On Friday, our whole class went to 'the cave' a virtual reality center that was part of SARA the Netherlands computing and networking center. We also got a tour to see the supercomputers. So sad to hear that the supercomputers are just a waste after they become outdated. Later on in the day we had a lecture on sex work by Petra and later visited the sex worker information center and went on a guided tour across the different regions of the red light district and what kind of sex workers you would find in each area. During the day, I got calls from Selma but due to low cellphone minutes I called Selma later during the day and arranged for an interview on Monday @ 2:00 pm in Dappermarkt.
Yesterday, went out to Rotterdam by train and just did some self exploration. Irina and I bought tickets together and then we headed over to Rotterdam and explored independently. I came off and bought a frikandel from the automatic machine but somehow even putting in 2 euros, the machine didn't give me change but the lady was kind enough to tell me to come inside and get 80 cents. So it wasn't 100% automatic experience but it was cool using the machine. Later, I came out the back side of the central station and went into a small foods store and the owner pointed me to a map outside on the side of the building I was looking for places where I had listed from the web of interesting places to visit but failed to see any so I just decided to walk. I took a right and then right again and came onto a large car-filled street so I kept walking down that road by making a left and then went towards a big zoo but the entrance fee was extremely high and no discounts for students so I turned left and went under tunnel until I saw a nice park. I took a right and went into an immigrant filled neighborhood. I went and did some shopping and then came upon an Islamic Cultural Center. It turned out to be primarily a store, similar to the Moroccan store we had visited in Amsterdam West but larger and more roomy. I talked to the shop-keeper who couldn't speak English well so I ended up speaking to a customer who really wanted to talk to me about Islam - probably at first thinking I wanted to convert but later just providing me with an English tranlation of Koran and said I could ask for further help if needed. He had mentioned there was a mosque nearby I could visit at 6:00 when they did daily prayer.
I went an had Tagine at a Moroccan Eet-cafe and it was DELICIOUS. I totally would have it again! The prices was better than at Paloma Blanca and the server was really kind and helped answer my question of what Tagine was etc. After I was full I went and started walking backwards to the store area and continued walking in hopes of finding the mosque that the costumer had directed me to but apparently I crossed the street when I shouldn't have and ended up having to go back. The small building with a mosque sign on it that I had passed earlier with curiosity turned out to be the right mosque. I stayed outside and just observed until the customer came & approached me and told me I could go in without a problem - I just had to take off my shoes.
While inside he mentioned the following points:
* The mosque has several prayer times a day, we were at 6:00 there was another at 9:00 - they try to make it easy for people who are at work to come in but some people who are to busy to come at all can pray at home too
* There are about 5 mosques in the area
* Women and men pray separately at the mosque to keep from temptation - he said it's not discrimination (some mosques women pray behind the men) - therefore the period where I was observing was supposed to be women-free so I got constant looks
* You must clean yourself before praying so there's a shower room I saw quite a few men use - you are also supposed to be sober & drug free
* There is a predominant Jewish population North, South more Surinamese and Antilles, West more Moroccan and Turks
* He doesn't feel like he's accepted in Dutch culture. He made pretty strong points that he feels Dutch on the outside appear nice and friendly but on the inside it's a different story - they don't want to get to know you and want you to keep from becoming 'smart' because it's threatening.
Things I noticed:
* Very diverse immigrant population
* Quieter than Amsterdam, less crowded
* Sky-rises on one side with very modern buildings & then a side of more traditional Dutch homes on the other side of Central Station itself (it was like a divider)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Full Experience of Amsterdam West
This morning got up and did some online research and I came upon this picture that I had taken last weekend in Amsterdam West. It was a closed fashion exhibit which I recollect displayed a plethora of ladies' wear. I had luckily taken a picture of the sign and it had the title and address on it. When I looked it up it was part of a website that held fashion exhibits so I tried emailing - which got a bounce back. Then I called them and what sounded like an Indian man picked up and apparently the showroom had moved over to Dappermarkt (thus I suspect it was originally a showroom/business in the first place) - this is Amsterdam West market we frequent which apparently is a famous tourist attraction via Internet searching . He's agreed to having a talk on Monday, I might head over at around 4:00 pm just to have a brief chat & see what it is like to sell fashion to a large Muslim customer pool and the culture around Dappermarkt.
Afterwards, I headed around 12:00 to Dappermarkt to interview Selma, whose mother owns a head scarf store, but apparently her shop was closed and I called her but her sister picked up and let me know Selma would be coming later around 2-3 but then later informed me after I went around to do some exploring and tasting of frites & loempia, that she wouldn't be there at 2 and would have to reschedule. I'm going to try calling tomorrow and seeing if there is any time tomorrow evening or Saturday to interview.
I returned back to the dorms and did some internet research and found out some background on Köken Ergun, the Turkish artist we saw yesterday at the exhibit. The idea behind his Untitled headscarf piece according to an interview which really did fit into what I had thought of yesterday - was that women are faced with all sorts of pressures on the head scarf, and particularly in Turkey there's the Islamic history that has been covered & being smothered/repressed by the nationalistic government that wants to westernize and secularize - so there's the desire to wear the headscarf by religious reasons, the stigma that is attached due to current political moods, and the nationalistic pressure against it - which is a struggle for many Muslim women in Turkey which I think Ergun portrayed through the comparison with various headscarfs and finally the distinctive Turkish flag headscarf.
