typJo

Someday, somewhere - anywhere, unfailingly, you’ll find yourself, and that, and only that, can be the happiest or bitterest hour of your life.

- Pablo Neruda

Since the end of high school and the beginning of college, I feel like I have found pieces of myself each year. Whether it was discovering the power of design in school or rediscovering my love for travel over the summers, every year I have grown as an individual to appreciate the people around me and the opportunities that have come my way. This year was the year filled with the most experiences abroad and the most interesting people that I have met in my life. 

I have never sat down and looked at the ten most greatest moments of the year, but I felt like this year, I had to. There were so many great memories with family and friends and discoveries on my own. I have to share them! 

10. Google Reader. 

At first I was hesitant to take up one of my sister’s habits, but boy, am I glad that I did! At the beginning of the year, my sister introduced me to Google Reader. It has changed my life and the way I get information. From a variety of blogs, I am always informed of the newest architecture projects/competitions, industrial design products, environmental designs, food explorations, news stories, and fashion trends. I know I annoyed many with my unintentional 20 to 30 Google Buzzes at once, but Google Reader keeps me organized and informed about information when I want to read it. Thanks for introducing me and also getting me addicted to Google Reader, Eva! 

9. Partner Studio Project. 

In the second semester of my sophomore year, I worked on a partner studio project for a transit center in Bellaire with a good friend and classmate of mine, and it was one of the most challenging experiences that I have had in school so far. Nevertheless it was incredibly rewarding at the end. Because of my partner, I learned about some of my own working habits and some habits that I needed to work on. I also learned a lot about working with a partner. We are still friends. 

8. Paris. 

It was my first time in Europe and the first time abroad with my studio classmates! What I learned from my first time in Europe is that unlike China, they managed to preserve many traditions and worked hard to keep them visible as an icon of their country. It is really admirable when buildings as old as the ones that I visited have such a long life span. It only makes you hope that as an architect, your buildings can live forever and adapt to change around them. And while I know that I will never design anything as intricate as the churches we visited like Chartres Cathedral, but just seeing the structure and scale of the buildings is really phenomenal. Then there is also the flip side in Paris, which is Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. Paris is quick with change, and it was a really amazing experience to see it for the first time. (And tasting it for the first time, too!)

7. Hawaii

At the end of September, I skipped two days of studio (GASP!) for my cousin’s wedding in Honolulu. Fortunately I was able to see the lucky groom the summer before, when I lived and worked in Hong Kong for a month. Hawaii is as beautiful as people say. The ocean water is crystal clear, and the saying, “It’s as blue as the sky,” definitely referred to the sky in Hawaii. One thing I took away from Hawaii was the conversations I had with the guests who attended the wedding. I sat next to a former banker turned apprentice chef for The French Laundry restaurant. He was getting paid close to nothing, and he was pursuing what he really wanted to do. It was so inspirational. As the youngest person at the wedding (aka “Minor”), everyone was throwing advice at me. “Don’t do architecture. You won’t make any money.” “Pick something you really love to do. Don’t go into finance. It’s not worth it.” And some other advice was, “Drink up la! It’s ok! We got your back!” It made me wonder, what will my life be like in 10 years? 

6. Skype.

I was a little reluctant to use Skype after the death of AIM and the rise of GChat. After using Skype religiously every day at Cannon Design in Shanghai over the summer, I realized how powerful Skype really is. The quality is fantastic and so many people use it. Why not? I video chatted with my parents and my sister while in Shanghai. I chatted with my co-workers who sat right next to me at work. It is so glorious in fact, that it is helping me keep in touch with my friends from home and school. Before going back to school, I Skyped with my close friend that I met over the summer, and when we opened the video, we were both wearing the same shirt. It doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it was extremely funny at the time. I don’t know what I would do if I wouldn’t be able to see my friends or keep in touch with them. Therefore, I am eternally grateful for Skype. *Right after I wrote this blurb, my dad told me about China threatening to ban Skype. Cross your fingers that it doesn’t happen. 

5. Reunited.

My family is HUGE. On both of my mom and dad’s sides, I have cousins, aunts and uncles that I have never seen before. Until this year. I met many of them nine years ago when I refused to speak Shanghainese or Mandarin to them because I was afraid they would poke fun at my “American accent” like my mom used to do when I went to Chinese school. I wasn’t afraid to use my Shanghainese and to get better at it by practicing it with my relatives in Shanghai/Hong Kong and parents. It was the first time I was forced to use Shanghainese to communicate because some of my relatives didn’t know any English. Even though I was extremely slow at talking, I still learned so much from constantly using my Shanghainese and Mandarin at work. I became so confident with my speaking skills that I even started to talk in Mandarin to some of my aunts in Houston when I started the fall semester. My parents were also really happy that I became so “Shanghainese,” refusing to drink cold drinks or eat traditional Chinese breakfasts. I started to hate American food, and I was becoming Chinese. It was a complete role reversal from my childhood when I didn’t use chopsticks or eat any Chinese food at all. 

