UGH

It didn't post half of the words, so here:

FUN STORY TIME: We went to the site where Gandhi was cremated, and
when I was putting my shoes back on, I noticed an Indian family
smiling at me. Grinning like an idiot, I waved back at them.
Apparently that was an invitation for something, because the next
thing I know, they were all surrounding me, and the mother handed me
her child, who appropriately freaked out, and they took a picture of
me holding their baby. Yeah. It was weird.

Anyway, the next day we took a train (where they gave us two meals in
two hours) to Agra. You know what's in Agra. That's right, the Taj
Mahal!! I don't have much to say except that nothing says "I love
you" like a giant mausoleum. It is breathtaking, though. Also, I
think it helped that the weather was great. It was in the 70s or 80s
and not humid, so that was awesome.

Jaipur. Jaipur. It's known as the Pink City because it was painted
pink once. It's not so pink anymore. We went to a fort... and at
this fort, I rode an elephant! Shut up, animal rights activists. I
learned that riding elephants is actually terrifying. Our saddle was
slowly sliding down the side of the elephant, and we were holding on
for dear life. But it was a good experience.

A note on shopping: I'm excited to go back to the US, where people
don't hassle me while browsing their things. I'm much likelier to buy
something if someone isn't hovering over me. Also, I've gotten good
at bargaining, which will do me no good in the States. Here's the
secret: just pick the price you want to pay and repeat it until they
agree. It will work. And if it doesn't, just walk away and they'll
chase you down the street and agree to it.

So yeah. That's an incredibly brief overview of what I did. I
visited a lot of historical sites, and I didn't feel like sharing them
with you. I have pictures, don't you worry. Traveling to tourist
places in India was really interesting because of the huge economic
disparity. In Cochin, I didn't see tons of poverty; it's in Kerala,
which is a very well-off state in India. But in the bigger cities in
the north, there were a number of beggars, which is difficult to see
when you're on your way to a nice lunch at a fancy hotel. I think I'm
done.

From Tro-Tros to Tuk-Tuks

Emily here! Can't let Colin post everything. So... India. This blog
is pretty late, but I won't apologize, because after India, we had
four days on the ship before Singapore, and then two days on the ship
before Vietnam. I've been a busy beaver.

Let's see. We docked in Cochin (or Cochi, Kochin, or Kochi depending
on how you feel), which is in the southwest of India. It's pretty hot
there... and also humid. But the city was really interesting and
there was a lot to see. I took my first tuk-tuk (rickshaw) and it was
quite an adventure. We fell into a stupid tourist trap and went to a
government-sponsored store. This was accidental; we wanted to go to a
market on the street because things are quite cheap there, but tuk-tuk
drivers get paid to take tourists to expensive stores. So there we
were. I spent too much money and I don't want to talk about it.

The next day, I left on an SAS trip to Agra and Jaipur. Some SAS
trips are terrible because of the people who surround you. Luckily,
this was not one of them. I was fortunate to have a few good friends
on this trip and it was a blast. We took a plane from Cochin to
Delhi, where we saw a lot of monuments and old...things. Buildings?
I don't know. One was the oldest mosque in India, which was really
neat. I should have written this earlier because I don't remember a
lot of things.

Colin here

Things to do.

Cinque Terre - a coastal town in Liguria, the region that borders Tuscany to the northwest. It's got beautiful beaches and maybe beautiful people I don't know.

Bologna - a city so hardcore I must go three times. I went spring break to see Tuneyards, I'll be going tomorrow on a field trip to study influential female women in the arts. I'd like to go back one more time to see the Giorgio Morandi musuem. I'm a fan of him. Plus there's Bolognese sauce, which must be best in Bologna no?

The hills of Florence - I was unaware before coming here, but Florence has hills, or mountains, I'm not sure how people call them. So I'll take a bus out to the end of the line somewhere, and see what there is. From other people's photos it's well worth it.

Montespertoli - this might be trickier. There aren't trains that go here. My favorite wine thus far, Chianti Montespertoli, is from this comune. I'm not really sure what's there, but it's another excuse to go somewhere. I'll see how this one pans out...

I also finished some art. I posted this last time, but here's the completed version. This is an illustration of a chapter from Invisible Cities. This is the city of Zemrude. It is the mood of the beholder which gives the city of Zemrude its form. If you go by whistling, your nose a-tilt behind the whistle, you will know it from below: window sills, flapping curtains, fountains. If you walk along hanging your head, your nails dug into the palms of your hands, your gaze will be held on the ground, in the gutters the manhole covers, the fish scales, wastepaper...

Hey

Colin -- hello all, not much happening around here. I have just under a month until I return home. I'll arrive in Columbus the night of April 23rd. I won't want to leave.

