Food and a Bath (06.16-06.18)

finally!!! some good food! for the past few days i've done nothing but eat and drink. its so nice to eat food not because i'm starving or because i think it would become an interesting commentary for the blog, but because its good. and the beer...dont get me started on the beer. LP and i have been getting shitted - 'dritte' (my new favorite norwegian way of saying drunk) at lunch and dinner almost every day. sunday we shared a traditional sunday roast and a plate of bacon wrapped faggots! yummmmmm. The english love their faggots!!! that afternoon i began my new list of things i've tried...BEER. Sorry, the list will not be as exciting as the one i compiled in china but it will definitely be more fun for me. i think this list will last the duration of this trip.



monday we took a trip down to bath and actually made it there!!! third times the charm! bath is a beautiful city renowned for (i bet u can guess) their baths. after a tour of the roman baths and a stroll around the city we decided to pause for a quick pint in a local old mans pub. while at coeur de lion, i began to talk with an older gentleman who was a retired engineer. by the end of my pint i had met a few of the other old men (all very interesting and intelligent people), the owner of the pub/brewer of the beer i was drinking, and the owners of some other local pubs. they gave me a list of the top 10 pubs in bath and a map where they were located. it was great. if only i had time to go to them all. next time...







tried to go to london on tuesday but missed our bus...not a whole lot to say about that. instead LP and i went to a pub and had a few pints, walked around bristol and did some shopping, got my hair cut, and finally "drank the bar dry" (an event at the bar that LP works at). they needed to get rid of their booze, we wanted to get drunk, so it was pretty much a win win situation.



off to barcelona tomorrow...sangria and paella here i come.

England (06.15...)

I MADE IT TO ENGLAND!!! i've never enjoyed the site of "whites" so much in my entire life. after a long flight my friends and i sat on the runway waiting for a spot to dock. to make matters worse, i was harassed by the snooty old man at the customs booth because he didn't like americans and then the airport lost the entire flight's baggage for about an hour. it all went a bit pear-shaped but once i saw LP all was great.

after a short drive, a quick dinner, and an ever faster shower we were off to the UWE degree project show. unfortunately, we were caught in the rain on the way and walked into the the show completely soaked. it made for an interesting time. the show was great. heres a example of some of the graphics, illustration, and textiles work:

LP's exploration of the word [poole]
http://www.vibs.no/

SP's (LP's flat mate) illustration work
http://www.shellyperkins.co.uk/

nothing seemed to go as planned the entire day but it was still quite a lot of fun. it's great to finally be in england...

The End...of china that is

today may have been my last day in china, but it was definitely my favorite day. ya, we were chased by security a couple times and almost arrested, but how many people can say that they have been inside both the olympic stadium (birds nest) and the aquatic center (water cube).

ln, jfk, sn, and me after our first failed attempt

our trip down to the new olympic center started out very poorly. the first 2 gates we visited turned us away before we could even begin to ask about touring the stadium (our inability to speak any chinese didn't help the situation). finally we took matters into our own hands. by this i mean we jumped a fence and became trespassers. for the next hour or so we inched our way closer and closer to the stadium. it was during this march that we were confronted by security/police on more than one occasion. thankfully, every time we came in contact with their blue and white van there was a barrier between us.

just about every side of the stadium

at about noon time the entire construction site emptied for lunch and the boys and i were left to roam the site with very little threat of being removed. it was at this point that we decided to make our way into the stadium. all i can say is that i have never been so excited about architecture in my entire life. for lack of better words...the olympic stadium is the most beautiful building i have ever experienced.









when we finally had our fill, we decided to try our luck at the aquatic center. ln and sn worked their magic and before we knew it we had convinced 2 sets of guards to let us enter the building. this experience didn't last long. the workers were back from lunch and insisted that we could not tour the building without hardhats. as we walked out we snapped as many pictures as possible.




this was the perfect way to end a great experience in china. i'm off to england tomorrow and then i'll be in spain the following week. not sure how often i'll be able to access the internet, but i'll do my best to post whats going on. Zhi jian...

I Want Some Real Food!!!

Yes, that is a picture of me eating an insect! Apparently bugs are on the menu. Last night my friends decided that it would be fun to go to wangfujing (a night market in Beijing) for dinner. For some reason unknown to me, I decided to tag along. Peer pressure’s a bitch. After a few beers we worked up enough courage to start eating. I am proud and also disgusted to say that I have now eaten locus, grasshopper, scorpion, and even sea horse. Those of you who know how terrified I am of bugs can appreciate this achievement. Some of my more adventuresome friends tried water beetle, centipede, and silkworm…I hade to draw the line somewhere. It was the strangest dinner of my entire life but I will never forget it. Enjoy the pictures…

an assortment of insects...yummmm

jfk enjoying th largest centipede i have ever seen

wow...thats a big one

dm and sh manhandling their centipedes

If anyone is interested in watching a video, check out these links:
(((bugs 01)))

(((bugs 02)))

Beijing (06.10-11)

beijing is unlike any city i have ever been to. since 2001 when they were chosen to host the 2008 olympics, the city has been over run by construction. it is by far the most modern city i have ever been to. over the next week we will be seeing as much of the city as possible. our first couple days were an introduction to the historical aspects of our surroundings including the forbidden city and the great wall of china (located outside of the city).



