Getting Educated

Pictures above are at the castle in Utrecht that we visited on the first weekend.

Music and Cognition:

This is the only class that I have that is held in a building other than our “IES center.” It’s near the Dam Square, on Spuistraat if anyone is familiar. The building is used for many UvA (University van Amsterdam) classes, so most of the students there are Dutch, including those in my class. All of my other classes are overwhelmingly American. There had been over-registration for the class, and that the university was being very strict about who could stay. In order to be in the class we needed to have our “ propedeuse” done. All of the students seemed to know what this meant… but I did not. So I figured that if I didn’t know what a "propedeuse" was, I surely didn’t have one and would be told to leave the class. So over the course of the next hour or so our professor went over the roster and told a handful of people that they have to leave the class, so they did. As it turns out, a “ propedeuse” just indicates that you’re a 3^rd year student (I think?) so I am qualified for the class. Our professor had explained that this course involved Musicology, Psychology, and Computer Science (?), and he would be arranging us into groups based on our expertise. So we were to introduce ourselves and indicate in which area we had the most experience. As we introduced ourselves, I went first, and I asked him what exactly he meant by “Musicology,” was that general musical experience? He told me, “You know, musicology, like the subject at the university.” I told him I didn’t quite understand him but I have been in many choirs and can read music pretty well. But I said that my background was mainly psychology. The rest of the class did introductions, and each one was like pulling teeth. If the student asked a question it would take about 5 minutes of back and forth between the student and professor, sometimes causing the student to resort to just speaking in Dutch because it was easier.

Later, the professor asked if we had any questions. I realized that he had never said his name, so I asked what we should call him. He said his name, and when I tried to pronounce it, I said the Dutch word for “honey,” and everyone laughed. I guess that accidentally calling your professor inappropriate and endearing terms is funny in all cultures.

In conclusion, the class seems really interesting, and it’s great that there are so many Dutch people in the class, but it is likely to be the one that I drop. So many communication difficulties, and it seems like it’s going to be a difficult class with a lot of technical work. Too bad.

Dutch Cinema:

Each week we watch a film and then discuss it. On the first day we watched Village on the River. Set in the 50s in Holland. Really good- I would recommend it. We’re also exploring some non-Dutch films. In pairs we are going to do presentations on cinema in different countries.

The Local and Global Complexity of Prostitution:

All of my classes are very different from anything I’ve done in the States, but this one is definitely something that I could never study at home. We’re going to have several different guest speakers, including a female and (hopefully) male sex worker, politician, and a client. Our professor told us that we should all go to the red light district and just look around, go into the shops, maybe talk to people. We all have to eventually give presentations on different topics, and we are encouraged to interview sex workers or clients. Very excited for class.

Tune in next time for a culinary update and more awkward faux pas.