30 March 2013

Art of the Day - Sunset



That time of the day when most of us call it a day and start heading home, just like the birds, going back to their nests.

Everything lets out a different glow during this ephemeral moment.  Things just appear more...beautiful.

I get amazed by all the vibrant colors nature spills out during sunset.  We get to see it every day, yet we forget to appreciate the beauty of it.  

28 March 2013

Pregnancy Week 30 - and I lost track again

Week 30 flew. I don't even remember what happened this week.  I've been doing so much reading on nursing that I got carried away and forgot all about my appointment with the midwife, which was 2 weeks ago.  Yup.  I totally lost it.  This isn't the first time I have been so forgetful.  I had to reschedule.  At least I remember to take my iron tablets on time.  I seriously don't know where my mind has been these days!

Something that made me smile this week...

I had another meeting with my group earlier during the week, and one of my group members just had her newborn little boy 3 weeks ago.  She couldn't find anybody to look after him so she had to bring him along that day.  We all got to see the little guy.  He was barely 3 weeks and my goodness, my heart was flooded with warmth when I saw that angel.  I don't quite remember when I last saw a newborn up close.  And considering that, InshaaAllah, I will soon be holding one of my own, I just couldn't stop staring at him.  I really look up to the mommy.  We're about the same age and she is managing to take care of her newborn AND her other 1.5 year old son, all while she's studying.  The best part was when she suited her lil munchkin up before heading out in windy stockholm.  So tiny, light, cushiony, and absolutely to die for!

I wonder how mine will be.
Will he sleep all the time? Will he cry a lot? Be hungry often? Smile? Will I be able to burp him the right way?  I really don't know what to expect! I'm so used to having him in my womb now...it's hard to picture what I will be doing when he's a newborn.  I think of the times when  he will turn 1...2...5..even teenager...but a newborn...newborns are soooo delicate... I don't know what to expect! I'm excited yet nervous...

23 March 2013

As a Pregnant Nursing Student at 29-weeks...in Sweden

How I feel as a student...

In the past I always wondered how pregnant mommies managed to study. I always thought it was impossible to focus on school work once you have a little somebody inside of you poking you all day.  But nothing is impossible, really.  We like making everything such a big deal.  Well, I always did.

I am half-way done with my first semester as a nursing student.  If I were a swedish, I would say the first half was a breeze, but unfortunately I don't feel the same as my other classmates.  Wish I did, though.  Every time we have those online seminars for our course, I feel so exhausted.

Now I think of that one summer when I took organic chemistry with this Latino girl back in the US.  English was her second language.  She never sounded stupid speaking english, but she felt way more comfortable expressing herself in Spanish.  Doing papers in Spanish...calculating in spanish..thinking in spanish.  Some students in my lab would get so frustrated working with her in a group project.  There were certain theories she would take in the wrong way, confusing everyone, even the professor.  Everybody doubted her.  Yet this girl got through it.  She actually did better than all of us towards the end of the summer.  All that struggling in lab paid off afterall.  I'm hoping mine would pay off, too.

How I feel pregnant...

I'm feeling good about my pregnancy so far, with the exception of lower backpain during the day and leg cramps during the middle of the night.  My bump looks SO weird when I get up in the morning.  All lopsided.  And my bellybutton is a total outy, yet it goes back in at certain times of the day...what I mean to say is, my little guy grew more than 13inches and I can see that when he moves around all day, making my bump change shape every minute!

Cravings this week:  I went crazy for anything beefy.  What's wrong with me?  I used to hate meaty stuff at first trimester and look at me now.  Bangali style beef curry makes my day, now.  Talk about unpredictable hormones.

I'll tell you what else pregnancy has done to me.  I have stretch marks.  Yup.  Scarred for life.  But I'm kinda proud of my marks.  My mommy marks.  There is a beauty in everything a woman gets, even her stretch marks from pregnancy.






16 March 2013

A Summer Event Not to Miss!


