iRaspberry: lessons from medical school and life

Prescription: Exercise

2010-06-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Exercise: not only does it make you fit, it improves health in other ways. Benefits of moderate activity include protection against coronary artery disease, diabetes melitus (type II), hypertension, some cancers, and osteoporosis.

BUT...

<30% of physicians in the US discuss exercise with patients!

AND

The most influential factor for people to get involved with regular exercise programs is physicians' recommendation for exercise.

The ideal prescription addresses frequency, intensity, duration, and type of exercise. It's got to be individualized and id what people enjoy.

The American College of sports Medicine recommended adults spend 30 minutes/day doing moderately intesne activity most days of the week in 1993. But new guidelines from the Institute of Medicine suggest 60 minutes every day to avoid weight gain.

Man...that's like an hour a day! For most people I know, we spend a lot of time sitting. So, I'm trying to do well in school because I want to really know my stuff and be the most competent physician I can, but that means...I spend a lot of time sitting in class, home, cafe, whatever...but I'm sitting while I'm at my computer going through powerpoints, looking things up, checking email, being distracted from work ...all in all...without really moving anything. When I start to think about all the lectures I have to go through and the time it takes...well, there just doesn't seem to be enough time, so how am I supposed to set aside 1 hr plus to work on moving my body?

Well, EXERCISE is really important. and here is why!

Every good exercise program should include (1) aerobic exercise (2) strength training and (3) flexibility exercise.

(1) aerobic exercise: it works your heart plus it increases caloric consumption (important in weight control and fat loss)

For this effect: maintain a good target heart rate range for 20-30 minutes 3 time per week.

--> Target heart rate= 50-75% of 220-(your age) beats per minute.

(2) strenght training: resistance exercise builds muscle tone and strength by progressiviely overloading your muscle tissue. It also affects bone, ligaments and tendons so it's good for osteoporosis prevention, injury prevention, and weight/fat control.

(3) flexibility: strethcing reduces the likelihood of muscle strain and injury, prevents muscle soreness, helps maintian mobility and functionin arthritic joints, and improves muscle elasticity (after a brief aerobic warm-up).

For this effect: do slow, static stretches held for 15-20 seconds.

Exercise is safe and benefits people of all ages, you just need to make sure do have a regular program that is individualized for you.

Source: Bernstein, Joseph. Musculoskeletal Medicine. 1st ed. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2003. Print

Well, I'm off for an hour walk.

Welcome back Julia.

2010-06-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

That's right I am welcoming back myself. In August, my intent was to blog about life in med school every week so people could check in if they wanted to. Funny: I didn't do any posts, not at all. But, 2 hours ago I decided to start back up but not on any set schedule.

I have a new focus for this blog, but before I dive into that, let me sum up what life as a med student has been for me so far:

There are more interesting aspects that go beyond what is expected. Within the lastc ouple of weeks I've realized something. It's hard to explain but here is my best shot. Over the past year, I've kept a seemingly balanced life...focusing on school work, making amazing friends, learning new things like guitar and surfing, keeping up with what I enjoy, exploring new places, focused on reducing the stress...etc, etc, etc. I look back and I'm amazed at all I have done. However, medical school has a strange effect on people. I'm just surprised of how much I've grown and how it's forced me to really understand who I am at a deeper level than I ever knew existed.

Back to the new focus. these are things I'm learning that you just might find interesting.

In a lecture today by Dr. Nevins, DO:

"Knowledge becomes wisdom when it becomes your personal experience"

So I guess, simply, my goal is to turn what I learn into wisdom and hope to spread it around.

Adventures of Med Student in Pomona

2009-08-01T02:45:00.003-07:00

So I thought it would be a good idea to keep a blog for people out there to keep up with my amazing experiences in Pomona.

My goal is to update my blog at least once a week about life, school, living, and such....so we'll see how this goes!

Saturday 25 August 2007

2007-08-25T17:41:00.001-07:00

Final Day in Amsterdam...!

Well, tomorrow is my last day but I'm leaving for the airport at 8:45am so I don't think that counts. I'm so looking forward to about 22 hours of travel time..yes!!!!

So today, I tried to make the most of it as possible.
10:00am I sold my bike..it was a sad moment, but it was necessary. I'm sure Rebecca will take good care of it.
12:30pm I wandered over to the Uitmarkt festival. It's like an opening weekend with different performances of the arts throughout the weekend and along a good chunk of land. By the way, it's free....gratis in Dutch. The kid section was primarily situated next to the NEMO. I found that a band called Brown vs. Brown was playing so I headed over the the Bimhuis.

It turned out to be this awesome group that plays jazz fusion, funk, it's hard to say, but it was awesome for many reasons. I loved the doubling of the sax and bass or sax and guitar. Sometimes it would be the same melody or syncopation. Sometimes there would be some dissonance. I liked the alto sax because of the growlling. The drummer was on fire. In the last song, the drummer used chains to drum on the set....wow.

After the performance, I wandered around the information market outside. There were endless rows of organizations for the arts. I really, really liked this logo....and this booth had some hard bread spread with some candy coated seeds...I forgot the name but licorice is made from it.

I went back to the Bimhuis to see this band...I think they are called the Suzanne Alt Quartet. It was more jazz standard sort of music. I like the alto's energy, but her breath support really bugged me. She, the pianist, the drummer, and the bassist were amazing.

Now here's a clip of them performing. The recording is not so hot...I couldn't even hear the awesome bass....sad, but it still gives a good idea of it.

Heading back to the city center..I passed the NEMO. These were really cool performers. She's on a huge sphere and wearing what looks like a really uncomfortable skirt.

I headed off to Koningplein to the bookstore. Here are some bikes by Centraal Station. I'm going to miss it all.
This was close to the bookstore. I ended up going down some path and ending up in this triangular courtyard type of deal. There was lots of grass with religious figures standing on it. When I emerged through a different pathway, I ended up coming out of this door. I would have never guessed that what I experienced was beyond this door.
After the bookstore, I headed back to the dorms. Here's a coffeeshop. I'm sad that I don't have a bike, but walking around is interesting because there's so much you miss going fast.
At the flower market they had these fly traps. They are so scary looking, yet beautiful at the same time.

I just thought these signs were interesting.
So, I got to the dorms, then I headed down to the final group dinner on Overtoom near OT301. I got there early so Haley and I decided to go to Vondelpark for a bit. Here's an awesome picture I found on the side of a building.
Dinner was amazing as usual. I think it was Pakistani....I don't really know.
Afterward, Julie presented us with some certificates and took time to recognize each one of us.
We had our own space in the back room. It was really comfy. I had a pillow.

This was on the menu....interesting.

During the walk back with Shirley and Ray, I wanted to jump into this fountain. Alas, Ray didn't want to join me...so we just kept walking.
In the night, some of us went to an Irish Pub that is Jenny and Jana's Irish Pub.
I just thought it was funny how they had wrestling on the tv. This is for Jory.
There are some weird characters in the group. Mark, Sathi, Irina. The Pub was called Molly Mallone. They had some live music..a guy on a guitar..it was pretty good.
We have to say goodbye to our numbers that some people picked up from Brussels.....I think some people wanted to try to check them in for their flights. I don't know how well that will be.

I still need to pack...nnnooooo!

Friday 24 August 2007

2007-08-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Friday....

First we had a lecture on Islam in the morning.
Then we had one last sandwich session with chef Alexi for lunch. I good combo is cucumber, dill, and cream cheese OR chicken and mozerella.
I needed to return some library books so I went to the Bungehuis. This is in one of the elevators. I just really liked the phone.

Here's some stained glass in the building.
I tried to go recruitment clothes shopping for the sorority, but it didn't work out so well...It's okay I still have a week.

H & M is a really big chain here. I guess there are two stores in the US too.

Not all these were from me. I just thought it looked cool in the changing room. I was looking for a dark brown top...and...apparently other people were too.
I came home, made some spaghetti, then we headed out to the Streets concert at the Melkweg. There were seven of us in total....the venue was great. I love the lighting. There was a DJ before and after the show. You can just go right up to the stage.
During the concert, Mike asked everyone to take out their camera phones and record a new song and to put it on youtube. Almost everyone obeyed.

There was just so much energy. Mike told the audience to get down on the ground. And then we all jumped up and just danced. Jack and I went and danced our way to the front....awesome.
Green energy.
There was a guy from the crowd that was only in his underwear. He got onstage and Mike wanted to keep him there. Then they jumped off the stage together. It happened really quickly so it's all blurry.
After the concert we went through the red light district. There was a scary fish in a case in one of the residencial windows. Jack really wanted a picture of it.

23 August 2007

2007-08-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

I can't really fall asleep yet..it's already 4:20am, so I guess I'll blog.

It was conference day, and what better way to start the day than to go to the Anne Frank Museum with Sunil.

It got there pretty smoothly by bike, and it only took us 15 minutes standing in line to get in.

I was so excited to take pictures especially of the bookshelve that was a hidden pathway...until I saw this sign. So sad. No camera at all? Wow.
Overall the museum was pretty good. The best part by far was the bookcase!

