expat

Before I came to Scandinavia I worked on a cruise ship as a night auditor. It's an interesting position because it's a mixture of administration, safety, quite literally keeping the captain awake, doing bartender's job without serving drinks, show and low-key leavemealone vibe. The plan was to learn the trait and become a manager of several ships. Live in Botswana and work on the Nile.But I found out I was going to be a father.

That changed everything. Every thing I had planned got scrapped. 

I remember talking to my friends Danijela and Mile about them studying in Upsala and I said to myself I could visit but live,never.

But there I was. Pregnant partner and myself. No job. No idea what is going on. Reinventing myself for the second time in a year. 

Her family is some of the best people I know.

I'll cut it short and tell you it didn't work out.

But we did it together in the beginning.

I got a job after exactly two months and ten days. Actually she found it. In Brondby. East part. The industrial part. IKEA warehouse. Salary was enough for the bills, mortgage for her apartment, cigarettes, cheapest coffee on the way to work, absolutely clueless to how the system works.

Coronavirus time was hell. I'd wake up at 10am, do what I needed to wake up, and leave at 11 to be sure I am at work at 2pm. Trains were going every hour, with 500 people being in person checked by the Danish border control. I will not comment on the way it was conducted.

On the way home I would get home between half past midnight and 2am, depending on the train. Worst case scenario was when the train that comes from Brondby would be one minute before the train that goes to Malmö. That meant I have to sprint about 300m to catch it after 8h work in a warehouse. And I can't explain the mental breakdowns I had if I didn't make it. Because it meant I will have to walk from the central station in Malmö to our home. And Sweden decided to cancel public transportation after certain time.

But my son was born.

And he didn't like to sleep. It would take him to fall asleep couple of hours. So sometimes when I came home after all of this I would take him out to walk him into sleep. My ex was exhausted. Any mom can relate to that. She needed some rest. But that was the only thing I could do at the time. I probably could have done more but I was exhausted.

That's all for this time.

I have to sleep.