Back in the U.S. of A.

Hi, everyone! I am back in the States!! In Queens for the past 2 days spending time with two of my most favorite people: Shannon and Tony. Still a bit jetlagged and waking up super early. Tonight and tomorrow I'll be in Brooklyn with some more of my fav people and then Texas!

Here are a link for my Copenhagen photos for my nonfacebook friends.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93747&id=569978631&l=707edef17a

Here's a link to my Western Denmark study tour photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100328&id=569978631&l=ed3b49e0dc

And here's the link to my Germany (Berlin & Dusseldorf) photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100359&id=569978631&l=b77e6a95d6

model

We had to redevelop an old ferry terminal in Copenhagen into a youth hostel. All of the grey in the model, with the exception of the bedding in the corner, is existing. All of the skylights, except for the glass ceiling above the circulation tube, was existing.

Here's a picture of all the incoming interior architecture students at RISD...

Off to Berlin today! Pretty excited about that! Kind of dreading lugging my suitcase around though.

Random Pictures

Exhibition

All done with school!! At least I am for the summer. Our final project was due on my birthday and yesterday, we had our public exhibition with all of our models and work on display. At the exhibition, I was able to talk to the head of the Interior Architecture department at RISD for the first time. He has been a lecturer here in Denmark. He told me my design was elegant…I’m pretty stoked about that. Now it’s just time to site-see and catch up on my sleep. I have so much free time. I’m not sure what to do with it!

At the dinner after the exhibition, all of the RISD kids (about 11 of us) gathered in one space (first time since arriving here) and took some pics. I’m pretty excited to get to work with this group for the next two years. They are all very talented (a bit scary since I’m kind of competing with them) and fun. I’ll have to post the group pics once I get them. For a lot of them, it’s their first time to study in the U.S.

I leave Copenhagen on Sunday for Berlin (yay!) for two days and then Dusseldorf for a day. (My original plans to go to Munich fell through…grr). Then I fly to NYC and then Texas. This trip has been amazing and has gone by so quickly, but I’m kind of ready to head home.

arghhhh

Who's idea was it to go back to school anyways!!?? Oh, mine? What was I thinking!?

(click on the arghhhh title for an article about architecture/stress)

Only two weeks left!

I only have about two weeks left in my program. I can’t believe it! Although I’m a bit homesick, it’s gone by really fast, and I still feel like there is so much I want to do while here. I won’t be doing any of that this week though. We have our final on Wednesday (I haven’t done any of the readings), and our final design project is due on Sunday. I still have 3 weeks’ worth of work left. Arghhhhhh! Sooooo, you know what that means! Only procrastination blogs for the next week (if that). Hopefully by the end of this week, I’ll have some good project pics to post. Fingers crossed!

Travel essential

I just want to say that Downey Wrinkle Releaser is fantastic. I don't want to think about the chemicals that are in it. All I need to know is how amazing it is removing wrinkles from my clothes. Travel essential!

Sweden/Finland Pics

Here are some more pics from my Sweden/Finland study tour
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=93756&id=569978631&l=ea13a03b18

Life is Good

So, on Saturday, I refused to do any school work. I rented a bike and just rode all over the city. It was really nice to have some time to myself and explore the city. For late lunch/early dinner, I got a small bottle of wine, some fancy meat and cheese package, and tortilla chips and went and sat by the water and people watched. I can’t imagine a much better Saturday.

random pics

Procrastination is vital to a designer’s creative process. At least it is in my experience. The pressure one gets from waiting until the last minute gets the brain juices flowing. I don’t know any designers that start projects early or even when they should . That being said, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. Ha! I am supposed to start designing a hostel within an old ferry terminal in Copenhagen for studio. I have a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head, but I just can’t get myself to go up to studio and start creating. Even though I know I will treat myself to a free hot chocolate when I go there. It’s not enough motivation for me!

I want to comment on the Danes, especially the Danish women. They have style, yo! I love the way they dress. Everyone looks put together and are individuals. You see hair of all different colors, funky outfits, fun jewelry, etc. I’m also impressed with the way they are able to bike along the cobblestones in heels and dresses while talking on the phone and avoiding pedestrians. Amazing. One trait that seems to be common among Danish women, besides the blond hair and tallness, model-like figures, is that they all typically seem to have deep voices. That’s all I have to say about that.