Then afterwards, I headed out to Albert Heijn to get some lovely stoopwafels & met up with Anne & Julia then later Irina, Ray, and Sunil! We wandered into Kruidvat and eventually came back to dorms. Afterwards, May-Brit from UvA crash course arrived by bike & Irina and I, all three of us, headed over towards Dappermarkt. We met up with Hassan (the owner of the Moroccan Islamic store) and greeted & chatted. He was very friendly and warm towards us asking how we are - and then Jaoul and his native Dutch friend who converted to Islam met up with us & we headed over the corner cafe where we chatted for about 2 hours! They gave great insight some of the most interesting things I remember are as follows:
* How there is a lack of internal motivation to do better in school or climb the social ladder amongst the 2nd and particularly 3rd generation Muslim immigrants - oftentimes boys will be completely lost on the social 'radar' not at school or at work - which is what Jaoul's friend is working on at the mosque - trying to create organizations and activities to inspire academic motivation in the younger generation
* There is a wide gap between the high performing Muslim students and the poor performers - there really isn't many middle level performers
* Women wear the headscarf because of direct expectations of the religion/text/etc, cultural and family traditions, a way to communicate their muslim status, as well as rebelling and being proud of their beliefs/background and to make a statement (that it is their own personal free choice to wear the headscarf) - there isn't one way
* There is level of flexibility and bending in the headscarf wearing rules here in the Netherlands
* Segregation in the Netherlands can be helped if try to modify some aspects of social presentation as well as social customs to be more fitting into Dutch society, as well as understand that you must 'accept' certain practices/beliefs of others - not that you have to follow - but you must accept & understand/respect there are neighbors believing in certain concepts & living certain lifestyles (two way? this idea of pragmatic tolerance)
* In the Netherlands it's not really the term 'integration' which has the connotation that you are absorbed into the culture - but more 'assimilation' where you are accepted
Afterwards, I headed around 12:00 to Dappermarkt to interview Selma, whose mother owns a head scarf store, but apparently her shop was closed and I called her but her sister picked up and let me know Selma would be coming later around 2-3 but then later informed me after I went around to do some exploring and tasting of frites & loempia, that she wouldn't be there at 2 and would have to reschedule. I'm going to try calling tomorrow and seeing if there is any time tomorrow evening or Saturday to interview.
I returned back to the dorms and did some internet research and found out some background on Köken Ergun, the Turkish artist we saw yesterday at the exhibit. The idea behind his Untitled headscarf piece according to an interview which really did fit into what I had thought of yesterday - was that women are faced with all sorts of pressures on the head scarf, and particularly in Turkey there's the Islamic history that has been covered & being smothered/repressed by the nationalistic government that wants to westernize and secularize - so there's the desire to wear the headscarf by religious reasons, the stigma that is attached due to current political moods, and the nationalistic pressure against it - which is a struggle for many Muslim women in Turkey which I think Ergun portrayed through the comparison with various headscarfs and finally the distinctive Turkish flag headscarf.
Then afterwards, I headed out to Albert Heijn to get some lovely stoopwafels & met up with Anne & Julia then later Irina, Ray, and Sunil! We wandered into Kruidvat and eventually came back to dorms. Afterwards, May-Brit from UvA crash course arrived by bike & Irina and I, all three of us, headed over towards Dappermarkt. We met up with Hassan (the owner of the Moroccan Islamic store) and greeted & chatted. He was very friendly and warm towards us asking how we are - and then Jaoul and his native Dutch friend who converted to Islam met up with us & we headed over the corner cafe where we chatted for about 2 hours! They gave great insight some of the most interesting things I remember are as follows:
* How there is a lack of internal motivation to do better in school or climb the social ladder amongst the 2nd and particularly 3rd generation Muslim immigrants - oftentimes boys will be completely lost on the social 'radar' not at school or at work - which is what Jaoul's friend is working on at the mosque - trying to create organizations and activities to inspire academic motivation in the younger generation
* There is a wide gap between the high performing Muslim students and the poor performers - there really isn't many middle level performers
* Women wear the headscarf because of direct expectations of the religion/text/etc, cultural and family traditions, a way to communicate their muslim status, as well as rebelling and being proud of their beliefs/background and to make a statement (that it is their own personal free choice to wear the headscarf) - there isn't one way
* There is level of flexibility and bending in the headscarf wearing rules here in the Netherlands
* Segregation in the Netherlands can be helped if try to modify some aspects of social presentation as well as social customs to be more fitting into Dutch society, as well as understand that you must 'accept' certain practices/beliefs of others - not that you have to follow - but you must accept & understand/respect there are neighbors believing in certain concepts & living certain lifestyles (two way? this idea of pragmatic tolerance)
* In the Netherlands it's not really the term 'integration' which has the connotation that you are absorbed into the culture - but more 'assimilation' where you are accepted
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Bijlmermeer + Exploration + Lectures
Biljmermeer on Monday was a fantastic experience. Taking the metro in a nice sunny weather was refreshing! It was very interesting to see a suburban area of Amsterdam. I had this image that Amsterdam that only included the dams, canals, and a combination of historical and unique modern houses that you see around the central area. Biljmermeer seemed to me to a whole new city to me at first but now I'm thankful to have visited what's considered 'suburban' Amsterdam. It was very interesting to learn about the history - in which it was meant supposed to be a middle class neighborhood but instead became a 'black' neighborhood due to the independence of Suriname around 1975. The video we saw really stressed the multi-ethnicity of the region which I feel could possibly be even more so than Amsterdam Oost or West - but I would be interested to find out how much segregation/ghettofication exists and if anything is changing in this area. I get the feeling it's very widespread in this suburban area - we saw whole areas where 90%+ of the by-passers were immigrants and almost specifically Surinamese.
