Author: Pamela Force

Up in the Clouds Going Back to Reality (post Chile blog)

Chilean Winery squad

Back to Columbus

I honestly was having withdrawal symptoms of missing Chile as soon as we were boarding the bus to leave for the airport. I didn’t want to say goodbye to the beautiful city, the culture, the food, nor the people of Chile. The first full day of coming back to Ohio, it was 35 degrees outside and raining. Not the best weather to come back to after being in 80 degree and sunny weather of Santiago. Although I do have to say that I am grateful we at least came back to rain and not snow.

The Santiago trip exceeded my expectations immensely. I not only gained an understanding of the Chilean culture and new sketching skills, but I also gained some amazing friendships along the way. Overall my two favorite parts of Chile was the nature and the importance of not being on your phone 24/7. I fell in love with the landscapes Chile incorporated throughout all of Santiago. Every street, every walk you took, you were surrounded by trees that bordered the road or trees/plants that created spaces or provided shade. There were numerous amounts of times when a lot of us wanted to be under the shade of a tree and it was provided no matter where we were. The importance of nature was really prevalent in Santiago, even their malls had openings to let in natural sunlight and fresh air. 

I also enjoyed not having cellphone service in Chile and how in the Chilean culture, they really want you to not be on your phones and to experience the conversations and the surroundings you are in. One of the restaurants even had a place mat that outlined where to put your phone in order to not be on it. I appreciate the amount of importance Chile promotes to not be on your phone and wish America promoted it as well. 

My experience of the Santiago study abroad trip has been one I will never forget and I hope one day, I will get to go back to see even more that I missed. 

Spheres and Rocks (Day 4)

Today we took the metro to visit Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Campus San Joaquin. While visiting the Innovation center on campus, I was intrigued by these cement spheres that were situated in front of the Innovation center due to their unique design and diverse purposes. There were three sets of the cement spheres containing roughly thirty various sized spheres in close proximity to each other. The texture of the spheres looked like a mixture of cement and other aggregates. As I was observing how the spheres related to the campus, I noticed they were being used more so as a place for gathering, sitting, and elemental design instead of relating to its context. Multiple people were sitting on the spheres, including our Santiago group, to rest or meet people to go inside the innovation center. The cement spheres acted as its own location marker due to how easily it was to spot and notice them. 

While walking around campus, there was also a stone garden that was behind the Complejo Andronico Luksic Abaroa (the cylinder brass looking building). The rock garden contained a rigid path passing through the empty space of two adjacent buildings and included various metamorphic rock types on each side. Lapis Lazuli, a very deep blue color, was one of the rock types shown in the stone garden and  an important one to learn about because of its mining origins and how native the rock is to Chile. The major source of mining for Lapis Lazuli is mined from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Andes mountains within Chile. 

Cement Spheres

Lapis Lazuli

Sketch of Spheres in front of Innovation Center

 

Great Food and Even Greater Edge Conditions (Day 3)

Salmon and Quinoa Aesthetic

Pampas grass

Papyrus

Diagonal walkways/borders of plant species cutting through the pond

No doubt the food here keeps getting better and better, especially when we ate at Mestizo Restaurant! I got the salmon and quinoa dish and it was the most perfectly cooked and aesthetically pleasing meal I had ever seen/tasted before. Muy Delicioso! After lunch my favorite part of the day was exploring the edge condition of Bicentenario Park. The water gardens were filled with numerous plantings, such as Pampas grass, Feather Reed Grass (Karl Foerster), and Papyrus. With some of the grasses reaching up to 10ft tall my views were limited, but the diagonal walkways reaching to the middle of the water garden, my interaction with the landscape changed. I was able to not feel enclosed by the vegetation and able to see the views that I couldn’t see when I was standing on the perimeter of the garden. The implementation of different programs within the water garden were also fascinating. Different sections of the garden contained an Egret and Flamingo sanctuary, Carp and Fish pond, and a section for marketing their decorative hedge designs. After the water garden, Bicentenario Park began to transition its landscape into more open spaces with less vegetation. Incorporating park like amenities, such as playgrounds and different jogging, biking, and walking trails. A drastic difference between the beginning of the park and the end of the park.

