Study Abroad Program Barcelona 2008

Water colors ,, back to the old days ,,

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My photography .. / design

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if i wasn't in architecture i would've chosen photography ..

Fez, Morocco

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Morocco is located in the north west of Africa, it's official name is the Kingdom of Morocco..

The official language of the country is arabic and french .. and the dominant faith is Islam ..

Fez, Morocco (our city of accommodation)

Fes is one of the four so-called "imperial cities" (the others are Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat). It is separated into three parts, Fes el Bali (the old, walled city), Fes-Jdid (new Fes, home of the Mellah), and the Ville Nouvelle (the French-created, newest section of Fes). it is located at the northern east of morocco near the atlas mountains..

Although i might have come from a similar culture, language and religion (kuwait) however, this whole morocco trip was no comparison to what i was used to back in Kuwait .. The layed back environment in terms of technology was a major factor ,, the local used donkeys as a mean of transportation besides vehicles they spoke arabic however they spoke it with an accent that is way different than the one i spoke ..

Our stay in Morocco was from Mar 27 - Apr 1, thanks to christy, eric and adrian we got a very sweet hotel (Dar) to stay in, it was basically a typical residential in fes but it was transformed to a hotel, its interior enhanced its city's culture. It was amazing ,, the following pictures are self explanatory ..

Having breakfast in the courtyard

Geneva, Switzerland !! Mar, 23

2008-04-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

So, i checked out of the hotel at mar 22 left my stuff at the hotel and headed toward paris to figure out what to do next !! i enter a traveller's shop, i got attracted towards a geneva post card, and looked it at the map and it was at the far west of switzerland touching the borders with france, so guess what !! i decided to go to geneva :), and from there i went to eurolines (bus company) and bought my ticket to geneva the bus left at around 11 pm at night and i arrived there at 6 am, and from the bus station in geneva i bought my ticket to barcelona and guess what it was at 8 pm so i had nearly a 14 hour layover in geneva, i left my stuff at the bus station's storage area and got a map, from there i just drifted into geneva and discovered its hidden beauty.. i took a boat ride around its lake and walked around the city :) I left my heart in SWITZERLAND !!

All i have to say is my heart fell in love with the SWISS and i'm definitely coming again Switzerland ..

Easter Mar 20 - Mar 23.. Paris - Geneva.. Let's Derive it !!

2008-04-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

So, Wed Mar 19 comes a day before our easter break ,, i still didn't decide what to do on easter .. well financially i wasn't capable of doing anything till wed, anyways,, i booked my flight to Paris and my accommodation there,, since I'm obsessed with everything related to fashion i thought Paris would be perfect :) ..

Once I arrived, i grabbed a map to figure out where to go ..

Since most of the main landmarks that i really wanted to see are set along the Seine river ,, i decided to start my tour from notredame at the far east to the Eiffel tower at the far west ..

The line was too long in front of the entrance of notredame, so i decided to skip that and have a sit in a Parisian cafe :) in front of the cathedral

It can't get any more Parisian than this .. j'aime Paris !!
(This atmosphere reminded me of Suzzanne Vega's song Tom's diner)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T9XfPvA-Dec&feature=related
YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT :) IT'S HOT !!

The sky started to get cloudy, Bad news So i decided to tour the louvre museum till the weather gets better, i got confused at the beginnig i did not know were the main entrance was.. i entered the back courtyard first, i asked the officer where the entrance was.. He told me that the entrance is the pyramid infront !! i thought the glass pyramid was a landmark only !!

I went to the pyramid and entred the louvre, interms of the transition from the entrance to the musem i felt that i went back in time .. because of the architecture,, the entrance embraced the new modern and as you decend heading towards the museum which embraced the 16th century architecture ..

The Napoleon apartments at the Louvre, .....

A little glimps at the environment where the french general used to live in .... and will be lived by me in the future :)

Afterwards i headed towards the garden in front of the musem ..

obviously, you can't go to paris without seeing the eiffel tower ..

Welcome to my world ..

