Author: Aaron Pajestka

“I have a heavy case of post-travel blues and how do I deal with it?”

This trip was one of the most amazing trips I have ever been on and I will never forget it. Although I was excited to come back to Ohio to see my friends and family and tell them about my travels to Chile, I miss waking up to the sun and 80 degree weather, trying new and delicious foods, and exploring and adventuring in Chile. Today I am feeling quite sad to be honest, so I searched the web to find out how others who have experienced post-travel depression dealt with it most effectively and here were the top and most common responses that I found:

  1. Ease into a Daily Routine: Slowly incorporating old habits from before you traveled with maybe some new ones that you developed while abroad can help eliminate that depression because the new habits will remind you of your travels and how you felt doing them. If possible, don’t rush quickly into this routine, do it slowly and take your time.
  2. Log your travels in a Creative Way: Perfect for us, we had to do a lot of sketching and write blog posts! I found that sketching in the spaces for me personally, was one of my favorite things we did because it forced me to look closely at detail and observe how the people interacted in the space. Creative outlets like sketching and blogging are helpful because it serves as a reminder of the feelings and emotions that we were experiencing at that time. We can easily look back on these if we are feeling sad and they can bring us joy.
  3. Travel in Your Own Backyard: Make new experiences at home by exploring Columbus and what is has to offer! Just like we were all adventurous in Chile, take that sense of adventure and try new things like restaurants, museums, parks, etc… Do things you normally wouldn’t do and be open-minded.
  4. Start Planning Your Next Trip: One of the most encouraging responses that I found. Look forward to a trip in the future and start saving for it! You’ll be very motivated and sadness will be replaced with a sense of excitement like we experienced before we traveled to Chile.
  5. It Takes Time: Use the time after your trip to reflect and think about your travels and your life back at home. Ask yourself: why were you so happy abroad? Are there things that you can incorporate into your life here back at home in order to feel that same sense of joy? Also think about what your life has now that you were unable to obtain while abroad…don’t take your life for granted and have a greater appreciation for it. It takes time to adjust back into your normal life, so don’t sweat it!

Well I hope that this is helpful to anyone who is feeling a little sad like I am! Chao!

Wine + Bikes + Gorgeous Views = Slice of Paradise

On our free day, a group and I decided to visit a vineyard near Santiago that was fairly easy to get to by metro and a 10 min taxi ride. The vineyard was called Viña Cousiño Macul and it was located south of Santiago. The vineyard was founded in 1856 and is still in the hands of the original family (the 6th generation now) which is rare because most vineyards have been sold off to bigger companies in around the Santiago area. The tour that we did was the bike and wine tour which included a guided tour through the vineyard on bikes, a tour through the processing facility where they make the wine, and a tour through the cellar where they stored wines to age. Our tour also included four wine tastings as well. I thought that the tour was so amazing! The vineyard was so beautiful because you could see the mountains from the property and one fact that I found really interesting was that the vineyard actually stretched all the way from the outskirts of the city to Plaza de Armas when it was first founded, but was slowly sold off over the years. The wine tastings were amazing and our tour guide who was an American from Colorado, showed us the proper way to taste wine which was the “5 S” rule:

See: Look at the wine first and see if it’s transparent or opaque…if it’s more transparent, the wine is much younger, if more opaque, the wine has been aged longer.

Swirl: Swirl the wine in your glass and see if the wine runs slowly or quickly down the walls of the glass. If the wine moves quickly, it will have less body in your mouth because it has less viscosity, and the opposite if it moves slowly.

Smell: Smell the wine and try to pick out different notes. Is it fruity, is it earthy, etc… everyone’s sense of smell is different, so no judgement can be given.

Sip: Taste a small portion of the wine and try to pick out any flavors that you smelled. Are you surprised by the taste? Is it sweet, more acidic, drier, etc…

Savor: Enjoy the wine!

Learning how to properly taste wine was so much fun and I encourage others to try the 5 S rule when trying new wine!

Here are some pics from the vineyard:

Rows of Grapes

Close up of some grape…they were delicious and sweet!

Guide to making some wine!

 

Two Projects with Sustainability in Mind, One Success.