I didn't take too many pictures, so I'll just describe the minutiae of my life this week:

Wine bars - I went to one. It's like a regular bar but classier (naturally) and with bruschetta. For 3.50 you have a big glass of wine and all of the bruschetta. Worth it. The only normal bars around seem to be Irish bars. Italy doesn't seem so into beer.

Walking around - I did plenty of that. Visited the neighborhoods around the south of Florence across the river, stopped by a vintage book shop, did some general creepy lurking. It reminds me that the city is more than just the central district, there's people who live around it too. I plan on taking a bus up to the hills soon.

Kebabs - I'm still eating them.

Entertainment - For some reason I'm watching way more cartoons and reading more books than I ever have before Florence. BUT WHY AM I NOT OUT ENJOYING FLORENCE. I dunno, maybe my time here is stimulating my interest in everything. No worries, I'm still seeing plenty of the city.

Here's a picture of bread I bought. This place is amazing. When you eat bread from here it tastes like eating a whole bakery.

Back in the Saddle Again (Gene Autry, not Aerosmith)

Colin -- It's been a while. Here's been my last few weeks: midterms--> spring break--> hectic week of projects--> Amsterdam. There's a lot to talk about, so I just won't talk about it that much. Here's the abridged version:

I spent midterms staying in the studio until I wasn't allowed to stay there any longer and writing a paper the night before, falling asleep, and finishing it before class (according to some that effort is worth a B+). Midterms was lame. Let's talk about something else.

Spring break had me in Florence, while most everyone else went around Europe. It was nice to relax and not be near everyone at once. I hung out with only a few friends, visited Palazzo Pitti and Piazzale Michelangelo, visited three art exhibitions, went to Bologna to see tUnE-yArDs play a show, and sat down at some bars.

the Marino Marini Museum

Merrill Garbus of Tuneyards, she kills

During hectic project week I had to present some drawings and paintings. More fun than midterms week, less papers and more art making. Some progress I'm making:

And finally, Amsterdam. We went for the end of a music festival called Jam in the Dam. Literally nothing but jam bands for 6 hours with the kind of hippies you find in Yellow Springs. Visited the Van Gogh museum, walked around a lot, hung around a lot. Didn't eat much food, and now I'm exhausted.

the party pants

that's right, I'm 21 and no one here cares

in Amsterdam, all buildings are crooked

I should have stayed on top of my posting, but the past few weeks knocked me out. I'll try to get back into a routine. See you all later.

Did I already post this?

Emily here.  Ever since watching The Color of Friendship, I've wanted to travel to South Africa.  Yeah, I'm serious.  The movie sparked my interest on Apartheid and the current situation of the country, and I have finally visited.

            We docked near V&A Waterfront, probably the fanciest area in South Africa.  Walking into the mall, the group I was with experienced reverse culture-shock because we hadn't been in a true Western-style retail area for so long.  And, of course, we were coming from Ghana, which is more like the "Africa" that most people think of.  This area of Cape Town was like any ritzy area you'd find in the states, and nicer than most places I've seen.  Another interesting phenomenon was that nobody was pressuring us to buy anything.  People didn't come up to me and put a bracelet on my wrist, call me a friend, and demand money, which was what I became accustomed to in Ghana.  I think it was this, combined with the sheer familiarity, that made my first steps into Cape Town feel like home.

            Of course, I know all about South Africa's problems from the news and my classes, so I had been feeling a little guilty about how much I was enjoying my time.  I did a lot of the normal touristy things: I hiked Table Mountain, swam with penguins, went to Biscuit Mill Farmer's Market, visited Robben Island and the District 6 Museum, walked around the University of Cape Town, and shopped for things I didn't need.  So there I was in South Africa, being a white tourist.  Awesome.  That's not exactly what I wanted. 

            In an attempt to actually learn something, I decided to go on a township homestay.  We went to Tambo, which is about 20 minutes outside of Cape Town.  You've all seen the pictures of ad hoc towns made of shelters with tin roofs; it's what people think of when they think of Apartheid housing for Black South Africans.  Well that didn't disappear with the end of Apartheid.  But it turned out that that's not what Tambo Township was like at all.  The place I stayed had running water and electricity, and I had a queen size bed (I shared with someone else).  Mama Beauty, my host-mom, and her sister Cynthia, were incredibly welcoming.  I felt instantly comfortable and safe.  I even got to play with some kids who came to visit, which was a lot of fun.  My homestay experience was amazing, but I know that Tambo Township is very well off compared to most others, and again, I felt a pang of guilt. 

            So I really don't know how I feel about the place.  I had an amazing time and loved every minute of it, but there's a reason for that: it's similar to home.  And the reason it's similar to home is because white people made it that way.  I'm conflicted and I don't know if I should be.  The end?

