Breaks are never long enough. I had two delays on the plane from Amsterdam to Charleston. I was caught in a snowstorm in Dublin, Ireland, and was held there for a night and another extra night in D.C due to plane maintenance (whatever that means!) I saw two people I knew in the D.C airport on their way to Charleston and we struck up good conversations(a benefit to living in a small state with a small airport.) Though my break was cut slightly short, I had enough holiday happiness to carry me through. While others yelled into their Wall Street Journals as plane after plane was canceled, I smiled pleasantly (only occasionally gritting my teeth.) And, finally, I made it home. I got a new camera and lots of treats. I saw a few friends and loads of family (I’m sorry if you are reading this and I did not have a chance to see you--as we speak I am readying to depart on the plane.) With my new camera in tow I am thrilled to start capturing more images of my adventures. For a while most pictures will look like this: white, white, white. Snow. Ice. Snowflake. Crow flying through a gray sky. And then…..tulips! Springtime, sun melting all the snowcaps to streams, people finally able to hop back onto the bike. I wish people two things in the new year, besides good food, family, friends, and adventures: good health and great jokes.
After-Christmas-Joke
Person 1: I’m on a diet
Person 2: What kind?
Person 1: A seafood diet. I see food. And I eat it.
-joke compliments of my Uncle Tim
Wishing everyone a happy new year, from the Charleston airport,
Paula
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
What I'm Learning (last in the "academics" series.) part 5 of 5
I’m coming home in two days. I cannot wait!
It feels like a lifetime since I have seen my family. How have I changed? Well, now that I have a penchant for fresh bread, I will be frequenting Libby’s bread shop in Charleston, near the farmer’s market. It is a pity I have to drive. Might the new governor consider putting in some bike lanes with electric bike signs that are safe enough for children to use...?
Here is a list of 10 things I did these past three months:
1. Hosted a Harry Potter Party potluck dinner for my Dutch classmates
2. Consumed raw herring
3. Biked through days of Dutch rain and iced-over roads
4. Temporarily trapped myself inside an old Dutch army fort when the gate
locked me in and had to crawl through two sheep fields to get out
5. Meandered through Dutch limestone caves in the southern town of
Valkenburg where some Jews hid during the war and were liberated by the
Allies
6. Found a place to buy a bicycle lock that weighs more than my new bicycle
7. Spoke some form of Dutch, daily
8. Ate a Parisian crepe
9. Sipped raspberry beer in a jazz club in Paris with two of my former college
roommates and visited fantastic French art museums!
10. In Holland, kissed everyone I saw three times on the cheek—left, right, left
And my academic program is great. I came here to study European matters. However, it turns out that my professors are encouraging me to study what I am slightly more familiar with, topics that have a domestic resonance. At present, I am working on two American history topics. The first, is on the painter, famed for his splatter-style: Jackson Pollock. I am writing on his involvement during the Cold War and how his art was used and perhaps exploited to showcase American virtues of freedom during the time. The second history paper is on American female slave and ex-slave narratives and diaries. Charleston Public Library, here I come!
It feels like a lifetime since I have seen my family. How have I changed? Well, now that I have a penchant for fresh bread, I will be frequenting Libby’s bread shop in Charleston, near the farmer’s market. It is a pity I have to drive. Might the new governor consider putting in some bike lanes with electric bike signs that are safe enough for children to use...?
Here is a list of 10 things I did these past three months:
1. Hosted a Harry Potter Party potluck dinner for my Dutch classmates
2. Consumed raw herring
3. Biked through days of Dutch rain and iced-over roads
4. Temporarily trapped myself inside an old Dutch army fort when the gate
locked me in and had to crawl through two sheep fields to get out
5. Meandered through Dutch limestone caves in the southern town of
Valkenburg where some Jews hid during the war and were liberated by the
Allies
6. Found a place to buy a bicycle lock that weighs more than my new bicycle
7. Spoke some form of Dutch, daily
8. Ate a Parisian crepe
9. Sipped raspberry beer in a jazz club in Paris with two of my former college
roommates and visited fantastic French art museums!