When we got back to the dorms, I needed to finish preparing for the presentation and then meet with Alex. Lunch was good as always, and then the conference began......
There were a lot of people in this room. We had enough chairs, just not enough table.

Here's the program....with Alex and my abstracts....so official.
The new media program conducts 1 to 2 week long research projects. They found that "methane-emitting cow" was the most frequent image that came up in Google News. Watch out for those cows.
Through pictures, Alex and I had a debate about the polar bear versus the cow. It was pretty complex.
Here's the wayfinding group's presentation. They were all very snazzy.
Many program advisors looking at the slides with a lot of concentration. We have Paul Wouters of VKS, Clifford and Jessica from UW, and Mirjam from the summer institute of UvA
Alex got soooo hungry that he started eating his project! Well, he brought the sugar in to demonstrate the different levels of packaging. I caught him eating straight sugar!

I think we did very well in presenting. I can't really remember because I sort of space out afterward. Tomorrow we have a ....later this morning we have a lecture about Islam. Well in 5 hours we have a lecture about Islam. We were going to go to a Mosque, but apparently someone broke into it last night. I basically have only two more days to spend in A'dam. I don't count Sunday because we probably need to be at the airport at 10:20am so we have to leave all packed by 9:30 from the dorms. Hmm...I'm going to try to sleep.

Wednesday, August 22 2007

2007-08-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's the big day..the conference. We had a dry run through of all the presentations this morning from 9:30am-1:15pm.

This was taken at the beginning. Clifford is basically telling us to relax. Everyone looks like they need a day to rest. I think we are a little tired.

After the meeting, a bunch of us went to Maoz to get some fallafel. So good...I ran into this sign...on the way to a book store. Interesting. I just can't hide. I think this may be the first poster I've seen that says the word "squat"

The evening and night time has been full of thinking, collaborating, and reworking for the presentation tomorrow. Yes!

Tuesday August 21, 2007

2007-08-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

So...yeah, it's only time before everything comes together. I'm almost done with the project, I just need to do somethings on the wiki and rehearse my presentation. I need to cut 20 minutes down to 7 minutes...ready go.

This morning we had a really rough exercise where we needed to present our findings in, well in alex and my case, 3.5 minutes each.

The conference on Thursday allows 15 minutes per group to present and 5 minutes for Q & A.

Many exciting things happened today:

1. I used an awesome dryer for my laundry. Totally dry this time, which rocks!

Sorry no picture of it

2. I went to the union museum, and didn't understand anything 'cause it was in Dutch, but it was still interesting.

Cool postersStained glassThe diamond tower.

3. Went to the Tropenmuseum, I almost fainted because of the awesomeness of the museum.. I'm definitely going back. There are wax figures, DDR, video game simulations, you can walk into Moroccan houses, watch clips, listen to audio, there's lots of artifacts. AHHHH!!!!

So cool!

Look, I'm in a mosque or something

An awesome door

This room had African dance costumes behind the glass. When you touched a certain one on a screen, the lights dim and the glass becomes a projection of a video clip of that particular costume. Wow.Teletubbies from Indonesia? Megan Bjorklund look!

4. Irina introduced me to candle wax art.....yes!

I call my masterpiece...drip chocolate

Back to project!

Monday August 20th

2007-08-20T23:57:00.001-07:00

Monday was all about the project. Unfortunately I still have a lot to do. The good news is that I have done a lot. Anyways, we had a drug policy lecture in the more. Sorry...I'm kind of really tired because I stood up really early working on the wiki. I don't have any photos. A big goal today is that after the meeting, I get out and do something fun. Park, maybe museum...who knows, but the main thing is not the be stuck in my room. yeah, yesterday was a little boring in terms of blogging...I promise today will be different!...memories of Vondelpark are coming back....

Sunday August 19, 2007

2007-08-19T04:44:00.000-07:00

Getting down to the wire.

So, our research conference is this Thursday. This date means that my deadline for completion of a presentation of my research is by Wednesday morning because we have a rehearsal at 9:30am. So...I'm trying to busy myself with organizing everything.

Please check out my wiki:

http://courses.washington.edu/uwvks/wiki/index.php?title=Squatting_Movement_in_Amsterdam

Feel free to email or comment directly on the page. It is very much changing a lot.

I'll probably add more to this post as the day goes on. Doei

Saturday August 18, 2007

2007-08-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday.

I had a late start today.

First I went to the Amsterdam Historical Museum. It's been one of the best that I've been to because there is a lot of variety of media.

Here's a set of scary puppets. I guess I just will never understand.

They have a whole section about housing in Amsterdam.

A display of squatter weapons. I'm pretty sure they were a more creative than this.

I comparasion between antririot police and a squatter for gear in the 1980s.

Afterwards, I rode around the Jordaan and stumbled across a music rehearsal. This stage is actually on the canal. This guy had an amazing baritone voice.

I went into a playground of a school and found this.
I've seen a lot of paintings on walls with music. So far it's always been in the key of F.
I went to volunteer at the Weggeefwinkel at Joe's Garage. It's a give away shop. It was pretty interesting. People brought a sewing machine, hard drives, clothes, tins, etc.
The sheep are friendly.

Our glorious display.

When I got back, Colleen really wanted to go to the Pluk de Nacht open air film festival. I did too because the movie playing was going to have Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords in it. We took a roundabout bike ride to the space. I was glad though because I needed to get a picture of the famed Afrika Huis, a former squat.
We got to pluk de nacht, and there were nice beach chairs, a huge screen, pizza, drinks, and a WC.
The previous caption works for this one too. Oh, and it was free. I wonder who sponsers it.
Eagle vs Shark...a New Zealand film. I really liked it. But they paused it half way, and I really wanted it to resolve.

Here's a link to see the trailer of the film: http://www.plukdenacht.nl/92/index.php?151

Friday August 17

2007-08-17T14:31:00.001-07:00

Friday...the full day

Yay for starting the day at 8:40am. We took two buses to the Science Park, which is the hub of the web for the Netherlands.

In the CAVE. It's a virtual reality simulator.
We got to wear these really cool goggles similar to the ones in the recent Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie.
Pimpin' the goggles
Us, IN a computer.

This is what it looks like without the googles. It looks 3d with them.
Our virtual dirt....
These tables were in the room outside of the conference room. I like them a lot, but is it really necessary?
I had to take a picture of the wall in the lobby. It prevents people from sleeping against it.

The super computer!!!! IBM

I wonder where I've seen a lightning arrow before....hmm....I think the triangle stands for caution.
So apparently there are robots breeding in here. Alas, there are no windows so we can't really see them.
Lunchtime, and talking about networking, which as many know goes way over my head.
The view from laying down at the bus stop on our way back to the dorms.

Clifford Tatum!

I was a bit late for lecture this afternoon. We got back at about 12:50, I got up to my room about 12:57, and lecture started at 1:00. I really was moving slow. So the afternoon topic was prostitution. I learned a lot.
After the lecture, we went to the prostitute center, went on a guided tour around the Red Light District, and....we got to go into a working space. Those stairs are steep, and buildings are slanted. You have to be very careful. We were able to go in to a place because it wasn't being used at the time. There was a switch of ownership.

So straight from there, I went on my bike down to the Concertgebouw. I was the first one in line for the rush tickets for the symphony. I really wanted to go, and I was nervous 'cause it was sold out. No problems...I met some people who go every week. EEVVVEERRRYYY week. talk about dedicated groupies. Apparently there are about 4 amateur orchestras in Amsterdam. Good to know. I went up to get my ticket, the lady at the window gave it to me for free. I went to Albert Heijn to get a salad, came back, found a great seat that was empty in the middle aisle, and enjoyed the show. I was kind of underdressed....oops. Some people were wearing some fancy clothings.

The conductor's name is Bernard Haitink. He was amazing and everyone just kept on clapping. Oh the principal clarinetist was amazing too, but I don't know his name. The program consisted of Wagner and Debussy. Amazing!!!!!!

We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I had to sneak one during intermission. I'm sorry, it's just so beautiful. Oh this is the view from my seat. I was assigned row 3 seat 3, but I ended up sitting in row 26, seat 21.

This is the hallway around the outside of the hall. It was full of bars and smoking and restaurants and coats.
This was in one of the display cases. I really wanted to wear all of it. It's like a whole outfit.

And I rode back to the dorms on my bike with no lights in the dark without getting caught. Ja!

Thursday August 16

2007-08-16T13:57:00.001-07:00

Another reseach day!

I went to interview an author of Cracking the Movement: squatting beyond the media. He was every knowledgable, and it was just a great conversation.

The building that we talked in has been under constuction for about 2.5 years. I was pretty strange. Oh, and security was nice too.

I went exploring towards the northeast direction .
This is called Barcelonaplein. Pretty nice.
This building reminds me of Jenga. What went wrong?
The view over a bridge.
This building is in the process of swallowing the smaller one. Apparently, the smaller one used to be squatted. Now it holds art spaces. I like sunlight. Don't let this happen to you.
Hi tech sand around the building. Some contruction is going on. It's like I'm at the beach!

I went with Ann, Jack, and Alex to Joe's Garage for dinner. I think they had a good time. We were deeply listening to a talk about politics after the food.
Alex and his clean feet.
What a nice evening. Best hummus ever.

