Took a three and a half hour long nap today so I guess you could say I'm really experiencing the city in the best way possible. But really I need to stop doing that, this is the third day in a row that I've taken a nap for at least two hours is something wrong with me?? Yeah hi iron deficiency. Note to self: continue to take iron pills I guess? Don't let myself fall asleep after class? Eat more veggies?
My nap was funny though because I had a dream that I was at some big space like a bar or something with a bunch of people around just hanging out and I heard my name called so I looked around for a while and then realized it was two of my friends from high school, George and Andrew! In Berlin!! I went over to them and was like oh my gosh hey guys what the heck are you doing here?? And they were like oh ya know we're just... wait we don't know, what are we doing here? And I was like oh I bet this is a dream. You guys are in my dream. And then they were like aw man Eileen we're in one of your weird dreams? Come on! And I was like haha I guess so! But then I thought it wasn't actually a dream so I was like hmm maybe this isn't a dream we're all just together in Berlin! And then we all danced in the bar and then I woke up.
Monday, we had class in the morning at Mehringhoff (the squat I was talking about where we have most of our lectures). It was a class discussion day where we discussed the readings we had done from our Comparative Feminist Theories reader. These readings were about sex work and trafficking so we started out class by viewing some of the "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5jazoLQrM&list=PL95E64A6AEEED5718) for the campaign that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore apparently started against human trafficking. We just kind of talked about how problematic those ads are in general (using the phrase "real man" was their first mistake. What does that even mean? Also, using the word "girls" infantilizes women while simultaneously sexualizing children) and then how they are problematic in their cause (when someone sees "buy girls" they usually initially think of strippers or something), which I could discuss further if anyone ever wants to. Some people were saying that while they don't fully support prostitution, perhaps legalizing it would reduce human trafficking. A counterpoint of that was brought up that it is problematic to make it illegal to sell sex, but not to buy it. Another interesting comparison introduced in class by someone was saying that sex workers could be thought of similarly to therapists. I'm still not sure where I totally stand on it all. A lot of the things we have been talking about on this program I have been unsure about my stance and/or support. It's really great to be exposed to so many viewpoints though. I just wish I was more opinionated because I feel like I never really have anything to contribute to conversations except for like clarifications of concepts and whatnot. Monday afternoon, we went to Dr. Laura Meritt's flat to listen to her talk about her experience as a sex worker (we all thought she was just previously a sex worker, but some of the things she was saying were present tense so that was kind of confusing) and her brothel. She was super interesting and very nice and welcoming and smiley and gave us tea and sat on the floor with us while we all chatted. She described that sex work doesn't only mean prostitution, it also is informing people about sex and bodies and stuff (her speaking with us was sex work). Very interesting and such a cool person.
Monday night, Hannah and I both napped for way too long. I got up and went on a run before it got too dark and came back and showered and by the time I was done Hannah was still napping. lolz. It was an exhausting day!
Tuesday (yesterday), we went to a different part of Berlin for a lecture at a highschool by Dr. Nivedita Prasad about "Violence against women as a human rights abuse." She used a lot of statistics about complaints that have been filed around the world regarding human rights and different conventions and laws revolving around them. One interesting point she presented was that obviously, the people who experience human rights violations the most are marginalized groups/people (racially, sexually, economically etc.), but the people who complain the most about human rights violations in Germany are fathers in custody disputes, people of the Scientology church, and former E. German border guards. The website she got her information from was bayefsky.com, where you can look up all of the UN human rights treaties and all of the complaints that have been made about them. Apparently, the US and Somalia are the only two countries that haven't ratified CEDAW, the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which allows for people to actually directly report human rights violations via the website. Nivedita touched on her position as a feminist in Germany, which was really interesting and I think I will use what she said for my research, and possibly try to interview her for more information. She said that she would never say she is a feminist in Germany, rather she is a feminist of color. She said that mainstream feminism in Germany is very anti-Muslim and supports Germany's law that if you wear a headscarf, companies can refuse to hire you. Thus German mainstream feminists support the process which creates unemployed Muslims. When she says that she is a feminist of color, people ask her why she frames it in such a way instead of just saying she's a feminist, so that gives her the opportunity to explain and inform people. She seems to be a big fan of informing.
