I've started working on a more regular basis now at the call center. It's fun sometimes, and sometimes it enormously boring. People asking you the same question over and over again, especially when it comes to the bills. Yesterday the most irritating thing happened: the company that hires the call center I work for put out an ad in one of the big Swedish tabloids. People kept calling in wanting to get this new digital TV deal, two channels for the price of one and a half or whatever. The problem was, it was an old ad. They put the wrong one in the paper, and we had no possibility of giving the people what they had decided to get. The deal was nowhere to be seen in our computer systems. It made a few of them very angry, which I totally get.
My only problem with these people is that when you tell them that the only way they can make an official complaint to the big bosses is through writing (fax, email, post), they get even angrier and demand to speak to someone. What's so hard about writing??? At the same time, when they want information from us, they always need it in writing. Can't they see how hypocritical that is?
Usually I'm on the customers (or consumers) side. Even when I'm working I secretly think bad things about they way the digital TV-company does stuff. But, of course, I want to keep my job. So I say nothing, and then my face goes red when the angry customers ask me "How can you work at a place that conducts business like this?"
School is interesting, as usual. At the moment I'm getting ready for a debate in class. Me and a guy I don't really know or like are going to be against one of the Swedish liberal party's most non-liberal idea: putting new citizens through a test in Swedish. Not a test of knowledge about Swedish culture or history, but the language. You can all ask John, it's not an easy language, and I must say, isn't it better putting money into other stuff, like getting the segregated immigrants into more jobs, where they can then learn Swedish?
It's not like Swedish is spoken in many other countries than Sweden. None, almost. In Finland they speak some. So it's about ten million people, at the most, who speak Swedish in the world. Add a few thousand more, for the German students who, for some reason no one knows, chooses to study Swedish instead of French, Spanish, or Chinese?
The problems with segregation and discrimination has to do with a lot more than learning to speak the language. And I know one thing for sure: a lot of the French and German grammar and words I learned left my mind right after I did the test. You have to spend time in the place where the language is spoken. And the people who want to become citizens of Sweden already do that.
A Swedish holiday is coming up. Maybe it's more "northern" or Scandinavian. Anyways, April 30th all the Swedes try to barbecue and then stand around big bonfires to celebrate that spring is coming. It's usually ironically cold that night, of course. Also, it's the kings birthday, but more and more people seem to be ignoring that, thank god. For students like me, it's a big deal. It's one of those holidays that are actually celebrated with your fellow students (unlike Christmas for instance). This, of course, only means one thing: boozing. I mean, it's the first holiday of the year when you get to do this outside. All food and drink tastes better outside.
Historically, it's celebrated by Swedish students because this was the day when you changed your dark, winter-student-hat, to the nicer, white one (as seen on the picture below). Now, nobody wears these hats unless it's a very official deal, like the Nobel dinner, but it's nice we're celebrating the remnants of something very important. No. At least for once, it's not some thing out of the Bible we're celebrating.
May 1st is also somewhat of a holiday. This is when people get the day off and the banks are closed. This is also the day when the biggest party, the social democrats, and other people of the left wing, demonstrate, hold speeches, and keep the Swedish people remembering what this country is all about. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit, but that's almost it anyway. I'd be mad if I wasn't so fond of the lefties.
So, what's new with you?
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