My name is Kali Barry and this summer I graduated from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. There I completed my Bachelors of Individualized Studies degree; it is an individualized degree that focuses on three concentrations, mine were Studies in Cinema and Media Culture, as well as Video and Audio Production.
For my first class abroad I took a class titled “Gender, Sexuality, Race and Equality in Scandinavia”. I took this class for a variety of reasons, for about a year now I have been taking classes within Scandinavian Studies, and really enjoyed topics related to social justice, and society at large, so I was really excited to take this class. As a woman and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I wanted to learn more about the differences between Sweden and Germany’s LGBTQ+ communities. In Germany we went to a historical LGBTQIA+ neighborhood; visually it was clear that this was a LGBTQIA+ neighborhood since there were pride flags everywhere, and they had LGBTQIA+ owned businesses as well. In Sweden it was different; I didn’t see as much rainbow or LGBTQIA+ visual representation of LGBTQ+ spaces, but with that being said I never felt unsafe, the representation of LGBTQ+ community and safe spaces was subtle and felt like that acceptance was just part of society.
Throughout my stay in Sweden I often spent time alone because I wanted to immerse myself into the culture fully. In Sweden, there is a quietness to life, and personal space is very valued. Often in public you don’t make eye contact with people, and you don’t have small talk, and such things are seen as personal space. As someone with Autism this was a breath of fresh air, I have never been out of the U.S. before so I never knew anything other than U.S. customs. So whenever I went into class which had my fellow American peers in it I felt like I was entering a culture shock; all of a sudden people were making eye contact with me and I suddenly had to think of small talk. It got really exhausting, but I think talking to people and letting them know what is happening is important. Do that my fellow soon-to-be FEA peers!
Thank you for reading this blog post, Kali