Field Trip

My previous knowledge of Qingdao was only that it was some sort of Chinese beer. Well now I know that this city used to be a German concession, hence they left their mark by establishing several breweries. But that wasn’t why I was visiting Qingdao. I was here to check out the site that my project team has been working on. It’s an area outside the central city where an amusement park and an eco development will be built. When we made it out to the project site I was a bit perplexed at how such a development would get built. Not only is the site extremely rocky, it is also very hilly and covers a very nice open space area that would be great as a park. Well given that China has to accommodate the growth in its population somehow.







But the most interesting thing on this trip was the inordinate amount of seafood I’ve had to eat while with my team. It seems that whenever they travel its on the company’s dime, so that means that you get to eat out at the finest restaurants and order the most expensive food on the menu. And of course the most expensive food happens to be seafood. So one of our stops was this quaint seaside seafood restaurant with a view of the bay and Qingdao in the distance.



I’m not a huge fan of seafood, but I also didn’t want to be rude to my hosts by declining what I’ve been offered. And of course eating Chinese style means that all the food is served on the table and you eat a small portion as the table spins around to you. At one point there was nothing but seafood on the table not a single carb, vegetable, or meat that did not come from the sea. So some of the more interesting things I had were some sort of sea snail and a pale mini lobster-like creature. Now you know its bad when I’m looking forward to these two items as the table runs around, since my other options where this tube like sea creature which looked a lot like pasta, but sadly was not. There was also this gelatinous cube thing which I was informed was also a sea creature.

(for more photos check out my photobucket page)

Clearing the streets...cleaning the air

Many of you have probably heard that Beijing is imposing new driving restrictions this weekend as a way of testing out their plan for cutting air pollution during the 2008 Olympics. In the weeks leading up to today, the day the test begins, I had been searching high and low for some accurate information about just what this meant. Well it looks like a third of the 3 million plus cars that ply through the streets of Beijing will be taken off the read each day by only allowing cars with an odd number on August 17th and 19th to be on the road and cars ending with an even number will be allowed to drive on August 18 and 20th.

Many cities around the world have used this type of policy for air pollution control, with Mexico City being the most notable. It did help to bring Mexico’s air pollution levels down, that is until the policy became institutionalized and drivers wizened up by buying second cars that turned out to more polluting than their first car…d’oh! Let’s hope this policy stays as an emergency measure to ensure those pitfalls aren't repeated here.

My morning walk to work today did not immediately seem any different but as Andrea pointed out, the flow of traffic did seem to increase. Andrea’s more versed in transportation concepts than I am, but it made sense that fewer cars can move faster. So even though it may not immediately look like there was less traffic for the pedestrians, I’m sure the drivers sure felt the difference. We did also notice a lot more bicycles on the road this morning. As for the air quality, that’s harder for me to say. In the days following the official 1 year countdown to the Olympics, we had some amazing air quality. Partly due to the rain that cleaned out a lot of pollution from the sky and lifted the veil of foggy haze that normally hangs over the city blocking out the sun and traps in all that pollution with it. So the air quality this past week has been amazingly great. I was able to see blue skies for several days, much to our chagrin, that meant our morning commute felt even hotter without the haze and smog providing some protection from the sun’s penetrating rays. We of course weren’t sure if this was nature’s present to China or if the government actually succeeded in altering the weather through their cloud seeding plans. Apparently even China’s state run media wasn’t quite sure what the cause was.

We asked some people at work how this was all affecting them. Most of the interns take public transit so they didn’t notice much difference and I didn’t hear from anyone that drives a car so I can’t say how the drivers are dealing with these restrictions. The fact that the test is being done from Friday to Monday will certainly minimize the disruptions to people’s lives, but it will be interesting to see how people deal with the 2 week long implementation of these measures during the Olympics.

I’ll try to take some pictures of the hopefully less crowded streets and cleaner air to post here soon.

I feel like I just won the lottery!

