wow . . .

Hey all.

Well, I am pretty much ready to get out of Poland, for various reasons. It's not that I didn't enjoy Poland . . . I'm just ready to get out.

That being said, I should tell you some fun stuff about Krakow. One thing you will notice about Krakow, even being here for only a few days, is how crazy the cab drivers are! I have taken several cabs, and oh my gosh, the are crazy! I have witnessed several people almost being run over by the car that I am in. It's crazy! :)

Also, something I am thoroughly enjoying about Europe is all the myths that different towns have. For instance, dragons are all over souveniors here. Finally, I got the story as to why. In a legend, there used to be a dragon that lived in a cave up by the castle. It absolutely terrorized the town and ate a virgin a day. Finally, the townspeople got tired of it. So, a man took a sheep's body and filled it with dynamite and fed it to the dragon. The dragon was so thirsty that it went down to the river and drank and drank and drank until it died from drinking too much. Now, isn't that interesting? :)

and finally . . . yesterday, we went to Aushiwitz-Birkenau. All I can say is . . . wow . . . I might as some point try to put that into words, but I haven't reached that point yet.

Anyway, love you all!

Jennifer

Dzien Dobry! (which is the correct spelling of Gen Dobry!) :)

Hi Everyone!

So I have been lax about updating here. It's mostly because I've had a rough couple of days for various reasons that I won't go into, but I'm updating now!

Friday was, well, interesting. It mostly consisted of going to school and such.

Saturday, we walked around the market square and shopped a bunch. It was an ok day because I didn't really enjoy shopping as much as we did. I would have preferred to do something else after a while. But, nonetheless, it was still an interesting day.

Today, my friend Julie and I went to a market close to our hostel that has flowers and fresh produce and eggs and such. We bought lots of stuff to make a nice breakfast. We didn't end up eating until 2 in the afternoon, but it was good. This afternoon, I had a long talk with another girl on the trip, Karen, and that was very good. It was something I needed, and for that matter, something she needed as well. Then, the whole group went to this amazing vegetarian place called Momo where we had a group dinner. Then we had a group interview (interviewing us) with the women's foundation we have been working with. It was interesting, but it ran late!

Tomorrow, I plan to church hop to get some interviews. I know I keep saying that, but really this time. Hopefully, all will go well.

Anyway, I miss you all, now more than ever. My thoughts are with you.

Jennifer

Gen dobry!

Hello!

So Poland is nice. A little depressing at times, but nice.

Well, yesterday and today we went to class at eFKa, which is a Women's foundation. We've had lecutres by several different people who work there. eFKa sounds like a really good oranization for helping women, one of the only in Krakow. It's a long walk to it, though! Right before I got to class, I bought a little donut shape bread thing on the street and ate some and feed the rest to the pigeons. They were swarming me! :)

Today, I walked down to a vegeterian restaraunt with a few people. It was incredibly good! Then, while I was walking back, I saw this polish band dressed up in old costumes. I sat down to listen, and a cute little old man next to me was feeding pigeons and sparrows. I watched him for a while, and he was so sweet, laughing at the birds. He made my day.

I love all the little stands and shops in Poland. There is a little fruit stand on the way to eFKa, at which I get fabulous peaches. :) There are also pirogue and coffee shops and all kinds of other stuff everywhere.

Tomorrow, I will have to start doing interviews. EEK! I'm afraid that most religious people won't want to talk to a young, female, American researcher. We'll see, though.

Anyway, must go!

Jennifer

ugh :)

So! It's been a while.

Well, NOISE (the summer school) is finally over. We had a party at the end, which was great fun. Saturday, most of us didn't do too much. I went to the store, and also the chocolate cafe with a few people. I also did homework--huzzah!

Sunday, we packed and cleaned and all that jazz. The highlight of the morning? I was taking a bag of trash out to the dumpster, and it broke. I was trying to clean it up, and I cut my hand on a piece of glass. I went upstairs to wash it off and try to stop the bleeding when I slipped and fell on our wet bathroom floor. The other girls were kinda confused. :) I was a bit shaky after that, but I think it's funny now.

