Author: Jackie Chen

Recall the Trip

the Virgin Mary Statue on Cerro San Cristobal

The journey of Santiago has already been over. I took off my shirt and wear my coat again. To some extent, I am happy to back to Columbus where is a most familiar place. On the other side, I cannot forget the days in Chile. It is an amazing trip that everything seems unreal.

I was so surprised that there is a fantastic city like Santiago in South America. In my memory, the countries in South America are poor and boring. However, I totally change my impression after this trip. The architecture in there is various. Same as landscape. You can see some historical  building like Santiago Cathedral while some architecture are contemporary such as Innovation Center, The Monastery Church and the Museum of Memory. And we also appreciate the colorful residential in Valpariso. I feel so fortunate to visit Chile as a landscape architecture student because I can broaden my horizon. In addition, I cannot believe there is a good metro system in Santiago. Since in most city, even in Columbus, there is no metro. It is so cheap and convenient to take the metro to anywhere in Santiago.  Moreover, the food is so nice. All meal I had during this trip, especially the group meal, is awesome. I am also glad to taste Chilean wine which is famous. But the most unforgettable thing is Monte con huesillo. It is a local drink that is sweet. Besides, I was amused to learn some words of Spanish from this tourism. I can say ‘Hola’,’La quanta’ and ‘Gracias’ now. Last but not least, I feel happy to meet many new friends. I would never forget that I traveled with them to Chile.

Last Day

Food in Mestizo

Dessert in Mestizo

Time is going fast. It’s already last day in Santiago. This is a busy trip that we probably never stop our step. However, I recorded the Chilean food as well as I always do. I think Chilean food is tasty over I imagined.

To begin with, I want to talk about the drink I taste on Santa Hill on first day. Actually, I am unwilling to try this strange drink when I saw it in the first time because it is not good looking. However, somebody taste it and recommend to me. I just had a try. To my surprise, it so sweet! I immediately fell in love with this drink. According to a local person, it is a famous drink in Chile, called Monte con huesillo. People put wheat, peach, red sugar and water together and boil them over one and half hour to make this amazing drink.

Moreover, I would like to say something about restaurants we have been. In fact, I think all of the restaurants we had group meal in are good. But I like Mestizo most. To begin with, there are a good environment. This restaurant is half close and half open that customer can appreciate the pretty surrounding when they are having food. Besides, the food is also delicious. I ordered beef with pasta. The beef is smooth while the pasta also taste good. I also like the dessert which is as sweet as honey.

At last, I also want to recommend the fruit in Santiago. Mulberry, Blueberry and grape are famous here. They are sweet and full of water. Maybe this is the reason why their wine is well-known around the world.

Overall, I totally change my impression of the food in Chile. I love the food here. It may be a reason if I back to Chile for travel again in future.

Day5&6

Little sculpture in La Sebastiana

Decoration on street in Valparaíso

In day 5, we got up early and start our trip at 8:00am. Taking 2 hours on bus, we went to a costal town, Valparaíso. The geography in there was steep. Houses located from bottom to top of mountains. We straight to La Sebastiana, which is a big residential of a poet, called Pablo Neruda. He is also a receiver of Nobel. This house was facing to sea with a big terrace. Standing on the terrace, you can have a good view of the whole town and the sea. There are 5 floors in this house although each floor is narrow. (This looks like a character of houses here. )Going upstairs, You can see amounts of treasures displayed in La Sebastiana. I even found some pretty Chinese drawing! After appreciating this delicate house, we walked around the town. This town is special because all buildings are colorful. You can see scrawl on wall anywhere. And it is also interesting that design is fulfill in any corner. For instance, the stair is painted in black and white, looks like piano. Then, we go down to seaside. I enjoyed the feeling when wind flowed on my face.
Time comes to day 6. We took metro to Santiago Cathedral and Museum Memory. Santiago Cathedral is a brilliant and holy place. You would be conscious to keep silence when you walk into it. Museum Memory is another respectable place. I learn a a lots about Chilean history there. Through some video and relic, I know how Chilean experience war and gorven. I respect them because I think it is difficult for them coming from battle. After visiting Museum Memory, I have a deeper understanding of Chile.

Day 4

This is the fourth day we come to Chile. We kept going for our journey.

Today, our first destination is Universidad Católica de Chile. We got to there by metro. It is busy and crowded in the metro line because we traveled on weekday and hush hour. Taking about twenty minutes, we arrived the university and visited a building of computer science. It is designed by Alejandro Aravena. This building used glass and wood as major materials. The windows were parallelogram. And this architecture separated into two tower on the top. Looks like ‘Y’. That’s interesting. However, I prefer the building we went later, the Innovation Center. This is also Aravena’s work. It is made up by geometry. The wall is concrete with huge concave windows. It looks clear. You cannot recognize how many floor there are when you have a look from outside. Actually there are 11! The indoor design is also fantastic. A big hollow space is in the middle. There are four elevator which is bare in the central space. The wall is decorated by wood. Everything seems modern!

