After a very long, yet short 4 weeks, 2 in Paris, my iSEED experience has come to its conclusion. I would say that my time here in Europe was as enlightening as the one I spent in Germany last summer, and a study in Europe following my time at Rice continues to be a major goal of mine. Overall, I found it to be a successful summer abroad, and I leave with a host of experiences to reflect on. Of course, there is quite a lot to unpack, both from my luggage and for this blog, so I will get going with that!
As I mentioned in my first blog for this course, the memory that would be most long-lasting from my iSEED experience for me would be my visit to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While not relating to the course and embarked on by chance even, I will never forget it as the first time I managed to attend the historic race in person. Since I watched my first Le Mans broadcast in 2011 and growing up with the 2015 to 2018 editions, I became fascinated by the race, the cars, and its history. When my classmate Maximilian mentioned his plan to attend the race, I took the immediate opportunity to find the tickets, and off we went with our camping chairs and umbrellas (as rain was expected). Upon our arrival, we heard the thrilling sound of roaring engines, and we eventually found our places for the 19 hours. Despite the grueling experience of having to sit in the rain at 4:00 AM and sleeping a fantastic 50 minutes, I will never forget getting to experience one of the longest dreams, and I will forever be thankful for having such an opportunity.
1977 Inaltera LM!
1988 Jaguar XJR-9!
During this trip, I got to meet many wonderful people. Whether it was my classmates, instructors, or program administrators, diverse and supportive people were always present in the program. However, someone that left an effect on me personally from this experience was the client and user of our project/design challenge, Yousra. When she shared her personal story of the challenges of a world that lacks support for those with disabilities, and yet how she developed adaptations, I felt inspired and motivated to look around my environments and see what could be done to improve the lives of people, this including our own project. During our entire process of prototyping and development, we did our best to stay determined to be of great help to Yousra with our design, and with our final design of the prototype, we felt proud with what we achieved.
Prototype W.I.P.
Our final prototype for the program.
If there was something that I discovered from it is that there is a fantastic diversity of cuisine in Paris. From flowery cafés in the 4th Arrondissement to inviting Asian cuisine in Chinatown, I got to expand my palate on this visit. To mention my two highlights, there was a fantastic place called Arashi Yama just exiting Maison Blanche that focuses on Japanese cuisine. Here, I managed to expand my palate by finally getting to try a larger variety of salmon sushi outside of a simple salmon roll. The salmon tasted fresh, and the rice was super soft. To top it of, the savory soy sauce added even more flavor to each roll. I found them absolutely stunning that I visited Arashi Yama a total of three times with my friends. Another highlight based on the presentation alone was the Amorino Gelato shop near the RGP campus. This chain of gelato has a neat theme in that they present your gelato in a rose shape when getting a cone. These are often done very well, and the gelato itself is a humble sweet with a creamy texture. My favorite combination was stracciatella and hazelnut!
Yummers!
To those who are considering to embark on this journey with iSEED, I am highly supportive that you do for a multitude of reasons. To keep things brief though, I think the primary reason why is for one to step out of their comfort zone and get to use the environment for academic exploration. A setting like Europe provides an impress system for exploration, eithe thanks to its public transport or the proximities that cities have to each other. Within cities as well, like Paris and Amsterdam, there many gems, such as communities like NDSM in Amsterdam, or book stores in the 4th Arrondissement in Paris. These courses will have you engage with the cities and environments a lot, and I think that on its own is a big motivator for those considering this experience.
On any trip, the experience of exploration will be the most memorable for me, that being the sights I got to see, and with who I managed to do it with. Getting to explore more calm places in Paris with both my peers and a close friend of mine from France is something I will have many memories of. With me getting to use my 35mm and Super 8 cameras as well, I will forever have some neat shots as well of these experiences. I am proud of myself for getting out and doing neat things.
Thanks to all involved in the iSEED program! It was a fantastic exprience that I will have fond memories of. Au revoir !
Louvre.
Venus de Milo.