So then, at one, we met at the train station. We took a three hour train from Linkoping to Malmo, Sweden. We had a six hour layover, so we walked around malmo, which was an awesome town. I had a steak for only 89 kronors, which was a lot less than anybody else paid for their dinner (a lot of other people went to an Indian restaraunt, which was at least 120 kronor per meal). I think I hit a happy hour special. Anyway, then we got back on the train. We took an overnight train from Malmo to Berlin. It was the greatest game of Sardines ever. We had a sleeping car, but it was six stacked beds (three on each side) in a room the size of a closet! Six girls plus all our luggage . . . it was interesting. :) Then that train got on a ferry! Let me tell you, that is an interesting sensation. I got seasick on a train! Anyway, we got into Berlin at about 6 in the morning, and our next train was at ten, so we just hung out at the train station. The train from Berlin to Krakow was about 9 hours. It was long, but not too bad. We ended up in first class somehow, though that didn't provide a whole lot more space. Oh! and customs on that train was kinda scary. They had guards line up in front of each compartment so you couldn't switch or anything, then they checked our passports--both the German customs and the Polish customs. Anyway, it all went ok. We got into Krakow at about 7:30 and to our hostel/hotel place at about 8. It's a spacious place. I am sharing an apartment with a bedroom, a kitchen/living room, and bathroom with only one other girl. It's cool.

Anyway, I must get ready for our first lecture.

Jennifer

you bend over, relax your head, let your tongue hang out, shake your head back and forth and make this noise (insert funky noise with tongue)

So this is what PhD.'s do in their sessions. And I thought they were all smart and stuff. :)

so, sunday we had a fabulous outing! First we ate lunch by a church dedicated to Saint Bridgette, which was by an amazing lake! Next, we rode the bus to the monastery that saint bridgette had started, which is now ruins and totally awesome. We had also been hearing about Queen Omma all day, and we went to "mount" omma (though I wouldn't call it a mount). Queen Omma is a mythical figure in Swedish history who is half owl, half human. Supposedly, she was immortal, but really the legend is that maidens were captured to replace a dying omma. Omma "lost" her immortality when a maiden was kidnapped and her father (or lover in some versions) went up to the castle to take revenge on the old omma, but ended up killing the daughter/lover instead. Anyway, Omma supposedly reigned over the mountain, keeping the animals and people safe. Finally, we went to the home of Ellen Keys, a famous Swedish author who wrote around the turn of the twentieth century. Her house was built on a lake and was amazing! Whew! It was the whirlwind tour of famous women in this part of Sweden.

yesterday, I played fun games with the Swedish medical system. Basically, I was trying to find a doctor to get medicine for my hands. First, I called the number my director gave me which everybody has to call to get a local doctor. After attempting to navigate the Swedish recording, I finally got a person to give me a number. When I called that number, I got another Swedish recording. Finally, the receptionist downstairs at our hostel told me to go to the hospital. So I walked there, but they couldn't help me because it wasn't an emergency. They sent me to Vard Central, which I rode the bus to. They couldn't help me either, so they sent me to the pharmacy who sent me to Vakar Huset, which ended up only being up from 5pm-7pm. By then, I had missed the main part of the school day (with Iveta's permission), so I just waited around until it opened. I have an appointment for Thursday!

Today was a typical workday. The first lecture was on how media and movies and such reproduce the structures of heteronomativity in relation to technology (since men are more likely to be associated with technology, lesbians are as well since they are supposedly "masculine"), which I thought was a very interesting. The second lecture was about how science culture and popular culture have begun to merge.

Anway, that's all for now. Love ya!

Jennifer

you know . . . that dutch painting . . .by that dutch painter

Hej hej!

Well, last night we went out dancing together. It was great fun! :) I was really tired, though, so I didn't stay out too late.

