Summer 2022

Lack of motivation, bursts of activity, a whirlwind international adventure that counts for experiential learning, exploring queer, health, medieval, law, immigration, nationalism, and back to regularly scheduled programming

Artifacts

Getting to Sweden was a nightmare but also a life-confirming experience for me. I started July 26th driving from Pullman to Spokane at 6 a.m., and it should have been the straightforward itinerary pictured. I was supposed to meet with one of the other students at the Seattle airport. Unfortunately, when I got to Seattle they told me Seattle to Paris was delayed so no way I could make it from Paris to Stockholm. They sent me to Amsterdam instead and I had to fight to get on to the next available flight. They put me on standby for every Amsterdam to Stockholm flight so I ended up having a 14 hour layover in Amsterdam while running around. I impressed myself by being calm and finally made it to Sweden at 1 a.m. on some day. I think the total travel time was 36 hours!

One of the main issues we tackled in Sweden was LGBTQ+ rights. Stockholm Pride was during one of the weeks we were there. There was a Pride House that had serious seminars and lectures about topics ranging from issues with Nordic model of sex work and organizations and people fighting for the right to survive in Turkey. There were also celebratory moments in bars, at the Pride Park where I got makeup done for the first time, and at the Pride parade. It was extremely informative to step outside the American fights for queer rights and understand global perspectives.

This was a picture taken on the night before all of us on the program left Sweden - except Ronan, he was already gone. I learned so much from the people on this program. I never felt unwelcome to join in on someone's plans and for the first time built a sense of self that felt like I could just throw my opinion out there without bothering people. I was sad leaving because it was like a dream was ending. However, I came back much changed, and I think everyone I talked to could notice that I had become more confident and willing to engage with my surroundings.