Venetian Dreams...

I still can’t believe we are where we are so let me restate what I’ve been saying all day today: We’re in Venice guys! I can’t believe we’re in VENICE! It felt nothing short of some sort of magical dream to wake up in this morning knowing that we were in Italy. Since it was our first and last official whole day in Venice, we had to make haste and use our time and money efficiently haha. For starters, while Jinah went to find some pizza to eat for brunch, Edgar, Lu, Sherry, and I found the nearest grocery store to buy some inexpensive snacks that would last us throughout the day. I ended up grabbing a bottle of water, pear juice, strawberry yogurt, and a pack of “Plum Cake.” We decided to let our ghetto sides shine and eat our cheap snacks on the ground behind the market next to one of the canals. The food we bought was surprisingly filling; this was a very good thing.

As soon as we finished eating, we picked up all of our trash and headed out on one of the main streets again. Remember how I said that we were surprised to find not many people out last night? Well, scratch that. There were so many people out and about today it’s not even funny! I guess people only come out during the daytime. But anyway, while we were walking along one of the main streets, we stumbled upon a Gondola service station… where we were drawn in by the beautiful Gondolas and breathtaking Venetian scenery. We didn’t plan on it and we definitely didn’t expect to pay 20 euros each, but… it happened anyway haha. Yes, we got to ride in a Gondola boat today! The ride was about thirty minutes long and we were given a tour of some of the highlights of Venice… I really enjoyed the ride! My goodness, I have no idea how to put Venice into words… everything about this place is so wonderfully beautiful. The water and canals are one thing, but the boating arrangement for transportation, the food, the music… everything is full of their own “beautiful, specific details,” that it cannot be replaced nor taken granted for. I cannot find any word that is nearly close enough to describe the awe-inspiring nature of Venice… other than, “Now I know why this is Mom’s favorite place in Europe.”



After our Gondola ride, we found our way to San Marco Square where we ended up staying for a good two to three hours haha. We took about a billion and a half pictures of everything! The church, the (original) Campanile, the pigeons... everything! Speaking of pigeons, I had THEE best time taking pictures with them haha. I took some of the bread I had bought earlier to feed them; once I threw down the first few crumbs a whole flock of pigeons began swarming me! The pigeons are not afraid of people at all; they’re seriously savages! Haha. They just came swooping down towards and passed you like bomber jets trying so hard to snag just one more bread crumb. Mom took a similar picture feeding these pigeons when she was in Venice many years ago… so I really wanted to recreate that photograph stuck in time.

After bonding with all the pigeons, we realized that Jinah was no where in sight! She must have walked off somewhere and unknowingly got separated from the rest of us. We waited around in the Square to see if we could find her, but… we had no luck. Since she had the map, we knew she would be okay. Along our mini journey through Venice, we stopped to eat some of the most delicious gelato in the world (of course, I’ve been saying that every time I ate gelato here in Italy), we tried on various authentic Venetian masks and took pictures with them, we browsed around a bunch of souvenir shops, and continued to take a plethora of pictures.

The rest of the evening was awesome. I mean, all we did was walk around as much of Venice as possible without a map haha… but that was all I needed. Venice is beautiful from every and any angle… Lu and Edgar surprisingly ran into one of their friends from Berkeley who is studying abroad and traveling this summer as well! Haha talk about a small world… ah! After they chatted for a bit, we continued to walk and we walked as far as we could until we reached the water’s edge! It was a beautiful site to see… Once the sun went down, we thought it would be best to head back to the hostel. We were a bit worried when we found out that Jinah wasn’t at the hostel waiting for us but just when we were about to leave to eat dinner, we see her coming up the stairs! Haha yes, reunited! We all ate dinner together at one of the only Italian restaurants that were still open near midnight.

"Every Bite Means Less Pizza!"

