Reflections by Hayden King

way finding

The first half of the UT+BIGC workshop focused on a way finding project for the city of Knoxville. The project was completed by several different groups, consisting of students from each school, and focused on numerous specific locations. My group was given the Knoxville Gallery of Art and the Sunsphere. The project was to develop a system of signs and public communication that would direct civilians to our sites.

The members of my group, group 3, included 4 students from BIGC and two from UT Knoxville. We began with a short overview and presentation from the BIGC students. They had been working on ideas and possible design schemes for several weeks. We took the information they had researched and the schemes they produced and used our knowledge of the city to further develop the ideas. The result was a systems of signs, maps, kiosks, and bus terminals that focused on the human interaction with the way finding elements and the use of each of the five senses.

The group worked very well together. Each of the team members contributed very different talents and skills appropriate to both the design of the project as well as the presentation. The Beijing students were very involved in every aspect. They wrote as much as they could in English, then had us revise their language usage.

They were also quick to speak and engage verbally, during the final presentation. It proved to be an overall success, that was received well by the jury.

Washington D.C.

The second week of the workshop was devoted to travel. We spent two nights in Washington D.C. and four nights in New York City. Although each city had memorable moments, the D.C. portion of the trip gave us a real look into how a different culture experiences another country. The first day in Washington consisted mostly of city tours and museum visits.

The students were all very interested in seeing the sites that they had become familiar with before the actual trip. Most every student had some form of camera or recording device. Photography was very popular among both the students and professors. They photographed every aspect that intrigued them. This included photographing themselves, others, animals, and the sites. Everyday events that we Americans may take for granted, such as a squirrel being fed, were very interesting to the Beijing students. This was common throughout much of our trip, and was unique to us.

The students did initially participate in the activities and planned events, and a select few attended most of the events. Many of the students began planning their own trips and outings. One of the more popular destinations seemed to be shopping.

The Chinese are big on gift giving, and most every student and faculty stocked up on American novelties to take home. The quantities and selected items were quite unusual to us, but further explained the differences of our cultures.

eating

Obviously, much of our time consisted of eating! We spent much of every day together for the two week period. Our meals during the first week mostly consisted of a wide variety of American cuisine. Although the Beijing students were quite familiar with our cuisine, it was still interesting to see them experience it first hand. The second half of the workshop, the travel, allowed us to experience a variety of cuisine from many different cultures.

The Beijing students loved the American cuisine. They loved the variety and availability of general staples and produce. They found simple things like salad and pasta with very basic ingredients best suited their pallets. They were also very knowledgeable of other international cuisine. Some, such as Thai and Vietnamese were very similar to the cuisine that they were used to. Others, such as Cuban was very different to them. Such bold and numerous flavors are not common to the Chinese diet.

The meal times not only allowed us to experience each others cultures through food, but also provided us with many hours of conversation. Much of what I learned about China and how their culture works in the city and rural areas, was during meal time. The time spent waiting on food, and the time spent just sitting at the table talking proved to be the biggest highlight of my whole experience. I learned new customs, a little bit of Mandarin, and made many good friends throughout the course of this Workshop!