Blog #1

Welcome back to the last blog of Taiwan! The last week was filled to the brim with as much as we could do in 4 days. So we’ll just jump right into it. On the 9th after we got critiques, worked on our project, we had a walking tour in Tainan. Where we were shown a Confucius temple and gate, at the entrance there was a very pretty tree.  Which sounds a little silly but I miss the greenery of Seattle. The tree reminds me of a magnolia tree but I don’t think it was one. If I had more time in Taiwan (and an international motorcycle, small caveat) I would’ve wanted to explore the nature scene here. There’s parks, beaches, and coastlines that I need to see.  After we walked around the town and toured. We had some down time. Which we filled with one of my favorite activities in all of Taiwan: Night markets. Taiwanese food is incredible. Fried foods, seafoods, dumplings, and sweet drinks. Going with a big group, I was able to try everything my heart possibly wanted to. Katelyn and I sp...

We also went on a boat trip where we got to experience a little bit of the traditional fishing process. There was an old fishing machine that required a bunch of us to work together to pull down a large mechanism that brought up the fishing net.Back again with blog #5. We ended off the last blog with a whole lot of NCKU and free time spent with new friends and the beach. This time, we had several interactive and hands-on activities within the program. On Monday we took bandanas, tied them up, and stuck our hands in buckets of grass-(and compost)-smelling dye. In doing so, splattering the dye here and there.  One of the NCKU students ended up getting some blue spots on the center of their white t-shirt. I've got a fun blue spot on my white shoe to match it. But with her, instead of throwing the shirt out, or even being upset with the stain. She laughed and told us to stain it even more. So, we happily obliged, starting with handprints, leading into doodles and leaf prints too. ...

I'm back for blog #4! This week we were scooped up in a large bus and carted from Taichung to Tainan. We continued alongside the NCKU students that we had met in the previous city, following them into a space they were much more familiar with. Compared to Taipei and Taichung, Tainan is breathtaking-- in a different sort of way. Tainan is just as fast paced as Taipei without the buzz of city lights and skyscrapers in every direction.  The hotel that we're staying at resides on one portion of the campus, roughly a 10 minute walk from the design school at NCKU. Between working on our design project, exploring with friends, and getting to know the NCKU students, this week ended up being more about the connections we were able to make, rather that experiencing the design of the city directly. The campus isn't quite like UW, but it resembles any homey college campus, covered in bricks, surrounded by bikes and walking crowds. We were told by one of the students here that there...

Hi again, this is blog #3! For the last couple days, I was able to explore another side, or even an extension of Taiwanese design through sustainability, traditional crafts, and everyday objects. The activities this week included visiting Home Work Sustainable Studio, the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute, and a bamboo weaving workshop. I was able to see how design can be both functional and beautiful while still considering the materials, people, and culture behind it. One of my favorite visits this week was Home Work Sustainable Studio. Their work focused heavily on sustainability, complete zero waste. But what stood out to me was that sustainability wasn't the only thing they considered. They also focused on usability, cost, creating beautiful spaces (which was one of the biggest draw ins), and giving everything its own personality. I really appreciated this because sometimes sustainability can feel like it is treated as the main goal, while other aspects of design become...