I'm sorry to say this but, the forbidden city resembles disneyland...there were tourists everywhere, lines, street venders, and pretty much everything you would expect from an amusements park but the rollercoasters. the chinese have got to be the only civilization that refurbishes their historical architecture (not to say that that is a bad thing). the entire forbidden city looked as if it was built only last year. we entered the northern gate of the city and worked our way south which is actually the exact opposite of how the city is meant to be experienced. this forced us to exit the city into Tienanmen square, the largest public space i have ever seen. apparently this space is meant to house a populous of about 600, 000 people not including the street which can accommodate 6 tanks driving abreast. we walked across the square in hopes of seeing the encased body of mao but where disappointingly turned away. heres a picture of the group in front of the entrance to the forbidden city.


monday morning we decided to get out of the city. we first stopped at a cluster of ming tombs. i wont talk much about this because i wasn't thoroughly impressed by the site. the tomb was in great condition but frankly, it looked just like the tomb we saw last week. let just say that the historical chinese architectural style, while extremely interesting, has become somewhat repetitive. we then made our way to the great wall of china. For those of you who have not experienced this monumental wall, it is by far the most spectacular sight i have seen since i have been in china. after a short gondola ride up a steep mountain we were left to explore. two hours later we had walked many miles along the wall, my legs where shaking, and i could barely breath, but i could have stayed longer. the wall is, for lack of a better word, was amazing.

Zhi Jian Nanjing

of all the pictures i have taken in china, this one takes the cake. for those of you who don't understand i will simply say that this was slightly out of character for my teacher NR. its nice to know that even our teachers know how to have a good time

the evening started out at a very nice restaurant at 1912...unfortunately, the drinking started after our stressful post office experience at about 3:00. By the time dinner with our partners and teachers ended we were all totally shit-canned and ready to dance.



the club that night was by far one of the most fun nights i have had in nanjing. not because of the music or the mass consumption of alcohol, but because it was all of us. dancing on the stage at a8 had become a regular event but dancing with my teachers on a stage while jfk is stripping and our chinese partners are trying alcohol for the first time definitely made this night a night to remember. Heres a few pictures of the mayhem. sorry...i was told i couldnt post any of the really good pics.

no comment needed

i only put this pic up because i liked my GQ pose

beijing here we come...

Prost!!!...from China?

Ok...maybe the German restaurant was a little premature but we couldn't help it. Sorry for the horrendous picture but it was the only one that i had that illustrated the tremendous size of this beer. It was like the biggest beer i have ever had for breakfast (don't worry mom, we had breakfast at 2:00 because we were out till six the night before...sorry, that wasn't very comforting). Lets just say...Shanghai is nothing like Nanjing.

Our class was only supposed to go to Shanghai on Sunday but naturally a few of us opted to spend a little more time away from Nanjing. After our presentation in the afternoon, we hopped on a train in hopes of arriving in time to go out to some of the infamous clubs. Based on what i said earlier i am sure you have gathered that we had a good time out. the next day was a little rough but don't worry, we got plenty done. The afternoon started out with breakfast at a German restaurant which, might i add, was amazing. We then headed out to do some sight seeing. Unfortunately, we got sidetracked. 5 pairs of designer jeans, a jacket and a pair of shoes later the day was gone and it was time to go out again. Sorry to gloss over the shopping but theres too much to talk about. Just so you know, I only spent $90 dollars on everything i listed above...The shopping in this city is outrageous.

LN and I in a store at the copy mart

That night was somewhat uneventful but I would like to mention that i had the best Cheeseburger I've had in three weeks. Well, the only cheeseburger I've had in three weeks, but thats not the point. As i am sure you have gathered, we took every opportunity to eat anything but Chines food while we were in Shanghai...it was great. We went to bed somewhat early that night in anticipation for the next days site seeing.

Monday, we were supposed to be back in class but we hadn't had enough of Shanghai (sorry nick but we had to experience as much as possible). In the morning we went to the Jin Mao tower (the tallest tower in Shanghai) and went to the observation deck to view the entire city. The view was spectacular, but unfortunately it was an indoor observation area.

After the tower we made our way to the Yu Garden in the historical area of town. The garden was beautiful, but yet again the weather hindered my ability to take a decent picture. It was cloudy the entire day and rained a few times but the garden and the surrounding buildings where very enjoyable. I wish i had a scanner so that i could show some of my drawings of these places...they do a much better job of illustrating the atmosphere.


The final site for the day was probobly the most interesting place i have been on this entire trip. A select few of us were invited to visit s.p.a.m. which is Qingyun Ma's architectural office in Shanghai. In case you don't know who i am talking about, Ma is the new dean of the architecture program at USC and the project architect for Rem Koolhaas. While we were there we gathered with a group of students from University of Toronto, USC, and SCI-arc to watch a presentation of the offices most recent work. Lets just say, i would move to Shanghai in a second if i was offered an internship at this office. Enough said. We had to leave the presentation early to catch our train which was disappointing but i don't think it would have been good if we had missed another day of class.

Now that i am back in Nanjing all i want is to be in Shanghai. It was an amazing city full of history, culture, contemporary architecture, and yes, a great variety of food. Only another few days here and then we are off to Beijing. I cant wait. Heres a couple more pictures i took while exploring the city...