Design Workshop + Other random activities

I've been tired the past few nights, without the energy to update. Sorry!

On Thursday we left campus around 10am and took the subway to an old Sugar Refinery not too far away. In a nutshell, we saw some neat old trains which were used for manufacturing the sugar, gorgeous flowers and a ton of worker bees!


Here's some pictures from around the facility...



Please notice the bee in the picture below... [dead center on the flower]

















































For lunch we headed to 'Dream Mall', the biggest mall in all of Asia [fully equip with a giant ferris wheel on its roof]. I saw a stranger eating what appeared to be a box of pizza, but unfortunately had little luck finding a pizza place + settled for squid spaghetti instead.. yeah not the same...

The picture to the right is actually in the Subway! It's called "dome of the light" and is made entirely from glass. The subway here is unbelievably nice and this just makes it that much cooler...











After some shopping in the "mall of dreams," we decided to go see the ever famous Dragon Boat Race- it was quite the festival on the river, for those of you Pennsylvanians, similar to Kapona on the riverfront, but involving huge dragon boats.

Friday, the entire campus was closed, no food. zip. zero. zilch. Tin man took a few of us out to this great little restaurant. The food is really hard to explain, but it was mostly delicious flat, flakey breads with green onion, salt, and beef all wrapped up into a burrito [sort of]. Took a 2 hour nap with the full stomach... and woke up just in time to head to Club 7-11 for Sam's birthday... had two heinekins and headed home for some R&R... when did I turn into such an old lady! A good time was had by all.

Today we spent the entire day in Tainan at NCKU for a design workshop. We were divided into groups and given a topic to design for in the next 48 hours. My group is focusing on service design [any product that is extended to do something else, ie. product customization or giving profits to support charities.. etc]. A couple of brainstorming hours later, we decided on a subbranded, customizable cosmetic website where women can log on, and prepare their own personalized shades/tones of make-up [foundation, eye shadow, lip gloss...] The genius behind the subbranding, is that the online make-up will be the same quality as the parent brand [mac, bobbie brown, clinique] so consumers will already know and trust the make-up. The website will also contain tips and tricks for people that need help, a wish list section much like amazon, a customizable compact and a bunch of other fun features... I'm pretty happy with the work that we got done, the day went by so quickly!

Tomorrow, we've got to design the website interface, make-up kit + put it all together into a power point and poster + present everything by 6pm. It's going to be crazy, but fun no less!

Now its 11pm, and I need to do as many sketches, for Monday's studio, as I can before I fall asleep... long night!


Please pray for my Aunt Missy.

More Chinese Painting + Tai Chi

Today was round two of Chinese painting. Our agenda was to paint bamboo using the different strokes/shades/mixtures of only ink and water. You wouldn't think you could get so many different gradients and textures with just a simple brush, but by using varying wetness you can change the texture too. After a few hours of practice, this is the final bamboo I came up with.












Tin Man gave us rice dumplings for lunch. Don't be afraid, they may look slightly different, but inside is steamed rice with peanuts and slices of delicious pork loin formed into a pyramid shape, all wrapped up in a bamboo leaf. yummy.















After class was over, I went to a Tai Chi demonstration to learn a few moves. For those of you who aren't familiar with Tai Chi it is a mixture of spiritual movement and martial arts... To be in a state of relaxed strength, maintaining a high spirit of power within. After learning a few slow, meditative motions, they explained to us how each movement is applied to combat. I learned how to take somebody down in 3 different ways and hardly touch them or grab them. It was so cool. We're going to do it every Wednesday from now on!

Tonight we celebrated Sam's surprise birthday barbecue, there was enough food there to feed a small army. I grilled for one of the first times, and everyone said my barbecue chicken was great! Probably because its the first thing they've eaten besides rice and noodles in 3 weeks. haha! I guess I always considered grilling to be a man's world... but maybe I should try it more often!

On our way back to the dorm, we found this little guy... The biggest snail I've ever seen! He was probably a good 4 inches long. Crazy.