The Danish men are also interesting, although I typically prefer darker haired gentlemen. Ha I’ve noticed that the Danes generally keep to themselves. They are probably very friendly but are not overtly friendly to tourists, unlike other countries I’ve seen.

(sorry for the ugly layout again-this website is annoying)

Oh geez

I just have to say that while it’s amazing being in Scandinavia, this whole school thing is getting in the way of my exploring of the city. I did not expect it to be so busy…and tough! I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do since I’ve been out of school for 5 years, unlike most of the other students here. Plus, I feel a lot of pressure because the Dean of the RISD Interior Design program is one of the professors here and he told us (us being the RISD students here) that he expects a lot from us. Arghhhhh! Pressure! Pressure! I should get 9 credits from this program and it’ll be my first RISD grades. I must do well! Despite the pressure, I have to admit that it is fun getting back into the design world. I’m using parts of my brain that have been neglected the past couple of years.

Also, I just have to say is that I MISS MY CLOTHES! I’m already sick of what I packed. I can’t wait to be home and able to switch it up a bit. My shirts, my dresses, my skirts, my shorts…they probably all feel so abandoned. Don’t worry, wardrobe, I’ll be back soon!

And, not to sound like a crazy cat lady, but I miss Figgy (my cat) also! Luckily, I know he’s in good hands with my mom! Meow.

I should be getting to school soon, but it’s a rare day with nothing scheduled so I’m taking my sweet time even though I know the longer I put off going to school, the longer I’ll have to be at school. Fortunately, I’ve figured out the night busses so I can get home. (PS Copenhagen is an extremely safe city, so for all those who don’t like the idea of me taking a night bus, it’s perfectly safe.)

Kiasma, part 2

Kiasma

This a a modern art musuem design by Steven Holl in Helsinki, Finland.

Helsinki, Finland...part two

Helsinki, Finland

Sweden and Finland

I lost my shoe in the sea. I’m guessing that the Danish mermaids are now using it for a silly underwater flip-flop tag football with the fish. Nooo, I didn't lose it because of alcohol consumption. I lost it because I was being silly and taking jumping pictures (where someone takes a picture of you right as you are jumping) near the edge of the ferry, which took us from Sweden to Finland. It just flew right off my foot. Sad, sad. However, I never liked those flops anyways.

I haven't updated my blog in awhile because I didn't really have internet connection while away. We took a tour of Sweden and Finland for 8 days. Basically to sum it up, I can say that it was amazing, exhausting, and a great bonding experience. They are fantastic countries that I probably never would have visited if it weren’t for this trip. The countryside of Finland was gorgeous, as was the countryside of Sweden. There were lots of trees, lots of dramatic skies, lots of lakes, and lots of rolling hills. What I really enjoyed was Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. I had no idea what to expect so I didn’t have high expectations. So the city obviously exceeded all expectations. It was a beautiful, interesting old medieval city that has so much to offer. I hope to one day go back. Two days there was not enough.

I ate so well on this trip, compared to what I eat in Copenhagen (basically crap). They provided us with two meals a day, and they were good meals! We went on two overnight ferries (to and from Finland). The ferries had an hour long all-you-can-eat-and-drink (wine on tap) buffet. Woohoo!

Besides eating, drinking, and some exploring, we saw many amazing buildings. I'll attach pics later (I'm still going through them seeing how I took so many!). Lots and lots of sketching took place. I've never sketched so much in my life!

I experienced the Finnish sauna culture (click on link for more info). Apparently every family and single person has a sauna. It’s a big part of the culture. We had a sauna near our hostel in the middle of nowhere in Finland. It was amazing. You sit in the sauna while all the toxins sweat out of you, then go jump in the ice cold lake, and then repeat as necessary. I repeated twice.

I finally had a chance to hang out with locals on this trip. Some of us Americans made friends with some local Swedes, who took us dancing. I can now say I’ve danced in a Swedish club to Ace of Base (a Swedish band) with a Swede. What girl doesn’t want to be able to say that!

I’m sure I have so many more stories from the trip, but it’s really hot in this computer lab and I have tons of school work to do. Pictures will be attached later......

Fun pics