After class, I got Indian food with Hannah and Michelle. I'm really proud of myself because I stopped eating when I was full and then took the rest of the food home and ate it for dinner so I was being frugal AND somewhat healthier. When we left the Indian restaurant a tall, blonde, ponytailed man with leather pants (not tight like leggings, just pants) and a neon yellow/pink/I don't remember what other colors windbreaker on who was probably in his 50s but had pretty good skin and a nice German accented English (but British English, not American English) came up to us and I think was trying to either sell us something or just use us as subjects of some experiment/study because he went off on this poetic rant about what I really don't know but it was reeeeeally long and we all just kinda stared at him and walked away when he was done. Strange.
Last night I napped again for like 2 hours while I was doing my reading for today's class (surefire way to get me to sleep is to make me read - FYI for if anyone ever needs to put me down). Then I woke up and went on a run but this time I didn't shower immediately after because Hannah and Michelle came back from a meeting at a feminist squat/living co-op thing that they went to and then we all went to Val and Ezra's homestay to do people's hair!! There are quite a few shaved heads on this program so I guess maintenance is an issue to keep up with and requires clippers and friends. So we all gathered and shaved. Michelle even shaved her dreads! Big day
My nap was funny though because I had a dream that I was at some big space like a bar or something with a bunch of people around just hanging out and I heard my name called so I looked around for a while and then realized it was two of my friends from high school, George and Andrew! In Berlin!! I went over to them and was like oh my gosh hey guys what the heck are you doing here?? And they were like oh ya know we're just... wait we don't know, what are we doing here? And I was like oh I bet this is a dream. You guys are in my dream. And then they were like aw man Eileen we're in one of your weird dreams? Come on! And I was like haha I guess so! But then I thought it wasn't actually a dream so I was like hmm maybe this isn't a dream we're all just together in Berlin! And then we all danced in the bar and then I woke up.
Monday, we had class in the morning at Mehringhoff (the squat I was talking about where we have most of our lectures). It was a class discussion day where we discussed the readings we had done from our Comparative Feminist Theories reader. These readings were about sex work and trafficking so we started out class by viewing some of the "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5jazoLQrM&list=PL95E64A6AEEED5718) for the campaign that Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore apparently started against human trafficking. We just kind of talked about how problematic those ads are in general (using the phrase "real man" was their first mistake. What does that even mean? Also, using the word "girls" infantilizes women while simultaneously sexualizing children) and then how they are problematic in their cause (when someone sees "buy girls" they usually initially think of strippers or something), which I could discuss further if anyone ever wants to. Some people were saying that while they don't fully support prostitution, perhaps legalizing it would reduce human trafficking. A counterpoint of that was brought up that it is problematic to make it illegal to sell sex, but not to buy it. Another interesting comparison introduced in class by someone was saying that sex workers could be thought of similarly to therapists. I'm still not sure where I totally stand on it all. A lot of the things we have been talking about on this program I have been unsure about my stance and/or support. It's really great to be exposed to so many viewpoints though. I just wish I was more opinionated because I feel like I never really have anything to contribute to conversations except for like clarifications of concepts and whatnot. Monday afternoon, we went to Dr. Laura Meritt's flat to listen to her talk about her experience as a sex worker (we all thought she was just previously a sex worker, but some of the things she was saying were present tense so that was kind of confusing) and her brothel. She was super interesting and very nice and welcoming and smiley and gave us tea and sat on the floor with us while we all chatted. She described that sex work doesn't only mean prostitution, it also is informing people about sex and bodies and stuff (her speaking with us was sex work). Very interesting and such a cool person.
Monday night, Hannah and I both napped for way too long. I got up and went on a run before it got too dark and came back and showered and by the time I was done Hannah was still napping. lolz. It was an exhausting day!
