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Alebrijes

June 27, 2018 by Darah Bagby-Prosser Leave a Comment

Saturday, my group went to visit the Ecolalebrije Project in Arrazola. They are a group of people who make alebrijes. Alebrijes are wood carvings that are decorated with bright colors and intricate details. They make the carvings out of Copal trees because the wood is soft. What I really loved about the Ecoalebrije Project is that they are very environmentally aware. They realized how valuable the Copal tree was, as well as the environmental issues developing due to the malpractice of cutting down trees. This inspired the organization to start a reforest program to help place more trees in the environment as well as be more eco-friendly about the way they create alebrijes. We were able to do volunteer work at their tree farm as well as make our own alebrijes. There is so much skill and patience needed to make them. Looking at all the designs, I have no idea how they do it!

Team Work

June 27, 2018 by Emily Toth Leave a Comment

Exploring Berlin comes to a halt for a few days! It’s time to get to work with the Technical University of Berlin students. We presented our stormwater case studies to the students and received nice feedback from the professor.

For our next project, we were put to the task to come up with stormwater design for RBB Berlin’s radio station building site. We went to the site to complete our initial site analysis and then the next day we went back with the TUB students to collect more data consisting of where the existing trees were, how many existing electrical posts, how many existing garbage cans and benches, how water is flowing on site, where the drains are, look for gutters on the buildings, look for curb cuts, how much impervious pavement and so on.

For the following week we began to form concepts on proposed stormwater design ideas. The site consisted of a lot of impervious pavement, which leads to a lot of stormwater runoff. The seating areas for workers were unwelcoming, and there was no reuse of water existing on the site.

For my groups design concept, we focused on incorporating sound waves into the landscape. Thinking about the historic background of the building, we thought it would be a really strong idea to bring in the shape of a sound wave onto the ground plane, but also play with it on the horizontal and vertical planes as well.

In the end the project had an integrated green and grey system where water could flow through out the middle of the site and down to the lowest point of the site where there would be fountains and seating for workers and visitors during the dry weather. During the wet weather, scuppers(open face gutter that carry water off the roof) and green rain walls carry the water from the roofs of buildings and create sound as the water flows down into the vegetated catch basin.

The main goal behind the design was to not only have that strong sound wave connection site from one end to the other, but also to create moments for workers and visitors to experience the sound, have their own space, and enjoy the water/vegetation on site.

Overall, the three day charrette went really well. We got to work with the german students and saw that they are definitely more conceptual when thinking about design, where as we are way more technical and like to think about all of the detail of the site. Plus, we got to celebrate with a german beer after a short 30hrs of intense design work.

Day 3: Fermentation CYCLE

June 26, 2018 by Alexia Ciarfella Leave a Comment

Fun fact About Me: At this point in my life, I have literally ridden a bike more in Europe than I have in my own country, as I just learned how to ride a bike three months ago in preparation for a trip to Amsterdam. I’m not entirely sure why I never learned how to ride a bike as a kid- probably because I was too stubborn- but now it’s my new favorite way to sight-see. So when I found out that after a three hour review of the biochemical pathway of fermentation we were to have our only free afternoon, the only cycle that was on my mind was a bicycle not a fermentation cycle. After class, some internet research, and a short (about 15 minute) walk from our hostel, my three roommates and I rented bright orange bikes from Ludisport.

Biking turned out to be the perfect way to experience the French countryside! The bike rental place was located directly on the easy, flat, scenic bike route that stretched for miles and miles across the landscape as it was an old railway that had since been paved over. Every single French biker that passed us on our journey greeted us with a friendly smile and hearty “Bonjour!”. We biked for 14 miles past sheep, goats, horses, and cows grazing in picturesque green pastures peppered with quintessential French country homes. For anyone planning to take this study abroad course, I would strongly suggest going on a similar biking adventure for your free day- it was such a memorable afternoon!

Day 2: Cheese Show and Tell

June 26, 2018 by Alexia Ciarfella Leave a Comment

As today was our first official day of class, we received our first assignment: buy a cheese at the local farmers’ market. I thought I could handle that- but it was easier said than done considering the huge selection of foreign cheeses to choose from and the language barrier! Luckily, our professors were there to help. As a class, we entered the town center and immersed ourselves in the Saturday market that united farmers, retailers, vendors, and townspeople on a weekly basis. The market was more than an opportunity for the French to purchase their food for the week; it was a hub of socialization where news spread, business deals solidified, and friends reunited. Vendors were not limited to selling cheese and produce, as many stalls offered flowers, shoes, clothes, spices, and much more! After a crash course in French shopping vocabulary and brief introductions to some of the vendors, our professors sent us on our way to complete our assignment. I picked up Brie du Meaux, as well as some other snacks and souvenirs.

After plenty of time exploring the Saturday Market and the shops within the town of Cluny, our class reconvened in our classroom back at the hostel for our “Cheese Show and Tell”. Each of us introduced our cheese, recalled the experience of purchasing it, and divulged as much information about it as we could gather from the vendor with our limited knowledge of French. Cheese selections ranged from different types of goat cheeses to the smelly Epoisses to the unorthodox Lavender Gouda. I’m pretty sure I tried more cheese during that Show and Tell than I had in my whole life!

Naturally, after experiencing some cheeses we had to switch gears and taste some Burgundy wines in order to get a proper introduction to the course! So after our Cheese Show and Tell, we headed to the cellar of a wine shop in town owned by Alice, a friend of Dr. Healey. In the cool, dimly lit cellar, we tasted three Burgundy wines and listened to a introduction about the region’s wine production and “terrior”- or the environmental conditions (soil, weather, climate, microbiology, and vigneron’s decisions) that impact the quality of wine.

#FoodSciOrDie Fun Fact: Within the Burgundy region 90% of the white grape varieties are Chardonnay and the remaining 10% are Aligote. In terms of red wines, 80% are Pinot Noir and 20% are Gamay. However, Burgundy wines are not typically labeled with their grape variety; instead, Burgundy wines are labeled with the village and specific vineyard in which they were produced. It is assumed that most white Burgundy wines are made with Chardonnay grapes and most red Burgundy wines are made with Pinot Noir grapes. In our first tasting, we tried Chenas Les Darroux 2011 (Gamay), Saint Veran Les Morats 2016 (Chardonnay), and Givry 2015 (Pinot Noir).

Week 4

June 24, 2018 by Billy Baumle Leave a Comment

24 June 2018

Sawadee!

I’m just returning from my weekend trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia and I had a great time! The city is pretty well-known due to its proximity to the Angkor Wat temple complex, which are considered to be the largest religious monument in the world! Watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat was truly incredible. I also met up with some friends I had met last year in Australia – it was nice to see a familiar face.

Not many updates on the internship side of my travels, as things are going great! I’ve learned quite a lot in the short time that I’ve been there and I’m looking forward to learning more about the UN system and processes.

I’m planning on heading up to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam, next weekend. I’ll check in again after that!

Til next time, sawadee krub.