Important Observations:
- Lot's of satellite dishes
(indicating high density of immigrants)
- Rising middle class Surinamese neighborhoods - clean & 'privatized' (made into one's own space) & really luxurious inside
(evidence of social mobility - but to what extent? segregation question still persists)
- There are also many churches along with mosques because Surinamese
(Surinamese main religions include Christian, Hindu, and Muslim)
On Tuesday, Ray was wonderful and decided to join me in my exploration of Amsterdam West. She truly was a savior and helped me navigate places that would have otherwise taken me 2-3 times as long. We took bus 22 over to an Islamic school which happened to be closed but we took a few pictures. The school was a regular sized elementary school and doesn't stand out much at all. It is located underneath an apartment complex (I assume it serves surrounding neighborhood). Rooms inside were a little messy with chairs stacked onto the tables & askew but chairs & desks looked pretty new and the inside floors/walls looked clean. The sign on the building is a picture of a mosque, which is the school's logo/mascot. Nearby on the corner was a daycare room with mostly Muslim and immigrant women running it. The children were of various ethnicities including white (assuming native Dutch). We then walked over to try and find the Netherlands Islamic Society and on our way came across the Zeeburg area market and walked through it. We were starting to get low on time and coupled with rainy weather we decided to try to get as far as we could to the society via instructions I had gotten by Google Map but after knowing it was close to Amstel Station and not finding intermediate streets we chose to head on back.
Important Observations:
- A bit of trash being picked up by the wind
(I've noticed higher levels of trash traces in immigrant neighborhoods - possibly not a common understanding to pick up or have set standards for cleanliness)
- Muslim/immigrant women running daycare center with all sorts of nationalities of babies present
(Immigrants clearly seem to hold a lower average socioeconomic standing)
- Islamic school simple & small scale but relatively clean
(A level of legal autonomy is clearly given to minorities)
Today, Wednesday, we had a series of lectures. In the morning we listened to the processes of publication editing - the steps from peer reviewing, to editor response, to rewriting and resubmission, to final publication and promotion. The interesting thing is how common plagiarism and double submission occurs. Also the idea of a shifting/changing Dutch education system is very fascinating. I had no clue medical school could ever be decided by lottery but Amsterdam has proven me wrong!
In the afternoon, Jessica took us to a portion of the Stedelijk Museum which had an amazing exhibition by 3 artists. One work by Turkish artist Köken Ergun, was particularly interesting. I felt his act of putting on a headscarf which embodies a lot of the political and social pressures Islam has received over the past few years. In that way putting on the headscarf to eventually come to the Turkish flag, from my personal reading felt as if he was speaking to the common memories of how religion was tied to the national identity and by wearing the headscarf with the Turkish flag eventually comes to say 'mourning for what it has come to - where the religious backbone is being neglected/deliberately pushed away by the government.' I'm really curious to know how a guy wearing a headscarf would be viewed by members of the Islamic community!
Important Observations:
- Lot's of satellite dishes
(indicating high density of immigrants)
- Rising middle class Surinamese neighborhoods - clean & 'privatized' (made into one's own space) & really luxurious inside
(evidence of social mobility - but to what extent? segregation question still persists)
- There are also many churches along with mosques because Surinamese
(Surinamese main religions include Christian, Hindu, and Muslim)
On Tuesday, Ray was wonderful and decided to join me in my exploration of Amsterdam West. She truly was a savior and helped me navigate places that would have otherwise taken me 2-3 times as long. We took bus 22 over to an Islamic school which happened to be closed but we took a few pictures. The school was a regular sized elementary school and doesn't stand out much at all. It is located underneath an apartment complex (I assume it serves surrounding neighborhood). Rooms inside were a little messy with chairs stacked onto the tables & askew but chairs & desks looked pretty new and the inside floors/walls looked clean. The sign on the building is a picture of a mosque, which is the school's logo/mascot. Nearby on the corner was a daycare room with mostly Muslim and immigrant women running it. The children were of various ethnicities including white (assuming native Dutch). We then walked over to try and find the Netherlands Islamic Society and on our way came across the Zeeburg area market and walked through it. We were starting to get low on time and coupled with rainy weather we decided to try to get as far as we could to the society via instructions I had gotten by Google Map but after knowing it was close to Amstel Station and not finding intermediate streets we chose to head on back.