Wednesday August 15

2007-08-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Wow..today was full of organized occasions.
We started of in a lecture about publishing academic paper and then of course we had lunch. Afterward we had some time before the next excursion so I went to the UvA main library.

On the way to the library, I took a pic and a video because there were so many people out in the streets.

Here's a bike taxi. It's probably the best job ever because you would get so in shape, right?

Here's a video ending up at Dam Square:

We came back together in the courtyard, and about 10 of us set forth by bike and with Clifford as our leader to Jordaan, which is across the busy, touristy part of town. We met up with the people taking the tram at this pub, which turned out to be a chess pub. I challenged Chase to a game, but I had to leave before beating him. We went in small groups to an art space that was pretty interesting. I wasn't able to stick around for the discussion because I had made an appointment at 4pm across town. I got to the place only to find that it was cancelled. Sad day, mais c'est la vie. We had a presentation before dinner about Design and Emotion.....interesting. And then of course, there was dinner. I had salmon, and it was really good.

Exhibit A:

Tuesday August 14

2007-08-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

Research....yeah! I actually got quite frustrated today...more about that later.

So, I started off my day by blogging in bed...the best way to go. There were just so many pictures from Paris. Note to self: stop taking pictures..jk.
I also updated my wiki, you should check it out sometime. There's a link on the right column of this blog.

One thing I really need to do that I've been avoiding is to read a lot. So I went to a park near Jordaan and tried to read. It went well until I started listening to music. And then when I stopped listening, it got really boring. So I decided to do something else. Hm...oh yeah, it was also starting to rain.

Me..reading and marking in the park.

I was about home. Prins Hendrikkade 189 b, when I ... oh shoot. So on the way to reading in the park, I stopped into the friendly neighborhood community center to see if they knew where the housing department was. Turns out they do know AND that I've walked past it about a million times literally. It's right next to our Albert Heijn. Wow. So I got there, and yes it's all in Dutch. I was so disoriented because I couldn't read. Oh to be a kid again. I went in, took a number, and talked to a very nice lady. I left kind of depressed. How? Well, she told me all about applying for social housing and what I need to do; however, it talks about 8-9 years (according to her) to get a place to live. I asked how I could find housing while I wait for a decade. She said she didn't know...well she suggested to get a room in someone's house. Okay, cool. I was actually trying to see if she would mention squatting, which she didn't. She didn't even mention antisquatting.

I came back to the dorms, ran into Mark saying that he was going to city hall, and I thought that that was a great idea. It wasn't. I went to the reception desk and asked them about where I can learn more about renting rights and such. He didn't really speak English that well, but he printed me the address to some department. I biked down to the department and it actually turned out to be a statistics place. The woman immediately said she couldn't help me but I should try across the hall.

This is the department of economie? I don't know..it was all in Dutch. So this guy understands what I'm looking for, but all he can say is that it's such a strange question. He phoned the housing department and there was no answer. Sad, but thanks very much for trying to help.

Because of my bad luck, I went to Albert Heijn, got a smoothie, and laid down in Oosterpark.

This evening, I took a group of masters students from the crash course of research with me to "research". I was a little overwhelmed a first because I didn't want to waste their time, and I didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be awesome. We went to 't Blijvertje for an antsquat bbq. The students were very interested in squatting, and they asked lots of fresh questions. Yay, for multiple minds. It was really fun to get to know the students as well as the people in the squat better.

They were talking about how this place used to be a dump. They fixed it up, and now it's pretty nice. This is a frame of the mold of the wall from before.

Here is another thing on the wall, but I think it was done by a person.

Too much to do, need sleep, must keep going....

Monday August 13

2007-08-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I started my day off by having some pancakes fresh from the stove...just kidding. I actually wanted as much sleep as possible. These 9:30am lectures are killer. Actually, they're not, but it's fun to joke about it. Anyways, so like usual, I walked down the stairs of my dorm and up the stairs of the Summer Institute of the University of Amsterdam.

We had a very nice lecture with Leon Deben, who is a professor at University of Amsterdam. It was quite interesting talking about the topic of public space versus private space. We talked about such issues as surveillance cameras, and making benches uncomfortable to discourage sleep. We also walked a neat video of such topics as the Houston tunnel system and the surveillance camera system, big brother, in the UK. I was talking to a student in the master's program for UvA from the UK. She said that in some places there are actual speakers. So if someone littered, the voice may say to pick it up. What a scary world.

After lecture, we had lunch as usual. The menu was chicken sandwich or Greek salad sandwich, greens, fruit, and cookies. Oh...and there's orange juice for everyone as well. I found out that Clifford usually eats about 7 cookies every lunch....interesting. I wonder if he'll read this.

So, after lunch we went with Leon Deben on an excursion to Bijlmer. It's a big neighborhood that's been a huge social development focus. In the center of Amsterdam you have the shops and housing mixed. But in Bijlmer, everything is separated. We visited the housing areas, went to the community center, and had a final stop at a cafe. I had a Chocomel, which is the best chocolate milk in the world. It's like drinking a good chocolate bar.

Videos:

Due to some technical difficulties, I was not able to get the videos that I took into the slideshow. So there are many short videos to enjoy. Enjoy

Here's a photo slideshow:

Some footage of various parts of the journey:

Note: I also had some videos of Shirley and Alex, but I don't want to put those up without their permission.

I'm glad it was sunny yesterday because there's a thunderstorm going on right now!
Doei!

Paris Day 3

2007-08-14T00:44:00.001-07:00

Yay, Sunday I woke up really early like 7:30am. And I got ready to go to the cemetery.

I got to an entrance about 8:30, but they didn't open until 9 so I just read about housing solutions....oh and I talked with a woman with my really bad French. Apparently she was visiting her kids in the cemetery....sad.

When I went in...even with looking at a map, I still got lost. I tended to stick to the roads because I tried going through graves but I just kept running away.

This cat was really cool

Somethings scared me...I wonder why.
yeah...
I'm just wondering it this piece of statue or whatever it is was originally this way. i think so.
Chopin...lies here....
Outside of all the graves, I tried to find my way back to the hostel. It was a little difficult because that place was so huge.
I took a picture of this truck partially because it looks cool and partially because I was trying to figure out if this guy was following me. It's all good.

The symbol in a bunny rabbit.
At the tour eiffel, the mission was to go up to the top. After waiting in line for about 1.5 hours. This happened.
How dare you try to step on the smily face of grass..shame shame.
I want this building or to learn how to make mine look like it.
Near the Seine.

Cute dolphin trash bin.
the Seine
the gross Seine
under the bridge

under another bridge

cool car on a house boat.
Good use of the arch.
My favorite tree along the Seine.
This was on the wall along the Seine. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know...My best guess is....have no clue.

My flight home was good, and the rest of my evening was great. Yay...back in Amsterdam!

Paris Day 2

2007-08-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday was jam packed, and for some reason, I had tons of energy. Be prepared for a lllloonnnngggg post.

Pictures..yay!

This was on the side of our hostel. What's so great about it is that it's an actual familiar tune...sing it!

This was also on the side of the hostel.
Yeah, this puzzles me. Why is water gushing out here? AND...why is there a carpet?
I want this...
Chalk art?
I say many bikes hung up on bars...this one was extra cute 'cause it's a kid's bike.

Pablo Picasso Museum!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some sketchbooks of his.
In the style of African Mask making
Yay for primitivism!
Yeah, this one was just complicated.

Apparently this is a flute...it's probably a recorder.

cute baby!
This is how I feel sometimes.
I think this is a vase of flowers.
Centre de Pompidou!!! I think this and Picasso were my favorite museums.

I didn't need to go, but man do I wish I did.

These things seemingly randomly were dropped down into a pit of something else...yay.. I have no clue on this one.
The amazing travel buddies on the amazing escalators...what more can you ask for?
Great Art!!1
Cubes, lights, mirrors.

Inflatable art

I'm not sure what the meaning is...put I like the combo of music and medicine.
So...there's a tent on the wall....okay
Pretty, I want this over my baby's crib someday.
I can't spell, but this is the Fibinachi sequence. It continues around the walls. 1..1..2..3..5..8..13..

Music!!!!

This plane is fully equipped with fans!
It's made out of scissors...what?
Not only does the thing next to the wall move with the cranking of this wheel. The movement of the wheel makes a cool sound probably from friction of something.
Sesame street. Today was brought to you by the number 5.....5

Yes...I like actually stepping into art.

It's like a rainforest. Think of all the species that live here. Don't cut it down..
I really lovely fountain.
All goes well????
This is for Lowell.

Matisse.....a whole wall of him.

wheel on a pedistal...classic.
It's like a globe!
So many shades of yellow
I just like this one.

Inspiraling...haha

Birdie, birdie...they love bread as do I.
A recycling apple!
Cool sign that lights up when you can cross.
Entering the Louvre. Going down the escalators.

I think these were the largest paintings I've ever seen.

Yay Egyptian.
Yay greek
I think this was Egyptian
This was painted on the ceiling. The guy on the right top had really red eyes..I think he's mad.

The Louvre is like a zoo. This guy has been stuck down in the basement for a long time.