And in the blink of an eye, we are out of Guardamar del Segura… goodbye Spain, hello Italy! I’m currently in Venice, Italy right now! The journey was long, the airlines were mean, but we made it to Venice… and it couldn’t feel anymore like a dream than it already does. As soon as Melissa and I woke up this morning, we started packing and getting everything together before our shuttle arrived at 12 noon to take us to the airport. It was another bittersweet day today, especially when we woke up to near silence in the Pension; almost everyone had already left to their new destinations. It felt a lot like the end of freshman year at Berkeley in the dorms… haha but enough about the “sad” part. All of us had such a wonderful experience in Guardamar this summer and I know I will never forget it.

As noon neared, Melissa and I brought our luggage downstairs and I occasionally poked my head outside the door of the Pension looking for a large van. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for, but I guess I didn’t need to, because the shuttle driver parked his van and walked over to me and asked if I was the one that scheduled a shuttle to the airport. Thank goodness he did that. Anyway, within five minutes or so the rest of us came downstairs (Edgar, Lu, Sherry, and Jinah) and we packed up the van before heading out. Haha we had so much luggage between the six of us… it took some strategic work to make all of our stuff fit, but we did it.

I’m so glad that we took a shuttle to the airport because we ran into a bunch of difficulties and delays between checking into our flight and boarding our plane. Ryanair, the airline that we chose to fly with today, caused us so much stress and were completely unreasonable with charging us with fees for our luggage… to make a long story short, we ended up running to the gate and vowing to never fly with Ryanair again haha.

Anywho, within a few hours we arrived here in Venice, Italy with a combination of a hungry and sparkle in our eyes. We hadn’t really eaten all day so we were all so hungry but –I don’t know about them— I was so wide-eyed and like a kid in a candy store once we got here… I think my “homies” were making fun of me for filming us walking through the airport once we arrived here haha. Anyway, we had to find our way through and out of the airport so we just asked for directions and were guided to take a bus and then a boat to get to our hostel. Yes, you head right – a BOAT! The most amazing thing about Venice is the fact that water takes the place of streets, boats take the place of cars, and boat stops take the place of bus stops. It’s just so amazing. One of my first impressions of Venice is that it is extremely classy and it’s actually not as crowded as I thought it would be. After asking around, we finally found which bus we were supposed to take (the 52) and we took our boat to our hostel where we waited for one of the owners of the hostel to direct us to where we’ll be staying for the next two nights.

Dude, our hostel is so legit! It’s located right on one of the river streets and is absolutely huge and wonderful. It’s like we’re living in an actual Venetian home… and it’s all to ourselves! Man oh man.

We spent the rest of the evening walking through Venice… exploring the streets and experiencing the “night life.” We passed by so many amazing little shops that I can’t wait to walk into tomorrow. We ended up eating some delicious Margarita Pizzas at a local food place and dined so wonderfully. And our meal was topped off with an amazing scoop of Gelato icecream…. Mmmm!!! It. was. bomb. After we ate, we started exploring more and more…. Until we started feeling raindrops fall onto us. Can you believe that? As soon as we got to the Grand Canal, it started pouring like crazy! Madrid, Part 2 for sure, dude! The funniest thing was that as SOON as it started raining, crowds of venders came out of no where carrying a bag of umbrellas and asking if we wanted to buy one. We didn’t think it was worth 5 euros, so we stood under a landmark for a bit hoping for the rain to stop so we could walk back.

Alas… it continued to rain. HARD. So we decided we had no choice but to run back home in the rain. I tried my best to cover my bag but other than that, I let myself get SOAKED. I mean, there was nothing I could do haha. By the time we got back to the hostel, we were all drenched… we look at each other, shrugged, and walked up the stairs to our hostel. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Water seems to be a reoccurring theme this summer, now isn’t it? Haha.

Stay Classy, Guardamar!