Important Observations:
- A bit of trash being picked up by the wind
(I've noticed higher levels of trash traces in immigrant neighborhoods - possibly not a common understanding to pick up or have set standards for cleanliness)
- Muslim/immigrant women running daycare center with all sorts of nationalities of babies present
(Immigrants clearly seem to hold a lower average socioeconomic standing)
- Islamic school simple & small scale but relatively clean
(A level of legal autonomy is clearly given to minorities)
Today, Wednesday, we had a series of lectures. In the morning we listened to the processes of publication editing - the steps from peer reviewing, to editor response, to rewriting and resubmission, to final publication and promotion. The interesting thing is how common plagiarism and double submission occurs. Also the idea of a shifting/changing Dutch education system is very fascinating. I had no clue medical school could ever be decided by lottery but Amsterdam has proven me wrong!
In the afternoon, Jessica took us to a portion of the Stedelijk Museum which had an amazing exhibition by 3 artists. One work by Turkish artist Köken Ergun, was particularly interesting. I felt his act of putting on a headscarf which embodies a lot of the political and social pressures Islam has received over the past few years. In that way putting on the headscarf to eventually come to the Turkish flag, from my personal reading felt as if he was speaking to the common memories of how religion was tied to the national identity and by wearing the headscarf with the Turkish flag eventually comes to say 'mourning for what it has come to - where the religious backbone is being neglected/deliberately pushed away by the government.' I'm really curious to know how a guy wearing a headscarf would be viewed by members of the Islamic community!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Interview + Exploration Wonders
Today started out fresh and optimistic. I had an interview scheduled with a mother Zoubida and her daughter Hanan at 10:00 am. I took the tram 1 line by Julie's wonderful suggestion and ended up going a bit too far but took the opposite tram 1 back to Surinameplein. Along the way I talked to both immigrants as well as native Dutch and they were very helpful in pointing me to the right direction. I'm truly thankful.
Upon arriving at Zoubida and Hanan's home on the second floor, Hanan waved at me through the window and I went up. They are a middle class Moroccan family currently in the second generation here in Amsterdam with a really beautiful and bright home. They were incredibly kind and helpful and served me waffle cookies while I was there! The interview was friendly, relaxed, and incredibly insightful for me. I learned so many things and they were so honest about everything. I tried my best to ask questions and probe into all corners that I had some misconceptions or had need of clarification. Some of the major findings I got today was the following:
*The choice to wear head scarves is supposed to be based solely on one's religion or relationship with God. However, because the head scarf is undoubtedly tied into other social meanings, there will be social pressures against wearing it (especially when getting a job) as well as individuals who abuse the purpose of wearing a headscarf by using it create an 'good' or 'holy' image for themselves. The headscarf does not however designate a woman as a good muslim - that has to consider multiple factors including how well she follows the five tenants of Islam (including giving to poor, etc)
*The headscarf is often viewed as one of the final/closing performances a Muslim woman should do - it is a symbol for having chosen a certain lifestyle for most women (but there are exceptions)
*Muslim men probably also have misconceptions or jump to conclusions about women who wear and don't wear the headscarf. Generally, Muslim men prefer the idea of the head-scarved woman because they assume she is very religious, etc and may even become fixated on this 'ideal' but the headscarf again is not a tell all end all
After the interview, I walked towards the Islamic Relief Organization but found out that it was closed. I asked a bypasser who said it might be open Monday. It seems this place is more for providing relief in Islamic nations so it probably doesn't connect much to our research on Muslim women's fashion but it was interesting to visit the surrounding Amsterdam West neighborhood. I took quite a few pictures, it was fairly mixed (with significant native Dutch around) but was a predominantly immigrant area. As I walked around I talked to a Muslim mother with a stroller but unfortunately she didn't speak much English. She asked a Dutch woman over who was very nice and helped translate my intentions to her (for an interview). The Dutch lady seemed to have a bit of background knowledge on the topic and helped explain that generally the headscarf is by personal choice. She also had the attitude that was very friendly toward the Islamic woman which I found pleasant. After confirming with the Muslim woman that she wasn't proficient enough for an interview I bid them farewell since they had business to do.
I went into a small department store and asked the head-scarfed young woman cashier if she would be interested in interviewing but she kindly declined. I also went into another blokker store on Jan Evertsenstraat and got email addresses for two Muslim girls there who were not wearing a headscarf in case I had any questions to pose to them. They didn't have enough time for a 20 minute interview so I respected that.
Along the way walking back to Surinameplein, I came across an area with school children. They were Moroccan and were playing outside of their school actually. They told me the school was mixed and that a lot of Moroccan, Surinamese, and Turks lived in their area as well as English people and Dutch people. They were a friendly bunch and brightened my day significantly :) I also saw two immigrant (seemed to be either Moroccan or Turkish) girls sitting outside a small grocery store that was actually located inwards (near residential area which I found interesting) eating icecream and they waved hello at me. I greeted them back and asked if they spoke English which they replied 'Nay'. I waved good-bye and had to continue on my way.