Tuesday (yesterday), we went to a different part of Berlin for a lecture at a highschool by Dr. Nivedita Prasad about "Violence against women as a human rights abuse." She used a lot of statistics about complaints that have been filed around the world regarding human rights and different conventions and laws revolving around them. One interesting point she presented was that obviously, the people who experience human rights violations the most are marginalized groups/people (racially, sexually, economically etc.), but the people who complain the most about human rights violations in Germany are fathers in custody disputes, people of the Scientology church, and former E. German border guards. The website she got her information from was bayefsky.com, where you can look up all of the UN human rights treaties and all of the complaints that have been made about them. Apparently, the US and Somalia are the only two countries that haven't ratified CEDAW, the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which allows for people to actually directly report human rights violations via the website. Nivedita touched on her position as a feminist in Germany, which was really interesting and I think I will use what she said for my research, and possibly try to interview her for more information. She said that she would never say she is a feminist in Germany, rather she is a feminist of color. She said that mainstream feminism in Germany is very anti-Muslim and supports Germany's law that if you wear a headscarf, companies can refuse to hire you. Thus German mainstream feminists support the process which creates unemployed Muslims. When she says that she is a feminist of color, people ask her why she frames it in such a way instead of just saying she's a feminist, so that gives her the opportunity to explain and inform people. She seems to be a big fan of informing.
After class, I got Indian food with Hannah and Michelle. I'm really proud of myself because I stopped eating when I was full and then took the rest of the food home and ate it for dinner so I was being frugal AND somewhat healthier. When we left the Indian restaurant a tall, blonde, ponytailed man with leather pants (not tight like leggings, just pants) and a neon yellow/pink/I don't remember what other colors windbreaker on who was probably in his 50s but had pretty good skin and a nice German accented English (but British English, not American English) came up to us and I think was trying to either sell us something or just use us as subjects of some experiment/study because he went off on this poetic rant about what I really don't know but it was reeeeeally long and we all just kinda stared at him and walked away when he was done. Strange.
Last night I napped again for like 2 hours while I was doing my reading for today's class (surefire way to get me to sleep is to make me read - FYI for if anyone ever needs to put me down). Then I woke up and went on a run but this time I didn't shower immediately after because Hannah and Michelle came back from a meeting at a feminist squat/living co-op thing that they went to and then we all went to Val and Ezra's homestay to do people's hair!! There are quite a few shaved heads on this program so I guess maintenance is an issue to keep up with and requires clippers and friends. So we all gathered and shaved. Michelle even shaved her dreads! Big day
She ended up not shaving all of it and keeping the top in a bun but it still looks cool. I hope she shaves all of it soon though because I love shaved heads. That's Ezra doing the cutting. Don't worry, Kate and I reminded them that they looked like Mugatu in Zoolander when Derek's being brainwashed by Mugatu's video. That's also a dread in Michelle's hand <3
I forgot to mention in my last post about Saturday when Hannah and I were on the train to Goerlitzer Park. A guy (mid 20s, scruffy facial hair, kinda grungy looking but not unattractive) got on the train after us and stood next to us and kept making eye contact with me until finally he asked me if I was okay. I said I was okay. He asked if I had something on my mind like if I wanted to talk about something, or if I was just tired, because he said my eyes looked like I had something on my mind, but sometimes people tell him that they're just tired when he asks that. I told him that I guess I was just tired, because I wasn't sad or anything. He smiled and just kinda kept looking my way for the rest of the train ride. Weird but funny. I was thinking maybe he was the one who had something on his mind and that was his way of getting someone to ask him about it and I just totally blew it for him. Oops. Anywhoo. On the train to Ezra and Val's last night we saw that same guy from a distance. Hannah and I had our giggles and filled Michelle in on it so she could laugh too. Then, on the train back from Ezra and Val's, he was there again! We ended up sitting right across from him and I tried to acknowledge him but he didn't seem to remember me so that was funny. But when he got off the train he came over to where we were sitting and handed me a slip of paper with his facebook url and his okcupid username, Tom Toast. Again, Hannah and I had many giggles and couldn't wait to get home and look him up. Couldn't find him on facebook so I had to create an okcupid (never thought I'd see the day). Found him and apparently he goes to the same school where we've been having out lectures (at Mehringhof - he called it sfe Berlin and described it as a non hierarchic school). So we're basically classmates.