Today, I wandered around by myself for most of the day. I ate at this teahouse that is built above street level. There were all kinds of trees and plants up there, and the weather was gorgeous. I ate outside, and enjoyed my sandwhich and tea. I then went to a tea shop (it's all about the tea, isn't it? :). They had all kinds of loose-leaf tea, and it was fairly cheap. I then wandered around for a bit. I came across a sort of fashion show set up in the square. That was really interesting. I also found a pharmacy (which is apotokek in Swedish), but they weren't able to help me with what I needed. I also went to the grocery store to pick some things for a salad. Then, Julie and I went to listen to music at the cathedral. I thought it was going to be organ music, but it ended up being a small a cappella choir. They had about 15 men and women, and they were amazing! They did some interesting songs with unusual rhythms, playing a lot with harmony and disonance. Their voices melded well together.

Tonight, I cooked dinner and will just be hanging out around the room. I am tired, and we are going on an excursion tomorrow with the summer school program. I don't know what we will be doing, but it's supposed to be really good.

Anyway, I love you all and miss you!

Jennifer

the personal is political?

Hello!

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days, as usual.

The day before yesterday, I forgot to post about the fire drill we had. Well, actually it wasn't a drill per se. Anyway, someone left toast in the toaster a little too long down where they serve breakfast. It set off the fire alarms and we had to evacuate the building! A fire truck came and everything. It was really funny (although the firemen probably didn't think it was too funny).

Yesterday, our lectures were about cosmetic surgery (both the positive and negative implications) and about how homosexuality is treated in certain african cultures. Both lectures were interesting, but I was really fascinated by the second one. It's hard to explain, but people aren't labeled by sexual titles like they are in the US, i.e. "lesbian," "queer," "bisexual," whatever. Instead of the use of "i am" (as in I am a lesbian) they say "i am doing the matie work." In other words, instead of being defined by what particular person they are attracted to, they treat sexuality as a very fluid thing. Also, age is not as big an issue as it is here. There are many couples that include and old and young person. I have not done it justice, but it was quite interesting. Today's lecture was about Turkish women and the veil, but I was having a really hard time paying attention because I was tired.

We visited the campus bookstore today, which was fun. I got some Swedish-style school supplies and some fun postcards.

This afternoon we went to old Linkoping. Basically, when the city began to be modernized, they moved the older houses (they literally moved a lot of houses on trailers, although they did rebuild some) out from the town's center. They tried to recreate what the old town looked like, and people actually live there. It's so beautiful, and there are all kinds of shops like a woodcarver's shop and a pottery shop. I really enjoyed.

Then my friend Julie and I went to this cemetary that we kept passing on the bus. I have a strange fascination with cemetaries. Anyway, it was a really nice cemetary. They treat their dead better than we do! But it was also very peaceful.

Hmmmm . . . I think that is about it for now. Eventually, i will post some pics, when I have the time to upload them. Bye for now, though.

Hello!

It's so nice to get comments from everybody! Thanks. :)

Well, I am still having a good time. The work is intense, though, as I've said. Yesterday, we had lectures on religion and feminism and also on basically decentralizing the western world. Today, our lectures were on globalization and feminism and the how the book Making Our Bodies, Ourselves (a book written by women on healthcare back in the seventies) basically became a worldwide phenomen. There was also a creative writing workshop today, which isn't like any one I've ever attended but intriguing, nonetheless. oh, we also had a lecture on Swedish prostitution laws, which are really unique. Basically, Sweden has made buying sex a crime but not selling sex. In other words, they believe that prostitution is violence against women, so they criminalize the consumers, not the workers. All of this is interesting to me because there is always another side, although my head now officially is about to explode. There are too many people who are getting their doctorates, and they always have some critique or some other angle to offer. It makes the dicussion more complex . . . and, well, interesting (as I have said too much), but my tiny brain cannot quite handle it all. :)

Anyway, so basically, we are eating, sleeping and breathing feminism, which is more of a focus on feminism then I have ever been exposed to. But, I am learning a great deal. I feel like my knowledge has expanded exponentially in just three days.

