IM AT MY WHITS END

Let Us Go Back In Time... a VERY Quick Recap of INDIA

2010-02-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

In pictures...

LOL

Like I said, this is a very quick recap, I have so many more pictures to add... but that will have to be saved for another date. These pictures are all from my point and shoot. I haven't even begun editing my film shots.

IM BACK...

2010-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hi family, well where to begin 2009 was a blur and today is February 1, 2010 (I have decided that today, not January 1st, starts the beginning of a new year and a new chapter of my life). Corny you say? Why yes it might be, but after two weeks of moving, packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking, apartment hunting, reunion parties, coffee talks and more I finally am feeling settled and ready to 'rock'.

As you can see by my wrist above I attended the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien at the height of its controversy and two days before I journeyed to the East. With that said, I am sure most of you saw his final speech, but as evidence to how much I enjoyed the taping of the show and Conan as a person I have included an excerpt below. AND... to sum up the last six months of my life, his final words struck a chord with me.

"NOBODY IN LIFE GETS EXACTLY WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO GET."

TEAM COCO FOREVER!!!

-whit

Really, you...Here's what all of you have done.
You've made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.
So to all the people watching I can never ever thank you enough for the kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life.
And all I ask is one thing...and this is...I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch...please do not be cynical.
I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality.
It doesn't lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.
But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. Amazing things will happen. (Audience claps) I'm telling you.
It's just true.

2009-08-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Waiting.... First stop, S. Korea

but more importantly the blog is BACK!

check in for more updates soon

YEAH NEW SHANGHAI DELUXE

2008-11-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say it's somewhat ironic that I am updating my blog after 5 months with a post about my first exhibition in NYC, which was based on....

"Our trash, memories, and consumption of China"

My roommates/studio art classmates Helena and Amanda as well as myself built six tables which we then stacked to create about a 14 ft tower. Once the frame was built we piled on everything and anything we could get our hands on from souveniers we brought back from Shanghai to certain products we can still find in Chinatown

and have been comsuming since this semester began.

Within the structure was five TV's and three projectors, continueously playing videos that Helena and I had made while living in China.

Although a lot of work, the show was well recieved....

(some people...aka teachers and students....are saying it is by far the best thing they have seen in the studio art building this semester thus far). It definitely was worth all the time, money, and effort... especially considering the fact that we got to knock the pile over when we de-installed, so much FUN!

Xie Xie

2008-05-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

So... this will be my last post, I hope the blog has given all of you a glimpse of what I have been doing over the past few months. I leave you with a teaser of more to see when I am back in California.

Im guessing you all know where Helena and I are in this zhao pian (picture)...

See you soon,

Whitney

ART IN TRANSLATION

2008-05-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

To everyone who has been wondering why my blog has not been updated in a month, well it has been quite a busy month for myself as well as most of my friends. We have been preparing for our class exhibition at an amazing gallery space down by the Bund.

For our group project we where lucky enough to contribute to the Zendai Museum's 366 days of art in Shanghai. Our proposal was to paint the character 'chai' which means to tear down. On many of the old buildings here in Shanghai this character is written. We did our project early Sunday morning, this was the sunrise from my room at 5:30, it was so quiet.

We spent about 3 1/2 hours painting the character repeatedly until the walls of a house were completely white.

For the opening we displayed our individual work, as well as the 366 work. This was Jon's piece titled "Clouds are Heavy" which he hung outside in the patio of the gallery.

Amanda staged a party, which was a cross between her takes on Chinese and American culture, focusing particularly on the differences in food.

This is Qian, the cutest roommate I have ever had, but don't be fooled she is a tough cookie. Helena and I did a collaborative video installation in which the two of us are eating peanuts and sunflower seeds. Our inspiration was from many of the locals who nibble on them as a past time. The video was looped, and the audience was encouraged to join in and eat seeds and throw them in front of the TV. It definitely ended up being one of my favorite pieces and the audience enjoyed it too.

Here is the class, my teacher said "Happy Picture Time" this is the result. By the way for many who do not know my teacher Jian Jun Zhang aka: we call him JJ, is a famous Chinese artist, I cant believe I have him as a teacher, and more importantly how much he cares for us and our art work!

HIT THE ROAD

2008-04-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad, I promise I will never do this again, yes it was stupid, but my friends and I just wanted to blend in with the local folks.... riding motorbikes in China, not such a good idea, but the two days that i spent cruising around the island, where some of the greatest times I have had in China thus far.