10. In Holland, kissed everyone I saw three times on the cheek—left, right, left
And my academic program is great. I came here to study European matters. However, it turns out that my professors are encouraging me to study what I am slightly more familiar with, topics that have a domestic resonance. At present, I am working on two American history topics. The first, is on the painter, famed for his splatter-style: Jackson Pollock. I am writing on his involvement during the Cold War and how his art was used and perhaps exploited to showcase American virtues of freedom during the time. The second history paper is on American female slave and ex-slave narratives and diaries. Charleston Public Library, here I come!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Making the Grade--Part 4 of 5
Each morning my classmates and I lock our bikes to the railings beside the canals. We pay fifty cents for a cup of coffee from a vending machine inside the library (the other vending machine sells water.) We file up to class, unwind scarves, hang winter coats on hooks. For half the course we usually discuss readings we have been working on, do collaborative problem-solving and have group discussions.
In my Masters program there are four blocks which function like semesters. In each block we take two courses, each meet between once and twice a week. Class takes place in the old center city of Utrecht (a twenty minute bike ride for me--or rather, bus ride now, since I'm pretty sure my bike was stolen last night, unless I forgot where I tied it....)
One of my classes has five students. The other, fifteen. Class is usually provocative and interesting. Courses are between two and four hours long. If the class is on the longer side, we take a ten-minute break. At this point all students hurry to the restroom or dash outside, where they congregate by the door, smoking. There is no campus in the center city, so students hang around the doors of buildings, sometimes hours after class has ended, shooting the breeze and stamping feet to keep warm.
Dutch universities grade on a scale of 1-10. Ten is like an A plus, plus, plus. 9.5 is an A++, 9 is like an A+, 8.5 is an A, 8 is like an American an A-, 7.5 is a B+, 7 is a B, 6.5 a C and then quickly downhill from there. If you make below a 5.5 on a paper the professor might give you the opportunity to do a re-write. There is a Dutch saying about grading, it goes: Ten is for god, nine is for the teacher, and you might be able to make an 8…
Everyone studies differently. I’m a visual learner and like to spread out reams of paper in front of me on which I diagram. There are usually arrows, images and scribbles involved. Sometimes I pull all-nighters. Sometimes I awaken early to study. It is mostly eagerness that sustains me. If you want to do well, you have got to put in the work. Books do not read to themselves at night, papers do not have paper-fairies that write them. We (myself included) could all work a bit harder at times.
In my Masters program there are four blocks which function like semesters. In each block we take two courses, each meet between once and twice a week. Class takes place in the old center city of Utrecht (a twenty minute bike ride for me--or rather, bus ride now, since I'm pretty sure my bike was stolen last night, unless I forgot where I tied it....)
One of my classes has five students. The other, fifteen. Class is usually provocative and interesting. Courses are between two and four hours long. If the class is on the longer side, we take a ten-minute break. At this point all students hurry to the restroom or dash outside, where they congregate by the door, smoking. There is no campus in the center city, so students hang around the doors of buildings, sometimes hours after class has ended, shooting the breeze and stamping feet to keep warm.
Dutch universities grade on a scale of 1-10. Ten is like an A plus, plus, plus. 9.5 is an A++, 9 is like an A+, 8.5 is an A, 8 is like an American an A-, 7.5 is a B+, 7 is a B, 6.5 a C and then quickly downhill from there. If you make below a 5.5 on a paper the professor might give you the opportunity to do a re-write. There is a Dutch saying about grading, it goes: Ten is for god, nine is for the teacher, and you might be able to make an 8…
Everyone studies differently. I’m a visual learner and like to spread out reams of paper in front of me on which I diagram. There are usually arrows, images and scribbles involved. Sometimes I pull all-nighters. Sometimes I awaken early to study. It is mostly eagerness that sustains me. If you want to do well, you have got to put in the work. Books do not read to themselves at night, papers do not have paper-fairies that write them. We (myself included) could all work a bit harder at times.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Question (Part 3 of 5 in the "Academics"series)
How does a Dutch university compare to a U.S.one?