Self explanatory...
Lots of old remains.
Really old string instruments and a drum...
I wanted to capture the ribs of this creature.

My feet are so small.....

Arrrrr....matie
Can anyone say excessive?
But I think excessive works on doors
Ceiling..

I've got the whole world in my hands...

This guy was taller than me....yes!
He looks so wise.
On the street
Yay..elephant. my favorite animal. This is in front of Musee d'Orsay

Inside Musee d'Orsay..note the flowers that were found under the arch of Arc de Triumph...hmmm..

Interesting combo
My watch was off..good thing there were big clocks everywhere.
Monet!!!!!
I love nice painted skies. If anyone is inspired, I would really like a painting of just sky.

Wagner! Hey Wagner

A witch, she's so cute! Musee d'Orsay has a lot of pastel collections.
Morbid!
I love the gracefulness of this piece.
Musee d'Orsay used to be a train station.

Yeah, you could see people above you in this hallway. Nice shoes.

pretty
Even more beautiful
Oh Ludwig..you rock my socks off.
a model of the city.

He had great breath support and pitch. I wished he played something more difficult though.

In the metro....
Oh my god! My crepe avec nutella. This was my dinner. Very nutritious non?
Luxemburg! Go harp
Luxemberg...they have all these metal borders to stop people from going on the grass. I only posed for two seconds for this picture because I was afraid that one of those soldiers with the big guns would come and shoot me.

Notre Dame at night.

It's pretty nice if you're into huge dark places.
Door at Notre Dame
Walking past the Louvre on the way to Arc de Triumph. Yes, I went twice. There was a huge carnival!

Pretty lights..
Not many people were there though

I wanted all these balloons, but then again, I would have to carry them everywhere.

In the metro...
YEah..
Space needle...jk.
The view at night from Arc de Triumph.

Paris Day 1

2007-08-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

Friday morning at about 6am Jonathan, Irina, Sunil and I set off to Centraal Station to Schiphol Airport to the airport in Paris to the city of Paris! Transportation was my biggest expense...I think I should invest time in devising some sort of traveling portal. Anyways...here's some pictures.

Here's a really good bakery near our hostel. It had the best pain au chocolat. That was basically my lunch and breakfast plus the airplane sandwich I saved.

Hello lamp post, how's it glowing? - C. Montgomery Burns
This is near St Chappelle's.
I guess I just really liked the paint job.

St. Chappelle's. This guy was very creepy. Why? Well...I think it's the unusually long neck and open mouth that put him over the top.
Lots of stained glass.
The ceilings on the first level were quite intense.
So was the stained glass on the top floor.
Oh yeah, the floor was intense too.

Outside towards Notre Dame, there's a set of mystery steps.
In front of Notre Dame, this guy's got a lot of friends. I'm so jealous!
The big church. Notre Dame itself.
I just liked the pattern in the bark of this tree. It's on a sidewalk along the Seine towards the Louvre.
The French have it down. Maximize sitting potential!

Cardboard boxes sitting near the Louvre....classic.
Yeah, I don't really like going around a city where there are these guys with huge guns everywhere. I mean, I'm not going to do anything bad, but....On a positive note, I do like their hats.
Arches and pyramids are cool shapes indeed.
In the park next to the Louvre, you CAN sit in the grass. However, they spread out mass amounts of cigarette butts to discourage you from enjoying the grass.

Tour Eiffel!

Again
This is close to Tour Eiffel.
These metro sign are both beautiful and scary. It's like "Come into my layer, bwwahhhahahahaa!"
Arc de Triumph. These flowers are in buildings all over Paris...hm...

Up the steps to the top. It's actually not that bad.

Inside
On top: Here's the view on a fine overcast day in Paris. The bars are there to make me want to jump over them.
Memorial
La Republiqe!! They even have a metro station called quatre septembre.

I have to admit. I did have an early night on Friday 'cause I got about 3 hours of sleep. Man it was good.

Weekend in Paris soon to come

2007-08-13T03:50:00.000-07:00

Salut,

So it's Monday...yay pour lundi.

Irina, Jonathan, Sunil et moi, nous sommes alles a Paris pour trois jours.

C'est super cool.

J'ai beaucoup des photos, mais...my batteries are dead.

I have rechargable AAs, but my charger died.

I'm pretty sure I killed it parce que je n'ai pas a power converter.

The strange thing is that it worked fine the first time. Oh well...so in the meanwhile, here's a photo of Paris from google....enjoy!

-Julia

PS this is the image I was pretty much staring at the whole time I was in this city....

Thursday August 9

2007-08-09T15:14:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the National Park called De Hoge Veluwe. It has cool white bicycles, space, a museum, and this cafe.

It was pretty rainy so we went to this cafe to pass time and warm up because the museum wasn't open yet.

I love this fireplace! Fire!!!

I've decided that my current favorite flower is.....the daisy.

A bunch of us fought through the rain and biked to the museum from the cafe. Some people were sissies and shall remain un-named; they used umbrellas.

At the museum, there was a large collection of amazing art. It was set up very nicely...unlike the evil Van Gogh Museum...echo, echo, echo.

I think this was called "Horse and Rider". It makes me want to jump on a trampoline for some reason..hmmm..

I think this was called "Soldiers playing cards". I wonder if they're playing poker? Who's winning. I like the one in front on the right; he looks the most mischievious.

Oh the bride...so pretty.

This piece of art was called "Untitled" naturally. I think the point was to look through it.

Oh, mr. cyclops. So adorable, it's like he's gazing into my eyes with his only eye. Wow.

Nice...Van Gogh is just amazing as everyone knows.

This is a close up of the previous picture.

And this painting is very famous. It's not my favorite, but it's lovely.

This is my favorite room of the museum.

This is my favorite piece by Van Gogh. I love the movement. I think I'm kind of ruining this picture because I posed. I should have been running or moving my arms.. Something!

There was a huge room full of crazy sculptures. I tried to blend in. There's a water bottle in my pouch because this guard made me. Well, he came up to me and spoke in Dutch, but I think he said, "Miss you are not allowed to have water bottles please put it away". And I was like I've kept it close and understand the importance of it. And he was pointing to my pursing and telling me to put it in. I'm just so confused because it obviously would not fit in it. Thanks to my pouch of my sweatshirt, he didn't have to kick me out.

This is a diagram of the next picture. It's all about the vectors!

Man..I forgot the title..something to do with diamonds

I really want this tablecloth. I don't really have a table, but if I do get one, I could only cover it with this cloth.

This artist had a clear cube of trash.

This lady has been standing here forever!

Where's Snoopy?

During our meeting of research updates, I took this pic.

Riding the white bikes, in contempary art style-ish.

We got kind of lost because we just took of in a direction after the meeting without really know what direction it was...

This is a hunting lodge. I hope they don't use it for hunting anymore.

I think this is heather.
We went to the sculpture garden of the museum after biking. I really wanted to dance with these guys.
The scary house!!!!
Scary......

Some things that were in the scary house...what does it mean?

This reminds me of some electronic music...interesting

My new favorite tree: the bronze tree

I don'tr eally know what this is...

Looking into the igloo.

Afterward, we came back to A'dam. I did some transcription, and we went to get falafels!!!

These pigeons had some interesting behavior.

So, that was officially the longest time I've spent on blogger. Yay. I'm in Paris til Sunday evening...so see ya later suckers!!! jk, really jk....

Tuesday August 7

2007-08-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

I hope this works because I've actually written this blog several times. I hate computers right now. Anyways.....

Tuesday: Research day!

I woke up, presented in from of like 40 masters students, had a meeting and then came to this community center.

They have a database of the status of properties in the centruum area. Crazy!

Video Clip:

This is just to see how long I could take a video on my camera on my bike going throw crowded spaces. I was heading toward Waterlooplein.

There's a quote on the side of this building, but sadly I can't read it right now. Sad.

After the community center. I went to the Amsterdam Historical Museum.. I was parking my bike when I ran into Irina. I went to West Amsterdam with her to explore.

I wonder how this got here. I don't think spray cans of color are healthy for the eyes or teeth.

This is one of the several markets we went to that day. They are general very large, and people sell fruits, veggies, batteries, random things, clothes, cheese....

It was our lucky day because this bridge went up...make a wish!

I love signs..so here are some signs.

This is another market. I wanted to get a doner with kip but it took forever, and I couldn't figure out the organization of the shop..so I left.

Make another wish!

How this saves....please save..I have to pack and wake up in about 4 hours!

Monday August 6

2007-08-06T13:37:00.001-07:00

Monday: The Holocaust and Architecture.

We started our day at 9:15am, and it didn't end til about 5:30pm. It was jammed pack with so much information that I will now attempt to share. We started on a walking tour through the Jewish neighborhood.

This canal that these buildings face marks the old city limits. Jews were not allowed to live in city. Notice how long the ladder is; it's really tall.

So this is what confused me. Jewish people were not allowed to live within city limits, but this guy named something close to Pinto lived here. I'm very bad with remember names if I just hear them or glance at them from far distances. I know his last name started with a P. Well, he was very rich, and he wanted to make it known so he would often have many carriages in front of his house.