I was just informed that I would get to travel to Qingdao (known in the West as Tsingtao…yes that is the home of Tsingtao beer) for work. We’ll be flying out on Sunday morning and I think we will be gone for 4 days. Since I took a trip last week to this wetlands outside of Beijing I thought that was treat enough, but being able to visit Qingdao and see the project site is a pleasant surprise. So I’m definitely excited about this trip, but this sort of last minute planning has been happening to me a lot, I’m starting to wonder how people function around here when they are told that they will take a 4 day trip on just a day’s notice? At first I thought it was just because I didn’t speak Mandarin that I was being kept out of the loop, but I found out from one of the Chinese interns also working here that it’s a fairly common practice. She told me that she has usually been given a heads up that a trip will take place during a given week, but not know the date they actually leave until the day before. Being that my schedule here is very flexible, I can easily cope with the changing schedules, but what if I lived here? What good is a day planner here when you constantly have to wait around not knowing when a meeting will take place or when you’ll be leaving for a multiple day trip? She just kind of laughed and said “you just wait.” She then admitted that it never really occurred to her before to have things scheduled with more certainty. Perhaps I’ve been too entrenched in the American model of efficiency and certainty, always wanting to control everything possible right down to how I spend my time. So when you are confronted with this sort of last minute arrangements you can either view it with frustration or as a pleasant surprise. I’ve choose to do the latter.

It just so happens that our trip to Qingdoa coincides with their international beer festival. I'm not entirely sure how much work will get done, but I'm sure I'll learn a lot. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I sober up

Virtual Tour of Boyle Heights

I'm still in China, but thanks to the internet I can keep up with what's going on at home, and this recent blog posting has certainly made me a bit nostalgic for my hometown...so check out and explore the KCET websitehttp://kcet.org/explore-ca/departures/for a look at Boyle Heights..

 

 

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Virtual Tour of Boyle Heights

via Metroblogging Los Angeles by EL CHAVO! on Aug 16, 2007

EL CHAVO!:

I finally got around to checking out this link http://kcet.org/explore-ca/departures/ that was the subject of a NY Times article (mentioned over at view from a loft) and I'd highly suggest anyone with a bit of computer time do the same. Ed and the NYT focus on the artistic merits (there's some talk of cyber murals) but the website has elements that should make it enjoyable for the layperson just taking a stroll down some internet side street. With pictures, video, and audio, the flash based site does an excellent job of capturing the feel of walking thru the Eastside neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

It's pretty fucking amazing, go check it out already!
http://kcet.org/explore-ca/departures

Comments (3)

Comments on this Entry:

(teck on Aug 16, 2007 10:30 AM) I live in Boyle Heights, and I love it, nothing will ever compare to this place.

(chimatli on Aug 16, 2007 11:14 AM) Hey Teck, Did you grow up in Boyle Heights? I've noticed the accent is changing there. It used to be more sing song almost like a Norteno or Tejas accent. Now, it's...different.

(cindylu on Aug 16, 2007 4:54 PM) That's a familiar place of Boyle Heights, and now you can't really drive down that stretch of First St. because of the Gold Line expansion. I used to practice Danza a few blocks East of First and Boyle. The spot is pretty to look at, but I think it may have been razed like the buildings around it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindylu/34319368/

 

 

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Friendly...?

The mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are called the Friendlies, but as you can see from the picture above you might not want to piss them off. Actually, this cute and cuddly character known as Jingjing is just showing off the modern sport of shooting. There are a couple of Youtube videos below that you can also check out to see these little guys in action.






The Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

China's environmental movement

It’s been tough keeping this blog current with the pace of change taking place here in Beijing. I had started writing this post about two weeks ago alonghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif with a slew of others posts and as I got back to making my final edits, I realized this was woefully out of date. So I’ve had to completely redo this post (I guess that should teach me not to procrastinate too much).

I had been thinking a lot about the state of the environment in China and the attempts that the Chinese government has made to address those consequences, from global warming to polluted rivers, and horrendous air quality. So when I came across this article in the Washington Monthly on I was pleasantly surprised to read that China has been taking proactive steps to develop grow its economy and raise standards of living all while trying to turn back the environmental destruction that has allowed it to do so. China has already passed some strict environmental protection laws and last year started factoring in the cost of environmental degradation as a way of correcting the value of the nation’s GDP. Additionally China has taken dramatic steps to curb its emissions, with its investment in green technologies, and a commitment to have Beijing receive 20% of its electricity from renewable energy sources in time for the 20008 Olympics.