My First Sunburn of Spring Break

Day 2: Even though I applied sunscreen, I still got burned somehow but thats OK because it was still a great day! A definitely hot day and a lot of walking day, but it was all well worth the adventures we endured. My first favorite exploration we did today was analyzing the downtown streets. The group that I was in analyzed Estado and Esmerelda streets and we noticed while going down Estado street how peaceful it was compared to Plaza de Armas. Although I loved seeing Plaza de Armas and its beautiful vegetation, there was so much going on that it was hard to find an area that was peaceful. Which is why I loved going down Estado street because it was a drastic difference in environments going from a very loud, very active area to a more quiet and blissful surrounding. Another favorite place that we explored today was Cerro Santa Lucia. Even though some of the stairs were pretty questionable and our legs were dying for how many stairs there were, when we made it close to the top the scenery was glorious. I unfortunately didn’t make it to the very very top, but if a park can have amazing views no matter what altitude you are at, its well worth the workout. After dinner, a couple of us ended up going for ice-cream at the little mart across from the hotel and then decided to go and explore more of Santiago’s streets. We were all amazed by the fact of the moon being upside down since we’re in the Southern Hemisphere (thanks Aaron for sharing that fact!!!) We all stood out even more touristy since all of us were just staring at the moon for the longest time, it was great! We then all went to Lomits had some fantastic desserts and drinks. This was by far my favorite memory of today because of the sharable moments of laughter and spending time with people who I didn’t even know existed before going on this trip 🙂 can’t wait to explore more of Santiago with everyone here! Buenos noches amigos y amigas! 

Adios Columbus

Time has surely flown by fast and can’t believe we are all about to hop on a plane to leave for Santiago, Chile. I am extremely excited to be experiencing this trip with everyone and even more excited for the weather because I heard its going to snow in Cbus while we are on the trip! I am most excited to learn about the Chilean culture because I love learning and trying new things of different cultures and some friends who I met from Colombia this past Summer are super excited for me to be going to their country! This trip will also be a great way for me to practice my 3 years of learning Spanish in high school, even though I already know I won’t do too too well at it. I think the only thing that I am semi frightened by is the airplane ride because even though I have flown before, there is always that tiny “what if” in the back of my mind. So I’ll definitely be praying for safe travels for all of us and to stay safe in Chile and watch out for one another. Other than that, I have started to pack a little bit (by a little bit I mean just got my suitcase out from under my bed) and am trying to get a lot of my online school work done before our travels. Super pumped for this trip and I already know this spring break will fly by fast, but it will be well worth it. See you guys on Thursday and then on Friday to Santiago!!!! Peace 🙂

Pamela’s Bio

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Hey everyone my name is Pamela Force and I am a third year Landscape Architecture student. I was born in China, but adopted when I was around 8 months old and grew up in  Middleburg Heights, Ohio which is one of the suburbs in Cleveland (GO CAVS!). I have a younger sister turning 17 this year who is also adopted from China. I played basketball and volleyball when I was in high school, but overall my favorite sport to play/watch is basketball. I played the flute throughout all 4 years of high school, but now a days focus on learning how to play the guitar and piano.

Majoring in Landscape Architecture is still very surreal to me because I would have never pictured myself being in this major 4years ago and yet here I am with a year and a half to go. I was set on majoring in social work or nutrition, but adding freshman year studio to my schedule last minute was probably one of the best decisions I had ever made. I’m very grateful and excited to be going to Santiago, Chile and I’m even more excited to be able to experience the South American culture! Two things that I hope to gain from this trip is to improve on my drawing skills and to think more creatively about my sketches.

I hope and pray that we will all travel safely to and from Santiago, Chile and we will all have a very great and rewarding experience from our time studying abroad.

Pamela’s Face

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2 Truths and a Lie: 

1) I somehow managed to climb one of the most dangerous and highest mountains in Colorado this past Summer without me falling to death.

2) This past Halloween my roommate and I dressed up as Lilo and Stitch.

3) I got to shake the hand of President Obama when I was in high School.