2008-03-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

A General comment received about my designs is that i tend engage my personality in it .. I still feel that i'm in the conceptual phase of design refusing to step to the real world where you have to fit your design according to codes and regulations .. Most of my concepts engage the idea of floatation and making the individual experience a whole another world away from reality and its troubles ..

Here are some pictures that might describe me as a person or might relate to me somehow or relate to my designs ..

Spring Break !! Kuwait Feb 29 - Mar 09

2008-03-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Back at Home !!! So i was very excited going back it's been a while since the last time i was at home .. at the port exit i found my friend's mom she turned out to be working in the airport and she was the one who stamped my passport .. she also gave me an invitation to my friend's wedding i was like what !!! talking about getting old !!

The Kuwait Intl. Airport A brief summary about my country :), Kuwait is located in the north of the arabian peninsula directly at the southern of iraq and northern of saudi arabia, we are located in a war zone unfortunately but 17 years living in kuwait made me got used to it, it's not bad at all, the media tends to make the situation look worse than the actual.

Alright enough of that ,, lets go to the fun part ,, so, it can't get any better than this,, i arrived at kuwait in a perfect timing February,, in February Kuwait has two official holidays the national day and the liberation day they are on 25th and a 26th, residentials and commercial buildings are all covered with lights and flags as a form of a celebration .. The locals decorate their cars with flags and wear the national costume ..

Architecture in Kuwait ..

Generally speaking, Kuwait's architecture is varied from islamic, contemporary and the local area's architecture which was common during the pre-oil period. Most of buildings are new, However, they tend to enhance the culture and its essence. They are trying to prove that even though the oil came and changed the country they will never forget their past and they are proud of it.

Landmarks: Kuwait Towers .. They serve as water towers and the biggest sphere contains a restaurant .. The idea behind its unique design came from the pearl trade that was common before the discovery of oil.

Another landmark: The National Assembly of Kuwait

Seville Fri Feb 09 The Al-Cazar "The Palace" in Arabic

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Emma and Pj feeding the ducks

Last Glimps of Seville

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Around 4 pm i decided to walk around the town before dark, i ran into kristin both of us were hungry so we decided to have a late lunch .. i craved a gelati so we went looking for a gelati store... on the way we found a horse carriage and kristin read my mind .. we rode on one and on the way found a gelati store :)

Before heading to the heart of Seville

Tres Amores ..

Administracion general del estado

Seville Thur Feb 08

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The bus left Granada at 9:30 am on Thur heading towards Seville ... I was sleepy but i stayed awake the landscape was too beautiful to miss ..
We arrived at Seville at around 11am, the weather was nice and sunny. The hotel where we stayed in was located in a quite area. After we checked in we ate at this restaurant nearby. The food was awesome!!

Eric and Christy took us for an orientation around the town. We arrived at the front of the Cathedral of Seville where Columbus’s tomb lies.

The Hawra Pause aka as the D&G pause ;>

The Tomb

Dehenzel, Patto (josh H), stacey and myself walked around Seville and we found the Calatrava bridge ... it was beautiful at sunset ... we sat down and sketched a little bit ..

Some very good quality graffiti it looked very real

Granada Feb 5 Tue ..

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On around 8 am we left Cordoba heading to Granada, we travelled by bus, personally, i liked it more than the train, maybe because the seats are elevated and you'll get a better view of the natural landscape, i dunno it's just my opinion .. what added to my splended journey is the companionship (dzierzanawski) aka mateusz hope spelled those right :) .. we reached Granada at around 11 am i think,, checked in then walked around the city and ate/sketched at a small cafe ..

Me posing and taning .. usually i'll give a natural look or a serious one i don't tend to smile in my pics .. because i look fatter when i smile .. don't judge me ..

.. to tell the truth i didn't like Granada much (at the Beginning) but i changed my mind immediately when we went at the afternoon to see the AL-HAMBRA from a distance at an opposite location to it .. the scene was breath taking ... i didn't expect to see snow on the mountains .. we should've went skiing but al hambra made granada for me :) it's hot ..