I got on Tram 1 again and headed back towards Centraal Station. I stopped at Jan Pieter Heyenstraat to visit the Moroccan restaurant Paloma Blanca which we had found earlier by searching but was also recommended by Hanan. It was empty except for a Dutchman (presumed friend of owner) and owner himself. It probably wasn't dinner time yet as the owner said Friday and Saturdays are good days to come when people are around. I mentioned Irina and I are interested in coming in and doing some observation/research and he said we are welcome anytime :) Also a great chance to get Moroccan food!
I got back on Tram 1 and this time went all the way back to Centraal Station, got a falafel sandwich, and headed on over to Albert Heijn. I asked the counter workers if I could have an interview with the manager sometime regarding uniforms and Muslim women's dress. The owners were busy but the counter worker gave me the names and number to contact them so I will try to schedule that for next week. All and all a great experience today! Fun navigating around too - I absolutely love the tram system now so efficient - just had to figure out some aspects of the system but after that it was smooth sailing from there.
Upon arriving at Zoubida and Hanan's home on the second floor, Hanan waved at me through the window and I went up. They are a middle class Moroccan family currently in the second generation here in Amsterdam with a really beautiful and bright home. They were incredibly kind and helpful and served me waffle cookies while I was there! The interview was friendly, relaxed, and incredibly insightful for me. I learned so many things and they were so honest about everything. I tried my best to ask questions and probe into all corners that I had some misconceptions or had need of clarification. Some of the major findings I got today was the following:
*The choice to wear head scarves is supposed to be based solely on one's religion or relationship with God. However, because the head scarf is undoubtedly tied into other social meanings, there will be social pressures against wearing it (especially when getting a job) as well as individuals who abuse the purpose of wearing a headscarf by using it create an 'good' or 'holy' image for themselves. The headscarf does not however designate a woman as a good muslim - that has to consider multiple factors including how well she follows the five tenants of Islam (including giving to poor, etc)
*The headscarf is often viewed as one of the final/closing performances a Muslim woman should do - it is a symbol for having chosen a certain lifestyle for most women (but there are exceptions)
*Muslim men probably also have misconceptions or jump to conclusions about women who wear and don't wear the headscarf. Generally, Muslim men prefer the idea of the head-scarved woman because they assume she is very religious, etc and may even become fixated on this 'ideal' but the headscarf again is not a tell all end all
After the interview, I walked towards the Islamic Relief Organization but found out that it was closed. I asked a bypasser who said it might be open Monday. It seems this place is more for providing relief in Islamic nations so it probably doesn't connect much to our research on Muslim women's fashion but it was interesting to visit the surrounding Amsterdam West neighborhood. I took quite a few pictures, it was fairly mixed (with significant native Dutch around) but was a predominantly immigrant area. As I walked around I talked to a Muslim mother with a stroller but unfortunately she didn't speak much English. She asked a Dutch woman over who was very nice and helped translate my intentions to her (for an interview). The Dutch lady seemed to have a bit of background knowledge on the topic and helped explain that generally the headscarf is by personal choice. She also had the attitude that was very friendly toward the Islamic woman which I found pleasant. After confirming with the Muslim woman that she wasn't proficient enough for an interview I bid them farewell since they had business to do.
I went into a small department store and asked the head-scarfed young woman cashier if she would be interested in interviewing but she kindly declined. I also went into another blokker store on Jan Evertsenstraat and got email addresses for two Muslim girls there who were not wearing a headscarf in case I had any questions to pose to them. They didn't have enough time for a 20 minute interview so I respected that.
Along the way walking back to Surinameplein, I came across an area with school children. They were Moroccan and were playing outside of their school actually. They told me the school was mixed and that a lot of Moroccan, Surinamese, and Turks lived in their area as well as English people and Dutch people. They were a friendly bunch and brightened my day significantly :) I also saw two immigrant (seemed to be either Moroccan or Turkish) girls sitting outside a small grocery store that was actually located inwards (near residential area which I found interesting) eating icecream and they waved hello at me. I greeted them back and asked if they spoke English which they replied 'Nay'. I waved good-bye and had to continue on my way.
I got on Tram 1 again and headed back towards Centraal Station. I stopped at Jan Pieter Heyenstraat to visit the Moroccan restaurant Paloma Blanca which we had found earlier by searching but was also recommended by Hanan. It was empty except for a Dutchman (presumed friend of owner) and owner himself. It probably wasn't dinner time yet as the owner said Friday and Saturdays are good days to come when people are around. I mentioned Irina and I are interested in coming in and doing some observation/research and he said we are welcome anytime :) Also a great chance to get Moroccan food!
I got back on Tram 1 and this time went all the way back to Centraal Station, got a falafel sandwich, and headed on over to Albert Heijn. I asked the counter workers if I could have an interview with the manager sometime regarding uniforms and Muslim women's dress. The owners were busy but the counter worker gave me the names and number to contact them so I will try to schedule that for next week. All and all a great experience today! Fun navigating around too - I absolutely love the tram system now so efficient - just had to figure out some aspects of the system but after that it was smooth sailing from there.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Sit Down With UvA Students
Just wanted to make a brief update about a chat with UvA students today which was very eye opening. Two girls approached me who were interested in Irina and I's research about Muslim women's fashion. One girl was a Christian Georgian who happened to know a lot of Islamic culture and had friends who were Muslim. The other girl was Bolivian who had once lived and studied in Florida. They are now both pursuing masters study here in Amsterdam.
