New Publication

(The doorhandles are shaped like elephants!)

December is a busy month for me, as I imagine it is for most of us. At work, we're wrapping everything up for the year and preparing annual plans for 2009. This has led me to start referring to 2009 as "this year," a somewhat disturbing habit. Despite the busy-ness, it is still good fun, and I think there are many good opportunities and interesting events planned for the next year.

(Me at work.)

In other good news, an article that I wrote using research from my thesis has been published in the first issue of Amsterdam Social Science. This is a student journal for Masters and PhD students. While it is the case that I sit on the editorial board of the journal, I didn't get to pick my own article, but from that perspective it was a great joy to see the first issue make it to the press. You can read all of the articles (and some press coverage of the journal launch) at www.socialscience.nl. Or, if you just want to read mine, click here for the pdf.

I will spend the second half of the month in the US, first in Cleveland and then around West Palm Beach. A little sun (and snow?) should be nice, as it's been pretty cloudy and rainy here. Plus, the day is getting all too short - the length of day today is only 7 hours and 45 minutes! Of course we will make up for that in June with a nearly 17 hour day, but that seems pretty far off now. So, I'll try to soak up as much as possible in Florida, to make it through the next few months of winter!

Busy & Good!

Whoops, somehow I missed October! And, most of September... how could that be? Oh, yes, perhaps that was the new job. I am happy to report that it is going very, very well. While my overall work is at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), I work on two different projects. I work 2.5 days per week running Share-Net, the network of Dutch NGOs working on sexual health and HIV (www.share-net.nl).


I work the other 1.5 days on the platform for Health Insurance for the Poor, HIP. We're talking really poor here, like the poorest populations in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Uganda. So basically, if you want me to work for you - you've got to be Dutch and a network or platform.

Now, if you're doing your math correctly, you'll realize that this only adds up to 4 days. Brilliant! Four days at work and three days off is *really* a good way to live. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

So, what else have I been up to?

At the beginning of October I went to Lyon for a conference as part of my Share-Net job. One night the conference organized a dinner at Lyon's Hotel de Ville... and boy, it was fancy! Here's me, in the slightly ornate room:
I've also been doing a bit more getting out into the countryside. Albert and I realized that we now live less than a half-hour's cycle from a really pretty park (and a generally rural area), so we will go there more often. But, sometimes it does get dangerous... like the time we met a cow smack in the middle of the bike path:

We're having other good adventures too... Germany last weekend, a visit to the pig farm where our bacon came from, and a trip to a big forest near here next weekend for my birthday. I'll try to get some more pictures up soon...

New Position

Well, it has certainly been an exciting month here for me. I've completed my Dutch course, moved in to my new apartment, and been offered an exciting and challenging new job! The job - coordinating the Dutch network of sexual health, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS organizations - is hosted at the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute. And I must say, they have one of the most beautiful buildings in Amsterdam.

Check out their facilities website for a few more photos.

Of course, I wouldn't want to get straight into work without taking time for a nice vacation, so Albert and I are currently having a delicious holiday in Spain, outside of Alicante.

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Here we are in Denia, atop of the old castle ruins.
And, perhaps the best part of it all is... the apartment where we're staying is directly between the mountains and the Mediterranean. When I look out of the balcony to the right, I see this:

And to the left:

Now, that's something you just can't beat. So, lots of new beginnings, lots of excitement... but right now, above all, LOTS of relaxation! In fact, I think I ought to get back to that right now...

Nieuwe Huis!

Well, this month has been busy indeed! The search for a new apartment, which has been going on for the past three months, has finally yielded results! And what wonderful results they are! Last night, Albert and I signed the lease for a new, sunny apartment close to the center of Amsterdam. Here are some pictures:

This is the nice, sunny bedroom, overlooking a grove of trees. (Okay, it also overlooks the train tracks... but it's a new building with a special design to insulate it from the sound of the trains. We saw two going by and didn't hear anything.)

The dining room, nicely situated on the corner of the building... note the floor-to-ceiling windows on both walls?

The SUPER fantastic kitchen! Really, this kitchen is AMAZING. First, for Amsterdam, it is HUGE. Second, it has unheard of appliances. An oven! A dishwasher! A freezer! Honestly, these are very rare commodities in this town. I am excited for the return of whole grain berry muffins!

And, last but not least, the living room. There is a big space between the building and the road, where they are currently building a moat, and allowing lots of nice plants to grow. A moat? Well, yes. The building is called "the castle". Hmm...



So, the place is ours as of 15 August! I am SO excited!

Other than that, everything else in life is also fabulous. I'm taking an intensive Dutch class, which is really fun and an incredible amount of work. It's four hours of class per day with about three hours of homework. But, I'm learning quickly! Soon spreek ik heel goed nederlands.