This is a memorial for the people killed at Auschwitz. It's located in a park dedicated to another man I can't really remember the name of. There are 6 windows to represent the 6 million people killed in the Holocaust. Underneath are the remaining ashes obtained from the camp.

I guess you are supposed to look at the reflection of the broken glass of the mirrors. The world you see is like the world that the families and communities of the Holocaust victims had to see after the war.

This is a pretty fountain of the guy the park is named after. He apparently did a lot for the city of Amsterdam, as inscribed around the rim of the fountain. He served in a soup kitchen and helped build centraal station among many other things.

I actually took notes on this building. Well, not on, but of the building. This was the building for the diamond union. The window of the tower is shaped like a diamond. The building is called de Burcht. There were many luxuries given to the workers, who may have not been able to have the resources on their own. There was a library in the basement, 8 hour days, one week off vacation every year, they changed the standards for selling to jewelers, and they organized sports games for workers and families.

This used to be a Jewish Portaguese hospital. You can tell it's Portaguese by the presence of the bird feeding its offspring with its own blood. This hopsital helped with the resistance. And...it was squatted in the 1970s!

This is the site of the Jewish theater. It was taken over by the Nazis. It symbolizes a breaking point in the Holocaust for the Dutch Jews because this is where they would be rounded up and held as prisoners awaiting deportation. We came here to have a lecture about the specifics of what the Dutch Jews went through. The best way to approach it is to compare what happened in Holland to Norway, Germany, France, etc.

This is inside the Jewish Museum. There are so many artifacts. This actually was a synagogue. Almost 80% of Dutch Jews were killed during the Holocaust. We had a tour through the museum.

Here is a map of the old Jewish quarter. Especially with Amsterdam's canal system, it looks like an island.

The quarter was torn down. Archaeologists found these artifacts underneath. In the present, the flea market is where the Jewish quarter used to be.

This is a nice statue at the Jewish Museum.

We had a break for lunch. yes....lunch. It was really good. I'll try to remember to take a picture of lunch one of these days. Afterward, we went to the ARCAM, the architectuurcentrum amsterdam.

Here were some models of architecture and water. This one reminded me of a sewing machine.

Downstairs, we had another lecture...but this time it was about the architecture of Amsterdam. Pretty much Amsterdam is "one huge fake" because everything has been modified by man. It's very important to understand the basic conditions that Amsterdam was founded on. Before 1876, people would sail to the east to get to the sea. But after, the east became a lake and they soon sailed to the west. This change impacted the city greatly. The lecturer was the director of the institute. He said that he wanted to be alive in 1876 to see the change. He also wants to witness dramatic global warming to see what will happen in the human's defense I think. I just thought that was interesting because I don't think I've met anyone with that attitude about global change before.

After the lecture, we were taken on a tour of some architecture of the city by a volunteer named Thea. This is on of the first warehouses, dating back to 1636.

This building has a greenhouse on top. Make me want to do something creative with my hair for some reason. Oh and taxes used to be charged according to how many windows you had.

There's a Chinese temple in the middle of the city near the Red light district. It was very interesting. Their china town is a little small though.

This bell bowl was in the temple. It's one of my favorite sounds to hear. Too bad I didn't get to hear it.

This is a narrow pathway that is entirely decorated with graffiti. I didn't realize we were still in the red light district until I saw the red light at the end of this 10 second clip.

This is the Old Church. On the other side of the street are prostitutes in windows...interesting. Oh there's an organ festival housed here.

This was on the sidewalk outside of the Old Church. Rumor has it that the Queen is the artist. It's pretty depressing.

We went into the Grand Hotel, which used to be the city hall I think. It had some amazing stained glass.

We went into the marriage chamber, where people still today come to get married. It's wonderfully decorated. The walls depict the process of getting married. Oh, and more stained glass.

Here is a large room of probably a lot of importance. It's not used anymore, but it used to be where much business was settled. I didn't catch what it was for exactly.

This is for Laila, my elephan buddy, and lovers of elephants world wide. This was in the window of a furniture store.

A common thing to do was to take old buildings and convert them into hotels. This building is actually within a building.

This is still the hotel. It actually extends under the street and into the building across the way. Crazy!

I love spiral staircases! This is by Rembrandt's corner

And this is a smal playground in a social housing development. I didn't get hurt like I did on a similar one in the states.

Sunday, the 5th of August

2007-08-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today a bunch of us went to Rijksmuseum. Ann and I also went to the Van Gogh Museum. I love his work, but that display space was too loud. We also went over to the concert-gebow to find out about this concert I want to go to. It's a concert with the Symphony Orchestra directed by a really famous conductor, Bernard Haitink. They are playing Debussy and Wagner, and I really want to go! Too bad it's sold out, but here's the plan: sometimes they have rush tickets for anyone under 27. I need to show up at 45 minutes before the performance and I will have a chance to get in for 7,5euros instead of 35euros. We are done with school about 4:30. I'm going to head over to concert-begow and sit at the ticketbooth for 3 hours. I hope it works. Anyways... Afterward, I stayed around the museumplein because I thought Food Not Bombs was going to be there serving food at 5:30pm. Yeah...didn't happen, but it was a nice relaxing day in the park.

Captions:

Rijksmuseum: There are so many cool things about this museum. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but there are some beauties on the outside!

This is the archway of the entrance.

This was more on the side of the yard of the Rijks.

Each drain pipe had some different character supporting it. This one looks like a Greek god, but I don't know who.

There were lots of places to sit. I wish the seat was turf instead of just a picture of grass.

In the museumplein, grass is plentiful.

I love large things like numbers and letters. A group of people in my program found some large numbers in Brussels and brought them back. I found a bunch of letters.

The a was actually trying to eat me. There only way to escape was to follow it's orders of posing for the camera. I made it out alive, but others before me were not so lucky.

As we were walking back to the dorms, I saw this booth from Gay Pride. Man..I want free Hep B vaccines!

I treated myself to a smoothie and maripan from Albert Hein grocery store. Very fancy. I actually aquired 6,50 euros last night. How? Well, Gay Pride is a big party. People are going to be careless. I looked on the ground and found a 0,50euro coin. Then I spotted some cups that you can return to stands on the street for 1euro each. I found 7, Jon found 2, and Sunil found 2. Way to turn trash into cash..cha ching.

After I got back from the museumplein, Irina and I went on a bike ride to the Westerpark neighberhood. This couch on the street reminds me of greek row.

One of the many canals in Amsterdam.....I shot this pic while riding my bike.

Gay Pride Saturday

2007-08-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

So...I just wanted to share some awesome photos of awesome people haveing awesome times. Gay Pride in Amsterdam is one huge party including a parade in the canals! I was a little late for the parade because I was interviewing someone for my project, but I didn't miss much.

Captions...yay!

There were decorations everywhere of rainbow and pink.
At the fallafel shop, I spotted a rainbow...crazy!

It was so packed that I had to park my bike by Waterlooplein and just chain it up to something. Then I had to pretty much shove myself through the crowd on the street to meet up with some others from my program.

Darn boats were in the way of a lot of the view, but it was still a good spot.

Floats:

WARNING: they are kind of interesting.

This one I think is a swim club. That guy actually dove into the canal....gross!!!

I think this was a cell phone company. They had an awesome choreographed dance.

Sitting on the edge is the best place to watch the parade. I got that sweater from a Weggelwinkel at Joe's Garage. It's a give away shop at a squat where people bring and take clothes. 100% free is hard to grasp.

The canal water is gross..grosss...gross!!!!!!!! Don't swim in it please.

More floats, there seems to me a color theme going on.

Red.

Yellow

Pink

white

hot pink

yellow

blue

purplish, with rainbow

no color theme

green!

So, this is only some of the distruction after the parade. On Saturday night, Amsterdam was trashed by all the people celebrating the weekend.

Back from Brussels

2007-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, Brussels in Belgium was pretty fun. On Thursday we had a lecture on th European Union policies and history within 2.5 hours. After lunch we headed of to Brussels! We checked into our hostel called the "Sleep Well", and we explored the city for about 2 hours. Afterward, we had a group dinner at an Italian place with the Brussels study abroad program. I'll just post a lot of pictures...yep. On Friday, we visited the EU parliament and commission, explored some more then headed of by the A'dam.

Captions...yay!

This is a windmill in the country side of Netherlands/Belgium???
This is a cathedral in Brussels. I'm trying to become one. It will take practice.

This was an interesting combo of graffiti and sunflowers, and I thought it looked interesting. Is on the side of a building in a very touristy area. To the right is a chocolate shop.

Maybe this used to be some underwater submarine. Now it looks like a half bordered-up front of a building.

Huge and old buildings make me feel really small!

So, I've never seen a cat riding a bike before. Apparently they do it all the time in Brussels.

Another old building. This was part of town where there were a lot of palaces and such. I'm not sure which one this was, they all looked huge!

Dessert: Chocolate mousse. The best I've ever had in my life. So rich and so good.

The metro, under Brussels, is quite scary.

The welcome sign is in graffiti. wow.

So there is a memorial for a family that died a long time ago. It's said that you can make a wish if you touch the arm, the angel, the dog, the shield, and this frog.