Tomorrow we are going into the city to see the real Dragon Boat Festival, with boats! It's a National holiday so we don't have class! I'm looking forward to the nice 4 day weekend.

Ancient Chinese Secret...

Today we had our first pottery class, again it brought back so many memories of high school ceramics. I made a small bowl and added a design to the inside. I think it turned out pretty neat! It will dry and be fired by next week, so maybe next Monday we'll be glazing [adding color]. I would add a picture, but I dont want to ruin any surprise gifts!

After lunch was studio, somewhat unproductive because it's pretty chaotic with 50+ people in such a small room. We had group discussion, trying to figure out our focus for the project [creating a stationary recreational product for outdoor activity]. We have decided to focus on making Tai Chi [a type of Chinese Martial Art form/meditation/physical excercise] for everyone young, old, disabled, experienced or unexperienced. From there its pretty hard to explain, but lets just say there will be stations within a park atmosphere where people can practice the art of Tai Chi based on their category mentioned above--- in a nut shell.

So the real highlight of today was trying the ancient Chinese art of "cupping." Don't worry, it looks a whole lot worse than it actually was. I decided to do this because I have gotten 3 migraines since I have been here, on account of sweating so much, heat and being dehydrated. My taiwanese professor Frank suggested that I go to a clinic and try it out because it improves circulation in your muscles and is known to help with migraines. It didn't hurt at all + lasted about 6 minutes. After the procedure, it leaves pretty hefty welts... like gigantic hickies! haha. I had my neck and shoulders massaged .. It feels great and only cost $6/US. I plan on going back for another slightly more intense treatment with a few more cups!









This is what they looked like immediately after the suction.












This is what they look like now. [The darker they get, the worse your problem.] But since it was my first time, they only let me have two and only kept them on for a small time. Imagine what full force would look like... probably black? lol


Ps. I made the Dean's list this past semester! woot!

Haircuts + Sandals...

We met up around 2:30 to head to Kaohsiung City for haircuts. It was so exciting to finally have a "girls day" and just take our good ol' time. We walked through a small market street with a few shops, guess what? They had sandals, it was a sandal paradise!!! I found the perfect pair of look-a-like Birkenstocks and they're awesome and like nothing I've really ever seen before, for only about 30 dollars US.

From there we headed to the Bezar Hong Kong Hair Beauty Salon, for what happens to be the best hair cut I've ever had! I brought a picture of a hairstyle I liked, so I was pretty confident the stylist would understand.

First things first, they washed my hair in the cutting chair with a bottle of water and a handful of shampoo [not over a sink]. It totally caught me offguard, but was completely awesome and unexpected! The girl continued to give me an incredible head/neck massage [popular with haircuts in asia] + it made my day! haha After rinsing in the sink, she continued putting more stuff in my hair and massaging... I wasn't about to complain! Then they blew my hair dry, before the cut... a little different than in the US, but I trust that they knew what they were doing...


So finally, after 45 minutes of hair washing and massage the cutting began. About an hour later, she was finished and the final product is spectacular. It sits off my neck, so the heat should be a little more bearable. Gosh I just love it so much-- oh and this all cost $350 NT, about $13 Dollars/US.













For dinner we had mcdonalds [which I don't normally do...] at this crazy designed building with three stories, spiral staircases, modern lamps/tables... really breathtaking for a mickey d's. Lets just say the aesthetics were far more appealing than the food. :) Oh, notice how they sort their trash and recycling.... I am so impressed.









































Random Comment: Today I learned that if you tap your foot on the ground [nervous tap] ,while sitting, it is a very bad thing. For a girl it means you are a bitch, for a guy it means you are poor. Thought that was an interesting meaning....