My internship is also going along very well. The abstract proposal I wrote for the International AID Conference in Mexico was accepted, and my boss and a colleague are there now presenting our Call for Action - the connection between HIV and violence against women. I've also been offered a very nice, exciting job... more details when the contract is officially signed, which should be by the 20th of August.

Tot ziens!

Endings and Beginnings

This has been an excellent month for me in many ways. Here's a few:
- Getting into the swing of things at my internship at WGNRR.
- Discovered an awesome boat where they serve amazing food with live music - only on Sundays.


- Received my thesis grade - 8.5 - which means that I will graduate with honors.
- Received notification from the International AIDS Conference that the proposal I wrote was accepted. Thus, WGNRR will give a poster presentation at the upcoming conference in August.
- Got to see Liz, who's in Amsterdam with her parents. Even got to go to Texel Island with them. Texel is home to sheep and beer. We even saw fields of "beer" growing on the island (one field had a sign that said it would make 400,000 glasses of Texel beer!).


On the way to Texel, we were viciously attacked by flocks of seagulls.

Some things are coming to an end: grad school (graduation is 29 August), my internship, student life...
But others are just beginning: new career, apartment, Dutch class, vacation in Spain

I'm in the middle of the sometimes exciting, sometimes draining process of looking for apartments, looking at apartments, looking for jobs, applying for jobs, interviewing for jobs... but I know that at the end of the summer, I'll have a nice house to live in and a job that will pay the rent. And, of course, all of the work that's gone into it (Amsterdam has one of the worst rental housing markets in the world) will make it sweeter in the end.

More on all of that as it develops, along with pictures from Lithuania! If anyone knows anyone with an apartment to rent to me in Amsterdam, don't hesitate to let me know!!!

Thesis is Done!

Summer has come, and with it, good news! I officially submitted my thesis last week, bringing an end to working on my Masters degree. I must say, it feels good to be done.

Until the end of August I am interning at the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, where I've been a volunteer since April. I will continue working with them on integrating HIV-related issues into their current work.

I am also actively engaged in a job search; primarily within the Netherlands, specifically within the non-profit sector. The apartment search is also still ongoing... the next few months promise to bring many changes to my life!

On June 15, Albert organized a performance in some castle ruins near town. It looked like this:

It was great fun, with a good turn out and a magical transformation of the day from one of rain to one of sun. Hopefully we will see more like it in the future.

Also, I just got back from Lithuania yesterday, where I had a great time visiting and traveling with family. I hope to go back soon, and will post some pictures here before too long.

Hitting the Books

While I am sad to note that the weather has turned slightly cooler and rainier, I'm glad to say that I've taken full advantage of the great indoors and turned my attention fully towards my thesis. I've wrapped up my research and am heading into the writing phase. Things seem to be going well - I have some good theories, strong evidence, and (of course) new research. It has felt good to be productive, even if it means that this is my most frequented environment:



Fortunately, the weather broke last Sunday and provided an environment suitable for the World's Largest Book Market. Albert and I spent 7 hours browsing and still only saw about half the market. Even then, we looked, for the most part, only at English language books, which only about 10% of the books were. Here's a little peak at the market:

The market was part of the programming around Amsterdam being named World Book Capital for 2008. You can read more about both here: http://www.amsterdamworldbookcapital.com/

It looks like I will spend another year here in Amsterdam, which means I am looking for both my dream job and my dream apartment. I have a few leads for each, so I feel very optimistic about my chances at the "dream life" next fall. Plus, for the first time in my adult life I won't be a student, which promises to be a very welcome break. If you have any leads on jobs or apartments in Amsterdam, don't hesitate to let me know!

Summer is Here!

I've had a fun few weeks here in Amsterdam... It's been week after week of holidays and long weekends, complemented by wonderful sunny weather. For the last 10 days it's been 75 and sunny... wow! Great!

Before Queen's Day there was a Ferris Wheel set up on the Nieuwe Markt... but this wasn't just any Ferris Wheel. It was (according to the sign) the world's smallest turning cafe. That's right, you get on, order food or drinks, and enjoy them as you spin around. What a great concept!!
Needless to say, Albert and I jumped on, and I think we stayed on for more than a half hour... good times. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera with us, so here we are in front of it the next day:

Also, I couldn't resist posting another picture from Keukenhof. What a beautiful place!