I think this is called Manneken Pis, and yes, it's a boy peeing.

This is the grand plein at night. It's a brick square surrounded by old buildings including the city hall. There were many groups of people sitting in circles on the square. I wanted to join one of them, then chickened out at the last second.

This statue was in the EU area. It makes me appreciate the ability to walk. He looks so focused.

The EU. Actually, there are many buildings associated with the EU in Brussels. We met here and then walked somewhere I don't remember for the parliament and the commission.

This is the ceiling of the EU Parliament chambers. It was the most interesting thing in the room.

There's a place called Delirium. It houses 2,004 beers. Apparently that's a world record. Again..I'm focusing on the ceiling. It was full of trays.

Belgium frites......so good. It was the most greasy thing I've eaten in Europe.....so good.

I'm not really sure what this is, but I took a pic of it on the bus when we were leaving. It looks important.

1 August 2007

2007-08-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday:

Shoot..what did I do today? Oh I was going to go with a group to an open market in East Amsterdam, but alas, I was a nerd and needed to go to the reading room at the IISG for some research. However, I did give Irina a lift to the windmill on the back of my bike. It's seriously hard to keep control of the bike when a person shifts around because they are avoiding falling of. So today was about...research, talking with people about research, lunch, lecture at the VKS. The Virtual Knowledge Studio is a think tank where they do lots of research. A couple researchers talked about their current projects. You can go to http://www.virtualknowledgestudio.nl/ to learn more about the program. Oh, Alex, Jonathan, and I went on a bike ride to a hospital and an addiction center for his project..okay so more research I guess. There was a revolving door at the main entrance of the hospital. Within the door were these music stands with signs on them. I don't know what they said because it was in Dutch, but I thought it was cool. And we had a nice 3-course group dinner. It was nice and long and great food. For the starter, I had the new herring with beet salad. Yes, I went for it. The herring was amazing. I don't like beets, but this salad was something else. If I just knew how to make food taste good, I would eat better things for me...hm...

This is me biting the herring. It's really salty and slimy, and it's got all these hair-like bone things sticking out of the fish meat...so you just got to dive in. Man, it's really good. We were at the restaurant for 4hours? About 7pm-11pm.

Wow...well tomorrow and Friday will be more interesting because we are leaving for Brussels tomorrow afternoon. I hope I get chocolate! But before then I need to finish updating my wiki and contact a bunch of cool people.

Peace,

Julia

Here in Amsterdam

2007-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've been in Amsterdam since Friday, and it's already Tuesday? That's crazy. Time's been flying by really fast. I'm making a goal to do a daily update of what's happening on this trip from here on out. Right now, I'm eating some blueberries that I had for the plane ride; they ware still good. I've spent my weekend hanging out with people in my program and getting lost in the city. Oh, and I got a bike that is super cool! It rides so smooth, and the city is perfect for riding. Imagine the Burke Gilman Trail in a city. It's awesome.

Here's a brief summary of what I've done in the past couple of days to get up to speed.

Friday:

We arrived about 7am! So to us it was...11pm. I had a lot of fun finding the correct baggage carousel, how to operate the train ticket machine, get on the right platform for the train, find the right train, ..yeah. I settled in to my room, which rocks by the way, and Irina and I walked around the city for like 3 hours without a map....yes! We had dinner at a cool restaurant around the corner of the dorms and I had this awesome salad: croutons, some sort of cheese, portabella mushrooms, romaine?, some vinegarette, and walnuts.

Saturday:

I spent a large portion of the day exploring solo and scouting out some squats. Some of them look really awesome because they stand out. I ended up in Vondelpark and went to the Filmmuseum. There was a Romy Sneider exhibit, which was interesting because I had never heard of her before. In Vondelpark, I laid down and listened to some Postal Service, eating a banana, and watching a boy with this super cool remote control boat in the pond. So jealous!
Oh, and there were some awesome trees in the park too! I think they are willows.

Sunday:

We end out to lunch, but I wasn't hungry...sad. Afterward, a bunch of us went to the NEMO, which the science and technology center in Amsterdam. Science center pride, what what! We ended just going on the deck and taking pictures and around to the other side to go to the Stedelijk Museum CS. It has some really great contemporary art exhibits. This piece is called "TV Buddha".

Monday:

It was our first day of school, and I got my amazing bike yesterday too! I went on a bike ride and..wow...love the bike, love the city, love life!

Tuesday:

Today was all about research. I biked to two branches of the University of Amsterdam's library plus the International Institute of Social History's reading room. Yeah, I got lost as usual, but I found this cool sight:

Finding Communities

2007-06-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

This site looks like a research project about social centre. It was information and interviews of people involved with squats, which helps because the whole concept is mind blowing for me.
http://www.geocities.com/directactionagainstapathy/socialcentre.htm

This site provides a list of several squatted bars and restaurants in Amsterdam.
http://www.underwateramsterdam.com/Squats.html

brief reaction

2007-05-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

Murder in Amsterdam:

Well, what I really liked was the connection between the murder of Theo van Gogh and a soccer game. The whole idea of being violently patriotic is present in both situations. Muhammad B was protecting his religion and anyone who challenged it. Fanatic people at big soccer games go all out to represent their country and challenging anyone against them. Buruma reminds us that both are destructive. I agree; I don't understand why people become so consumed by overwhelming pride in a team that people will often engage in riots. What good does that do?

Interview assignment:

2007-05-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, I interviewed someone using the "in-depth interview format" today, and I had a jolly good time. However, I thought that the format was a little redundant. I'm supposed to state the purpose and nature of my study, yet I'm not supposed to state my research question until the end so that there is no bias? For my question, I don't think I need to worry about that as much as others. If I want to focus the interview, I don't really see any harm explaining what my guiding question is in the beginning. Another thing that bugged me was that I was supposed to talk about myself and why I'm interested in the subject after a lot of other things. When I do more interviews I would rather introduce myself close to the very beginning of the process.

Blogging field notes:

Well, it was very interesting and I learned a lot. I interviewed a person who I knew dumpster dives.

These are the questions that I came into the interview with:

How did you get started with dumpster diving?
How do you actually dumpster dive?
Why do you do it?
Have you had any run-in's with the law? Explain.
What do you typically look for?
Is it a group activity for you?
Have you ever gotten sick?
Do you reduce waste in other ways besides dumpster diving?
Where and when do you go?
How often?
Is it dangerous?
Are there any organizations that encourage dumpster diving?
Do you think that your involvement impacts the environment and society?

Field Notes and Reflections:

At this point, I'd rather not publish any specifics of the interview online because I want to keep it anonymous.

The most intriguing part of the interview was the community aspect of dumpster diving and the motive behind behind the activity. Conservation and anti capitalism in action by individuals who form a network to help each other and strengthen what they stand for.

What were some of the limitations of the interview?

I don't really think that there were any limits in the interview because the interviewee was pretty open to talk about the subject. The interview showed me that I probably need to do more than interview people in order to find what I'm looking for. I really need to get out there to observe and talk and listen.

Questions about my Methods

2007-05-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

In this assignment, we were asked to come up with three questions about our research after reading about ethnography and interview strategies.

1. How am I going to find where and when I can observe urban scavenging? It seems like it will be risky because it will probably happen at night in some dark alleyway.

2. How will I locate people to interview? Maybe I can just ask people on the street if they scavenge or I could look online for communities that focus on alternative living such as squatters.

3. What is proper to say in the interview? I don't know if urban scavenging is illegal in Amsterdam. Do I need to make it very anonymous? Will I be able to solidify by interview and survey questions before leaving for Amsterdam through research online?

SQUAT

2007-05-09T00:33:00.001-07:00

Links I want to save

2007-05-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1140523

http://asuaf.org/~fsgpe/dive.txt

http://climate.oneworldblogs.net/2007/04/16/urban-organic-agriculture/

http://www.waste.nl

http://www.zmagazine.nl/06/dakloose.php

http://www.2dehands.nl/

http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=2439

http://freegan.info/?page=home

http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Amsterdam

http://www.flickr.com/groups/recycle/discuss/72157594400104416/

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2000-12-14/news3.html

Not research related but interesting, some kind of festival?
http://www.ruigoord.nl/

E-Research

2007-05-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

It seems like E-Research is anything pertaining to research and the Internet: research conducted by way of the Internet, research about components of the Internet, research about the interactions of people through the Internet. How can you use the Internet for research, how it started , how it evolved, why it is the way it is, what is on it, how are people using it? E-Research tries to track and make sense of the complicated network of the Internet because it is such an intricate form of communication. E-Research can enhance the work of researchers by providing new ways to conduct projects.

For my research project, I'm unsure of how I can use E-Research. I could set up an online survey that people can do to at their leisure. I can use the Internet to connect to resources such as articles, websites of organizations, blogs that will help in my project. Hm.......

