This morning, we were finally able to take one big step closer to being residents here. In Sweden, you have to have a "person" number. This is similar to a social security number and required for every member of the family. The part that is not similar however is that it is required for EVERYTHING! You cannot get a cell phone contract without one, you cannot get health care without one, you cannot get a bank account without one, you cannot get access to your bus pass without one, etc. Some stores even ask for your person number before allowing you to make a big purchase. On the very first day that we arrived, we went to the immigration office to apply for our residents cards. We received these cards one week later but then needed to acquire other bits of documentation from the US, work, etc before we could apply for our person numbers. Today, we finally had all of the pieces together to go to the tax office and apply. All had to be present so Josh stayed home from work and the kids went into school late today. We submitted our application and we now wait 1-4 weeks before we will actually receive our numbers. We then plan to go crazy and get our bank accounts, cell phones, bus pass accounts, etc. You can't even rent a video without a person number! In the meantime, I keep telling the kids, "don't get hurt because we don't have medical coverage"! Not entirely true since we could always pay and get reimbursed later but it is disconcerting!
As most of you know, cooking is very important to me so I have been quite happily setting up my kitchen and getting settled in. I am also really starting to figure out the ingredients in stores so each day, I am able to cook just a little bit more... Today, was interesting as I discovered that vanilla only comes in the form of paste, bean or powder here...
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