From both girls I learned that it has been mentioned in a publication that Muslim girls often wear the head scarf after they move into a Western nation like Holland because they feel it gives them feelings of protection as well as unique cultural identity. This will be a good question to ask future interviewees - when did you start wearing a hijab?
Also both girls adamantly stated that Dutch people are not as open or friendly as they seem to be (Bolivian girl said less so than Americans) and not to believe Holland as an "open country." Trying to approach them, they will always want to create some distance. Moroccans for example you will never find in a cafe where predominantly Dutch visit. They are confined to their neighborhoods and there is severe segregation between immigrants and the Dutch - especially outside of Amsterdam. You cannot take Amsterdam to be representative of all of Holland. This is really an interesting point.
The girls also affirmed the idea that if young women wear head scarves it appeases family and allows them more freedom as they are viewed as "good girls." Georgian girl said she knows for sure that the burqa is actually not banned in Netherlands currently, though just this morning news reported that idea to 'ban the Koran' was presented to the parliament, which she finds ridiculous.
Asking the Bolivian girl for her opinion after living in Netherlands for 1 year, she feels for younger generation who have been born or raised here there could be more of a desire to integrate (since there are Muslim girls who dress very trendy & use lots of makeup) while on the other hand women who might have immigrated later in their lives might be more prone to cover up as a means of protection and maintaining cultural identity. She also mentioned that for Islamic societies, the culture and religion are highly intertwined so trying to distinguish there wouldn't be really appropriate.
From both girls I learned that it has been mentioned in a publication that Muslim girls often wear the head scarf after they move into a Western nation like Holland because they feel it gives them feelings of protection as well as unique cultural identity. This will be a good question to ask future interviewees - when did you start wearing a hijab?
Also both girls adamantly stated that Dutch people are not as open or friendly as they seem to be (Bolivian girl said less so than Americans) and not to believe Holland as an "open country." Trying to approach them, they will always want to create some distance. Moroccans for example you will never find in a cafe where predominantly Dutch visit. They are confined to their neighborhoods and there is severe segregation between immigrants and the Dutch - especially outside of Amsterdam. You cannot take Amsterdam to be representative of all of Holland. This is really an interesting point.
The girls also affirmed the idea that if young women wear head scarves it appeases family and allows them more freedom as they are viewed as "good girls." Georgian girl said she knows for sure that the burqa is actually not banned in Netherlands currently, though just this morning news reported that idea to 'ban the Koran' was presented to the parliament, which she finds ridiculous.
Asking the Bolivian girl for her opinion after living in Netherlands for 1 year, she feels for younger generation who have been born or raised here there could be more of a desire to integrate (since there are Muslim girls who dress very trendy & use lots of makeup) while on the other hand women who might have immigrated later in their lives might be more prone to cover up as a means of protection and maintaining cultural identity. She also mentioned that for Islamic societies, the culture and religion are highly intertwined so trying to distinguish there wouldn't be really appropriate.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Small Setback Countered By Amazing Leap
This morning Irina and I sat down with Julie to discuss where we currently are in our projects. We haven't been able to get from MAMA's showroom & UvA professors but we hope to have better luck with graduate students and Atef Hamdi to whom Julie has kindly directed us. We plan to visit Rotterdam next week (from our current schedule it looks like it will be Thursday) as well.
From here, Irina and Julie went to go with Clifford to present brief research proposals to UvA students. In the meantime I started heading over to the Amsterdam Historical Museum to check out the fashion exhibition by foot. On the way there I saw a Moroccan restaurant which I took note of. Luckily, both Irina and I arrived simultaneously and we entered into the fashion exhibit. The exhibit was focused on Amsterdam fashion houses which was a wonderful topic but was distant from our research so Irina asked staff about where in the museum we could find info on Muslim history. We were directed to the top floor where there was a small section on Turkish immigrant construction laborers and a bit on their resistance. We then headed back and on the way checked out the Moroccan restaurant which was unfortunately closed.
Irina and I split up, she took her bike down to Amsterdam West while I returned to Amsterdam Oost to do more observation and wait to interview the girl at 5:00 pm (who ended up turning down the interview for today & said I could come tomorrow). As I observed I went into a blokker store and managed to ask an employee if she was Muslim, which she replied yes. She was busy at the moment but let me know she ends work at 6:00 pm and said I could come in Saturday at 6:00 pm to interview her. I also went into a Turkish bakery where I saw a girl wearing hijab but she spoke little english and directed me to a male worker who was very kind and willing to talk to me. I did a mini interview with him and he said I was welcome to come again. I then went back to Manzana, a Muslim trendy clothing store. I actually went next door to a travels service and the hong-kong young woman there led me to the Manzana store and conversed with them in Dutch and explained my situation. We got one headscarved employee who spoke good english but she apologized she (and her peers) were all too busy. So I had to let it be, but the woman from hong-kong was very kind and mentioned I could try a Muslim Community Center (which we will plan to go to).
In the next few hours I kept trying to approach Muslim women workers or shoppers. I got one woman's email address so I can email her dutch questions so she can respond as well as a woman who spoke decent english's phone number which I will call tomorrow. Unfortunately, the girl I wanted to interview @ 5:00 pm said she was busy until 6 and had to go home because she was tired so she suggested coming tomorrow at 3:00 pm.
