For my STEP signature project I went on a May European Architecture Study Abroad trip. Throughout this trip, we went on site visits to many major sites and cities, tours by locals, sketching and diagramming practices, and lectures on architecture history, form and theory. The countries that we visited are Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, France and Austria.
Studying abroad helped me develop a deeper understanding of myself and my interests. I experienced a lot of new ideas and cultures on this trip as well as some new challenges. Experiencing all of these new ideas helped me to gain a better understanding of how things work and helped me become more open minded. These challenges also helped me to become more independent and confident in taking care of myself even in a new and unfamiliar place. There were plenty of moments when we were required to navigate around foreign places and figure out even basic things like where to grocery shop, do laundry, etc. This was all especially challenging with the language barriers. Being completely immersed in a new environment helped me see my strengths and weaknesses much more clearly. This also helped me collaborate better with others when we planned “family” meals and free days in groups. Additionally, it helped me learn the value of things that I usually take for granted in my everyday life such as proximity to family and friends, access to electronics, etc.
This trip also helped me a lot with time management. There were free days on this trip that we explored on our own. These days were used to expand more on our individual interests in each place. In order to maximize our time we had to know how to zip around each city with public transportation, and figure out how to make things happen and budget time. My favorite free day was in Venice where we spent the morning seeing incredible art from all around the world at the Biennale art festival (Viva la arte!), spent the afternoon at Lido beach and the evening shopping, eating gelato and sitting by the iconic Realto Bridge.
Studying abroad also definitely made me more open minded and simply more aware of the world. I have lived in Columbus my entire life, so it was sort of shocking to see how different it was compared to other places. Being surrounded by iconic designs and rich culture gave me a better sense of what is out there. I loved trying tons of new foods and noticing the differences in the architecture, climate and urban fabric of the different places. An example of this is the traffic lanes in Germany versus Italy. In Germany the lanes are very clearly separated for pedestrians, bikes and cars whereas in Italy it is just one lane for all three. Understanding different cultures is so essential to being a citizen of the world. Understanding the ways that other people live and interact is also vital in understanding how to be innovative in global design.
One of the main things that made these transformations possible are the incredible people I met on this trip. Being surrounded by people with similar interests really encouraged more thought provoking conversations. This exposure to a static group of people on such a fast paced trip really helped give me a sort of family while so far away from home. Having this support group there made me feel like I could rely on people if I needed to. I definitely made some lifelong friends on this trip and I am really excited that we will be back together at Ohio State and even at Knowlton Hall together in the fall.
This trip also pushed me to learn in a different way than I am used to. Instead of learning from your basic powerpoint presentation lectures and textbooks, I was completely immersed in the architecture, history and culture. Throughout the duration of the trip, we learned from each other as well as our professors and mainly translated this knowledge through sketching and diagramming the sites. This was a more critical and interactive way to learn that allowed us to have more discussions and learn more about the theory of architecture. These sketching and diagramming exercises really helped me with these technical skills and allowed me to realize a bit more how designs are communicated before they are actually fabricated. I also learned unconventionally outside of architecture through just trying to figure things out in an unfamiliar place. It was really interesting to get to know the different norms and ins and outs of things that may seem so bland to people living there like public transportation systems. This trip definitely makes me want to travel to even more cool places!
This journey was also really valuable to my professional and academic goals. Since this trip revolved mainly around architecture it gave me the opportunity to become more in tune with a field that I am not directly in, but will be working closely with in my landscape architecture career. I also realized how much I care about design in a broader sense than just landscape and this trip inspired me to consider pursuing a design degree for graduate school as well. On a similar note, this trip also helped me increase my international job prospects. I really started to see what kinds of opportunities are out there for people in my fields, and even took note of a few cities that I would like to explore more or maybe even live in someday. Now that I have been to so many different places I will feel more comfortable going back, orat least have a better idea of some similar places to visit as well.
Additionally, it was really stunning to be in places that I had heard and learned about. This journey made me really excited to return to my studio class to really put all of the things I learned to good use. I am so excited to implement the ideas and inspiration that I gained in this trip in my future projects. This trip really allowed me to gain a global mind-set which will help me become more comfortable with backing up my arguments and informing my beliefs.
Overall, this trip was vital to my growth both personally and professionally. This experience helped me understand myself better, and helped me become more open minded and self reliant. It also pushed me outside of my comfort zone and allowed me to see the world in a new and reflective light. This project helped me enhance my experiences by becoming more open to new experiences and more likely to keep a lookout for other interesting and diverse opportunities. I feel much more ready to take on new adventures, interact in new situations and discuss new ideas.
Additionally, throughout this journey I gained an incredible amount of unforgettable moments including the Gondola ride in Venice, climbing the Duomo in Florence, experiencing Ronchamp, seeing peacocks in parks in Prague, sleeping in an Italian Villa, attending a Berlin Philharmonic concert, standing in front of Michelangelo’s David, climbing an Alp, and even doing karaoke in Munich. The list goes on and on; this trip was full of so many incredible moments that I would never trade for anything. This trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. Thank you!