Is it just me or are we just about ready to leave this nasty winter behind???  One thing everybody loves about Stockholm are those beautiful bright nights in the summer, and what better way to make this year’s summer hot than by welcoming Dosti.se  with their fabulous event right in the heart of the city? 

Who are they?

The Dosti Team organizes entertaining Desi events for busy professionals ranging from ages 20-40 living in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The whole point with these events is to just feel good!  It’s as simple as that.  Chill out and take time out of your busy life and meet people who share similar backgrounds as you.  After all, the word dosti (in Urdu, Hindi, Bangla, Persian, and Turkish, etc.) means friendship.  Nothing boring about it. It’s a great way of networking!

Their previous desi event took place in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden on May 28th, 2011. 

Check out Dosti.se to know more about them as well as their upcoming events.  You can also listen to their interview done by the national radio stations P3 and P4, and even Expressen.

What’s happening this summer in Stockholm???

Desi Summer Mingle and Stand-up Comedy

The event will take place on the 1st of June under the dazzling city’s beautiful summer night at Södra Teatern.  Fabulous view of Stockholm, great upbeat music, Desi mingle, exclusive club and bar (non-alcoholic and alcoholic) and stand-up comedy by a secret comedian well known from ‘Norra Brunn’, ‘RAW comedy’ and ‘Moa Svan med gäster’  – lots of fun, so don’t miss out! Oh yeah, tickets will be prepaid so no queue! Those who want to stay on are welcome to boogie the night away at Club Outernational – FREE entry for Desi Summer Mingle Guests!

Date1st June 2013

Place:  Södra Teatern
Stockholm’s oldest theatre built in 1859, where music and entertainment from all around the  world have been appreciated for years. It has 7 stages, 5 bars, 3 terraces and 2 restaurants. 
The Desi Summer Mingle will take place on the top floor, “Sjuan”, with the highest public terrace and available bar serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Station: Slussen or Medborgarplatsen.

Time:  Early Night event -The Stand-up Comedy and Mingle:  18:00-22:00
Late Night event - The after-party at Club Outernational (free entry for Desi Summer Mingle     guests)- located a few floors down: 22:00-1:00

Dining:  Make yourselves comfortable before the event with wonderful dining Södra Teatern provided at Etablissemanget. For more information go to: http://www.sodrateatern.com/en/Eat--Drink/

Tickets:  150kr. Age 20+ with ID. Tickets are very limited! Stay up to date about the ticket release by signing up for the newsletter at www.dosti.se or joining www.facebook.com/dostisweden

Please note that NO TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.

Hurry and get them now!

For more information contact: info@dosti.se
Like their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/dostisweden
And sign up to their newsletter at www.dosti.se


Step-by-step in Sweden : 2013 update

I just wanted to remind myself about what I have planned for the future in this beautiful country, which at rare times, still seem foreign to me.  I had this simple little to-do list that I created to get myself together, but instead, it just made things worse, since I failed to do half the stuff.  I was just looking over the depressing to-do list right now.

So here was the list to survive in Sweden:


  1. Get a Job - I worked during the holiday in December while I was just 4 months pregnant.  My first 4 months of pregnancy was a nightmare.  Ehh, I'm just happy I worked at the post office sorting christmas cards and frequently running to the bathroom to throw up.  It was way better than working at a restaurant.  Thank god that didn't happen!  I will be working again hopefully this December!  Can't in the summer since I will be spending lots of time with my precious little sweetheart whose supposed to be due on May 26th!  
  2. Get a Profession - I plan on finishing school here, finally. I plan on being a midwife in the future and oh how challenging it has already been! And the luck that I have, the university decided very recently to convert their ENGLISH textbooks into SWEDISH books.  Doesn't that make life easier?  I find it hard to do excessive textbook-reading in swedish at times.  Just at times.  Oh, and let's not even talk about writing final papers.  
  3. Get a Swedish driving license - Not until I have my baby.  I will push that off to next year.  Or maybe the end of this year.  Screw driving here.  I don't see what's so special about it here anymore.  Driving instructors just make me nervous and not make me feel like myself.  I've had pretty good experience in driving and I know pretty well that I am no where near aggressive.
  4. Change my last name  - Once baby is born I guess.  