A driving force in my decision to live in Utrecht, Holland was because of its flagship university: The University of Utrecht. A world college report had ranked it highly. In this case, the statistics were more than spot on. My faculty is extraordinary and the students, dedicated. One primary difference between a Dutch education and an American one is this: the question. To explain, in a traditional American education system, whether in high school or university, the goal is to relay the information most accurately. Repeat information and you get an A. In the Dutch system, they assume everyone will have the knowledge to repeat information. There is no learning in repetition; for the Dutch—and Europeans more broadly—learning takes place in conflict. So, to write a paper on the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock during the Cold War, you should find some conflict in his life—someone that challenged what he said, or some artist whose work conflicted with his. The paper is in the tension. Whatever the subject is, you must find the force that worked against that subject. You present both sides of the argument, than, your paper’s job is to show where you position yourself within this debate. Presto. In Dutch papers you have to forcefully argue a position based on scholars that came before. This way of thinking creates scholars and people that innately go through life critically thinking.
Study Hours
Recently, I asked a friend where I could study (besides my room) during the evening. Cafes are closed after six and the library closes early on weekends. To this, my friend replied: "Get your work done during the day; we do not study at night." Even though I am learning loads here, the environment is more relaxed. Some students take several years to complete a masters degree that should take only a year because they take their time (and it does not cost much to extend their study.) I could get used to this (though, rest assured Rotary, I will finish my masters in one year!) :)
A driving force in my decision to live in Utrecht, Holland was because of its flagship university: The University of Utrecht. A world college report had ranked it highly. In this case, the statistics were more than spot on. My faculty is extraordinary and the students, dedicated. One primary difference between a Dutch education and an American one is this: the question. To explain, in a traditional American education system, whether in high school or university, the goal is to relay the information most accurately. Repeat information and you get an A. In the Dutch system, they assume everyone will have the knowledge to repeat information. There is no learning in repetition; for the Dutch—and Europeans more broadly—learning takes place in conflict. So, to write a paper on the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock during the Cold War, you should find some conflict in his life—someone that challenged what he said, or some artist whose work conflicted with his. The paper is in the tension. Whatever the subject is, you must find the force that worked against that subject. You present both sides of the argument, than, your paper’s job is to show where you position yourself within this debate. Presto. In Dutch papers you have to forcefully argue a position based on scholars that came before. This way of thinking creates scholars and people that innately go through life critically thinking.
Study Hours
Recently, I asked a friend where I could study (besides my room) during the evening. Cafes are closed after six and the library closes early on weekends. To this, my friend replied: "Get your work done during the day; we do not study at night." Even though I am learning loads here, the environment is more relaxed. Some students take several years to complete a masters degree that should take only a year because they take their time (and it does not cost much to extend their study.) I could get used to this (though, rest assured Rotary, I will finish my masters in one year!) :)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Grading the Students: Intelligence and the Cult of Personality (Part 2 in a 5 part series)
All students in my program are Dutch, except for two German students. As a result, I am able to make friends that know the ins and outs of the Netherlands. My classmates and I cook together, hang out, take the train to various parts of Holland and drive to nearby countries like Germany.
My classmates are smart. The equivalent of American standardized testing happens early in high school in the Netherlands. The best and brightest go on to the top university of their choice. (If you do well in high school you can practically have your pick of university, unlike in the States, where getting into a great university is never assured, even with good grades.) In America, diversity of ability exists, even within the greatest universities. Here, no student shines above the other; there is surprising evenness of ability in the classroom. Everyone is equally intelligent in my class. In the Netherlands, they except students only on academic merit, no athletic scholarships (I can see why, everyone is insanely talented athletically…haha) and no legacy considerations.
Dutch students are much like American students, except I think they are more mature than American ones. For one, they are in university longer, but here, university life is not tantamount to the partying life. Despite the fact that this is Holland—insert whatever stereotypes you have for the country here____--most students do not stay out late. They have their own apartment, a girlfriend or boyfriend, a cat or a dog. They have a job. They do not go to many bars and go to sleep early, while their American counterparts (to generalize) are still hitting the bars at dizzying speeds.
Having attended many schools, I am highly attuned to the personalities of students, the gossip and cliques. There's not a lot of that here--the country is too small to have cliques I'm convinced. Perhaps graduate school is far different than undergraduate life. The students here are genuinely kind and surprisingly outgoing (which overturns stereotypes of the Dutch being cold toward strangers.) Before coming here I read a book that said the Dutch have deep bonds with friends extending back to elementary school and seldom open up to newcomers. So wrong. The acquaintances I make here will be ones I will keep for the rest of my life. Hurrah for new friendships.