Another day in Tainan

This morning our group met with many of the Taiwanese students for our trip to Tainan to see a design firm + Taiwanese furniture museum. We loaded on the charter bus, which the school supplied for us, and in less than 3 minutes the karaoke was up + running in full force. I've always heard the cliche about how much Asian people enjoy karaoke and this was real live proof! I've never been a huge fan of singing, plus the words were mostly all in Chinese



About an hour of karaoke later, we arrived at the design firm in Tainan. Before entering the office everyone (all 30 of us) had to remove their shoes, which was really awesome to be in a workplace where everyone is comfortable and relaxed. The office was so clean + simplistic with thousands of magazines and books everywhere. We saw these great graphics of different stylized Chinese characters, amazing [some even looked like finger prints!]


Lunch took place on this old alleyway in a small sit down restaurant with the tiniest chairs I have ever sat on. This place was known for its shrimp rolls, which were probably the most delcious thing I've eaten in this country thus far [much different and better than American-Chinese egg rolls]. The same alleyway had the most authentic Taiwanese shops I've seen yet. I was so happy! I bought a few great souvenirs today, I wish I could have bought more but these small shops only took cash.


Later in the day we headed to the Yung Shing Furniture Museum and took a tour of the many different generations of chinese furniture from traditional to modern. The carvings and attention to detail were simply immaculate to see. The tour was a bit lengthy, oh and was given in Chinese... haha, kind of hard to understand.

Tomorrow, Tin Man is allowing just us to have a girls day [us + 5 taiwanese girls] + take the subway into Kaohsiung City to get a professional hair cut. This is a huge deal because the rule is: there must be atleast two Auburn guys with a group leaving campus. It's during the daytime and we're doing harmless shopping/haircuts, he trusts the girls taking us, so we're all really excited! I need a haircut and new sandals so badly!

36 degrees celcius + a lot of juice.

Today was our first Chinese Painting class. Some seriously challenging stuff... We learned the 8 strokes of writing Chinese characters, the precision it takes is what makes the process so tough. A few Taiwanese girls complemented me as I practiced writing my name. After about 15 times, I got pretty good haha... for a Westerner!

After lunch was the dragon boat festival, which involved absolutely no boats. haha imagine that. Each team was comprised of 5 people, who competed in a series of obstacles. Before the race each team had to make a dragon head/tail to wear while crouched down in a line, waddling like ducks [appearing to be a dragon body]. all while maneuvering through the course. The winners recieved a few bucks in their pocket. We were then entertained by the school's hip-hop team after the winners were announced.



To kill time during the festival, me and Christina made little diy panda keychains from felt, and put lavender potpourri + stuffing inside. They're adorable. Maybe I can give it to my nephew because it squeaks. At one point, my groupmate Julie pulled me over to this facepainting booth. So, what the hell, lets get my face painted while its 36 degrees Celcius outside haha. As it turns out, the paint was all natural and the writing is to take away pain and give good fortune.



Random comment: Almost everyday, the school has tables set up selling odds and ends [post cards, jewelry, clothing-- all second hand] so I bought this really awesome ring for $4/US, a leather bracelet for $1.50/US and this great scarf for $1.50/US.

Hopefully the rest of the night I will get to relax a little bit. The sun really takes a lot out of me. I'm drinking all the watermelon juice I can get my hands on! mmm.

Ps. I saw a blue sky today for the first time in 2 weeks.

These are two sculptures that are in the center of Shu-Te's campus. I wish Auburn had awesome stuff like this everywhere....

Craft Classes + Night Market.

This morning at 9am was our first glass class. We got to stack pieces of colorful glass on top of eachother and the teacher has a technique where he uses this a special patented mini-kiln [made of plaster], places the stacks inside and puts it all inside the microwave. The mini-kiln allows the microwave to heat up above usual temperatures and actually melt the glass, forming a small charm-like gem. I have so many necklaces similar to these, so it was so much fun seeing the process! I can't wait to see the finished product!

Next we sculpted clay into designs, which will be used to create molds of plaster + and then pour in the molten glass. These craft classes really take me back to high school, hands on creativity, not just sketching and computer models and posters. So free. I dont care about the grade. I want to do what makes me happy and create what I think is beautiful... grading is so subjective anyway!