I am also really enjoying getting the "european perspective" on things, although that is really a misnomer, since there isn't just one european perspective. Nonetheless, I find learning about how different countries deal with different problems is so fascinating.

So, to the more enjoyable stuff. We ate at a cute little cafe today. I had lasagne, oddly enough, but it was good. I also went to the grocery store to buy some protein other than cheese. I didn't do smart grocery shopping the last time I was there. :)

Alright, so that's all I guess.

Hej

Well, I am writing a lot since I have access right now! :)

Last night I went out to dinner to this little cafe. It was kind of expensive, but I went by myself, so I got to basically people watch for two hours (I sat outside. Oh! and don't worry, Iveta says it's safe to be out during the day alone in Linkoping). It was so nice just to watch life going on. I know that is really silly and cliche and all, but I really enjoyed watching the couples holding hands and people going by on bikes and all that.

Today, our summer school started. It is intense! We were in class/lecture from about 9 until about 6 or so, with a few breaks in between. We heard lectures today from Rosi Braidotti and Gloria Wekker, who were both very interesting, although Rosi Braidotti was pretty hard to follow. She is amazingly intelligent! :) Then we broke up into small groups to discuss, which helped in comprehension! :) I feel a little out of place since my feminist background is within religion and English, while most of the people here have a sociological background in general feminist theory. Their vernacular is hard for me to follow simply because I do not know it. However, most of the stuff we are talking about is extremely interesting. Dr. Wekker was talking about the use of the terms allotonen and autochonen (and i butchered the spelling on those) to describe people in the Netherlands, meaning "not from here" and "from here" respectively. Basically, she discussed how the use of these terms was very arbitrary, mostly based on skin color and class, and they are used in both personal and legal settings to "other" people. It was very interesting. I am still absorbing Dr. Braidotti's talk, and I'm not quite sure I can express it coherently yet. :)

Anyway, I hope everything is going well at home! I heard that William Rhenquist died. I can't believe it . . . it makes me sad, politically (sorry to the conservatives out there! I am not making a jab at you, but of course, it is not exactly a victory for us liberals.) and of course, I am sad that he died just on a personal level. The New Orleans stuff is all over the news here, too. It's so terrible! I can imagine what they are going to do for that whole situation.

Well, I should run. Love ya lots!

Hej!

Hi everyone!

Well, everything here has been great. Yesterday, I went to the canal that runs through the city. It's really pretty and peaceful with all kinds of trees. All kinds of people were walking or riding their bikes. I sat and people-watched for a while.

OMG! You will never guess what I saw yesterday! There is a Texas Longhorn Bar and Pub on a little sidestreet. It amused me and disgusted me all at the same time. I am going to have to take a picture of it at some point.

For dinner, we ate at a falafel place. It wasn't very good, but I thought it was fun.

Today we are going to a Swedish mass, but I think it is in English. It should be fun.

Tomorrow, we start our summer school. It's gonna be really intense, but the lecturers are some of the top in the field of women's studies in Europe. That will be awesome.

Anyway, need to run. Love ya!

Hej from Sweden!

Hello!
Well, I am in Linkoping, Sweden (that's pronounced linchoping!). The flight from the states was long of course, but fine. My flight got in at about 7:45 am, and we didn't make it to Linkoping until 3, but all was good. I met a bunch of the girls at the airport, and the rest in Linkoping. They all seem really nice.

Our hotel is awesome, and there are four other girls in my room. We have a kitchen and have already visited a grocery store! :) It was awesome.

The jetlag has caught up with me, officially! But's it's cool because we are staying active. Linkoping is an awesome small swedish town. Everybody rides there bikes everywhere, except us of course. We are walking or taking the bus. But the town is realy cute, and most everyone has been really friendly.

I found out I will get to rewrite some of my papers if i need to, although our director (Iveta) didn't get one set of mine. I will have to give them to her soon. And some of the extra ones (for the summer school) we'll have some time to work on here.

Anyway, i have to run. I love you guys!

Jennifer