My classmates are smart. The equivalent of American standardized testing happens early in high school in the Netherlands. The best and brightest go on to the top university of their choice. (If you do well in high school you can practically have your pick of university, unlike in the States, where getting into a great university is never assured, even with good grades.) In America, diversity of ability exists, even within the greatest universities. Here, no student shines above the other; there is surprising evenness of ability in the classroom. Everyone is equally intelligent in my class. In the Netherlands, they except students only on academic merit, no athletic scholarships (I can see why, everyone is insanely talented athletically…haha) and no legacy considerations.
Dutch students are much like American students, except I think they are more mature than American ones. For one, they are in university longer, but here, university life is not tantamount to the partying life. Despite the fact that this is Holland—insert whatever stereotypes you have for the country here____--most students do not stay out late. They have their own apartment, a girlfriend or boyfriend, a cat or a dog. They have a job. They do not go to many bars and go to sleep early, while their American counterparts (to generalize) are still hitting the bars at dizzying speeds.
Having attended many schools, I am highly attuned to the personalities of students, the gossip and cliques. There's not a lot of that here--the country is too small to have cliques I'm convinced. Perhaps graduate school is far different than undergraduate life. The students here are genuinely kind and surprisingly outgoing (which overturns stereotypes of the Dutch being cold toward strangers.) Before coming here I read a book that said the Dutch have deep bonds with friends extending back to elementary school and seldom open up to newcomers. So wrong. The acquaintances I make here will be ones I will keep for the rest of my life. Hurrah for new friendships.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
ACADEMICS: Learning Here Part 1 of 5
How does a person who loves everything pick what to study for a masters degree? At one point in my life, I wanted five or six masters degrees. I wanted to study myriad things in detail. And then I researched their costs. To be brief, I realized that unless your last name is Astor, you can’t have as many degrees as you have ties. Or shoes. For this reason, after my masters this year, I will put formal education to the periphery for a little while. I will save money and travel. I will work either domestically or internationally; wherever opportunity manifests itself. I am thrilled for the chance to do something beyond school for a while.
However, at this point in time I am hitting the books. I am studying cultural history, which, like one of my undergraduate degrees—American studies—many outside of academia have never heard of. American studies is similar to American history. Often it has a focus on cultural and ethnic history. During my undergraduate time, I studied lots of African American and Indigenous American literature. Cultural history is similar to American studies in that it aims to revive stories from the margins. It foregrounds history by the common man or woman. It is a stupendous program and is in its first year at Utrecht University. I’m guessing that only a handful of programs like it exist throughout the world.
Cultural history is holistic. I am learning about contemporary philosophers and historical theorists. The Cold War. WWII. Dutch resistance during WWII. I read articles daily on both international and domestic affairs. Lately I have been given articles to read on Paul Robeson, the House of Un-American Activities, J.Edgar Hoover, soap manufacturing and advertisement in 18th century England, fashion at the turn of the century, water management in the Netherlands and philosophers who speculate and mull over it all. History is the study of the world; I could not have chosen a more suitable and gratifying program.
However, at this point in time I am hitting the books. I am studying cultural history, which, like one of my undergraduate degrees—American studies—many outside of academia have never heard of. American studies is similar to American history. Often it has a focus on cultural and ethnic history. During my undergraduate time, I studied lots of African American and Indigenous American literature. Cultural history is similar to American studies in that it aims to revive stories from the margins. It foregrounds history by the common man or woman. It is a stupendous program and is in its first year at Utrecht University. I’m guessing that only a handful of programs like it exist throughout the world.
Cultural history is holistic. I am learning about contemporary philosophers and historical theorists. The Cold War. WWII. Dutch resistance during WWII. I read articles daily on both international and domestic affairs. Lately I have been given articles to read on Paul Robeson, the House of Un-American Activities, J.Edgar Hoover, soap manufacturing and advertisement in 18th century England, fashion at the turn of the century, water management in the Netherlands and philosophers who speculate and mull over it all. History is the study of the world; I could not have chosen a more suitable and gratifying program.
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