Adventure Blog

Monday, May 14, 2012

First Impressions

World Financial Center surrounded by smog

Nico and Anthony in a Shanghai Mall

Dragon Landscape

The Pearl Tower

Busy, busy

"Mind your head"

Watermelon Juice at Haiku

Dried Pork Flavored Donuts

Although my family lives in Shanghai, Jeff works in Chongqing, and comes home only on the weekends, so I did not see him for the first few days of being in China. I was very excited to see Jeff because not only is he my Uncle, but he is also my God Father, and is very special to me. We spent some quality time together getting massages --my very first-- and then went out to dinner at Haiku, an incredible sushi restaurant in downtown Pudong. We walked around downtown, exploring all the nuances of Shanghai, and just enjoying being together.

We come from a very close family; up until Jeff, Jen, Nico and Anthony moved to Shanghai, everyone on my Mom's side of the family was within 45 minutes of each other and we often get together for Sunday dinner. I admire Jeff and Jen's choice to take this opportunity to move to a completely foreign country and create so many new experiences for their family. I have learned a lot from them about courage and taking chances; their example has undoubtedly opened up my mind to the possibilities of where I can go and the things I can learn. Although skyping them in on our family dinners while they are just waking up is not the same as having them with us, I appreciate their sense of adventure and it is all worthwhile when we are reunited again!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

nǐ hǎo

At the airport with my Mom

With my Dad

Ice blocks in the ocean

Chinese Candy

Aunt Jen with seaweed strips

Chinese treats

My aunts favorite tea

About a year ago my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jen and cousins, Nico and Anthony, followed my Uncles job to Shanghai, China to begin a three year adventure across the world. I was fortunate enough to not only have them fly me out to live with them for five weeks in the spring of 2012, but to completely spoil me with the luxuries of living in China.

My expectations for Shanghai and the realities of what the city was actually like differed quite a bit. My first reactions upon arriving in China:

Complete surprise at the amount of smog that seemed to loom over the city at all times.
Being quite impressed with the amount of greenery in a very urban location; any potential green space was taken advantage of including medians, along highways and overpasses, and roof gardens.
The buildings are all very tall, but they are set back from the side walk so the street scape is not as defined as in other cities, like Chicago.
Coming from The United States, the melting pot of nationalities, it was very interesting to see the conformity of facial features and body types in China. I stuck out like a sour thumb where ever I went and was often stared at, which was a new experience.
Taking my first high speed train (200 MPH!) to my cousins basketball game-- we traveled between two developed cities and in between there were extreme rural conditions.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Public Space

I'm now writing for the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture blog, check it out: UDM SOA BLOG. Here's the first blog:

One thing that stood out in my mind when we got to Chicago was the use of public space. As a student, the ideas for projects are never actually put into a real world context; it's all just conceptual, so the use of these intended spaces are never realized. Previous to the Chicago trip, I had always designed public space without intentions of people actually using it, it was filler for a stronger project; I didn't realize how beneficial public space can be. The Chicago trip enlightened me, as a second year student, to realized all the potential that a public space has, whether that is the intention of the space or not.

Picasso Statue

Jen Masengrab of the Chicago Architectural Foundation gave us an excellent tour of the Chicago area, highlighting on Federal, Chase and Daley Plazas. In the Daley Plaza there is a large statue made by Pablo Picasso that activated the space with kids playing and people talking, standing, and meeting around it. I was stunned when Jen told us that when the statue was revealed to the city of Chicago every Chicagoan was appalled by it. Standing in Daley Plaza it was clear that the statue dominated the space in a positive way and created a high level of interaction among the community, so much so that a group of students headed back to the statue for some fun after our tours were over.

Not only did it attract children,
but apparently a bunch of college students as well

Pure Bliss

On the train ride home from Chicago we reflected on the most memorable parts of the trip and the Picasso Statue was high on everyone’s list. This trip has proven the importance of public space and I have found humor in the idea that a public space that was once considered “appalling” can turn into a monumental statue for the city that leaves a lasting impact on those who visit it.