In this land of bureaucracy, nothing counts unless you have a paper for it. Preferably with a stamp. No, scratch that. With several stamps. The more, the better.
Having a foreign high school diploma, I was – in the all-seeing eyes of the Swedish state – incapable of speaking Swedish. As such, I was unqualified to take university courses if the language of instruction was Swedish. Even if it was Swedish on paper only, while English was used in the classroom anyway. And even though I'd say my Swedish is quite alright, if I can make such a claim myself.
The absurd has reached its height when it turned out I wasn't qualified to take courses I myself was teaching!
Well, no more of that.
I now have The Paper.
I've finally come around to take TiSUS: Test i svenska för universitets- och högskolestudier (test in Swedish for university studies) and passed it, if you can believe such a thing. No stamps, sadly, so the signature will have to do.
No longer shall the bureaucrats of the Council for Higher Education hold dominion over which courses I am or am not allowed to take.
Okay, I'm done venting my frustrations. Thanks for sticking around.