The best development we had today was from 4:30 to 6:30 when we went back to visit the young Muslim man who ran a Moroccan fashion & Islamic book store. Inside today there were two sisters, one who wore a headscarf and one who didn't. We interviewed them briefly with the helpful introduction by the Moroccan young man. Another older man who was a regular costumer was also there and he was very willing to talk and told us he was happy we were coming to do research by talking to Muslim women directly. Transcriptions of what was said will be up asap. The Moroccan young man gave us contacts to a Dutch woman who is very knowledgeable in Islam as well as a man who recently converted to Islam. We also got to try on head scarves!
Basic summary of findings:
-Saw one Muslim girl with a non Muslim friend, wearing jeans and a trendy fashion top
(seemed completely western - besides ethnicity couldn't tell Muslim)
-Saw a couple Muslim girls dressed with white/light headscarf and colorful baby doll dresses + white paints
(body dress looked very western style which contrasted sharply with headscarf, looked surprisingly trendy & attractive, seemed to go against the 'cover up' idea. Since I couldn't see the hair I was drawn naturally to their body which showed quite a lot of chest/upper figure)
-Lots of head-scarved young women (20s - 30s) have children & strollers or are pregnant.
(Not sure if it's cultural to have children & perhaps relatively early for Muslim women? Or maybe just once married / becoming mothers they start wearing head scarves?)
-Young girls do not wear head scarves that often, saw a 14-15 year old girl wear one though today while her young sister age 5 or so didn't
(Perhaps culturally there is a certain age to start wearing head scarves - appears to be age 10 from interviews today)
-Saw a woman wearing full burqa in the Oost market
(Apparently Netherlands have banned burqa in public, so I'm not sure how this woman is wearing it - could be that it is not tightly enforced)
Major points:
*Only small percentage of Muslim women here in Amsterdam wear head-scarves. Therefore the population we notice is definitely going to be biased. We understand that our focus will be on why they choose to wear one even when not majority/popular so this is not a detractor, only something to keep in consideration that we are dealing with a unique group.
*According to Muslim men we have talked to as well as girls themselves, the hijab is worn by personal choice (at least by principal). The idea is for a woman to wear the head scarf for herself when she feels ready
*Head scarf is worn around possible marriage candidates (thus pertaining to public in general as well) - so at home in front of mom, dad, sisters & brothers women can take it off but interestingly in front of cousins must put it back on. Woman with girl friends it is ok to have it off.
Will be interesting from here to investigate Muslim men and whether they feel anything negative towards women who don't wear head scarves - do they have a bias against them? (as some online sources claim) What is the range of freedom to choose head scarf wearing across different Muslim nationalities? How much of the 'free choice' is really free choice? How does growing up in Dutch culture combined with family/nationality (this dynamic) impact the choice?
From here, Irina and Julie went to go with Clifford to present brief research proposals to UvA students. In the meantime I started heading over to the Amsterdam Historical Museum to check out the fashion exhibition by foot. On the way there I saw a Moroccan restaurant which I took note of. Luckily, both Irina and I arrived simultaneously and we entered into the fashion exhibit. The exhibit was focused on Amsterdam fashion houses which was a wonderful topic but was distant from our research so Irina asked staff about where in the museum we could find info on Muslim history. We were directed to the top floor where there was a small section on Turkish immigrant construction laborers and a bit on their resistance. We then headed back and on the way checked out the Moroccan restaurant which was unfortunately closed.
Irina and I split up, she took her bike down to Amsterdam West while I returned to Amsterdam Oost to do more observation and wait to interview the girl at 5:00 pm (who ended up turning down the interview for today & said I could come tomorrow). As I observed I went into a blokker store and managed to ask an employee if she was Muslim, which she replied yes. She was busy at the moment but let me know she ends work at 6:00 pm and said I could come in Saturday at 6:00 pm to interview her. I also went into a Turkish bakery where I saw a girl wearing hijab but she spoke little english and directed me to a male worker who was very kind and willing to talk to me. I did a mini interview with him and he said I was welcome to come again. I then went back to Manzana, a Muslim trendy clothing store. I actually went next door to a travels service and the hong-kong young woman there led me to the Manzana store and conversed with them in Dutch and explained my situation. We got one headscarved employee who spoke good english but she apologized she (and her peers) were all too busy. So I had to let it be, but the woman from hong-kong was very kind and mentioned I could try a Muslim Community Center (which we will plan to go to).
In the next few hours I kept trying to approach Muslim women workers or shoppers. I got one woman's email address so I can email her dutch questions so she can respond as well as a woman who spoke decent english's phone number which I will call tomorrow. Unfortunately, the girl I wanted to interview @ 5:00 pm said she was busy until 6 and had to go home because she was tired so she suggested coming tomorrow at 3:00 pm.
