the second and third days

hi from Holland, everyone!

I want to write a really long update with all the details from yesterday (Sunday, my second day) and today, but the summer institute officially started today and i am BOGGED with reading...it looks like we will have about 100 pages of reading a night...thankfully, the material is extremely interesting and stimulating to me, but i have been walking and exploring so much that i haven't left much time to finish my reading for tonight! I'll try and give a quick overview of what I've been doing the last two days, mostly just to remind myself (and you all) to tell you the interesting details later on.

Yesterday, Sunday, I set out to go grocery shopping for the apartment and failed to realize that in most of Europe, you are supposed to bring your own bag for groceries...I loaded up, and found only cellophane-thin plastic bags at the bagging station to carry my crap in. I double bagged everything, left to walk back to my apartment, and promptly dropped groceries all over the street about a half a mile from home, some of which could not be salvaged...Turns out, they will give you grocery bags for 20 cents each, but you have to ask. Amazingly, this is really the only culture shock I have experienced so far, and it's pretty funny now to look back on, and to watch the shattered jars of peanut butter and apricot jam slowly grow more and more rancid on the street each time I walk past them. Amsterdammers all speak English perfectly well, and the city has a character not at all unlike Boulder, or even some parts of Denver. I have been surprised at how natural it feels to be here, even lost amongst tiny side streets or walking along the mostly-identical looking canals. So far, I have never felt unsafe, and no streets strike me as particularly "bad," though the red light district at night is filled with some interesting characters...

Later in the day yesterday, we attended a fancy-schmancy opening session/orientation for the summer institute during which we all had to stand up at the front of the room and talk about ourselves and our research interests. It was amazing to hear everyone's background and what they hope to do with their interests in the study of sexuality. It is a bit frustrating not to have any clearly defined research interests or background in any specific area, as I didn't have much to say when I stood up, and the question keeps coming up again and again in one-on-one conversations with the other students as we all get to know one another. However, I keep reminding myself that I am so lucky just to be here and have a chance to soak in whatever information I can learn from the professors and other students here. There is an Argentinean man who works in D.C. as a child psychiatrist, specializing in counseling families of very young children that display so-called "gender dysmorphic" behavior or otherwise atypical gender role expressions...a woman who does rape crisis work/victims assistance, an intersexed individual from Argentina (that prefers the male identity) who directs the transgender issues side of things for an international human rights organization...There are also a few other younger students with no graduate background yet, which is a relief. One woman and I discovered today that we both have a dreamy fantasy of attending the same MPH program at Columbia, and I also found out that she is from Newport News (the same town in Virginia where Brandt grew up!) She had heard of the Shwayder family...y'all are a Big Name everywhere...hehe.

After the orientation, I walked around a bit more with a few people and got a pretty good sense of the area of town in which most of the university buildings are located. I hope I can find it again pretty easily, because there were some cool cafes and cheaper places to eat, as well as a pretty young, busy energy. Today (Monday) was our first day of class, preceded by organized discussion groups (required, to meet and talk about the day's readings before class.) Class starts at 9:30, but I meet with my group at 8:30, so the "school day" goes from then until around 4:00. This morning's class (and the morning class for the rest of the week) is called "Sexualities and Cultures: An Introduction." Calling a class like this an "introduction" is an extreme stretch, but I was pleased that I could follow most of the discussion around some complex theories of sexuality and also some of the terminology used relating to communication theory, postmodernism, etc. It's strange not to feel certain enough of myself to raise my hand and contribute to the discussion regularly, but I hope that will pass soon...regardless, I think it's great just to listen and try to understand as much as I can...and probably a good exercise for an incorrigible academic blabbermouth!!

We had a great (free!) lunch in the same building where we have classes, which will help to cut costs a bit, as even subpar falafel on the street costs 4 or 5 euros for a little pita pocket (probably about $7?) The afternoon class for this week, "Sex in the City," (all about sexuality and tolerance in Amsterdam) began today with a fantastic lecture by a woman named Petra Timmerman, a former prostitute that now works for an amazing place called the Prostitution Information Center, right in the heart of the red light district, next to a row of prostitute's windows, literally ten feet from an enormous OLD church (such are the headspinningly gorgeous contradictions of Amsterdam!) She was so articulate and passionate and really gave me a refreshing chance to understand prostitution and sex workers' rights as truly crucial to a bigger global picture of human rights. Before her lecture, we all accidentally crowded in front of one woman's window (we were waiting for some people to show up), blocking her a bit from customers' view, and promptly had a bucket of water thrown out the window at us ...crazy city this is!

Afterward, I walked all over with Paul and the girl from Newport News, Annalies (Hernandez, sound familiar to you guys at all?) and found a great bar on the side of a canal with very cheap (but good!!) beer. I am really starting to get my bearings here, and I am so amazed at how small this city really is. We had walked almost all the way to the edge of the canal ring (if you look on a map, central Amsterdam is basically encircled by a few main concentric canals) and still it only took about 20-30 minutes to walk all the way back uptown to our apartments. Tomorrow I may try to wander for a while in the opposite direction from where I went today, to get a feel for the other side of the city (like the Jordaan neighborhood, where Anne Frank's house is located.)

There is so much more that I wish I had the time to record, because it's hard to keep track of everything I want to share, but this will have to do for now. I love and miss you all like crazy and I should have my phone by the weekend, so hopefully we can talk soon. Until then, know that I am keeping my eye out for unique and wonderful souvenirs for you all, and thinking of you everytime I see something cool, which never stops!

All my love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps, for Prof. Matt Brown's benefit if he's reading...tonight's article (among others) was your most favorite Gayle Rubin article ever (thinking sex)...I promise to speak up in class!! and tomorrow we have a special lecture from Jeffrey Weeks...I don't know much about him, but I know he's huge in social construction theory. I can't wait to hear what he has to say! RAD..

pps, for everyone... I need to organize my pictures on flickr a lot more, and figure out how to put some in the blog in an appealing way...but for now, here's a link to MY AMSTERDAM PICTURES!