Universiteit van Amsterdam
Holy fuck I've just figured out where I want to go on an exchange... I kept thinking Oxford but hells no - Amsterdam. I'm doing some research now and the cost of accomodations in the centre of Amsterdam is about 420-450 Euros a month which isn't bad considering in the past two years I was paying between $600-1000 per month where I've been living. The official language in Holland is obviously Dutch but English is spoken everywhere and many programs and courses are instructed in English.
I meet all the requirements and deadlines to apply for either semester in 2008-2009 are in January 2008 next year. Thank god I'm not interested in the University of Tokyo where the CGPA required is 3.25. I can be certain to keep around a 3.0 by the end of 2007 (unfortunately... but I want to be realistic here: I intend to finish my undergrad with a 3.4 or 3.5 but for now I'm sitting around there since I dropped last term... I USED TO have a 3.3).
The only potential problem is references. I can certainly find a non-academic reference from a previous employer or someone I've worked with... but I haven't had too many TAs repeatedly aside from Nicholas Matte and possibly Emily Arvay if I get her again for a course next fall. I did fairly well in courses with them (all B+ and above). Is it at all awkward that one of my TAs was the assistant facilitator at a cuddle party I went to at WonderWorks last fall? Nahhhh...
I'll work my ass off next summer to be able to afford this if I'm not supported by other folks financially (my living situation in the fall is still up in the air... but I definitely won't be taking a year off just yet if I want to do this exchange; in fact I'm not even sure if it'd be wise to go part-time if I want to be taken seriously by the selection committee - maybe a reduced courseload of 3 credits next year?). I'm fairly confident with the strength of my statement of interest: they're looking for well-rounded applicants with a variety of experiences who also demonstrate that they've done in depth research for their prospective host universities.
Anyone who knows me well knows I'm an absolute research whore.
I'm going to get in touch with a friend of mine leaving for Melbourne soon for an exchange to get some answers...
Other news: my friend D has offerred to do the graphics for events/workshops for the Female Empowerment Project next year provided she's paid so I'm going to try and convince the rest of the execs that she's worth dipping into the budget! She's a medical illustrator and artist finishing her master's in biomedical communications right now. Her website can be found here: http://brodel.med.utoronto.ca/~dianak/
I was sitting in the SEC office yesterday waiting for a Pride condom order and ended up falling asleep on the couch when MM stepped out for a bit while reading Bust (Spring '07 issue, with none other than Charlotte Gainsburg). When he returned he walked in on me listening to Björk. We were talking about slipping our feet into public fountains in the summer, walking barefoot on residential streets, and being topless at drum circles.
Speaking of Icelandic singers: Sigur Rós is the best thing since Radiohead! Their music is so good it's almost spiritual and I'm agnostic. I'm so in love. Reykjavík forever... I should learn how to speak Old Norse.
Update:
I've been doing more research this morning and figured out which program I could qualify for as an exchange student that's relevant to my current subject posts - it turns out the ISHSS (International School for Humanities and Social Sciences) is directly affiliated with the UvA (or is a part of it, haven't clarified) and they have an undergraduate program for Gender, Sexuality, and Society. I'm looking through the courses available right now and it looks as though some might be redundant since by the time I'm theoretically there I'll be close to completing my Sexual Diversity Studies major. However, I could probably find some courses that concern more of the local culture, etc. There is a course on feminist pedagogy and women's access to education. This same program is open to graduate students under their department of cultural anthropology. If I go to Holland and love it there, maybe I'll return to live there for grad school when I could make some money writing my thesis?
Update, the redux:
So Katie, my ex-coworker from Grassroots who's currently their website coordinator just dropped by Hart House to give me a very, very belated honorarium (in the form of a cheque) for a menstruation workshop we did at UFA back in March. Her dreads are gone! She unraveled her bangs back in April, but removed the rest recently and her hair's now a short bob. Her boyfriend and her have been working to save up to move to New Zealand because he wants to go to teacher's college there and she's just applied for Environmental Management at the University of Auckland.
Awesome...
I meet all the requirements and deadlines to apply for either semester in 2008-2009 are in January 2008 next year. Thank god I'm not interested in the University of Tokyo where the CGPA required is 3.25. I can be certain to keep around a 3.0 by the end of 2007 (unfortunately... but I want to be realistic here: I intend to finish my undergrad with a 3.4 or 3.5 but for now I'm sitting around there since I dropped last term... I USED TO have a 3.3).
The only potential problem is references. I can certainly find a non-academic reference from a previous employer or someone I've worked with... but I haven't had too many TAs repeatedly aside from Nicholas Matte and possibly Emily Arvay if I get her again for a course next fall. I did fairly well in courses with them (all B+ and above). Is it at all awkward that one of my TAs was the assistant facilitator at a cuddle party I went to at WonderWorks last fall? Nahhhh...
I'll work my ass off next summer to be able to afford this if I'm not supported by other folks financially (my living situation in the fall is still up in the air... but I definitely won't be taking a year off just yet if I want to do this exchange; in fact I'm not even sure if it'd be wise to go part-time if I want to be taken seriously by the selection committee - maybe a reduced courseload of 3 credits next year?). I'm fairly confident with the strength of my statement of interest: they're looking for well-rounded applicants with a variety of experiences who also demonstrate that they've done in depth research for their prospective host universities.
Anyone who knows me well knows I'm an absolute research whore.
I'm going to get in touch with a friend of mine leaving for Melbourne soon for an exchange to get some answers...
Other news: my friend D has offerred to do the graphics for events/workshops for the Female Empowerment Project next year provided she's paid so I'm going to try and convince the rest of the execs that she's worth dipping into the budget! She's a medical illustrator and artist finishing her master's in biomedical communications right now. Her website can be found here: http://brodel.med.utoronto.ca/~dianak/
I was sitting in the SEC office yesterday waiting for a Pride condom order and ended up falling asleep on the couch when MM stepped out for a bit while reading Bust (Spring '07 issue, with none other than Charlotte Gainsburg). When he returned he walked in on me listening to Björk. We were talking about slipping our feet into public fountains in the summer, walking barefoot on residential streets, and being topless at drum circles.
Speaking of Icelandic singers: Sigur Rós is the best thing since Radiohead! Their music is so good it's almost spiritual and I'm agnostic. I'm so in love. Reykjavík forever... I should learn how to speak Old Norse.
Update:
I've been doing more research this morning and figured out which program I could qualify for as an exchange student that's relevant to my current subject posts - it turns out the ISHSS (International School for Humanities and Social Sciences) is directly affiliated with the UvA (or is a part of it, haven't clarified) and they have an undergraduate program for Gender, Sexuality, and Society. I'm looking through the courses available right now and it looks as though some might be redundant since by the time I'm theoretically there I'll be close to completing my Sexual Diversity Studies major. However, I could probably find some courses that concern more of the local culture, etc. There is a course on feminist pedagogy and women's access to education. This same program is open to graduate students under their department of cultural anthropology. If I go to Holland and love it there, maybe I'll return to live there for grad school when I could make some money writing my thesis?
Update, the redux:
So Katie, my ex-coworker from Grassroots who's currently their website coordinator just dropped by Hart House to give me a very, very belated honorarium (in the form of a cheque) for a menstruation workshop we did at UFA back in March. Her dreads are gone! She unraveled her bangs back in April, but removed the rest recently and her hair's now a short bob. Her boyfriend and her have been working to save up to move to New Zealand because he wants to go to teacher's college there and she's just applied for Environmental Management at the University of Auckland.
Awesome...