In the afternoon, we visited another school at San Joaquin. We also did an assignment there. By drawing plan and section, I was clear to understand the construction of that school although it was complex. In this school, all the building has connection. There were some channels connecting different departments. Some of them are on ground while some are under ground. I think the designer did a good job to associate the old building with the new. It is great to keep the old building instead of destroy and rebuild.

That’s what I generally saw today. I feel happy to appreciate lots of amazing architecture. Hope the following days would be more interesting.

central space of the Innovation Center

Day 3

The Monastery Church

The ramp of Universidad Adolfo Ibañez

Yesterday is a sunny day. We meet early and began our journey. We climbed up to a hill to visit a church, called Monastery. To be honest, I rarely focus on church. And I believe this church is the best design I have seen. I think the designer is good to use sunlight. The Windows’ location and size are comfortable. Sunlight go through the windows and come into indoor space, making a sense of holy. And the huge hall looks majestic. Walking into the church, you would be shocked by this masterpiece.

Besides, we went to Universidad Adolfo Ibañez which is a local university. I witness a famous ramp that I just saw in photo. This ramp let me associate with the ramp in Knowlton hall. However, there are a lot of differences. This ramp is more flexible. It is curve that looks really artistic. And the space is much bigger. People can have a open vision when they stand on the ramp. Last but not least, the detail is fantastic. The middle of wall is white while the bottom is gray concrete. And the armrest is made from wood, which is different with the wall material.

Overall, these two building impressed me a lots. They are designed in different way. But they are both successful in details, using materials and space design. I fairly appreciate them.

Day 2

After a long flight and a tired day, I woke up a little bit late today. I just missed the breakfast but still meet on time.

In the morning, it is cold. However, walking for a while, I feel much better. We went to downtown by subway and visit the La Moneda Cultural Center. Although the main space of the center is not open today, I was attracted by the gift shop. There’re amounts of interesting souvenirs. After that, we headed to PreColumbian Museum. I saw some pretty artwork and choose one of my favorite doing a sketch.

In the afternoon, we began our assignment. We were supposed to analyze the Plaza de Armas. My group is well-organized. I did the part of transportation while some people did the plan and section. I probably figured out the mode of transportation, the location of traffic light, the speed limit and traffic volumn of each road. It was not easy because the weather  was extremely hot and the sunshine was dazzling. Besides, we also analyzed two sweet. I did a plan and section respectively. I feel satisfied for my drawing but it can still be improved in following days.

One more thing impressed me a lot. Before dinner, I went to a yogurt store which is just near the hotel. Initially, I worry about how to order because of the language. However, to my surprise, the seller speak English to me! He is so nice and the yogurt is also tasty. I strongly recommend to you guys!

 

Pre-trip

I am so excited now because the Santiago trip is ready to begin. It will be my first trip to South America, to a place I am unfamiliar with and curious. I have prepared for this travel for a whole week. Last weekend, I went to Chase to exchange $500 as Chile Piso. I just prevent my debit card doesn’t work in Chile that I can use cash. In addition, I call to AT&T to open my international plan. On Wednesday, I specially went to Target to purchase some stuff, such as transverter, sunscreen, tissues, mini-size toothpaste.  In order to be convinced, I also borrowed a small suitcase from my friend. It was just right to fulfill my package. At the night before the trip, I make sure again all of my document was here, including passport, visa, fright itinerary,Geoblue insurance card and others. I check the email from Aimee and Leslie and just confirmed I was ready for the Santiago trip. Although I was extremely excited, I fell asleep early because I didn’t want to be tired in the next day.

Every thing comes well. I went to airport on time and meet our team. I got a air ticket and passed security. Now, I’m on Gate 25 waiting for the fright to Dallas. I feel happy to this travel. Same as everyone. I look forward to arrive in Santigo after 10 hours. It must be a unforgettable experience travel with you guys. My spring break has already begun! Ho-la Chile!

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Hi guys. My name is Jackie Chen. But not Jackie Chan, I’m not the movie star. Anyway, I was a transfer student in OSU last semester and a sophomore in landscape architecture at Knowlton School now. I am from Guangdong, China, a place near Hong Kong. This is my first year coming to the United States. And I am happy that my first destination is Columbus. I love this peaceful city, I love its food, its weather and nice people here. Actually, it is a big challenge for me to adapt to a new environment because of different language and different culture, but I feel fortunate that my classmates and instructors give me so much help and support. I am happy to be a buckeye! I am a big fan of basketball and soccer. My favorite soccer team is Real Madrid. I am also interested in movies and American series. West World is what I am watching recently.

I look forward to traveling to Santiago with you. I am a travel enthusiast. Although I have been a lot of place, this will be my first time to go to South America. To me, Chile is a new and mysterious country. I like new things, new places and new experiences. I am excited to see how Chile looks like and how the culture influences those architecture and landscape. I expect to travel with you.