I can’t believe I’m about to say this… but today was our very last full day in Guardamar del Segura, Spain. Can you believe that?! Aye well, before I get too caught up on how fast this summer has flown by haha… I should mention that Group 4 successfully presented today and this summer’s Arch 101 Studio Program in Spain… is complete. As far as the presentations went, everything went smoothly haha. We had new reviewers again today; they were great reviewers but the only catch was that they didn’t know any English. So, Alex had to translate every few sentences of each of the student’s presentations as well as the reviewers’ comments so that both end understood what the other was saying. It took a bit longer because of this but it worked out just fine. Haha by the way, Melissa has a new fan now! One of the reviewers, Jesus, was absolutely taken aback by her project – he was so mesmerized and he just couldn’t get enough of it! Haha in the end, Melissa ended up leaving her boards and signing them so that Alex could give it to Jesus. Oh man, he’s going to be so happy haha. Alex ended our Review with a few words of advice in the Architecture realm… it was like a sentimental motivational speech haha. It was nice to end on a happy note, even if it was bittersweet.

After Final Review, we went directly to the Pension and ate our last meal together in the Pension (AKA “Our Last Supper”). We definitely ate well. I had the usual, Carbonara and Roast Chicken haha. Even though the Pension serves incredibly greasy food and provides “bug juice” for their customers to use… I’m going to miss it haha. Really. Especially Vicente, one of the owners of the place. He has been so good to us this summer. I’m never going to forget not only his food and mannerisms, but his incredible hospitality to us “chicos y chicas.” He told us that he really enjoyed having us at the Pension and that we were an amazing bunch of kids to keep him company during the summertime. It was all so bittersweet… but a nice way to end this summer session. One of the students took a picture of him sleeping in the kitchen or something haha and we all passed it around to sign and give to him. Albert helped translate some words so I could write my little note to him in Spanish. I think it made him really happy. Oh! Melissa, Sherry, Lu, and I got to take a picture with him haha! That made US equally happy.

After eating and resting up a bit, we headed back over to the Ayuntamiento to pin down and pack everything up. Slowly but surely, as everyone showed up, the walls became bare and all of our presentation boards and mylar were either rolled up or laying on the floor for Alex to take home. I’ll admit that it was sad to think that it’s all over… but I am so very thankful that whatever is “over”… happened. I have made so many irreplaceable memories this summer that I will never forget.

Eventually, everything disappeared minus the stacked chairs and collection of models on the floor. Haha maybe it’s a good thing that none of us are able to take our models home on the plane; seeing our models laying on the floor the way I did today made me think of the models as pieces of us… yes, they were precursors to what our buildings would look like, but they’re also like a representation of us; we’re leaving a part ourselves in Guardamar haha. Is that cheesy or what? Before leaving, we all said our goodbyes farewells to Alex… thanks to Ceci, we were able to get a framed group picture of the class and him with our signatures on the back in time before he left. It was actually really cute! Haha.

Afterwards, Melissa and I spent some time at the daily market that’s held down by the dunes. Since it is our last day, I shopped more aggressively and efficiently as I didn’t let myself think too much about what I eyed and whether or not I should buy it or not. I’m so glad we went! We did have fun though; aside from the shopping we –once again – took some “silly” pictures together haha! They are priceless.

What can I say? It’s time to start packing everything up, for real this time, and moving on with new adventures. I have definitely had one of the most adventurous summer’s of my life here in Guardamar del Segura… even with the unreliable internet connection, “it’s been good, Guardamar, it’s been good.” I’ve also realized that for the past two months I have lived WITHOUT a cellphone, texting, air-conditioning (this is normal, but still), television, more than one meal a day, and a dryer for clothes… in return, I have lived WITH one large meal a day, nutella and bread in place of other meals, a tiny room for two, limited toilet paper, cockroaches, bugs in vinegar and soup, loud music playing until 7am in the morning, cigarette smoke just about everywhere, and the good ol sunshine to dry my clothes… the list is endless.

Come tomorrow morning at 11am, all of us will be checking out of our rooms and will be on our way… some of us will be heading home while others will be delaying their trip home for an extensive Eurotrip! Come tomorrow afternoon, Lu, Edgar, Jinah, Sherry, and I will be heading off to Venice, Italy! I’m so excited!