Where China has been lacking is in the enforcement its environmental laws and monitoring of companies that violate those laws. I was intrigued to find out that China has been tolerating and to some extent promoting the growth of a civic engagement on issues of environmental protection. And with that has grown up a burgeoning environmental movement where the people are allowed to criticize the government in a watch dog role. The balance has been in making sure this doesn’t spill over into greater calls for human rights, or any challenge to the current power structure. Though it looks like the limits of China’s openness to environmental criticism are being tested. I recently read that one of China’s eminent environmentalists was taken into custody…so much for openness. That and China has put a hold on its environmental audit for this year and no plans have been released for when and or if the program will continue. So the skeptics out there certainly have much cause to wonder if in fact China is committed to taking the steps necessary to curb its environmental destruction. I guess only time will tell if the calls for greater attention to the environment are merely window dressing, or if the recent snafus are just growing pains as China learns to deal with its environmental problems.

Food to Dai for!

Beijing has some amazing food options, and I am fortunate enough to live near the University of nationalities, which I think has attracted a fair number of ethnic restaurants. There are 55 ethnic minority groups in China, though they make up only 8.4% of the population (or course that’s 106.4 million people). It’s been great exploring the great variety of the cuisine thanks to this diversity.

Andrea turned me on to this Dai food restaurant, and I think I've found my new favorite place. It’s hard to describe the food other than absolutely savory. We ordered three items, this tater tot-like dish, which were mashed potato balls deep fried and arriving with a dipping sauce that I only wish I could buy jars of to take home with me. Then there was the eggplant dish smothered in this dark sauce and again completely amazing. And finally there was the pineapple rice that is served inside the pineapple. Andrea and I gobbled up everything on our plates and are looking forward to going back.

“Sorry I can’t call you, you have a 4 in your phone number”

When I was looking to buy a cell phone number here in Beijing, I had been told that people will pay top dollar to buy a cell phone number that have lucky numbers such as “6”, “8” or “9” but of course if you are looking for a bargain, you can buy a cell phone number with a bunch of 4’s (an unlucky number). When I was looking to buy my cell phone number I had asked, half jokingly if I bought a number with a bunch of 4’s if people would not want to call me. I got a few laughs, but no one really answered my question….and pretty much the only people that call me are Andrea and Peter…so maybe there is something to that whole 4 business.

“Mobile Numbers for Sale = big business as the usual numbers for mobile phones in China starts with 13 (bad luck). Recently users are willing to pay high prices to purchase unique number such as numbers with 4 eights which can sell as high as 2400 to 2800 RMB and those which have no lucky or fortunate numbers can be purchased at 50 to 60 RMB. (Lucky numbers are 6, 8, and 9.)”
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=470888

Morning Commute

Getting to work has never been so much fun. Each morning I join up with my bipedal carpool (i.e. walking group) for the 35-45 minute walk to work. The crew has varied but its pretty much Andrea, Peter and I. This walk has given us a chance to catch up on the latest blogs and other articles we've been reading, new finds, and pretty much anything. The conversation has certainly gotten me to think much more about planning and helped to spur my creativity and interest in planning. But if that weren't fun enough, the detour that we take through Zizhuyuan Park (translates to Purple Bamboo Park) is like the icing on the cake. Aside from the daily escape from the city that the walk provides we get to see throngs of mostly elderly people engaged in some sort of physical activity each morning, including Tai Chi, some modified hackey sack game, badminton, fan dancing, ball room dancing, sword fighting and my favorite aerobics (both jazzercise style and classical Chinese music). The only drawback is that its hot and muggy, but fortunately the office is on casual dress so I don't have to worry too much about arriving in a hot and sweaty mess. And then there is air conditioning in my office to look forward to.

Art tour of Beijing

I'm getting the feeling that China doesn't do anything on a small scale. The Forbidden Palace is huge, then of course there is the Great Wall, and the recently complete Great Restroom. So its no surprise that the Dashanzi Art District would cover 1 square kilometer (or about 247 acres), it is absolutely immense.



I had learned about this place during a presentation given by one of the student interns from USC who mentioned 798 Space in this artist district and showed pictures of some converted warehouses. It looked cool but it didn't prepare me for what I got. Andrea, Peter Jenny and I hopped in a cab on Saturday to visit this place. It was in the cab ride that I learned the area had been featured in a number of articles of late including a New York Times piece, which discussed China and Beijing's growing art scene. What we found when we got there was a huge area dedicated to mostly art galleries exhibiting works form local artists that have moved to other areas as the rents here have increased due to its growing popularity (ah..gentrification..its everywhere). I think I ended up taking more pictures here than I did at the Forbidden City. So I'm just including a few photos here. And you can check out the rest on my photobucket page.