Re: Buruma, Wouters and Beaulieu

2007-04-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

In Murder in Amsterdam, Buruma talks about the effect of immigration in the Dutch culture that has truly shaped the way people react. I'm not sure if that made sense to you, but yeah. In chapter 4, Buruma tells of a the Dutch tragedy version of Romeo and Juliet, but the conflict is about social status, race, and religion rather than a long lost conflict. The assimilation program in the Dutch culture creates a backdrop for the drama that plays in society such as the creation of this tragedy. The real life tragedy of Theo van Gogh would probably not be possible without this conflict. The idea of irony is also a big part of the Dutch culture, but it is very dangerous to those who do not understand what is being said.
"Irony ...is such an essential part of the Dutch make-up. I really notice this
after Theo's death. It's so much part of our tradition" Irony can be a healthy antidote to dogmatism, but also an escape from any blame" (Buruma, 112).
Theo van Gogh wanted to seriously impact the society by being proceeded as someone outrageous. The way he presented his work was very effective; however, it was too offensive to the Muslim culture that it was attacking.

"It is as though religious attire is often worn as a fashion statement, or an
assertion of difference, as much as a sign of devotion" (Buruma, 123).
I'm a little confused about this quote because it was taken from a passage about mixed views of the Dutch Muslim woman. Some of them are more conservative and are covered from head to toe, while others where common clothes. Because of the changing of society and time, is it necessary to be so conservative in dress to remain devoted to one's religion?

"Rappers play at being murderers. Perhaps they were Dutch enough to have adopted the national penchant for vicious irony" (143).
Yes, the group DHC had lyrics that was basically a death threat to Hirsi Ali for her role in the production of Submission. According to the rap group, their intention was to strike with words, and there was no intention to turn the words into actions. It's very ironic because it's a death threat but not...confusing.

The Wouters and Beaulieu's article was over my head. Basically, they want to find new ways to think about how people obtain knowledge. They introduced the notion that methods influence concepts, which is very intriguing. They stated that too much knowledge will limit knowledge, which (like Julie points out) is very ironic. This is a stretch, but it could be like how Theo van Gogh's work was too much that it limited the productive reaction to it.

Reading (and Blogging) the Body: A Sartorial Exercise

2007-04-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

I. Part One is written in third person

On Monday, Julia seemed very well together. What she was wearing made up for the awkward limp she had whenever she walked. She presented herself nicely as if she had to conduct a professional presentation later that day. Julia wore nice black shoes to go along with her clean black dress pants. Julia had a black top on, but it was hard to make out what kind it was because it was mostly covered by a beige sweater. Even though it was very sunny and seemingly a little to warm for a sweater, she looked very comfortable and content in her attire.
To accessorize, Julia wore a simple silver heart-shaped locket on a simple thin silver chain as well as a pair of pearls for earrings.

II. Part two is to be written in the first person. It may or may not be a direct reply to part one.

Contrary to what an observer would see, I don't take time to really think about what I look like. I just grab things, sometimes don't even look in the mirror, eat breakfast and go. The black shoes that I wore are black casual walking shoes that I've worn to every Husky football game in marching band. They are a little scoffed, but from a near distance no one would notice. My socks were really a bad fit. I grabbed socks that were too loose, and they were white, but it didn't matter because my black pants were so long that no one could see unless I propped one leg over the other. I can't lie, my pants are pretty awesome, they just feel like they fit perfectly so I feel very comfortable in them. I'm very fortunate because I have a lot of the pants that just don't cut it. My sweater was a hand-me-down from my older cousin Michelle. I just like the extra long arm length. I also had a black top on that should have had a cami underneath it because it was very short. However, I wasn't planning on taking of my sweater so I didn't have to worry about that. I always wear my locket and pearls. I just like the look of the pearls because they are classy and casual, and my locket is important to me because it was a gift. I did, in fact, have a concert that evening; however, I didn't need to be dressed in concert attire until after dinner. I just felt like wearing the outfit. Sometimes I think this kind of outfit is rather dull and commonplace. I like to go to thrift shops to find unique and interesting pieces of art to wear.

Abstract

2007-04-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

A society manages waste by minimizing and reusing materials, or reducing end waste by separation, distribution, recycling, and disposal. National and local policies affect material and waste flows, as do individual perceptions and cultures. How do people impact the environment and society with waste policies and practices, and how effective are efforts at waste reduction? We will work on two levels to investigate. On the micro level, I will focus on dumpster diving. What are the impacts of urban scavenging on waste reduction and other aspects of culture such as environmental or political activism? My field sites will be scattered throughout Amsterdam that are convenient for dumpster diving such as near grocery stores, bakeries, etc. Online I’ll look for activities on blogs, networks, and organizations. For my methods, I want to observe dumpster diving as well as survey and interview people about the subject.

Preliminary

2007-04-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Alex and I haven't really been able to get a hold of each other since last time we met, so all I can offer is a preliminary abstract. It's also been difficult to formulate this abstract because I'm at a point in my research journey where I keep changing what I want to focus on. So far, I know that Alex and I would both like to explore the waste reduction process in Amsterdam. We started as looking at sustainability, then boiling it down to waste reduction. He would like to work on the macro level and I would like work on the micro level. What I want to research is different than what I shared with the class and Tanya on Wednesday because I realized that the question I presented didn't interest me as much as others. I proposed to survey the general public about their way of getting rid of garbage; however, I would like to do something else.

As a group, our topic is waste reduction in Amsterdam. Waste reduction is a multifaceted process because people can impact the environment and society in many ways. People can create national policies, separate trash into different waste containers, reuse produces, etc. How do people impact the environment and society with the goal of reducing waste, and how effective is it?

For me, I am more interesting in dumpster diving specifically. Although I haven't been successful with finding much literature on the subject, I know that there is a culture behind this underground activity. My specific question is what are the impacts of urban scavenging on waste reduction and other aspects of culture such as environmental or political activism? I have brainstormed a number of additional questions to ponder and consider.
How effectively does dumpster diving reduce waste?
How and what has made it possible to dumpster dive?
Hos is it different than in Seattle?
What kind of person takes part in the activity?
What are people's reasons to dumpster dive? Why?
Are there any organization s that help promote the activity?
What is the general attitude of the public of dumpster diving?
Is it illegal?

Field Sites and Methods:
I want to observe as well as survey and maybe interview people about the subject.
Online, I would like to find blogs, networks, and organizations. In the city of Amsterdam, I want to find sites that are convenient to dumpster dive such as grocery stores, bakeries, etc.

2007-04-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

I was looking on You Tube for dumpsterdiving, and I came across a news report by CBC who followed a group of students. They said that they were part of an international group called Food not Bombs. So...I googled it, and found this, I need to translate though. to be continued

Just a Test

2007-04-18T23:14:00.001-07:00

So this is an awesome video to display my awesome technological skills as a member of the video podcasting committee!

Reflection

2007-04-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

I guess I will talk about by "Reading the City" experience in regards to the article by Lynch called "A Walk Around the Block"
In the article, Lynch points out that there are certain impressions that generally are the most remarkable impressions. After looking over them, I found that my perception matched closely to the generalized important impressions.

The most important is spatial form. When in any situation, not just during this assignment, I do not think I could escape the thought of observing the space of my surroundings. In the alleyway, I was in a small pathway lined with tall buildings, both residential and commerical. Occasionally, I ran into spots where I was exposed by the open space provided by a parking lot instead of the protection of a building.

Another important observation is the quality of city floor. It is hard not to notice the quality of the pavement if it is horribly maintained. I was constantly needing to look at the ground the avoid sticky garbage, unfriendly puddles, and streams of oil. But then why would you need to maintain the pavement if it is barely used compared to a busy street? Oh...one time I was backing up to get a better view of a door, and I almost stepped in a deep puddle; somehow I sensed that it was there.

Another observation is the contents of store fronts according to Lynch. Well, I spent most of my time in an alleyway, so it was more of the contents of the store backs that I noticed. There very unique doors and fences. Most of the doors were colored in a unique color under some graffitti.

Lynch noticed that a lot of people did not note weather, sounds, or smells as much. Well, it was pouring rain, and it was hard to forget that. I didn't notice any sounds besides the sounds of cars and a couple seagulls. For smells, I didn't really notice any except one part where I smelled urine.

On that note. Have a good night!

Reading the City

2007-04-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

So, on Friday the 13th, Alex and I met on campus to go "read the city". I really didn't know what to expect especially because we didn't even know what direction we were going to go. I was leaning towards going down the alleyway somewhere because someone in class (I forgot who...sorry) said that it might be interesting. We started our adventure through the alleyway between University Way (the Ave) and Brooklyn, and 42nd to 47th in the University District. Our assignment was to explore, inquire, observe, and document all that is going on during the walk. I took a lot of pictures of our journey, so please go to Flickr to view them! We travelled three blocks worth of alleyway as well as about three blocks of the Ave.
Oh...and it was raining. I was sad because Alex was soaked. The pavement was a mess! There were cracks and holes all along the way. It was very evident that the poor pavement was a problem when it's raining because we had to dodge puddles and streams of liquid made of a mixture of water, oil, and other things I don't want to know about. Let's just say it wasn't puddle jumping worthy. I felt very uncomfortable because there was no place that was safe to rest. I mean, I would not sit or lean or touch anything more than a dumpster lid because it all seemed so gross.