We broke for lunch and headed to metal shop, where they have some of the most impressive jewelry on display! I wish I could just stay here and learn how to do it all!

The assignment was to sketch a dragon and glue the sketch onto a small square of copper sheet. Then, with a hand saw, saw around the entire sketch. It doesn't sound tiring, but believe me... I had to take a nap afterwards! It turned out pretty neat!




Hard at work--- Look at those awesome goggles!





















We just got back from Kaohsiung City's night market. I just have to say, the Taiwanese are some of the most friendly + caring people you may ever meet! They always make sure that we are safe, and will take us wherever we want to go. There are so many things to choose from at the night market, between clothing, food, accessories... etc. I'm happy to say I found some fun souvenirs for friends and family! :)





Here is a video of some crazy lady [the one and only rude Taiwanese person in the country] that was harassing us in the subway from Taipei. Tin man video taped her. She basically said, the West isn't the best anymore. And that it's America's fault that the economy is so bad here. We assume that she was appart of the protest going on against the current President, right down the street from our hostel... haha.

Back in Shu-Te

I have been wondering if anyone has been reading this old thing lately. If you feel like it, leave me a comment or just your name. I'd love to hear from you!


Taipei 101, as I mentioned previously, is the 2nd tallest building in the World. We took the worlds fastest elevator up to the 89th floor and could see for miles and miles. The views were terrific aside from the blanket of smog draped over the city.



























YODEX [young designers exhibition] was right across the street, and out of the multiple thousands of people in attendance, I was able to find John and spent a few hours admiring the projects/designs from hundreds of different schools with him. The projects on display all resembled final manufactured products to the naked eye, however, only by touch could you tell that most models were actually made out of foam/or wood. Their precision was just unbelievable. It really raises the bar as to how much Auburn students need to step it up.






























The Shilin Night Market is one of the most famous night markets there is. It's the same one Andrew Zimmern visited during his episode in Taiwan. We had some delicious sausage with garlic and got to do some souviner shopping afterwards. Tons and tons of people. There were actually illegal/non licenced vendors pushing carts around the alleyways, hulling ass away from the police.












This is one of the most interesting fruits I have ever eaten. A leeche. The only way to describe it is: it looks like a strawberry. You peel it like an orange, and it tastes a lot like a peach. Leeches are found in mostly tropical climates, but apparently Taiwanese leeches are some of the juciest.












During studio today we spent the majority of our time playing authentic Chinese games. It was definitely out of the ordinary compared to a traditional studio class. If you spin the object fast enough with the string it will start to howl like a train whistle, but I wasn't smart enough to figure that technique out just yet.

A beautiful night in Taipei.

Yesterday after studio, we took this incredible charter bus 5 hours to Taipei. Each of us had our own lazy boy sized massage chair, which reclined most of the way back, along with a small flat screen tv! I slept most of the way, and the further North we traveled, it seems, the worse and worse the smog/pollution got.

Today we explored the sights of Taipei-- The Chang Kai-Shek Memorial, the 228 Memorial and the Grand Hotel.

A statue from outside the 228 memorial that I found pretty interesting.

There were these adorable little children walking barefoot on this river stone path. They are used for reflexology treatment and are tremendously challenging to walk on. These kids were pros.

Tonight, I was fortunate enough to spend a few hours out of quarantine of the group, and visit downtown Taipei with John. John's hotel is absolutely amazing. He has access to the Grand Member room where we had free alcohol, great brie/cheddar and other decadent snacks. He has the most stellar view of Taipei 101 (2nd tallest building in the World). Later, we grabbed some starbucks and he showed be around this great high-end mall beneath 101. Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Tiffanys, Dior... you name it, they had it. Not that I can afford any of that anyway, but it is always fun to look :)

The night was so refreshing to be alone with him, in such a beautiful city. It felt like we were on vacation, except for my 11 o'clock curfew [lame].

