For many of us who move here, there is one thing in common - the need for friendships and an active social life. We have probably all gone through bouts of isolation when we’ve put ourselves out there, hoping to find some company. Adrian Copos went through something quite similar when he moved to Sweden from Romania.
Even today, after ten years of living in Sweden, you can find Adrian in many of the events around the city, talking to new people, making friends and connections. “It’s not easy”, he says, to move here from another country and start afresh, especially if you live alone.
We hear you, Adrain!!
But here is what he did. His first few years were quite hectic because of the nature of his work. Now that is he in the middle of changing his area of work, Adrian is experiencing the city from a completely new perspective. He recently started the ‘Helsingborg Language Exchange Meetup’ where the idea is to simply meet new and like-minded people, and practice/learn any language along the way.
The meetup group is also for those who have not yet learnt Swedish but speak other languages and perhaps want to meet others who share the same language. Or maybe learn a whole new language and practice while spending a few laughs and stories over coffee or a drink.
When everyone gets together, they wear tags with their names and the languages they speak. This makes it easy for all those present to know which language they can practice with whom!
So far, Adrian has organized two such meet up groups which started with just three people around a table which grew to a larger number of people from a range of different countries - Romania, India, Sweden, Macedonia, Iran etc. The third one is scheduled for this Saturday, 30th November at Espresso House, Kullagatan. (Event page - https://www.facebook.com/events/1453983618083200/)
“I want to be the change I want to see”, says Adrian. “And that’s really the best way to get going here. I am very happy to do this because I understand how hard it is to find someone in Sweden who wants to hang out with you as a newcomer and in general. Welcome to our community!”
Adrian hopes that this meetup group will pick up and more people will join in. And for newcomers to not feel alone. His plan was to hold these events once a month but those who have attended previously convinced him to hold these every two weeks, because of the amount of fun they had!
If this interests you and you would like to join Adrian and his friends in the next language meet up group, follow the facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/helsingborg.language.exchange/
Adrian in his free time is also quite an avid photographer. Follow him on his instagram page here - @itsflowingtothesoul
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