4. Paper Me.

My best friends from home took me around Disney last year and got autographs of Disney characters. This year, my friends took me to their classes, Thanksgiving, Christmas tree shopping, and the Philippines. I don’t know how many friends actually remember to take around a large 18x24 bristol sheet of paper with a cartoon Asian girl drawn on it, but I am glad that I have two wonderful friends who have continued to keep in touch with me even though we are not together in college.

3. World Expo.

I went 7 times. Each time was extremely different, but it was my last time that made me remember the Expo fondly (forgetting the long queues and the rude people). It was the Sunday before I left Shanghai when I decided to go with my classmate and co-workers to the Basel Architecture Day event at the Expo in Shanghai. We listened to the architects of the German and Switzerland pavilions talk about their work, and got fast access in the Germany pavilion (avoiding the 8 hour line). After we came out of the pavilion, we wanted to see the Switzerland pavilion. When we went to the back entrance, the guards wouldn’t let us go in. Even after showing them our badges, she refused to let us cut the other 8 hour queue. My co-worker spotted the Swiss architects walking towards the Germany pavilion, and we sprinted after them. We stopped them, telling them that we hadn’t seen their pavilion yet. They said, “Don’t worry. Let’s get a beer first.” They bought us a round of beers, in glasses as tall as a high boot. Afterwards, we reminded them that we wanted to see their pavilion. They led us to it, and after having a hard time with the guards, they made a few phone calls and got us into the back entrance. We made it to the top of the pavilion, walking on the roof, where there was no access for regular visitors. After lounging in the closed cafe area drinking water, they claimed they were hungry. My classmate suggested a fancy Taiwanese restaurant in Xintiandi, and we went! We went showed them the way on the subway and took taxis to the restaurant. After a delicious late dinner meal, they insisted that we take them to a bar. At this point, we were all exhausted. My co-worker assured them that the bar she recommended was an excellent one for foreigners, and we sent them on their way in a taxi. It was such an amazing and crazy experience. I have concluded that these special experiences would only happen in a city like Shanghai. 

2. CSP10.

I applied in 2008 during my freshman year, and expected to go in the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. I am so glad that I ended up going this year in 2010. I was reluctant to even apply to the programme because on the surface it seemed like just a “networking” opportunity, but I was wrong. It was so much more than that. On the trip, the delegates and I went to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Beijing. We had amazing tour guides in every city, visited the local universities, saw famous sites (like the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an), and spent time exploring on our own. Even though we spent a lot of time on the bus traveling from place to place, those bus rides were filled with interesting conversations and lessons. I learned how to speak some words in Cantonese, sing the CSP theme song, talk about the differences between the US and China, and rest from the intense heat of the summer! Everyone I met on my trip was extremely talented and motivated. They all opened my eyes to what it means to work hard and to just be yourself. 

1. Shanghai. 

I was determined to be in Shanghai this past summer. I emailed more than 50 architecture firms begging for an opportunity to work in Shanghai to learn the design process and to gain some work experience. I was incredibly grateful when I got a response back from Cannon Design. I worked with the rendering team and practiced my Mandarin with my co-workers. I met my first Korean-Chinese friend from the Northeastern part of China and became good friends with another ABC from the US. It was nice being able to talk with someone who moved to Shanghai from the US and was not too far in age from me. I was really thankful for all of her suggestions and advice throughout my time in Shanghai. Living on my own was scary at first in my grandma’s home, but in the end, it really warmed up. Catching the bus in the morning and transferring a few times before getting to work, buying breakfast off the street for less than $1, buying groceries to cook dinner or meeting classmates after work, and going on excursions over the weekend are all experiences that I had never had before. I was brave enough to explore Moganshan Road by myself and crash parties to meet new people in the design industry. It was all such a strange yet exhilarating experience for me that I know I will never forget. Going to Shanghai this summer has confirmed my love for the city and its density and my deep love for travel. Because of Shanghai this summer, I have grown closer to my extended family, learned to travel by myself, created conversations with complete strangers, and solidified my plans to work abroad in the future. I am so grateful of all of the opportunities I had in Shanghai, and I only hope that in 2011, I can find more and more bits and pieces of myself around the world. 

Have a prosperous and happy new year! Hello 2011!