Hej! My name is Shane and I’m a student blogger this semester at DIS Stockholm. I hope you’ll choose to follow along on my adventures as I embark on a four month study abroad experience in the heart of Sweden!

I’m originally from outside London in the United Kingdom, but I study full time at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. As a political science major and proud Europhile, choosing Sweden as a study abroad destination made a lot of sense. My core course at DIS, European Security Dilemmas, focuses especially on issues of immigration and political polarization facing my home continent, as well as conventional military threats facing Sweden. Combined with courses in Swedish Politics and Society and Terrorism & Anti-Terrorism, this semester is an excellent learning opportunity for me as both a scholar and a European. Alongside those, I’ll be taking Swedish and working as a research assistant in a project entitled Trafficking in Persons for the Purpose of Organ Removal.

During my time in Stockholm, I’m staying with a host family just north of the city in Sollentuna. I’m living with my host mom, host sister, and two host brothers in a charming little community about 45 minutes from DIS. Living in a homestay was a no-brainer for me, as it gives me the opportunity to enjoy the more involved and relaxed family life as a break from college, while also improving my Swedish language and cultural skills. More on my homestay to come in future blog posts!

As well as regular updates on what I’m up to in my classes, home life, and travels, I hope to reflect in this blog on the political changes happening across Europe and especially in Sweden and Britain, as I experience them first hand. To add a fun twist and share with you another interest of mine, I’ll occasionally introduce a flag (all Swedish, of course) and share its history and significance. The study of vexillology isn’t the most common but I think it can provide an insight particularly into the growing nationalistic sentiments pervading Europe presently. Plus, Swedish cities and counties have some really cool flags!

So, stick around and follow my adventures in the heart of Scandinavia and beyond. And be sure to check out some of the other great DIS bloggers this semester as well!

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