**Last Updated October 2017**

Dear Reader,

This blog follows my study abroad year in Uppsala, Sweden, during the 2014-2015 academic year. I graduated from UMass Amherst in May 2016 with a dual B.A. in Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

If you have reached my blog as a prospective student, I can be contacted personally at nmastico@alumni.umass.edu, and would love to answer any questions you have about studying abroad as a UMass Student, as an American studying in Sweden, or as a prospective student of Uppsala University.

If you have reached my blog as a prospective employer, please refer to my LinkedIn for updated professional information. Professional writing samples are available upon request.

Anyone else reading this blog - studying abroad is a wonderful, challenging, enriching adventure, and I hope I can convey a small fraction of how much it meant to me through the travel updates I posted.

Happy browsing!

Sincerely,

Naomi

Första Maj

The first of May has been a celebrated day in Sweden since 1890, and was made a public holiday, or "red day," in 1938. Following Valborg, it's a very special political day, rather than simply a celebration. May day has traditionally been associated with socialism and communism, and been a day for left wing parties (and technically anyone, but traditionally left wing) to voice their politics. The celebration of the first of May was started by the Social Democratic Party of Sweden and began as a day for the Labor Movement, as it is declared International Worker's day.

Public participation in politics is astoundingly high in Sweden, largely due to the fact that Swedish politics are much, much easier to influence and participate in than U.S. politics.

Majoritarian politics, as in the U.S., leaves people feeling unheard and decreases voter turnout. Furthermore, strict voting laws and excessive working hours bar people from voting. Forming a political party with alternate ideas is a often a fruitless effort when it comes to getting elected (though the formation of an alternate political party is a statement in itself), since legal corruption maintains the power of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

The possibilities that lie within the Swedish system are inspiring, and watching people celebrate politics is beautiful to me as a political science student and as a person in society. Caring about politics means caring about your community and your fellow humans, and it gives me hope for the future. If state politics in the U.S. could function like the Swedish political system, possibility for large-scale change would feel more realistic (not that the feeling of impossibility will stop me from trying)!

I was talking to a Swedish friend the other day about Swedish politics and how impressive the public policies and attitudes are here (especially in Uppsala), and she said that it doesn't say much about Sweden, but more about the rest of the world, and that Sweden is not perfect. This attitude is vital because there is always room for improvement and positive social change.

Glad Första Maj everyone!

In Solidarity,

Naomi

Basic Swedish II

I've been taking Swedish classes for a while now, and it's going pretty well, but I can safely say it hasn't really been necessary to get by in Sweden. It's pretty rude to ask people if they speak English in this part of Sweden, as their English is probably better and more academic (especially in Uppsala/Stockholm) than yours (looking at you, native English speaker that keeps trying to correct everyone).

I will say as a unilingual person (I guess being fluent in British English doesn't really count) it is quite disheartening to encounter situations where my Swedish friend knows the English word/phrase for something and I'm left confused as to how my linguistic mind has failed me. Most of my Swedish friends are trilingual, at least. My roommate, Nina, is fluent in English, Thai, Swedish, and pretty good at Spanish. My other two Swedish roommates are fluent in English and Swedish and studied other languages at school, my friend Michaela that I mentioned earlier can speak Spanish and is also fluent in English, and my roommate that is from Québec, even from the same continent as me, is fluent in French and English and is learning Arabic.

So, why am I reading Swedish, you ask? It's because my heritage is from the two most isolationist Western nations that ever existed, and as such, I am a sad unilingual. Swedish may not be the most useful language to learn, but when you live in Sweden for a year, it is a fun party trick and it's nice to know how to read a menu.

Afterthought: I can speak French at a conversational level. However, after reading Swedish for so long I'm now starting to say "Je måste demander du une fråga."

Godis

Swedes are the largest consumers of pick-n-mix style candy. This isn't a fact I've confirmed, but one I can definitely believe without looking it up. There are large walls of candy in every grocery store (even the small ones). It's almost as if EVERY STORE IS A CANDY STORE. I'm not sure how many of my readers know me on a personal level, but this is a very big deal to me. For Easter, you can find eggs you  fill with  godis (candy).

My Basic Swedish II teacher gave us some candy from one of these in class on Monday. I lucked out when it comes to teachers.

Glad Påsk! (Almost)

It's not yet Easter, but it soon will be! I don't think I've ever really been somewhere that it felt like there was "Easter in the air," but that's certainly how I feel as I leave my apartment and walk to the city center.

I'm going to visit one of my best friends here, Michaela, in Östersund, her hometown, for Easter and I am so excited to experience a Swedish Easter. In Sweden, Christian holiday celebrations retain a lot of Pagan tradition (from when Sweden was forced into Christianity, oh the good times) and so they are quite colorful and exciting.

These feather trees are everywhere in Uppsala and I am lead to believe that they're special for Easter for this reason. When they appeared I thought perhaps they were a strange modern design trend...

This one got a little too excited and fell down. :(

Våffeldagen 2015

Today is Våffeldagen - or, national waffle day. I celebrated accordingly with some sweet and some savory Swedish waffles at Upplands nation's waffle buffet. In Sweden, waffles aren't just a sweet thing. It's also common to have toppings such as ham, sour cream, and cheese. Both are delicious.

First Signs of Spring

The weather has been gorgeous in Uppsala as of late. I wouldn't call it Spring quite yet, as I don't want to summon the rain and clouds. But sitting in my room with big glass windows, the sunlight is pouring in! Everyone is noticeably happier, and the cautious non-winter bikers have been taking out their bikes for transportation. We're still a long way from the actual start of spring, but the extra daylight and sunlight are welcomed with open arms by everyone in the city.