Al-Hambra,, i loved that combination between the al hambra and the mountains behind, you'll rarely see a combination between the lanscape behind (snowy mountains) and an islamic structure .. (most of the time people relate islamic structures with a more hotter environment (desert)). We stayed till dark to see the sunset and the view of the al hambra at night ..

Al hambra during the sunset ..

al hambra at night ,, i loved how the fortress was lit

The next day ,, we went to the interior of the al hambra.. it was a nice sunny day :) ...

Cordoba Monday Feb 4

2008-02-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

We travelled to Cordoba by train at 9:oo am, the journey was awsome and relaxing i enjoyed the view and the sunshine coming from the window.. We reached Cordoba around 10:30 - 11:00 am .. from the first glimps of Cordoba I immediately fell in love with it. Quiet and slow down lifestyle, I love it !! .. Unfortunately we stayed in Cordoba for a day only,, However I enjoyed every second of it... First, we checked in at this awsome hotel that is located right near by the Mesquita (Mosque), the interior design of the hotel was depicted after its city culture (Islamic ornaments) .. i liked it .. it reminded me of home .. the scent .. the atmosphere .. i'm just glad i choose spain over italy :) it's hot .. alright then we went to the mesquita i gave a brief intro to the islamic customs concerning residential architecture and its emphasis on privacy ..

Since, the stucture was first built as a mosque, i'll go ahead and give a brief explanation about the series of thresholds that the individual must walk through before reaching the qibla.
you don't enter the main structure immediately, first you must enter a courtyard, usually with a fountain in the middle in order for the muslim to cleanse (cleansing is necessary before prayer or you prayer won't be accepted according to the islamic law).

prior to entering the main structure i entered this beautiful courtyard that is filled with orange trees. the orange scent was all over the place it's like heaven on earth :) its hot ..

I entered the mosque , the interior was dark and cold due to the marble....

As i go ahead towards the qibla, light starts to appear again. i thought it would be a good idea to take a picture me under the ray of light in the mosque i thought it would give a nice gody/divine effect (i'm into expressive photography) but i wasn't really satisfied with the result .. i wish i had brought my tripod with me .. :( it's not hot ..

Finally, I reached the qibla (a niche in a wall that faces Mecca) yaaaaay ... :)

Field Trip 1 (Madrid) Sat Feb 02,08

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The Reina Sofia Museum (the new extention part)

Junta Municipal Del Distrito Centro
We flew to Madrid at 9:00 am on Sat, Madrid wasn't really on my top list due to the weather and the location of our hotel (it was located at the suberbs). Our stay in Madrid lasted for 2 days, most of what i liked in Madrid was the Reina Sofia Museum (the new extention part), its contemporary fascinated me. However, i was a little bit disappointed because i couldn't see the Picasso collection ... ;<

School work

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Derive project (one of my favorites) mine and irene's is on the botthom third from the left

Studio Project !! (mine is at the middle column)

Spanish class

A trip to Barcelona Pavilion Jan 25, 08 Friday

2008-01-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

On a Friday morning, the girls and Josh decided to pay the Barcelona Pavilion a visit. However, we decided to go to mount juic then decend from it to the pavilion.

On the way back Sun Jan 13

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we passed by some cool contemporary architecture ..

Sunday Jan 13 ..

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The group decides to wonder around the city, we went to the sea front and saw the fish scultpture by Frank Gehry ... it was almost sunset when we reached it so the fish's surface reflected a goldish color .. it was spectacular

Orientation .. Jan 12, 08

2008-01-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Eric and Christy gave us an orientation around the city

First Gathering dinner

2008-01-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

At the night of the arrival, the faculty decided to hold up a gathering dinner for us that's where i met the rest of my classmates.

The Arrival ..

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Soo, the plane touched down on the Barcelona Intl' airport on Jan 11, 08 at 9:30 am. I got really excited about it, a new place and a new environment that is completely different from Washignton, DC. I got out of the plane and i look at the people and realized this is somehow a more familiar environment to me more than the U.S because I'm originally from Kuwait and i just study in the U.S. I flew to Barcelona seperately from my group, i arrived first according to Christy (my professor), so till my other classmates come i decided to wonder around the city .. it was awsome !!