 

I went to Germany.

Tyler - Hello, dear reader. It's been too long, but I'm back with vengeance to lay down the truths and the laws.

Let's be honest: I'm busy, you're busy, I don't want to type a lot, you don't want to read a lot. We're going to make this painless for all parties involved. I'll start:

Last week I went to:

• Germany

The transport I used to get there was:

• Bus

• Train

The cities I went to were:

• Hamburg

• Berlin

Things I saw were:

• The largest model train display on Earth

• A tea museum

• Art

• Old buildings

• Environmental things

Okay. That's the gist of this post. If you wanted the footnotes, there they are. I get it. For those of you who want more, I understand; it's easy to find one's self on the edge of your seat when dealing with matters "tea" and "art". The following is for you, edge-seat-sitter.

Let's break this down by city. Then by academic, cultural, and tourist subsets. Each has been handily labeled so you can skip what you find boring. Please enjoy!

Hamburg
March 4-6

I'll be honest, wasn't overly thrilled with this place. I don't want to rag on it though, it was probably just because it was cold and we spent a lot of time outside.

Academics

Day one we visited a place called HafenCity (Harbor City) that was essentially going through massive rezoning and construction to be a sustainable commercial and residential community. Also checked out the Municipality since Hamburg was voted Green Capital of the EU in 2011. Our final academic stop of Hamburg was Energy Mountain, a former landfill that was cleaned up and now is home to wind turbines and solar panels, powering roughly 40,000 residencies in the city.

Culture

The first night we had a traditional German dinner (read: meat and potatoes and beer). Please note: My skin is still purging all the unnecessary fats and greases from that night and I don't want to talk about it.

Do not ask me about this meal. Photo credit: Christian Graefe

 Tourist

While in Hamburg I went to the Miniatur Wunderland, a museum of very small things, which was pretty much 8 rooms filled with a giant model train. They say it was the biggest on Earth. I believe them. Also went to a World War II memorial at the site of a church that had been totally destroyed in Allied air raids circa 1943, save the bell tower which somehow survived. We went to the top of the tower which had been retrofitted with an elevator. Later I went to a tea museum and bought Pai Mu Tan White Tea. I have not yet tried it. Look at these pictures of all that stuff I just talked about:

Bald man included for scale.

Bird's eye view of Hamburg from aforementioned bell tower.

These tubes are filled with tea. I'm not sure what else you were expecting.

Berlin
March 6-9

Berlin was where it was at. We had an extra day to spend here, and it was much more of the European cultural epicenter that I expected to see.

 

Academics
We talked mostly to firms who aid and stimulate discussion between large corporations to encourage sustainability. I found some components interesting, but all in all they were very boring. I, therefore, won't perpetuate this extend this apathy to text form. I will tell you about a quaint community garden we went to that had opened its own café on site. It was also completely moveable; everything was planted in crates. This was in case they lost the land for some reason in the future. I enjoy the communal stuff much more than the business stuff. We also went to a sustainable community that's goal was to create a living, working, education, and recreation site all in one place. They had their own mini outdoor amphitheater, educational facilities, theater, bakery, etc. I dig.



Culture
I went to a couple museums, one of Greek and Roman architecture, and the other of art, with 19th century realism, impressionism, and romanticism. They were two of five museums on this small plot of land surrounded by water, aptly named Museum Island. I also got to go to the top of the Reichstag, the German Parliament building, see the city from one of its highest points there, and then eat a three-course meal. I accidentally had a small knife on me, which was briefly confiscated, but don't worry, I got it back afterwards. Security hassled me though. I remember learning about the place in 10th grade AP European History. CONNECTIONS.

Tourist
We went to the Holocaust Memorial, finished as recently as 2005. Also went on an "alternative walking tour" of the city where we saw a bunch of graffiti complaining about the rich and the government, etc. etc. Also got to walk along the remaining parts of the Berlin Wall. Other than that, see "Culture". These two really go hand-in-hand and should not be separated, but I'm too far along to want to go back and change anything. By the way, if you've read this far, let me know in a comment on here or on facebook, because that's just impressive, and I want you to understand my appreciation. It will be our little secret. But we can't have you just saying you read this far, because then fellow readers will be like, "Huh, what is this guy talking about with this comment?" and then go back and look for THIS VERY STATEMENT. So please, in your comment, after your remarks on how I'm a great writer, just give me your favorite number. Or any number, for that matter. Thanks so much. I admire you. Now look at this picture I took in Berlin:

The Reichstag. No, we're not in Mordor, it's just night.

I have nothing more to say. This was long. I'll aim not to put either of us through this again. Thank you.