A filipina in lund

Rachelle Navarro åstrand has a gift for being in the right place at the right time.

"I must admit that I often wonder if what has happened and is still happening in my life are purely fate or providential," she muses. "Friends always say that I am very lucky. I had a good friend from India who read my palm and said that I will have a happy future. A Vietnamese delegate in Lund University once said that my round face signifies happiness and good luck. But I also grew up in a Christian family, where God’s will prevails in the decisions we make in our lives."

After she graduated from UP in 1989 with a degree in architecture, cum laude, Rachelle hoped to get a job in the architectural firm of one of her professors. Unfortunately, there was no opening. She then worked as a research assistant in the Marketing Research Department of Ayala Land, which turned out to be a very good stepping-stone for a career as an architect.

But there came a point when she wanted to explore new ground, and further studies became her goal. After three years at Ayala, she applied for scholarships in several universities, hoping to specialize in housing. She remembers very well that rainy afternoon at the UP College of Architecture lobby when she was filling out application forms, with no money to finance her studies. But this was a dream she was determined to pursue.

In 1992, she was accepted at McGill University in Montreal, Canada for a Master’s in Architecture under a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). This was a big step for her since it was her first time to leave her family and the country. As she discovered her independence, she also discovered her capabilities and limitations. But her courage stayed strong in the face of academic work and the economic and domestic challenges of living on her own.

Pursuing a doctorate was not on her agenda when she left the Philippines but, encouraged by family and friends, she decided to continue into the doctorate program right after her Masters. She still had another two years out of the four-year scholarship grant from CIDA to cover her studies as a PhD candidate. Beyond that, she would have to find other means of support.

In 1995, she presented a research paper in a conference in Delft, Netherlands and there met Johnny Åstrand, a Swedish architect. Fate would later bring them together again in postgraduate courses in Lund, Sweden and conferences in Istanbul, Turkey and Barcelona, Spain.

Rachelle remembers the reaction of her parents when she told them that she had met someone whom she would in time marry. They asked, "Is he Canadian? Filipino? Fil-Canadian?" She answered, "Nope, a Swede." And they wondered, "Ahh, a Swede. Where is Sweden?"

After finishing all her courses in McGill, she got married and settle in Lund. Her dreams of finishing her dissertation then took some more years. Living in a new country and fitting in a new society, Rachelle had to adjust again in many ways, on top of learning a new language. She worked part time in architectural firms and at the university.

Along the way, she took a year off to go on maternity leave. Rachelle remembers sending the first draft of her thesis to her advisor the night before she was scheduled to give birth to son Teodor in January, 1999. Determined to complete her degree, she submitted the final dissertation in May 2002 and flew back to Montreal to defend her thesis, finally receiving her degree in 2003, the first to obtain such a degree from McGill. To make the occasion even more significant, she graduated during the university’s centennial.

As a couple, Rachelle and Johnny are continuously sharing interests and together growing through their small architectural firm. Housing study in developing countries is a common passion. Johnny is director and founder of Lund University’s Housing Development and Management (HDM) Department. He worked many years in Tunisia to help improve the housing conditions in small villages. HDM has been doing a lot of work in terms of research, courses, as well as consultancy in many developing countries, especially in Latin America.

Rachelle, on the other hand, is a part-time lecturer and thesis advisor to post-graduate students at Lund University, as well as a practising architect. On top of that, being a devoted wife and mother barely leaves her enough time for herself. In a country like Sweden, one has no choice but to be a hard worker. With both working full-time, men and women share responsibility in family and domestic matters.

The end of the day is when Rachelle has her own time, when Teodor and Johnny are fast asleep. Then she can read a nice book or watch a late movie or TV series while folding newly washed clothes. Recently, she has rediscovered her artistic self through painting.

"It was not that easy to get a job as an architect in Sweden," Rachelle reveals. "It may sound surprising, but there are many unemployed graduates and architects in Sweden, as in many countries in Europe. Being an immigrant in Sweden makes it even harder to get a job. My first years of job-hunting in architectural firms were very difficult and discouraging. I was lucky to be even called for an interview, but often I received letters of decline."

Thus, she could not choose her jobs. Even with her impressive degrees and experience as an architect, sometimes she did work as a CAD operator, drawing other architect’s plans using the computer. But she took these jobs in stride, as stepping stones to learning the Swedish system in the design and construction industry. Her aim was to learn as much as she could, and then find her own niche. Today, she runs their firm and continues to work in private practice and at the university.

Despite her many personal responsibilities, she supports her husband’s important position in Lund as hostess to the guests of the Program. HDM often has very important guests, such as international housing experts and consultants. These are people whose works and publications Rachelle used to read in her studies. Thus, it gives her great pleasure to receive them as guests in her home, and share with them her home-made sushi and famous adobo and kare-kare.

The guests bring home not only knowledge but also the friendship and goodwill of their Pinoy-Swedish hosts. More importantly, the program inspires camaraderie among delegates from various countries and underscores the importance of international efforts and cooperation in dealing with housing and heritage conservation issues.

Through the years, many Filipino scholars have benefited from HDM, more than 35 from the Philippines from amongst the hundreds of students worldwide.

For Rachelle, Lund University could not have been more opportune because of her soft spot for international students, especially those coming from her home country. She has been instrumental in welcoming Filipino scholars and other international guests of the university, a task she finds very fulfilling.

"Most of what I have achieved started as dreams and to dream is like taking a leap of faith," she says. "I am also blessed with a wonderful family, a loving husband and a son, and true friends who are there for me... and new friends who are still coming to touch my life."