Financial situation

One thing I like about this country is that despite the high taxes and high prices for food, clothing, living, pretty much everything, it's actually hard to be poor in this country.  They will always provide you with support based on your needs.  

My long-term goal is to settle here with simplicity.  Right now, I have no income, but I hope to never have an empty bank account.  Thanks to temporary employments, and CSN money I get for education, I am not totally broke.  I have no excuse to be broke.  I should be getting "barn bidrag" once I have the baby, which is wonderful.  I find shopping for overpriced clothes and movie tickets a waste of money.  Even eating out.  I suck at being cheap though, so I limit myself from going out unless it's completely neccessary.  

I need to continue being patient, and minimize my expenses.  So it's time I start saving for those "big dreams".  Yes, it is possible to save even if you don't have income.  


12 March 2013

Pregnancy Week 28 - Hello 3rd trimester!

Dear Baby,
Yes, I know, you must think we're bad parents already since we haven't found you a name yet, but really, we are looking for the "best" one that fits only for you.  After all, you are not some character in one of my lame stories.  You will be called this name for the rest of your life.  Besides, everytime your daddy and I start listing these boy names, you never seem to respond, little guy.  What's up with that?  Do you not like any of the names we have come up with so far? Your daddy truely believes that the "right" name will be the one that  YOU respond to by giving him a high five...while you're in my tummy.  Crazy talk right? Yeah, that's your dad.

You started growing more I think.  I really feel the pressure when you move all day!  My tummy is stretching for you!  I feel heavier too...not 'cause I gained weight, but because of you weighing about 2.5 Ibs already, MashAllah.

This week your head got bigger, due to your wonderful growing brain.  I know you will be one very intelligent person.  You'll make mommy daddy proud one day.  Nah, you already make us proud...just make sure you do whatever your heart tells you to do.  Whatever makes you happy will make us happy.  

By the way, your head, or something, kicked my stomach way too many times yesterday!  I had really bad tummy aches the entire day and did not feel like studying at all!  Looks like I have to make up for that today.

Mommy has been eating a little of everything.  Mostly daal (lentil soup) with rice for lunch and dinner.  Surprisingly a lot of fish and fish oil (something I used to hate when I was a child).  Spicy food is back!  As for sweets, I still crave chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  Eating fruits and lots of water, dairy products and so on.  Still on iron tablets (twice a day, now that my iron level got low).  Oh yeah, and lots of green veggies.

So a good friend of mine reminded me about something very important during this time of pregnancy.  To do extra prayers for my baby.  Now that I'm on 3rd trimester, I can't thank Allah enough for keeping both me and my baby in good health.  I only pray that it continues to be this way and that I get a healthy child who will come safely into this world.  

06 March 2013

Pregnancy Week 27 - Back pain! And it's hot in here!


I am experiencing lower back pain.  It's a pain I tell ya! Oh, and those cute little baby kicks just turned into stronger karate kicks! It can be so uncomfortable when I'm sitting down, and I suddenly feel pressure on my ribs and pelvic area! No I'm not exaggerating.  It's also very uncomfortable sneezing and coughing.  Can't stand, lay down, or sit for too long, but walking feels good right now.  Even though I look like I'm wobbling, it's about the only thing that makes me feel better.  Walking in soon-to-be-spring Stockholm.  I still can't believe it snows sometimes! Anyway, I hear a few birdies tweeting around 5pm every crispy clear evening, so that should mean something.

Also, I just can't stop eating! There's always some how space for food even when I eat up a full plate.  Yup...that's how my 6 months ends.  Me pigging out and not gaining a single kg.  I have a very weird body!

I forgot to mention how I feel extremely hot wherever I go! I get hot flashes frequently now...and it's not even spring! What's going to happen 3rd trimester?