Anybody out there?

I know it has been close to a month since I've posted on here and I doubt that anyone is actually checking this thing anymore. I guess I'm slipping into that egotism that I talked about in Test (first post), but at the slim chance that someone is actually interested in those last couple of weeks that I was in Asia, here's a brief overview:

China was a great change of scenary; however, we managed to lose a couple of people on the way to Beijing and half our group was delayed for five hours in Shanghai so the first day was spent mainly in the airport. The "best" part about the Beijing Airport - the fact that the first thing you see as you come out of the international arrivals gate is a Starbucks directly in front of you. The faculty gave us the afternoon/evening off and we crammed everything into the single full day we had there. So in a single day, we did the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall (in that order). We were wiped out by the time we had our program dinner that night - it was literally an imperial feast. The picture above is from Tiananmen Square the night we arrived. The scale of the architecture around the Square was daunting. Entire mega-blocks were single buildings. At one point, we walked for 10-12 minutes along the major road and only passed two buildings. Fascism definitely knows how to make a point through architecture. At the time this second picture was taken, I was still in shock. I'm still not sure that I fully grasp the fact that I was standing on the Great Wall. At one point, I just had to stop and take it all in as much as I could because I seriously could not believe that I was standing on one of the ancient wonders of the world - in China. It was beautiful and surreal. The carnival we had to fight through to actually get to the wall and then trying to imagine building something 2500 miles long in terrain like that and then defending it. . . one of my favorite thoughts was imagining all of the towers lighting signal fires at night and how quiet and still it must be up there.

The next day, we left for Shanghai. The best way I can describe that city is a collision of Las Vegas and New York. It was a forest of skyscrapers (and construction cranes) flowering in neon amidst the haze. Mainly, our time there was spent in several temples and shrines - and shopping. We were amazed at how cheap things were; unfortunately, the government actually shut down several of the markets while we were there because of some huge international conference that was going on so we didn't get to experience that. We did however go down a couple of back alleys with a guy to buy some sneakers for next to nothing - a little scary, but definitely a good story. The best part of Shanghai was a conversation that I had with one of my classmates on the bus. She is from Thailand and is a practicing Buddhist. I learned a lot about Buddhism and its guiding principles through our conversation, but I was also able to share what I believe and the freedom that Christ has brought to my life. An interesting criticism that she brought out about Christianity that I have been pondering eversince is that part of our laziness, or at least lack of drive, is because of our dependency on Him. Part of Buddhism, and many other religions, is a need to work for salvation. Because we can do nothing to attain salvation, many people use Christianity as a safety net or failsafe which allows for a lot of luke-warm actions and feelings to creep in. I explained that I do "good works" and live according to the Bible's guiding principles out of my love for God and the relationship I have with him, but she brings up a great point. Freedom can certainly be abused.

Returning to Japan was a relief. As much as we all enjoyed China, it was a very rough and crude culture in comparison, though we stayed in much nicer accomodations (for far less) while in China. We only stayed in Tokyo for a night before we headed to Kyoto and Nara. The theme of our time there was definitely gardens and timber construction. Because of the climate and geography, Kyoto has been the center of both for centuries. We saw the quintessential zen rock garden, both the gold and silver pavilions, along with the largest, the longest, and the oldest wooden structures in the world. The largest houses one of the largest buddha sculptures in the world and the longest holds the most - 1001 to be exact. The oldest is a treasury that held the prized posessions of the emperor from the times of the Silk Road from about 1300.

Thankfully, we were able to get into the Katsura Villa while we were there. It is phenominal. No one is actually allowed inside the building itself, but the gardens and tea houses were inspiring enough. Because of that trip, I know understand the connection between the Japanese garden and scroll - the construction of specific views and a path that creates a series of events meant to be experienced in a specific order. Nothing was left to chance, everything was designed. The construction details fascinated me. This is another one of those things that I think I'll look back on years from now and still not fully understand how much of an impact it has had on my design conception and ability. No single picture can really capture what I'm talking about, but this one is picturesque enough.

When we got back to Tokyo, all I wanted to do was get back to Miami. I was tired of it all, but not so much that I didn't enjoy a meal or two at some of my favorite places and hit up Askusa for some last minute gifts. Our final evening there, several of us went to the top of the Park Hyatt to enjoy the view and the jazz. It was a great way to end our time in Tokyo. I have a habit of saying good-bye to my cities from the highest points. I look forward to going back some day, but I'm happy being here in Miami :)