I know this picture is a bit blurred but in the bottom right hand corner is a small red wire... so the best thing about these bikes was the fact that that wire once tapped to the handle bar was the horn. It was hilarious! only in china

Brake down number one.... thank goodness we were still in town, so it only took a few minutes to switch and get a new motorcycle.

Break down number two... not so lucky. We were about an hour and half or so out of the town, in a local village, it took about an hour to find someone to change the flat tire. Here we are stranded...

When stranded on a foreign island, best thing to do is take a walk

The kid in the background came to pick up his Dad,

who fixed our flat tire. I dont even want to know how young he was riding the cycle!

Dalton attempting to bargain, did not work too well

Back up and running, thank goodness

we made it home right as the sun set!

ChaoPing what a wonderful thing...

2008-04-19T04:08:00.000-07:00

During our stay on the island my friend introduced us all to by far one of the best foods I have had in all of China. Its called ChaoPing. Everyday and every night we would go get some, from a local fruit stand in front of the hostel my friends were staying at.

For 10 k ($1.43) you get to pick three types of fresh fruit. The lady then cuts the fruit up and puts it in a blender with some coconut milk. After that the liquid is poured

into a frozen bowl and pushed around until frozen, better then any ice cream or frozen yogurt known to man.

Seriously, I need to get the rights to ChaoPing in the US, I'll make bank down at the beach in the summer time. Oh and to top it all off, the lady serves it in a Baby Hello Kitty Cup, watch out Pink Berry, lookout Golden Spoon!

Here is a quick video of the process and the place...

LYCHEE LOVE

2008-04-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

In Sanya, I had my first Lychee fruit, I'm sure some of you who view this blog have had them, but for those of you who haven't, I present my love for the lychee...

The owner of our favorite market, gave us a bunch one night for free. They come in a bundle and you pull one off. They are a vibrant orange, yellow,and pink color, with a soft prickly exterior.

You have to pull the skin off, and inside is a squishy ball that you eat. It is mildly sweat, and so much fun to eat, just make sure you do not choke on the large seed in the center. I hope I can find them in the US easily.

Sanya Please!

2008-04-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

Next stop on the trip was the island of Hainan, which over here we call the "Hawaii of China". Its about the one place where you see Chinese people actually relaxing. It was such a great end to a wonderful trip.

Our hotel was situated in Sanya Bay, a strip of shore lined with big hotels. One of the oddest things about Hainan, is that it is an extremely popular destination for Russian tourists. So much so, things were first written in Chinese,then Russian, and then English. We met a Russian man at the pool with his family one day, he asked why Americans don't have British accents?!! I just laughed.

Then I asked how the ocean was, he said he wont go in because of the Medusa's (aka: Jelly Fish). I only saw one dead one on the beach, but it sure was the biggest Jelly Fish I had ever seen!

I've realized that Chinese people think they will melt in the sun, so as a result the pool was never crowded, which was a good thing, because the guys who worked at the pool let me play my ipod all day over the load speaker, as we would watch them climb up the palm trees to knock coconuts down to drink, it was very entertaining.

Mom, I asked for a pina colada...

they had no idea what that was, such a shame

If you walked past the pool you would hit the beach,

oh how it made me miss home

One day I was laying out and I noticed a few workers staring at me, then a few more came, then a few more, it was so funny, they kinda just stood by my chair either staring at

me or watching the ocean with me.

Guilin and Longsheng

2008-04-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been slow with the posts, but let me continue on my spring break adventures...

After Yongshuo, we went back to Guilin, which well... other then the two pictures below, was a bit odd, and the bad weather didn't help either, but we made the most of it and found a great candy shop we went to each day.

From Guilin we also took a VERY LONG day trip to Longsheng, "The Rice Terraces" which were absolutely stunning. When we got off the bus the local women from the village come and try to sell you all sorts of silly souvenirs.

Here is Amanda with one of the ladies from the village, Amanda bought a hand-made skirt from her. Something to note is the odd way the woman's hair is put up, traditional women from the region never cut their hair, they have an extremely complex way in which to put their hair up, it was so amazing.

