Updates

It has been extremely difficult to find time to blog here. Everything- lecture, transportation, meals, etc takes about twice as long as expected. It is very hard to find enough time to do the research although we have had success with meeting subjects through a snowball technique and have really been enjoying learning about the culture here through their eyes. We hosted three Dutch Morrocan Muslim guys last night at the dorm, feeding them Mexican and Egyptian cuisine (I did the clean-up!) and discussing pop culture and political issues. They are taking us to another mosque tomorrow and showing us around their neighborhood, which is a non-touristy area in North Amsterdam.

Engy and I have merged our research focus to study the information needs and patterns of the Muslim community. (Much more information science based!) Our instructor from the iSchool, Trent, was here for a week and really helped us to figure out a new direction. We had a great time hanging out with him and eating an amazing Indonesian meal one night.

One of the biggest frustrations here is the rain. Other than a few mostly sunny days, we have had PDX winter type weather and going out into it and getting drenched is getting old! Today has been beautiful though so maybe a change is coming...