Today we were able to visit the San Joaquin Campus and had the chance to explore two projects there: the Torres Siamesas and the Innovation Center. While I do not have the specs on the energy consumption of these two buildings, it was quite evident which building had more success in its design in conserving more energy and creating a more comfortable environment in my opinion. The first building that we toured was the Torres Siamesas. My thoughts were kind of split down the middle when it came to this building’s overall design and its attempt to mitigate the effects of solar gain due to the radiation of the sun. Firstly, when it came to its aesthetic design, I had mixed feelings. I found some details like the shape of the building and details in the interior like the lights and staircase to be quite interesting. On the contrast, I was not fond of the choice in material for the lower exterior. Although I appreciated the contrast in materials and a weathered wood would have still looked nice, the durability of the material was terrible and some areas were so deteriorated that it was unsafe to the public. When it comes to sustainability with this building, I believe the intentions were good, but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been…and I’m not sure if this was due to the budget, or general failure in the design. The building seemed to be quite hot on the upper levels and the double walled system did not seem to be working properly because heat was being trapped. This is quite problamatic because in order to cool the building it will require a lot of energy. Possibly too much solar gain was occurring for this building and maybe a better type of glazing would have helped, but these are only speculations. Overall, I’d say the design was not a complete flop, but definitely has flaws.

The Innovation Center was a different story than the Torres Siamesas, and I found this project to be very successful and was one of my favorite buildings I’ve seen so far on this trip. The choice in materials was ingenious and beautiful and I loved everything that this building had to offer. The exposed elevator system was not an eyesore and was rather quite fun and inviting, the cantilever pieces on the building acted not only as sun shaders, but were aesthetically interesting as well, the functionality of each floor was intriguing, and the atrium tied everything together. On a sustainable level, I thought this building was extremely successful. Concrete is a more sustainable material due to its properties with thermal bridging, and the atrium in the center helped heat from the building to rise and escape at the top. This building was much more comfortable than the Torres Siamesas, and I think that this project was wonderfully executed.

Innovation Center Sketch

 

The Highlights of Day 2

Hola everyone! I hope that you are all having as much fun as I am so far! I am already in love with this beautiful country and it is only day 2! The landscape of Chile is so lush and vibrant and being able to see so much green makes me a happy camper. Today was amazing and was an experience I’ll never forget. The pre-Columbian museum that we visited put me in awe because I thought the content of the museum was very riveting (my favorite pieces were the huge wooden sculptures and the quipus, or the knotted cords that the Incans used to store data, in the basement of the museum) and the design of the interior was quite spectacular as well. I loved how Radic played with light (using both natural and artificial) in a very ingenious way to emphasize certain pieces in the museum and draw your attention towards them. I found it to be quite special and from the many museums that I have been to, I’ve never seen one play with light in such a successful way like that. The details and materiality of the interior were very cool as well. One of the other things that I loved doing today was traveling to Cerro Santa Lucia. I hope that everyone gets a chance to go at least once on this trip to there because it was so gorgeous! You were able to get a 360 view of the entire city and the vegetation and the old structural elements blended beautifully together…just please be careful when you walk up the steps, they are definitely not up to American code! I am so excited for tomorrow to see and try new things and I hope to keep making many more memories! Side Note: if you are not aware of this (the group of people I was with were not) please look closely at the moon…It’s upside down! :O

Esculturas Femeninas de Madera in the Museo Chileno de Arte Pre Colombino

Pre-Departure :)

In roughly an hour we will depart Columbus and I am extremely excited to be able to partake in this adventure with everyone! There are so many things that I am looking forward to on this trip. First and foremost, I think everyone, including myself, are excited to be able to be going to a place where it is summer and we will see green on the trees! I expect to come back with a nice tan! Furthermore, I’m excited to immerse myself in a culture that is so different than our own. I’m eager to try news foods, try to muster up some Spanish phrases (my Spanish is pretty bad, so this should be interesting), visit so many innovative and enthralling architectural locations, and make many memories that will last a lifetime. On this trip, I hope to advance my sketching skills by analyzing the architectural sites and buildings that we will be looking at, learn a lot about sustainable building practices and design (something I am very interested in), be inspired by this foreign culture, and become a more confident and independent traveler. I have not planned anything for our free day, or our free time in the evening, but I will use the 12 hour plane ride to come up with some ideas! Safe travels everyone!

Aaron’s Bio

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*Me (far left) and a few friends in Cleveland on the day the Cavs won the championship*

   Hello everyone! I am a second year student who is majoring in civil engineering with a particular interest in structural engineering. I am also minoring in architectural studies. I am from Brunswick, OH (a city about 25 min. from Cleveland) and the youngest of three. I am in love with music in general, but my favorites fall under the genre of alternative. Some of the TV shows that I’m obsessed with are Game of Thrones, Westworld, Black Mirror, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Some other interests of mine include creating drawings/paintings, attempting to cook (sometimes my stuff tastes extremely good and other times I need to order takeout), playing the piano, and exploring nature.

   I am so excited to go on this trip and I never would have imagined myself being able to travel to Santiago, Chile because it seems so far off my path. I love to travel and I’ve been to a lot of places in the U.S., but I’ve only ever been out of the country once when I went to France in high school. I am so happy to be a part of this program and ready to learn a lot with you all this semester!