Returning from our unplanned trip to India, we realized that Skellefteå was no longer an alien city. 

We knew many places in the city, became familiar with the bus routes and even some of the local customs and practices. We had slowly grown from a state of asking for support and guidance to a state of helping out other newcomers with their queries. 

We had started accepting this city the same way this city had beautifully welcomed so many newcomers like us. Even the winter weather started to grow on us. 

The conditions were extreme in the first month of 2024, but the second month was much better. It was less extreme and we started enjoying the occasional snow. The days were not as short as before, and it was an indication that we were getting closer to spring.

The change in season also brought about a potential change in our living arrangements as well. 

We were living in a temporary apartment near the city center and it was time for us to find a new place. But the housing market in Skellefteå was tough and there were very limited options in the city center. 

With support from Northvolt’s relocation team, we were able to find an apartment at Kåge, north of Skellefteå. We had just started becoming familiar with life in the city center, so I was skeptical about moving to Kåge. 

We had a month to prepare for the move to the new apartment, so we decided to explore our new home town. Contrary to general opinion, Kåge was not very far from Skellefteå city center: it took less than 20 minutes. The main problem was the frequency of the buses. As it was outside the city, we had to take inter-city buses which ran every hour or sometimes every two hours.

Also read: Sushma Sriram: "Our hands were numb, and I had difficulty breathing"

At Kåge, we had difficulty finding our apartment, as there were multiple blocks of newly built apartments, some still under construction. There were apartments with similar numbers to ours but on different roads, so identifying our apartment took some time. It had also started to snow heavily, which really didn't help. 

We were so confused that we then decided to return to Skellefteå midway during our search. But there were no buses for another hour-and-a-half. Left with no option, we continued our search in the snow and finally, finally managed to find the apartment. 

The apartment was nice with new appliances. We were happy to find out that some of our old friends also lived in the same community and were our neighbors. But the limited frequency of buses made us ponder alternative transport options.  

The other change was that I enrolled in the new batch of SFI classes that was starting in February 2024.

I was really excited about learning Swedish and meeting new people at SFI. I was hoping to relive my school days. With all excitement, I went to Campus Skellefteå only to find that I would have to join the next batch after another month. 

I had missed some days during our unplanned trip and hence my name was moved to the next batch. Though I was momentarily disappointed, I had many things to look forward to. The weather was getting better, spring was fast approaching, we had a new apartment to move into, and I had a chance to learn Swedish and also make new friends!

Don't miss Sushma's next column in two weeks' time. 

This column was originally published at norran.se/English, the English part of norran.se.