Streetside gourmet

Andrea and I ate what looked like a cross between a falafel and an egg McMuffin, filled with some marinated pork (or at least I think that's what it was) cilantro and onions...mmmm so good.



Next was the Chinese crepe burrito. The process of making it was so mesmerizing...the taste. so so, but if I could get the falafel McMuffin lady to work with the crepe burrito lady they would make a killing.

This mini street feast took place in our attempt to explore the city by bus in our quest for books in English and cheap electronics. With our maps in hand, our limited Mandarin, and Andrea's nifty compass on her wristwatch, we were able to make our way around and get to where we wanted to go. We stumbled on the street food near Book City, designated in our guide book as a good place to find books in English. We were looking for books and found them...lots of them ..including a sizable English section, mostly comprised of the classics, and lots of business and self help books.

After getting our fill of the books, we headed out to find the electronics market. But as we were standing around staring at our map, completely lost, a nice Chinese guy, Alex, offered to help us find what we were looking for. He spoke excellent English, which was amazing, since he said he learned to speak English by himself because he couldn’t get into an English language course. He said he had nothing else to do so he joined us. Since he was also new to town he kept asking everyone we passed if they knew where the market was. It turned out the map showed the market on a corner that was now a major construction site. But it appears the market was moved up a few blocks, practically right next to where started. Alex was even nice enough to help Andrea negotiate with the electronics store vendor in purchasing her card reader and made him giver her a receipt so if she had any problems she could bring it back...wow

We topped the evening off by going out to dinner at this restaurant that we have been passing everyday on our way to work. The decor was imperial Chinese, so what would we expect to have there, but pizza, hot wings and beer right? Well that's just what we had and in fact that was the only thing on the menus so we really had no choice. I think I'll be back there again...that pizza was very good.

Forbidden Palace/Forbidden City

The Forbidden Palace and Forbidden City are often used interchangeably to describe the residence of the Qing and Ming dynasty emperors..and with good reason. This really is a bit of a city all unto itself. The place is huge with numerous courtyards that you can spend days or even weeks exploring and still not see it all.



I went with Andrea, Song, He Wei, and Wang Wei. Song, He Wei and Wang Wei acted as our tour guides and translators, and I must say they were great on both fronts. They got us to the palace and helped us get our tickets.




Though we probably could have figured that out on our own, since they even offer audio guides in 20 languages including Esperanto!


The grandeur of the palace is just not easily captured on film. I could only imagine what it must have been like for the first non Chinese people's to see the palace thinking they had reach the palace only to find courtyard after courtyard after courtyard before getting to either the ceremonial center, administrative center or the imperial residence or those of his numerous wives and concubines. In addition to the grandeur of the structures, we got a taste of the opulent lifestyle when we checked out the clock museum and the precious jewels museums in the Forbidden City.


Some of the buildings are used for museums and the clock museum shows off some amazing examples of both imported clocks form the late 19th century and those produced in China.


One of the signs in the museums describes the clocks as entertainment pieces. I'm not sure I would have ever figured that a clock would be entertaining, but when you see these and imagine them in motion, I'm sure it would be entertaining to see, and I’m sure it's more fun than watching paint dry.


One of the more exquisite pieces was the huge water clock that measured time with every drip. This was an invention developed in China though this technology gave way to the imported mechanical clocks from Europe.

The precious jewels museum was amazing. Lots of gold work, works in jade, and other precious stones, from the small the very large. These were carved from single pieces of stone.




After all that walking we were totally exhausted. And we still barely scratched the surface with the Forbidden City. It’s easy to see why the throngs of tourists pour into here every day. And why the palace has captured the imagination of many a visitor to Beijing.

I feel lik I'm in the not too distant future!

A trip down to Wangfujing Road feels just like fast forwarding 20 years into the future. I stepped out of the subway and was taken aback by the sheer scale of the street life. The throngs of people milling around the street heading into the sleek buildings made me feel like I could be in a much cooler and hipper Universal City Walk.


Now I normally would cringe at the comparison or yearning for Universal City Walk amenities, but this feels so much better. Unlike City walk which is a very manufactured experience, this has some history and connection with its surroundings. The area also reminded me of Koreatown, with its flavor of modernity, sleek buildings and fashionable people milling about, but taken to a whole new level with the scale of the buildings and by having a pedestrian only street.