More stairs..... will it ever end

View from the top, mite I also add that to get to the rice terraces you take an hour Chinese bus ride up the scariest road I have ever been on, Mom you would have had a heart attack with the height, when we drove around the curves,(no barriers like going to Big Bear on the sides) eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Adventures in Yangshuo

2008-04-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

I began my spring break in the southern province of Guangxi, which borders Vietnam. We first flew into Guilin and took a horribly long bus ride(we were scammed) to Yangshuo. Once, in Youngshuo we stayed in a family run hotel more like a B&B outside of the town in a little village. You can see the hotel, its the white building in the right hand corner of the next picture.

The family was extremely nice, this was the owner's daughter, she loved to take pictures and hang out with us.

The first day we got there, we took a personal tour of a cave right up the hill from the hotel. I laughed when the lady gave us helmets, yet about five minutes into our hike, I realized US and Chinese safety regulations were much different, I hit my head about 10 times on stalagmites. They will tell us to climb down these ravines holding onto old ropes, it was quite exciting, and a bit nerve racking at the same time.

The famous local dish for the area is Beer Fish, if your thinking that's the head of the fish in the picture, you are correct. After eating for a bit Amanda says "I didn't just eat the eye ball did I", we still don't know if she did.

The backyard to the hotel just opened up into nature, it was absolutely amazing to wake up and drink some coffee while Hot Air Balloons floated bye, it seemed unreal.

Yangshuo is known for its "Moon Hill" a crescent shaped opening in the mountain, all the Chinese tourists take this picture below, so we tried our own attempts too. Amanda's turned out pretty nice.

I on the other hand can not keep a straight

face if my life depended on it.

The next day we took a boat cruise for an 1 1/2 hours by some of the locals. It ended up being one of the best things I have done in China, it was so peaceful and relaxing, and the best way to see the countryside.

Once again, Chinese safety regulations are a bit different, no one told us we were going white water rafting on bamboo boats, their explanation was to hold on and put your feet up!

After the boat ride they dropped us off in the middle of a farming village, it took a bit of time to track through the mud,

pretty cool though.

After the boat ride, we decided it was time to conquer the "Moon Hill" little did I know that a 45 minute hike up the steepest hill with four old Chinese women was what I was in store for. The women were amazing, I thought I was going to have a heart attack with the altitude and humidity, and they all carried drink coolers!

I was wearing my boots, which where terrible for hiking, and I kept slipping so my favorite lady held my hand the whole way down the mountain and kept fanning me as we went, I was cracking up trying to tell her that she didn't need to fan me,

no use though, she wouldn't stop.

View from the top, I cant believe I made it up, I'm pretty sure I set a new "step" record for myself. It totally had to beat the Duomo in Italy and the Cathedral in London.

East China Normal University... one day

2008-03-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not think I go to school,

here is a normal day at ECNU....

I wake up and look out my window, today was a beautiful day in Shanghai, we had BLUE SKY!!!

I get on my bike and ride to school, it takes about 15 minutes to get there, once inside the campus there are streams such as this picture below

the Chinese students hang their sheets and blankets to dry outside

this is where I take my classes each day

after class I get back on my bike, that is,

if I can actually find it...

I ride by Mao and say hello! (thats right we have a larger than life Mao statue dead smack in the center of campus, hurray for communism, just kidding)

My friends and I play a game. See how many Chinese students we can hit, again I'm JUST KIDDING, but seriously riding a bike in China is like playing a real life frogger game.

Almost everyday my friends and I eat lunch at the "back gate" at one of our favorite restaurants.

All this food cost Helena and I $3.00 today. Below is a plate with a sweet corn thing, it's kind of hard to explain. It's pretty good, but I would like it much better if they didn't have to squirt mayo all over it.

The Usual Suspects....

2008-03-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

I thought a brief introduction to some of the people I spend my time with was in order...

Dalton aka Dalty, Pierre, Amanda, my watch

The two j's: Jake and Jon, among other

things they enjoy serenading me

Chris (far right) loves cooking and striped clothes.

Amanda my roommate and partner in crime (center). Although, I only just met her in Shanghai she is in studio art with me too.

You may wonder why I have a smirk on my face, these two kids help me get around the city (they speak chinese). (Left) Helena, my other roommie who enjoys taking pictures of every dish we are served when at restaurants and raps snoop dogg lyrics with me. It also helps that we've been friends since freshmen year and are both in studio art together. (Right) Dalton

California Love

The awesome girl waving, is Carla, the first person who talked to me when arriving in Shanghai, to the right is Darcy, this is her second semester in China, she's in studio art with me. Oh yeah, and they are both from Cali, probably... why we get along so well.