Watch Out… They Have THEE Pants!

Today was our second day of Reviews and I’d say it went well. We had two new reviewers instead of Vicente, so it spiced things up a bit. Overall, everyone’s presentations were great! I mean, each Reviewer had their own opinion about each project, as expected, but the critiques they gave were solid. I’m really proud of everyone haha. Both Group 3 and 4 were supposed to present today but since the Reviewers had to leave, only Group 3 got to present. Thus… we shall leave Group 4 for tomorrow.

This is the longest Review I have ever had!

Anywho, this evening was so much fun! Remember those really colorful and comfy pants that I bought several weeks ago? Well, five other girls and I had bought them too, so we decided to have a most epic photoshoot at the ol castle of Guardamar. Haha you should have seen us! We all wore our pants, slip on shoes, and a tank top. We took a BUNCH of absolutely ridiculously-amazing pictures with our most awesome pants on haha! We took jumping pictures, kicking pictures, “normal” pictures… a combination of everything with everyone! We were getting so into it and had such a great time. Cristian, Albert, and Yoshie came up a little bit later to see us and they helped us take pictures of us. Cristian called us Gypsies once he saw all of us dressed in our matching pants and shoes haha



All I gotta say is... "Imma Gypsy!"

My Jelly Fish Pulled Through!

Today is Wednesday. That means that today was the very last Mercadillio that we went to. We couldn’t, wouldn’t, and didn’t miss this amazing market for the world. So, we got ourselves out of bed before meeting up with Alex and browsed around a bunch of booths. Since it WAS the last time we were ever going to be able to go to a Mercadillo, I finally decided to buy a nice dress haha. I’ve been eyeing it for the past several Mercadillos… haha so I’m glad I finally got it. We scurried back to the Pension before meeting with everyone else; all the while I was mentally preparing for my presentation at Final Review that was about to happen!

So, today was Day ONE of Final Review… and I am officially D. O. N. E. with Arch 101! Since I’m in Group 1, I was a part of the first group to present today (Group 2 presented today as well). I think my presentation went well. It was the first time that I didn’t rush through my presentation and slur my words together haha. That usually happens since I get really nervous sometimes, but today… I handled it much better. The reviewers, Alex, Paloma, and Vicente (a visiting architect from Alicante) seemed to like my project. Vicente kept saying that my Jelly Fish were so… different and very unique. He couldn’t think of any other place that looks like my Jelly Fish haha. I guess that’s a good thing. Of course, my project isn’t resolved and essentially, it is still “incomplete” but for the amount of time I had to produce a building and with all the technical problems I was having with my complex Jelly Fish… I’m really proud of the end result! Final Review = Success! I’m so glad I finished today.



Anywho, half of the class finished presenting today. Up next: Groups 3 and 4! After Final Review, most people hung around for an hour or so and then everyone met up at the “Alone” café that’s right across the street from our Studio and we all celebrated the ending of our summer session with dinner. The owners of this café made a GIGANTIC pan of Paella for all of us with enormous shrimp and mussel. Oh baby! It was nice to eat with everyone and wind down after a long day of our first day of Review. Haha “Edgar and his women” were all sitting together having a blast and we were writing each other’s names in whatever language we knew… all over each others’ hands… just because haha.

Only three days left!

Now, THIS Is My Cup of Tea!

Oh man, so today we have been printing nearly all day at Copi Gama trying to prepare our boards and presentations for Final Review. It’s been pretty stressful because there were so many of us trying to print two boards on one plotter in the store. Also, a handful of us were having technical difficulties with our Illustrator files… some were too large to open or needed to be split into two different PDF files. All of which slowed down the printing process. But anyway! Haha in the mean while, the students who already presented were with Alex who was getting interviewed by the local news! Yeah! We really are the celebrities of Guardamar. They must have interviewed Alex for a while because we arrived at the pin-up space before everyone else did.