In the blink of an eye, 10:30 arrived and we took a cab back to my not to fabulous, $15 US/night hostel. We said goodnight and hopefully will get to see eachother again tomorrow.

Here are some of the city sights.

The view from John's hotel room....

A Human Statue.

Lights recognizing those who built Taipei 101

Seeing John in Taiwan!

Today we woke up early and traveled to Tainan (NCKU) for the Design Workshop presentations, which John is a part of. I'm pretty sure I was the only one looking forward to spending 8 hours in an assembly room listening to 10+ fairly uneventful presentations, only because I knew John would be there.

I peeked through the door as soon as we got there, we made eye contact, smiling ear to ear, I was so thrilled. Of all places for SCAD to send John, of all times... :) It is just nice to have someone close, who loves and cares for me....

Jet lagged and all, John made his presentation towards the end and it was worlds more interesting than the majority of the others! He was very captivating/ thought provoking. His topic was [Service Design + Design Management + Future Design...]

As all things do, the day had to come to and end. Happily, we'll get to see eachother again in Taipei in a few short days for YODEX [Young Designers Expo]- a gigantic design conference for design students world wide.



Some pictures to document the day:

Tainan has very beautiful trees.

He was smiling "on the inside" ha.

















Caught him smiling!!!



















John presenting.



























<3

A Day in Tainan

This morning us girls decided to try and find breakfast, forgetting that we actually had to communicate/translate the orders, as well as actually find a place [besides 7-11] which served it. Luckily, the tea place has a great menu translated for us, however the breakfast stand doesn't. We stood there a bit perplexed.... "we're hungry... but we don't even know how to say 'egg' in mandarin... omg what are we going to do?" By the grace of God, lol, the man in front of us ordering a delicious looking breakfast wrap/burrito turns to us and says..."do you need some help ordering"-- in awe, and almost sounding rehearsed, we excitedly replied "YES, Xie Xie! (thank you!)"

The order was pronounced "Dahn Bee"- "egg", with "Pecon"- "bacon". And believe me, it was Hen Hao! (very good). This large filling breakfast wrap was only about $35NT or about 1 dollar US. Most of the foods here are very inexpensive and they come in abundance!

We traveled to the train station by taxi with the most obscure cab driver I have ever seen. Halfway through the 5 minute ride we heard a quiet belch, we looked at eachother, trying to ignore it, we immediately changed the subject. About 2 minutes later they started getting louder and louder, until finally the man was making noises with his mouth like a garbage disposal. It was ridiculously funny. Most of the taxi drivers here have little to no teeth. I'm talking the most I've seen is 5 teeth in one mouth.

From the station, we took the train about 30 minutes North to Tainan. We walked around the city for hours and found this 12 story high shopping mall. It was so awesome. The clothes here are just so unique, every store is so different!

For lunch we decided on Japanese Sushi. mmmm. It was some of the best Sushi ever! Each roll had such a variety of different flavors in it and for 6 pieces it cost about $3 US... so reasonable! In the US it would have easily cost 8 bucks+.

To celebrate Mother's Day, we took a bus from Tainan out to a very small town where Tin Man's in-laws reside. Walking around this town we were pretty much celebrities. Children were running up to us in the streets literally screaming because they had ever seen a Westerner before.


We went to a very traditional Taiwanese marketplace where fresh caught fish were still alive and the stinky tofu was in abundance [the smell is unlike anything I have ever experienced..wow horrible].

After the market, we had a wonderful meal prepared by Tin Man's family full of mushroom soups, octopus ball, shrimp, sausage, dumplings and delicious sticky rice.

Another pretty crazy thing that I noticed over the past few days, it the things people carry with them on scooters around the cities. Dogs, not just tiny lap dogs, but large full size canines! But it gets better... I've seen families of 4 on 1 scooter speeding through town. With tiny babies/toddlers aboard.