Grant it the sky matched the color of the buildings (gray), but it still left me totally mesmerized and questioning why on earth we don't have more pedestrian only streets in LA. I thought how cool it would be to have this replicated (in a much smaller scale) on Broadway, and was ready to start a campaign to shut down Broadway when I get home. Fortunately someone else seems to have had the same idea so I can focus on other things.

The whole reason for trekking to this part of town was to eat Beijing’s famous hot pot cuisine. The way hot pot works, is you have a large..well.hot pot..that is has a heating source in the center and is filled with boiling water. Then everyone around the table gets raw meets and vegetables to put in the hot pot until they are cooked, then you dip your meet or veggie into this special sauce and enjoy. This really makes dining as entertainment and very delicious. I can't wait to get back to LA and see if I can find a hot pot restaurant in, its like a Korean BBQ, only with boiled water.


Other interesting tidbit of history on my tour of Wangfujing Road, include this Catholic Church,


and this famous alley where you can get virtually anything on a stick. We stuck to the glazed fruit on a stick, though the more adventurous out there could enjoy everything from squid, crab, scorpion, beetle and locust on a stick.


I think I'll stick to animals with between 2 and 4 legs for my culinary experiences.

The sun came out!!

Wow, the city looks completely different on a clear day. Thanks to the rains we just had yesterday, the smog and the overcast have lifted leaving a beautiful blue sky. I almost thought I would never see the sky as long as I was in Beijing. But amazingly I can even see mountains off in the distance from my apartment window.


And the view from one of the windows in my office show’s of just one of the many construction projects taking place all over Beijing.

I have a job to do...

I just got out of a meeting with my supervisor and her boss regarding the work I’m supposed to do while I’m here. I’ve been asked to do some research on storm water management, eco villages, and wind power, and give advice on the best management practices for this new development they are planning. It’s a cool project. The development will have residential areas that are designed in the style of various European countries, so there will be an England land, Norway land, Holland land, etc. There will also be an amusement park and an industrial zone geared toward creative industries, such as design, fashion, etc. It’s a bit overwhelming to think that my advice will help to determine how this project gets implemented. I just hope I don’t fall into the same troubles that other eco villages built in China have experienced.

First day of work

I am in Beijing as part of an exchange program from UCLA with the Chinese Academy of Urban Planning. Four students form UCLA, including myself, are here as are a bunch of students form USC, one student form Sydney, Australia, and some students form Germany. Though it’s my understanding that all the German students have been sent to Shenzen. Kenetha, one of the UCLA students, arrived about a month ago and she has been great at helping us settle in. She’s given me tons of advice and useful tips.

I’ll be staying about 45 minutes walking distance from where I work. We took a cab to get to work this morning which took about 10 minutes, and cost 3 yuan each…(about $0.50). Pretty cheap, but I guess these small costs can add up, especially if I do it daily each way. I’ll be earning 100 Yuan a day, which seems plenty.

I was told I’d be working in the old building of the CAUP. The building has recently been refurbished and everyone has new furniture. The one problem with this new furniture is that they are off gassing, which spurred my new co-workers to remove about 7 wooden book cases from our office. Aside from that, the building is very nice. There is plenty of natural light from the large windows and you can they keep the air conditioning on, just a hair below comfortable, so sometimes you don’t realize its on until you step outside. No word yet on my actual work here. I was asked to prepare a presentation about myself, including my experience and interests and they would find a place for me after I’ve met the full team. We’ll see how it goes.

I arrived in China

I’ve arrived in China. My initial reaction is wow! Everything looks so modern. However, the sky is thick and gray, which looks like an intense marine layer or heavy fog, but I know better. This thick air is what Beijing has become infamous for, filled with heavy particulate matter from its coal burning power plants and growing fleet of cars. In fact, visibility is so bad, I can hardly see more than a few blocks in front of me before everything disappear in to foggy haze. But in my limited exposure to Beijing, I am amazed with how clean everything looks. The ride from the airport to my apartment is about an hour. We passed tree-lined streets and freshly planted buildings with plenty more under construction.

It’s hot and muggy, but not unbearable. My room is simple with what could have been an impressive view of the city, since I am on the 15^th floor, but all I can see are the buildings that are closest to mine Here are some pictures of my room. I tried to get a picture from my window, but, not surprisingly all I got was a fuzzy gray image.