Today (Wednesday) we just had one session during the morning at Mehrringhof and it was a class discussion about the reading we did by Puar about homonationalism. Really huge topic that was super interesting to get into but also very overwhelming and frustrating when I couldn't pinpoint my thoughts on everything. Apparently it the whole topic was very pertinent to Obama's speech last night and to today's date being 9/11. We talked a lot about exceptionalism and the state of exception, about biopolitics and necropolitics, about homonationalism and capitalism, and oh so much more. I haven't gotten a chance to read the transcript yet, but apparently Obama actually used the "exceptional" terminology to describe the U.S. in his speech last night so that was disheartening for those with a global vision. The idea of homonationalism I've come to understand is sort of like a "skimming" of the population because it's sort of like protecting/granting rights to those of the minority (homosexuals, people of color, etc) who are most like the "norm" (heterosexual, white, "middle class"), therefore satisfying the minority group, but in a way that satisfies more the majority group because the members of the minority who are being satisfied are the ones who are most like the majority. i.e. gay marriage. I don't know. I might be totally wrong again but that was my impression of homonationalism.
After class, Hannah and I came home, I took a really long nap, was going to run but it was rainy and cold so I did this instead! I've been laying around all day but tonight I think I'm gonna go to a dancey place with some people on the program because we don't have class until 2 tomorrow! woohooooo
xx
I forgot to mention in my last post about Saturday when Hannah and I were on the train to Goerlitzer Park. A guy (mid 20s, scruffy facial hair, kinda grungy looking but not unattractive) got on the train after us and stood next to us and kept making eye contact with me until finally he asked me if I was okay. I said I was okay. He asked if I had something on my mind like if I wanted to talk about something, or if I was just tired, because he said my eyes looked like I had something on my mind, but sometimes people tell him that they're just tired when he asks that. I told him that I guess I was just tired, because I wasn't sad or anything. He smiled and just kinda kept looking my way for the rest of the train ride. Weird but funny. I was thinking maybe he was the one who had something on his mind and that was his way of getting someone to ask him about it and I just totally blew it for him. Oops. Anywhoo. On the train to Ezra and Val's last night we saw that same guy from a distance. Hannah and I had our giggles and filled Michelle in on it so she could laugh too. Then, on the train back from Ezra and Val's, he was there again! We ended up sitting right across from him and I tried to acknowledge him but he didn't seem to remember me so that was funny. But when he got off the train he came over to where we were sitting and handed me a slip of paper with his facebook url and his okcupid username, Tom Toast. Again, Hannah and I had many giggles and couldn't wait to get home and look him up. Couldn't find him on facebook so I had to create an okcupid (never thought I'd see the day). Found him and apparently he goes to the same school where we've been having out lectures (at Mehringhof - he called it sfe Berlin and described it as a non hierarchic school). So we're basically classmates.
Today (Wednesday) we just had one session during the morning at Mehrringhof and it was a class discussion about the reading we did by Puar about homonationalism. Really huge topic that was super interesting to get into but also very overwhelming and frustrating when I couldn't pinpoint my thoughts on everything. Apparently it the whole topic was very pertinent to Obama's speech last night and to today's date being 9/11. We talked a lot about exceptionalism and the state of exception, about biopolitics and necropolitics, about homonationalism and capitalism, and oh so much more. I haven't gotten a chance to read the transcript yet, but apparently Obama actually used the "exceptional" terminology to describe the U.S. in his speech last night so that was disheartening for those with a global vision. The idea of homonationalism I've come to understand is sort of like a "skimming" of the population because it's sort of like protecting/granting rights to those of the minority (homosexuals, people of color, etc) who are most like the "norm" (heterosexual, white, "middle class"), therefore satisfying the minority group, but in a way that satisfies more the majority group because the members of the minority who are being satisfied are the ones who are most like the majority. i.e. gay marriage. I don't know. I might be totally wrong again but that was my impression of homonationalism.
After class, Hannah and I came home, I took a really long nap, was going to run but it was rainy and cold so I did this instead! I've been laying around all day but tonight I think I'm gonna go to a dancey place with some people on the program because we don't have class until 2 tomorrow! woohooooo
xx
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