Food of the Day

2008-03-16T07:25:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about living in Shanghai is the food. It is so different from what we "americans" are use to, but that's the best part... never knowing what your ordering, the unique flavors, and lack of chocolate. Which leads me to what this post is about, when I have a chance I'm going to highlight a different food I think is worth sharing with everyone.

Today.... the wonderful GLUTINOUS RICE BALL! I know what your thinking Mom... is that chocolate oozing out!!!? I'm sorry to say that its the furthest thing from chocolate, in fact its Red Bean, which is about the closest thing you'll find to a sweet dessert here in China.

Mom I'm sorry, but I love these things! I usually only order them in restaurants... each rice ball being unique, filled with different things, and coated with different seeds or nuts. So during my trip to the market today I noticed they were selling them in the bakery, a HUGE one, the size of a baseball! I was pretty excited... and the other great thing, it cost me 21 cents.

Mom here is more info and the recipe on how to make them, I would be okay with you starting to practice making them so by the time I get back they will be as good as your bread pudding.(Lynda can help too)

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/desserts/r/sesameseedballs.htm

Yu Garden... Oh Rats

2008-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

During orientation one of the class tours was to Yu Garden, Shanghai's famous traditional Chinese garden, located with in the urban Shanghai high city scape,once inside the walls of the garden, you forget your in a rapidly changing urban city.

this picture is for you Dad, notice the large rat in the background? no not me, the one behind me! I thought you would enjoy it.
Outside the walls of the garden are many shops and restaurants, filled at the time of my visit with various decorations for the year of the rat.

A Bit of Home

2008-03-06T05:50:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Shanghai Hongkong United

Its a Wednesday night, yes I know I should be studying my Chinese, but who can resist going to a futbol game when your home team and a brit named Beckham are playing? I had no other option...

Since I am a complete and utter dork I made a sign out of my shopping bag, simple yet straight forward, it got the job done.

We froze, but it was well worth it, its not everyday you get to watch Beckham not really bend it, more like Carlos Ruiz who had a hat trick for the Galaxy.

I was the only true fan in my group, leaving me with the other ex-pats screaming and attempting to do the wave amongst a sea of Chinese fans, I kept yelling "cross it" and the chinese men behind me kept mocking me in their best attempts at speaking english.... brother you would have been proud.

Treasure to Trash

2008-03-06T05:20:00.000-08:00

This week in my projects course, my teacher JJ took us on a trip to the "old traditional living spaces" in Shanghai, only a few families are living in this area, apparently they can live there up until the day the government tears them down. So the few families live amongst the rubble and trash left, which will soon be cleared for the new, ugly, giant, apartment complexes that are springing up everywhere.

In the U.S. we would consider these old buildings landmarks (think old town orange) yet here most people consider them ugly and unpractical. Soon, they will be gone, I'm glad I was able to see some of them before they are all destroyed.

THE ADVENTURES OF MAYO BABY

2008-03-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

Recently my roommate bought a Japanese mayonnaise brand called Kewpie, granted I am not a mayo enthusiast the mayo itself I have yet to taste, but I have become obsessed with the little "kewpie baby" you receive when buying a bottle.

so as a result, I am documenting the on-going adventures of mayo baby, stay tuned...

For more info about Kewpie visit:

http://www.kewpie.co.jp/english/mayonnaise.html

My New Family

2008-03-04T03:07:00.000-08:00

Finally, after a week of silly lectures that were attempts at helping each of us adjust to life abroad, we were given a choice of activities to go on... shopping, a massage, see a movie, karaoke, etc... a few of us brave souls opted for the "family dinner". I think the pictures speak for themselves... it was awesome!

before we had dinner, we went through a local and traditional Chinese market... it has taken some getting used to, but now I find them really interesting,

you never know what your going to see

the lady... is the one who invited us into her home, the child, I'm not sure who's child it was.... but I let someone else hold him... for reasons I think are quite clear...

who could possibly not be starving after all the great things we just experienced (I mean how cute is it that diapers are not really necessary), we all helped make the dumplings... some ate them, others stuck to the fruit and veggies

after dinner, some music, games, and cigarettes were in order, most popular game in china is mah jong, I did not win, but dont worry (Nana, Damien, Yuta, and Ashlyn) im going to be ready to teach and beat you when I get back

Here we all are, my new family