Then, yesterday was National Windmill Day AND National Cycling Day, so Albert and I went up north to Alkmaar, rented some bikes, and saw a bunch of windmills. The first one we stopped at is still a functioning mill, so we bought some wind-milled pancake mix and ate delicious homemade cake. Yum!
Here's Albert in front of part of the milling contraption:

And me, cycling through a field of flowers:

And, of course, some windmolen. These particular ones were not mills, but instead were used to pump water off the land into the higher dykes. This is how a good portion of the Netherlands was reclaimed from the water.

Then, finally, we finished up our windmill day back in Amsterdam, at Brouwerij 't IJ, our local windmill/brewery. This was exciting enough in itself because the place is always packed with people from the neighborhood - they have a great patio and tasty, cheap beer. However, things got even better when Johnny & the Gangsters of Love pulled in:

They look just like that, and they're a three-man band in '67 Pontiac Bonneville: "the fastest band in the world". I would highly recommend watching their trailer and/or movie on their website... it was just great! They pulled up, parked on the sidewalk, in a minute had their whole stage set up, jumped on the hood, and started to play! The perfect ending to such an exciting day.
(If you want to see more pictures from Windmolen Dag, click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0BbNnLRwyYsnMw&notag=1)

Keukenhof Visit

Some people commented that my last post had too many words and not enough pictures. For them, this is a post about Keukenhof, which is all in pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kmferris/KeukenhofHasLotsOfFlowers

Two for One

Whoops, it seems as if I've missed March and most of April! Alas, things have been going well... busy, but fun as ever. At the end of February I started a Flamenco dance class that will go through May, which has put my high heels to good use. It's a really complicated form of dance, but it's also very fun. The main problem is that your arms are always doing something completely different from your legs, which is hard to wrap your head around. I also started a Lindy Hop swing dance class with Albert at the end of February, which is much less complicated and more fun. Lots of twirling around in circles! It's a relatively popular dance form here and every month or so there is a dance (last month with a live big band) that's open to the public. So, dancing has been a good distraction from academic work.

On 29 February Katie, Albert, and I hosted a "Quixotic" dinner party, which was amazingly fun. Email me if you want a more in-depth description and/or pictures. We're hoping to have some more strange parties soon... we'll see how that works out.


The week of March 3 the Netherlands held a "Restaurant Week" where yummy places offer 3-course menus for €20-25. I had a good but unexciting dinner at Brasserie Prins-H, and then another more exciting meal at Pollux, a restaurant on an old ship. By the time I found out about the restaurant week many of the most exciting places were booked (think castles on little islands), but hopefully we'll do better next time.

After that, my brother Alex came to visit for a week of Spring Break, and we managed to do lots of really nice eating and relaxing in Amsterdam, not to mention a trip to visit the Pancake Pirates at the beach. Then, immediately after he left I flew to the UK to meet up with Katie. We spent a day at her house, a day watching the women's Oxford-Cambridge boat race, and then a few days in Oxford. All of this was very enjoyable and relaxing, a perfect ending to a week of relaxing with Alex.

In April I got back to work a bit more, writing and rewriting thesis proposals until it is now (I hope, I'll find out tomorrow) ready for approval. Amazingly, I am still writing about the Ugandan publication Straight Talk, which you can see a link to in the post below. There have been some theoretical kinks to work out, but I'm hoping that all of this preliminary work will lead to smoother sailing when it comes to actual thesis writing.

Most recently, last weekend I went to the Spring European Unitarian Universalist retreat, which was in Spa, Belgium (the source of Spa water). This involved some inspirational talks from Charlie Clements of the UU Service Committee about their work defending human rights around the world. I also spent an afternoon soaking in Spa's legendary water, which was thoroughly enjoyable in itself. Finally, no UU retreat is complete without late nights spend chatting, playing guitar, and singing, all of which were present in great quantities last weekend.

So now I have finished my last university course of the immediately foreseeable future (Monday was the end of Research Methodology) and am off to focus on thesis writing. I also recently became involved as a volunteer/intern here in Amsterdam at the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, where I will be working on integrating HIV/AIDS issues into their current work. I am also exploring the possibility of staying in the Netherlands a bit longer, perhaps another year. Of course I'm still open to the idea of finding my dream job elsewhere, but barring that, Amsterdam is a place I'm happy to call home. Of course there are many details to work out still, but for now I know for certain that I will stay at least through 15 July, which is when my present lease ends. From then on.... we'll see!

I hope to be a bit more frequent with these updates in the future; at least one a month does not seem like a lot to ask. I hope to see many more of my friends vacationing in Amsterdam in the near future!