Aside from printing our boards, we spent most of today pinning up all of our work and making our exhibit look presentable. Once everyone else arrived at the Ayuntamiento we all just mingled together, nibbled on the snacks and refreshments that were brought to the exhibit earlier, and were occasionally taped by the local news who were walking around documenting the whole event! Haha. Since it was nearly 9pm by the time the press left, Alex decided that it’d be best to officially start our Final Review tomorrow! Group 1 and 2 will be presenting tomorrow on Wednesday and Group 3 and 4 will be presenting on Thursday. That’s totally fine with me. I just feel so relieved to have plotted!



As soon as I thought the day was over, a spontaneous idea came to mind. Alex asked us if –to those who have not gone yet— if we wanted to go to the Tea House. Earlier in the summer, Alex took most of the class to this amazing little gem outside the skirts of Elche, which is only about thirty or so minutes away. Since all of us were finished with our work, we really had nothing else to do, so we jumped on the opportunity! Haha it was getting late, but Alex and Paloma still drove a group of us to the Tea House. And let me tell you, I absolutely LOVED this place! Yes, it was dark when we got there. Yes, I was tired from the crazy printing session earlier in the day. But, “Oh my jesus,” I just couldn’t stop taking pictures (of what I could) and focusing my eyes on what was visible in the darkness haha. We ended up staying there for a good two hours. I wanted to stay longer haha. But anyway, it’s like a magical, exotic garden in the middle of no where… with beautifully-lit lanterns, lush greenery everywhere, lounging areas, tents that you can sit in and have tea, peacocks chillin’ on the roof (literally), geckos on the walls, kittens and puppies running here and there, an impressively-built house that you discover its history by running your fingers along the walls and walking through carved spaces… it’s incredible.



One of my most favorite things about the Tea House is the view of the stars at night. Since we got there pretty late, we could see so many stars out in the sky. And since the Tea House is located in the middle of nowhere, away from all the light pollution, it’s like being covered with a blanket of millions of stars when you look up. It. was. breathtaking. Being in such an exotic environment is almost as sweet as the teas and snacks they served us under the tent, or maybe even sweeter!

I really, really want to go back. Maybe if I'm lucky enough I'll go back to the Tea House in my dreams tonight haha. Wish me luck on tomorrow's presentation!

Go, Jelly Fish, Go!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... it is my pleasure to announce the official completion of my design project for Arch 101 Studio this summer! Yes! You heard right. The only thing left for me to do is to plot and present within the next couple days. Even though I've been having so many difficulties with the complex geometry that I used to create my "Jelly Fish" forms and even though I had to start over and redo everything a countless amount of times, I'm pretty happy with the result of my project and I'll admit, these Jelly Fish of mine have really grown on me haha. I mean, we did only have a couple weeks to crank out the whole project in its entirety! The last two weeks or so have been brutal, but we made it through! Melissa and I have been working so hard these last few days. It's crazy how we even forgot to eat... since the hours pass as quickly as a shooting star shoots through the sky. The lack of sleep and decent food has really drained us, but that was expected... haha. As soon as I got up this morning, I literally sat up and clicked "Save" on the render I had left running over night and set up another render... I did this all even fore going to the restroom. What's up with that?! Haha.

Well, anyway, it was definitely another L O N G day today. Melissa, Albert, and I were working all morning, afternoon, and evening. Once we saved everything and were ready to go print, we got the news from some of our classmates the plotter that we were using broke... after seven people plotted, it broke. It was expected though, twenty-five kids plotting two boards right after another... it was bound to happen! It sucks because we really wanted to print today and we were ready to get it over with, but it's okay. We'll just have to print tomorrow. Hopefully.



I'm really proud of the work I produced in these last couple weeks though! I really, really am. The renders I made came out pretty well. And thanks to Albert, Melissa and I were finally able to successfully produce a "night render." It's awesome! But anywho, I'm probably going to hit the hay early tonight and finish up some other little things tomorrow morning.

Go Jelly Fish!