with the founder and CEO of the company, and he is a very busy man (who would have thought). Because my supervisors are juggling so many other things, sometimes feedback and assistance is delayed, which is fine. But sometimes it leaves me in a tricky spot where I am unsure of what my next steps should be. During these times, I have a few different courses of action. The mentality here is that “done is better than perfect.” One step I can take is to accept the work that I have done and turn it is as is. It may not be perfect, but it is done. An alternative route I can take is to set that current project aside and move onto another task. Although the previous item may not be complete, at least I do not become stagnant and lose my flow. I have found that either alternative is equally productive as the other one.

Another major change that I have needed to adapt to is the use of public transportation. During all my other forms of employment, I have driven myself both to and from work. For a plethora of reasons, I do not drive to work here. The two biggest being that I am not allowed to drive per my insurance policy and that I do not have a car here. I have always lived and worked in the suburbs so public transportation was fairly new to me. But thanks to Stockholm’s impressive infrastructure, transportation is very straightforward and easily accessible from just about anywhere in the city. However, I have come to appreciate public transportation more than ever. I started out needing to look at train routes every time I boarded the subway, but have reached a point where I am able to travel around the city almost mindlessly.

Another hurdle that I have had to adapt to is the language barrier. Although the majority of the Swedish population speaks English, I am completely in the dark when I listen to my supervisors converse in Swedish. However, I very quickly decided that any information that it crucial to my success here will be conveyed to me in English.

One of the most major and challenging obstacles that I have had to overcome here is the loneliness. For the last few years, I have lived by the philosophy that you are not alone, but with yourself. What I mean by this, is that being alone and being lonely are two totally different concepts. Being lonely is a dreadful and empty feeling. Although you may be alone, being with yourself is a different headspace where you can reflect, plan, and execute more efficiently than in the presence of others. I can truly say that the office is a lonely place. With both of my supervisors out of office, the other intern finishing up her program a few days ago, and the rest of the company working remotely in other parts of the world, I am virtually completely alone in the office. With the acceptation of my daily conversations with the IT guy and barista downstairs in the mornings, I do not really speak with anyone else in our shared work space. During these times it is easy to feel a variety of emotions. Often times I find myself feeling homesick and wishing that I could see my family, play with my pets, and hang out with my brother. At times, it is a little discouraging being so alone and knowing that I still have an entire month to go before I can see my friends and family from home. But with that said, I try to shift my mindset from that lonely place to being with myself. I try to stay focused on my purpose and the reason as to why I am here to offset these feelings of loneliness. If anything, I just remember that I am only for a short time and try to soak it all in regardless of the lack of friendly faces around the office.