The best development we had today was from 4:30 to 6:30 when we went back to visit the young Muslim man who ran a Moroccan fashion & Islamic book store. Inside today there were two sisters, one who wore a headscarf and one who didn't. We interviewed them briefly with the helpful introduction by the Moroccan young man. Another older man who was a regular costumer was also there and he was very willing to talk and told us he was happy we were coming to do research by talking to Muslim women directly. Transcriptions of what was said will be up asap. The Moroccan young man gave us contacts to a Dutch woman who is very knowledgeable in Islam as well as a man who recently converted to Islam. We also got to try on head scarves!
Basic summary of findings:
-Saw one Muslim girl with a non Muslim friend, wearing jeans and a trendy fashion top
(seemed completely western - besides ethnicity couldn't tell Muslim)
-Saw a couple Muslim girls dressed with white/light headscarf and colorful baby doll dresses + white paints
(body dress looked very western style which contrasted sharply with headscarf, looked surprisingly trendy & attractive, seemed to go against the 'cover up' idea. Since I couldn't see the hair I was drawn naturally to their body which showed quite a lot of chest/upper figure)
-Lots of head-scarved young women (20s - 30s) have children & strollers or are pregnant.
(Not sure if it's cultural to have children & perhaps relatively early for Muslim women? Or maybe just once married / becoming mothers they start wearing head scarves?)
-Young girls do not wear head scarves that often, saw a 14-15 year old girl wear one though today while her young sister age 5 or so didn't
(Perhaps culturally there is a certain age to start wearing head scarves - appears to be age 10 from interviews today)
-Saw a woman wearing full burqa in the Oost market
(Apparently Netherlands have banned burqa in public, so I'm not sure how this woman is wearing it - could be that it is not tightly enforced)
Major points:
*Only small percentage of Muslim women here in Amsterdam wear head-scarves. Therefore the population we notice is definitely going to be biased. We understand that our focus will be on why they choose to wear one even when not majority/popular so this is not a detractor, only something to keep in consideration that we are dealing with a unique group.
*According to Muslim men we have talked to as well as girls themselves, the hijab is worn by personal choice (at least by principal). The idea is for a woman to wear the head scarf for herself when she feels ready
*Head scarf is worn around possible marriage candidates (thus pertaining to public in general as well) - so at home in front of mom, dad, sisters & brothers women can take it off but interestingly in front of cousins must put it back on. Woman with girl friends it is ok to have it off.
Will be interesting from here to investigate Muslim men and whether they feel anything negative towards women who don't wear head scarves - do they have a bias against them? (as some online sources claim) What is the range of freedom to choose head scarf wearing across different Muslim nationalities? How much of the 'free choice' is really free choice? How does growing up in Dutch culture combined with family/nationality (this dynamic) impact the choice?
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Belgium + Back
During the trip to Belgium, Haley and I spent quite some time exploring the city and using our maps to navigate. One thing we realized was that the roads were often split into section names so although streets may be mostly linear and seem like one long road it was named in parts making it extra difficult since we would be walking along one road and realize the road name we were following had now been given a totally new one, not to mention the intersecting alleys were often small and not listed on the free map we used.
We ended up having to turn back several times after we realized we had gone too far, and circumnavigated back to our desired destination. However, by the second day we realized a major mistake we made which was that there was a short cut from the Sleep Well Hostile a ways and then up a flight of stairs which would take us to the church/fetus decoration area. A trip that had cost us over half an hour yesterday had now become 10-15 minutes - great stuff! I'm really happy to have had a chance to learn navigating skills. Haley was a great mate :) We ended up touring around, taking pictures, eating ice cream and waffles, and visiting the comics museum (though sadly it was closed when we got there).
For research, I was paying attention to see the prevalence of Muslim women. The concentration was probably lower than Amsterdam by a little but I noticed a woman and her son on the streets asking for money which I didn't see in Amsterdam as of yet. Also I noticed a lot more full black garments worn with a black hijab than in Amsterdam. Which leads me to wonder if the Dutch ban of burqa has anything to do with Amsterdam's women trying to dress less traditionally and more colorfully to avoid legal consequences. Or on the other hand, Dutch Muslims dress more colorfully as a result of local culture or fashion trends. I saw quite a few in communities walking around. I took a few pictures of this as follows:
We ended up having to turn back several times after we realized we had gone too far, and circumnavigated back to our desired destination. However, by the second day we realized a major mistake we made which was that there was a short cut from the Sleep Well Hostile a ways and then up a flight of stairs which would take us to the church/fetus decoration area. A trip that had cost us over half an hour yesterday had now become 10-15 minutes - great stuff! I'm really happy to have had a chance to learn navigating skills. Haley was a great mate :) We ended up touring around, taking pictures, eating ice cream and waffles, and visiting the comics museum (though sadly it was closed when we got there).
For research, I was paying attention to see the prevalence of Muslim women. The concentration was probably lower than Amsterdam by a little but I noticed a woman and her son on the streets asking for money which I didn't see in Amsterdam as of yet. Also I noticed a lot more full black garments worn with a black hijab than in Amsterdam. Which leads me to wonder if the Dutch ban of burqa has anything to do with Amsterdam's women trying to dress less traditionally and more colorfully to avoid legal consequences. Or on the other hand, Dutch Muslims dress more colorfully as a result of local culture or fashion trends. I saw quite a few in communities walking around. I took a few pictures of this as follows:
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