(It's very unfortunate when something goes wrong with FireFox, and you don't save your work)

Anyways, there was an interesting spot in the alleyway because it had a brightly-painted stairway behind a fence and barbed wire. Underneath the stairway was a seemly large hole covered up by metal boards. In front of the fence was a pile of pizza boxes, Asian beverages, and books. A little to the left of the pile were some old sneakers and a broken TV set. What was very interesting about this setting was the camera attached to an appendage of the building that pointed to beneath the stairway. Why was is there? It didn't seem like there was anything worth protecting in that very spot.
In general, the alleyway was very interesting and sad. It was like a museum exhibit that spans a long distance of a variety of unwanted materials.

Waste Reduction

2007-04-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Waste Reduction may be something I might want to zoom in on because sustainability is very multifaceted. In fall of 2006, I took BIOL 180. The class really left an impression on me, especially the ideas and evidence that Dr. Trimble presented in class about ecology, conservation, etc. He emphasized that we, as individuals, can do our part to live more ecofriendly. It seems that in the US that it is nearly impossible to persuade the entire country to become ecofriendly by reevaluating our system so that we reduce resource use and waste produced. I'm really curious to think: if I am an individual residing in Amsterdam, would my efforts of a ecofriendly lifestyle and activism make a significant impact on a national level. If so, is it because of the openness of the government or are more people interested in the same goal as me?

Anyways....I've gone off topic of where I was trying to go. So...in BIOL 180, Dr. Trimble presented a slide of the 1995 Food System Flow. It's very interesting to note how much waste is produced.

Online Manifestation....ahhhhh!

2007-04-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

Well, here are some links that I've found that are most likely relevant:

Craig's List:
http://forums.amsterdam.craigslist.org/?forumID=99
Blogflux:
http://dir.blogflux.com/suggest/
Blog: Maria Pastrami:
http://mariapastrami.blogspot.com/
European Urban Knowledge Network:
http://www.eukn.org/netherlands/themes/Urban_Policy/Urban_environment/Environmental_sustainability/index.html

I need to find more, but I'm having a little trouble. So please help if you have any suggestions about finding forums, blogs, chat rooms, etc that deal with ecofriendly lifestyles, reducing footprint, waste reduction etc that's based in Amsterdam.

I've not really found what I'm looking for online. I would like to find interaction with people about how or what they are doing to lead a life that reduces waste, uses less resources, etc. I found a good forum about biking on craigslist, but I don't know if it is exclusive to Amsterdam. Even though it is under Amsterdam as a subcategory, I read several posts that deal with California. On one blog, I found really amazing views on making this world a better place, but not really what the blogger is practicing. Anyways, so I've spent quite a lot of time, and I feel that I'm really not being efficient so I guess I'll ask around how I should approach this search.

When I do find things online, I would observe what is being said and maybe make a list of common aspects of certain things. How to analyze is a really good question..........................hmmm.

After looking at Sunil's blog, I tried del.icio.us. And I've been finding some relevant sources. Most of them apply more toward's Alex's topic, though.
1. http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2007/feb/17/saturday.green.rotterdam has an article about "eco-clubbing" in Rotterdam, which is really surprising to me.
2. http://www.guerrilla-innovation.com/. This blog is really neat. It's got posts about disposable wedding dresses, and planting trees in front of billboards!

Alex found a great blog that I'll need to dive into a little more. It talks about issues that I want to be able to hear. This blog will probably lead to others. This is the blog translated to English from Dutch.
Nature Child

Sustainability Research Group

2007-04-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

So there is a lot for this assignment, so hopefully I will remember everything I need to cover.

First, Alex and I would like to be a group together, which is exciting because he is awesome.

Second, our topic is sustainability in Amsterdam. How do actions affect the environment, and how are they trying to be more conscious of the environment in the effort to sustain resources? Alex would like to look at a more broad abstract view of institutional sustainability, socially and environmentally. I would like to take a more personal approach by examining ecofriendly lifestyles. I think this plan (in theory) will work great because it's two different approach to the same broad topic.

Third, both Alex and I would like to take an academic research approach to this project.

Finally, there are probably going to many challenges facing us. First, I really need to develop a plan of survey and/or interviews so that I can use them for my project. Right now, I'm having a difficult time finding ways to cut into the surface. I would like to find literature about this topic specific to lifestyles, but I haven't been too successful. I anticipate that it will be hard to find people so that I can get a good study sample. As long as I develop a well thought plan, I will feel very confident by the time we go to Amsterdam.

If anyone has suggestions, please voice them. Thanks

More Construction of Thought

2007-04-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

I think I want to be more specific about what I want to find out about eco friendly Amsterdam. I want to focus on the direct and conscious impact of being eco friendly in the population such as transportation, waste reduction, production of foods, and energy conservation. You could look at these aspects in many ways, but I would really like to dive into a mind of a typical resident (or as many as I can) of Amsterdam and really understand the attitude of being eco friendly what affects choices on a daily basis.

Ideas, Questions, Evidence

2007-04-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

This post is just a start to ideas about research. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

1:

Idea: So far I get the impression that Amsterdam is very eco-friendly especially with transportation such as bikes and public transportation.

Question:
What I want to know is a couple things. What is the attitude of residents of Amsterdam on being eco-friendly? Are the residents of Amsterdam aware of environmental issues such as global warming, and do they accept that these environmental phenomena are actually occurring? What are they doing to be more ecologically friendly?

Evidence:
I would survey a random sample of people in diverse sections of the city about their attitudes about being eco-friendly. I would also research government policies and search for organizations geared to the promotion of being eco-friendly. I could trace the use of chemical cleaners, where garbage goes, use of water and energy, etc.

2:

Idea: There is a tolerance of allowing euthanasia in Amsterdam

Question: What is the general opinion of the legalization of euthanasia? Does religion affect that opinion? Are there regulations and rules to the process? How long has euthanasia been accepted?

Evidence: I would ask people to fill out a survey about the attitudes of euthanasia. I would also research the health care policies including what qualifies a candidate to be euthanized.

3:

Idea: Prostitution really puzzles me. I've heard that there is suspected money laundering and illegal drug deals that are associated with some brothels in the red light district. Apparently, a research group found that there was not a significant connection with drugs and prostitution. I also don't understand the attitude of prostitutes themselves. Because prostitution is legalized is there still a need for pimps? Do prostitutes desire respect for their work? On March 31, 2007, there was an open day in the red light district of Amsterdam that allowed visitors to see an inside look of what it's like to work there. According to the article, one worker liked the day because women could come and see why it's okay to have their husbands or boyfriends visit. That statement blows my mind.

Question: What is the role of prostitution in Amsterdam's society? Is it just a tourist attraction or is it a vital aspect of culture?

Evidence: I would like to interview or survey the workers. customers, and a random sample of the general public of the city.

4:

Idea: Pim saw that some tolerance of the intolerant was becoming a problem to the Dutch society because it brought crime and violence. When immigrants migrate to Amsterdam and do not assimilate, what happens?

Question: What is the general public attitude towards tolerance of immigration of groups? What programs are set forth to discourage violence in the community?

Evidence: Interview and survey politicians, general public, members of the immigrant community. Look at criminal records if possible.

"Submission" Submit

2007-03-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Even though the film, Submission, is only about ten minutes long, it has been puzzling me for the last 48 hours and probably will continue to occupy my mind for awhile. There are many aspects about the film that I'm turning over and over again in my thoughts, and I'll try to write them out even though they are all jumbled up in my head.

First off, I loved the film because of its intense impact on the message that it carries. The script is filled with a prayer to Allah, text from the Koran about women, stories of four individuals, and the questioning of Allah. The visual display of the film intensifies the script with camera motion, a graphic portrayal of a beaten women, a woman in a wedding dress, and the primary character in a black veil revealing her nude body. All of the woman of the film have Koran scripture written on their skin. I liked the film because it's very dark, it tells of a side of a culture that I was not exposed to, and it's very dynamic. There were parts that just seemed strange such as when the main character was talking about because raped by her uncle. It was strange because she was practically laughing like it was a joke, like her life in submission was a joke. The film is very blasphemous, but it's necessary to make the message clear.

I don't like the reaction to the film. In all of the reviews on Submission I read online, there is a common sense of the film being an attack on Islam. An attack is too much, and it is not the point of the film. The film is supposed to provoke discussion and debate. It's criticizing what is happening. The abuse of Muslim women's' rights may not be universal, but it still exists.

Hirsi Ali, the writer of the script, advocates for human rights. It looks like she say rights because denied in Muslim immigrant women, and wanted to expose this issue to the rest of the world to promote change. It's scary to think that there are issues that are almost too risky to address.

Theo von Gogh was brutally murdered because of his film, Submission. Obviously, the ten minute film made a large impact. However, it's very sad that people have turned to violence and murder instead of debate and analysis as an attempt to solve the problem set forth by the film. The only reason why I can think that someone would cut off an other's freedom of speech is if that freedom is a threat to the very way of life of a person.

Tolerance. Where do you draw the line between things in life you can accept and things you will deny. I draw the line so that I cut off violence and the denial of human rights. People should be able to do what they want as long as it doesn't hurt others, and criticism is not hurtful to others because it has potential for growth.

2007-03-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome!