"Great minds discuss ideas Average minds discuss events Small minds discuss people" -Eleanor Roosevelt 2-week workshop The last semester of college starts with an intense group project that encourages students to integrate structure & architecture to design a pedestrian/bike bridge in Granollers, Spain. It is an exceptional opportunity for everyone in the program to practice teamwork and get a little taste of what it's like to work in a design firm. I had the honor to team up with Kalin, Heather, and Stephanie. Our project is composed by a series of glued laminated timber units that serve both structural and architectural purposes. The bridge not only connects the two sides of river, but also encourages people to appreciate the nearby mountain scenery. Here are some key points I learned from the teamwork experience: 1. Open communication is the key Clear and respectful communication keeps the negative energy out of the team. 2. A sense of unity is important Sometimes it's more than just "do your part". The team's benefit is always the priority. 3. Make critical decisions together But not necessary every single decision. 4. Set objectives A team can be efficient with clear objectives. One can always go back and review the goals when gets stuck on decisions. 5. Good ideas = Good ideas Everyone's words should have the same weight. Everyone is building their bridges happily Final Review Homie in the town My best friend, whom I known him for 17 years, came to visit me with his girlfriend in Barcelona! Giving tours around Barcelona as a "local" made me appreciate Barcelona even more. I got to explore more places like Casa Batlló and Castillo de Montjuic and also new restaurants and bars around the city. His visit made me realized how much I've grown since the day I left Taiwan, and how our lives set apart on different directions after middle school. It's always good to catch up with old friends. 1. Flamenco night; 2. Beach volleyball; 3. Jazz night; 4. Sushi night; 5. Weekly street soccer; 6. Homie's bday dinner
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And that's not an Art Nouveau building...it's the Royal Palace of Brussels, but we will get there. Students were assigned into two groups for two different countries for the week long architecture workshop. I was hoping to get into the Copenhagen workshop, but ultimately ended up in the Brussels one. This workshop serves as a milestone for the studying abroad experience and jump-starts the exciting last semester. The goal of the workshop is mainly to learn more about the Art Nouveau movement through on-site sketching and visiting. Our professor planned out the building visits according to the historical timeline: Gothic / Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, and modern architecture, which I think it's a very precise and interesting way to learn about a city. Art Nouveau, a world-wide art style movement in 19th century, influenced almost every single art form, from sculpture, jewelry, painting, furniture, to architecture. Belgium was an early center of such movement. Victor Horta, a very well-known architect in Brussels, designed one of the first art nouveau projects in the world. We visited many of his houses including his museum through out the week, and I found it very interesting to relate his style and influence to Antoni Gaudi's buildings, who was also an Art Nouveau architect (a very unique one that is). Below are some of the Art Nouveau buildings we visited, all of them were initially designed as residential housing, now some of them are abandoned and some are museums and hotels. Besides architecture, we also got to experience the food and beer scene in Brussels. They are very proud of their seafood, fine brewed beer and chocolate. A local introduced us the Trappist beer, which has to be brewed in monasteries by monks. I got to try several Trappist beer, including the Westvleteren 12, according to Wikipedia: Westvleteren 12 being considered by some to be the best beer in the world. The beers are not brewed to normal commercial demands but are sold in small quantities weekly from the doors of the monastery itself to individual buyers after reservation only. (First picture from the left is the Westvleteren 12, it's known for a simple bottle with a golden cap that people can keep as a souvenir) On-site sketching is a big part of the trip! Many of my classmates didn't feel comfortable with sketching at the beginning, but by the end of the week I can see they started to develop their own styles and techniques, which is very exciting! Hope to see everyone's development at the end of this semester.
It started from a friend's post on Facebook. The post began with an argument with her father on the concept of marriage. She then further accused her father of being narrow-minded and conservative in the rest of the post. This article is not going to talk about my definition of marriage or who was right or wrong. Here is what I found interesting. While a person claims another of being conservative, doesn't that make the person conservative as well since he/she could not accept the different idea apart from his/her own belief? And how open-minded is this person if he/she does not even try to understand the motives and reasoning behind the other person's argument? Did my friend disagree with her dad simply because of his conclusion? Or worse, was it simply a demonstration to prove her "maturity" and not even an argument at all? Here is another one: the selfishness & selflessness paradox. I think one cannot accuse someone of being selfish without remaining selfless. Person A says person B is selfish because B does whatever he wants, but by saying that makes person A selfish because A is putting himself in the center of attention and he tries to interfere with B's will of action. This concept can be further extended into a group of people. We are all familiar with the rule 'the minority is subordinate to the majority', but that does not mean the minority is selfish and the majority is selfless. Then how do we define if a person or a group is open/narrow-minded & selfish/selfless? Or such statement does not exist? Leave some comments below and let me know what you think! Día de los Reyes Magos Barcelona 2016 / Barcelona's annual three Kings parade
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." -Steve Jobs Right after the final review, I took a week off and headed to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest to catch my breath. I always long for the Christmas vibe in the Eastern European towns and these three cities indeed delivered the holiday spirit. Traveling with only one other person keeps the trip fast-paced and easy. I would say this is my favorite travel experience so far this year since I get to do everything on my own pace including site visiting and restaurant choices. Christmas I finally get to be Santa this year!! My cousin used to visit the family in Honduras for Christmas, and I always felt like I needed to give them something back in return. I decided to have a surprise visit to San Francisco this year since my cousin is having a baby, and most of the family members will be there, including my mom! I only told the other cousin about the secret visit for the address of the house. I also ordered some Bohemian crystal wine glasses from Prague for them, which will arrive in about a month. In addition, one of the Spanish students requested me to draw a caricature of his uncle as a Christmas gift for him. I took the offer immediately since I have never done such thing before. Graduate School Applications
For almost three years I have been working on my portfolio. This seems never-ending quest has finally come to an end with the submission of all the applications. Studying abroad during senior year makes the process extra difficult. Glad I planned it out and finished TOFEL and GRE exams during the summer. Few students decided not to apply anymore due to the time limit. Most of us cannot not truly enjoy the winter break without finishing the applications. No matter what the result is, I am proud of myself and thankful to all the people who helped me out through out the years. How much are you willing to give to make your family happy? How much are you willing to give to make yourself happy? |
AboutThis blog was launched in August, 2015 during my 8th year of studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I decided to start this blog and record some of my thoughts and moments. This blog is also dedicate to Richard Fu, a good friend of mine who is now guarding me from above. He inspired me to get out of the comfort zone and be curious about the world. Amig@'s blogs
Check out my brother Will's blog (in Mandarin) to see what he's up to these days (Design, fashion, food, technology, music, film...etc) Check out Kris' website for some high quality photos around the world Archives
September 2023
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