Brussels and Thesis

February has held many fun activities for me, foremost among them a weekend trip to Brussels with Albert and Katie. We engaged in typical Belgian activities - eating (way too many) waffles, drinking Belgian beer, and sitting outside as much as possible during the glorious sunny weekend. Along the way we even came across the smallest house in Brussels:

and encountered a building that was missing its insides:

There were more fun pictures from Brussels, but unfortunately they're on other people's cameras. At any rate, it was great to see Scott and Vicki (whom we stayed with) and to meet Gregory. Brussels on a sunny and warm weekend provides the perfect environment for wandering around and exploring.

Besides adventuring, I've also been working on my thesis, which has changed its topic again (a bit). Because the newspaper I wanted to analyze was not readily available in this part of the continent, I decided it would be better to analyze something that I could refer to while designing my research. (This avoids the problem of me showing up in London in May only to discover that the insert of the paper I want to analyze isn't included in the archive, or something similarly horrifying.)

Thus, I am now going to do a discourse analysis of the Ugandan youth newspaper Straight Talk, which is nice because it specifically focuses on HIV prevention. This one has an online archive and the people who run it in Kampala are willing to email me additional issues, which I am very grateful for. So, barring any other methodological considerations, the plan is to stick with this subject matter and move onward from here. I'll keep you posted...

Thesis - really!

Ahck, the point of both excitement and dread has come... the time to concretely settle upon my thesis question. As many of you have noticed, I have taken the usual twisting, turning path towards deciding on a specific topic. Ultimately, though, I am becoming quite committed to this topic:

How is safe sex represented in the Q&A column of Nairobi's Daily Nation Saturday Magazine? In particular, how has the discourse changed over the last 5-10 years?

Here's a brief explanation of the logic behind each of the component parts:
representations of safe sex - media discourse often is a major influence on popular perceptions
Q&A column - this Q&A actually consists of real questions by individuals, which are answered by professionals. Thus, it provides some additional insight into the popular thinking.
Daily Nation's Saturday Magazine - this is a very widely read publication; the leading one in Kenya
shift in discourse - this is the really interesting part. No one has studied this so far, yet engaging the media is a technique that is growing in popularity among public health workers. Is this evident in the paper itself? Also, knowing the current status of the media portrayal will help with future collaboration between the public health and media fields.

Of course, there are still hundreds of other topics that I am interested in and enthusiastic about researching. But, I am coming to terms with choosing just one (at least for this masters) and addressing it in depth. In particular I am sad about not pursuing the role of religion in safe sex, but I have the feeling that it is something I can look into more in the future. Also, I had a debate about whether or not to do field work, but ultimately decided that I should maximize my time here in Amsterdam while I have it. By analyzing a Kenyan paper, I feel that I am still working in another context, but I can do so more or less while living in A'dam. (I will probably need to travel to London to access the Daily Nation archives, but after making copies I can return here.)

I welcome any questions or comments you have!

Birthdays and Adventures

The second half of January has proven to be just as fun and exciting as the first half. Katie's birthday came in the middle of it, which provided a good excuse to go on many adventures. Notably, we took her to a fondue/raclette dinner in Haarlem, at a wonderful and old little place, 'in 't Goede Uur':

There, we ate so much cheese we thought we would burst. But it was well worth it!

Further, on Sunday we took an adventure out to Apeldorn:

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to go on a pea-soup walk and see some free range monkeys. This was also incredibly fun. First, there was a nature hike through the forest. In the middle of the forest, the park employees set up a table, where you could get a stamp. This stamp entitled you to a hot cup of pea soup at the end of the walk. It was so nice to get out into the countryside and walk amongst trees instead of buildings.

Then, we went to the Apenheul, which is a primate park where many of the monkeys get to roam free among the visitors. They were only open one day all winter - in honor of the pea soup walk - so we were lucky to be able to go.

I have also kept up with my share of cultural events... everything from two operas in one month - Daphne and Snow White - to jazz dinner concerts to films. Now, classes are starting again on Monday, which means I have a full weekly schedule - Research Methods on Monday, Yoga on Wednesday, and Flamenco on Thursday. Of course, the idea is that I must use the rest of my time to work on my thesis... but more on that in the next post.

Where did December go?

If you're anything like me, you may be wondering what happened to the glorious month of December. Looking back at it, I would say that my December was characterized by a strange combination of writing papers, good food, visiting friends and family, becoming violently ill, and returning to Amsterdam to start the year off with some good, old-fashioned relaxation.

This picture does a good job describing the first half of the month:
(notice all the papers, books, laptop, dog-on-head indicating need for vacation...)

Whereas this photo is more characteristic of the second half, and the new year:
(needless to say, the Escher museum in the Hague is really, really fun!)

Now it seems, with the opening of a new year and a Masters thesis ahead of me, that it's time to head back towards picture number one. I am quite excited about the challenges and potentials this next year holds... who knows where in the world I will be at this time next year!