Nascida e criada em Portugal. Já morei na Polónia, no Brasil, na República Checa e agora é a Suécia que me acolhe.
O meu blogue, tal como o meu cérebro, é uma mistura de línguas. Bem vindos!

Born and raised Portuguese. I have lived in Poland, Brazil, Czech Republic and now I'm in the beautiful Sweden.
My blog, just like my brain, is a blend of languages. Welcome!

terça-feira, 6 de dezembro de 2016

My career as politician*

Sweden is very well known for its societies and organisational mentality. There's even a joke that says if one locks up three swedes in a room for a few hours, when the door is open again they will come out as president, secretary and extra member of a society, to which they have also written rules for. 

In school we learn not only the language but also the culture. Recently, we had our first student meeting of the course. No one really knew what was going to happen, as it was actually organised by the teachers. As soon as it started we were shown the list of things we had to go through. The first point was to elect a representative.

First thought: not me, not me, not me, not me, not me! I already have so much to do!
Second thought: well, that was really arrogant of me to think I would be even considered, as I started the course only a few weeks ago!
Third thought: yes, I can relax, it's not going to happen.
Fourth thought: or is it?

It was... It happened...

To make it faster the teachers decided to suggest people for representative, secretary and two other ones. They suggested me straight away as a representative and all my colleagues agreed. Whether I was chosen because they wanted to be represented by me or because they didn't want to do it themselves, I will never know.

What that meant was that I would have to chair the meeting, leading about 30 people to discuss through a long list of points in 1h. That was not easy and I was exhausted afterwards! I gained a new respect for diplomats and politicians (although not that much).

It was also quite interesting to see the kind of people/group that can probably be found in every single meeting despite country, city or type of meeting. There are always those who talk the most, the quiet ones, the ones who have no clue and complain about things that somehow don't make sense, etc.

It was a really interesting experience and I learned a lot from it. The teachers also talked with me in the end of the meeting, pointing out what I did well and what I could have done better. They did similar with the student appointed secretary, because none of us knew how to write the minutes of a formal meeting. The whole thing was not just an exercise and it will continue. Now, I have to take the complains and suggestions of my colleagues and have a private meeting with the dean of the school, to discuss them. 

And just like that, unexpectedly, I started my career as a politician. Or maybe not...



*Obviously joking even more than in the post about my career as a tango dancer.

4 comentários:

  1. I was president of my class in college. But gracious, it wasn't as in depth as your appointment. Congratulations, I know you'll do an outstanding job, Sara.

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    Respostas
    1. Thank you Laurie! How cool that you were also class president. It's giving me some extra work but it's also a nice experience.

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