I have to admit that it hasn’t fully sunk into me that I am in China. I t just feels like I am in some really big Chinatown. I guess I can thank globalization for letting me feel like I am in any modern city anywhere in the world. Hopefully as I get to explore China more I will refine my impressions. But for now, Beijing is pleasant, hot and muggy, clean, modern and fuzzy.

I'm graduated....sort of

Well folks, yesterday was my graduation. I got to walk down the aisle with my classmates and celebrate the culmination of my academic pursuit of a master degree in Urban Planning. But I still have a few project I'm working on, so I won't technically be done with my program until I turn them in, which might not be for a few weeks.

I did have an awesome time at graduation, filled with mixed emotions, the joy of being (nearly) done, but a bit of sadness that I won't see many of the people who I've become good friends with as often as I'd like.
Aside from that I was nervous as hell since I was chosen by my classmates to give the commencement address. But they showed me so much love that even if I did suck they wouldn't have let me know it. Oh and I didn't tell my family that I was speaking so they were completely surprised when they saw me on stage. Anyways, I'm posting my speech for you all to read as well.

Enjoy!

UP 2007 Student Commencement Address
By Guillermo Jaimes - MA Urban Planning

Thank you Dr. Loukaitou-Sideris. I would like to start off by thanking the wonderful faculty that have imparted their wisdom on us for the last two years. The staff for answering our every question and making sure we would be able to graduate. And I want to thank and welcome the family and friends who have come to support this year's graduating class …and for all of you who have supported us throughout the last two years. Thank you. Bienvenidos y gracias
I guess I should have told my parents that I'd be speaking today, but I just couldn't resist giving the people sitting next to them a bit of a show as they sit there surprised and hopefully a little prouder. Y para mi Tata, espero que sabes que tanto te agradezco para todo su apoyo en este paso de mi vida.

I had to give this speech if only so my family could actually believe that I was not only graduating but that during all of those missed Sunday dinners and times I couldn't make it out to the family gatherings, I was actually studying or writing a paper and not just having wine and cheese parties in the computer lab or surfing the web for the latest youtube video, or weblog updates.….well some of that undoubtedly happened, but the point is I'm here…, we are all here today because our countless hours of hard work has finally paid off. Today we get to reflect on the progress we have made and look forward to the next stage in our lives.

I have to admit it's been a struggle to come up with a speech for this occasion. I've been recently reminded by some of my fellow classmates how important this is and the lingering effect that these words can have. Do I dwell on the past? Do I look for some all encompassing advice that will guide us in our future endeavors? Well I'm not sure that I can come up with some empowering statements or words of wisdom that will forever change your lives. I'll leave that for the after party tonight when after a few drinks everything I say will be genius…or at least that's what I'll think.

We often hear we shouldn't dwell on the past, but I'd like to do just that for a moment and step back to see what life was like back in 2005. I had a good job, went out most every weekend with my friends, could leave work at 5 pm and not worry about it until the next day….ah…the memories. Then grad school came and shook everything to pieces. But it was worth it.
On the first day of class I walked into that now infamous room 2355 only to be struck with a sense of awe and amazement. I was greeted by a room full of bright eyed, idealistic, intelligent and snappily dressed individuals, but we left as friends, as a community and as a family…a sometimes dysfunctional and incestuous family, but a family nonetheless.

I found on that first day of class a group of people that I knew I would share a bond with that would last far longer than the 2 years here at UCLA. I had met a group of individuals that were at once diverse, representing different academic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Yet they had certain qualities that could easily bind them together to form a unified group. Was it the way they walked?…with that air of confidence that they knew best how to run things be it a formal board meeting or a rowdy group of volunteers? Was it that sense of sophistication that one acquires form having collectively circumnavigated the globe several times over? Was it that everyone could just as easily spot the flaws in new urbanism as they could find the hottest nightspots in LA? Or was it that they were part of that select club of people who not only knew that LA had a subway…but they had actually ridden it, and now some will be working to expand it.

No, this group shared a deeper connection, one that transcends politics, religion or fashion. This group shared that deep passion for wanting to make the world a better place. They were the ones who though too young to actually remember John F. Kennedy's call for civil service back in the 60's took it to heart. Their idealism and optimism was very palpable then as it is today. Yet at the same time they had a very common sense approach to things, the knowledge that even the best ideas and plans still need to be implemented…and that is why we were here…not only because we believed we could make the world could be a better place, but we wanted to learn the tools that would allow us to do so.

And now on the day that marks the end of this leg of our academic journeys, I would like to leave you with some advice that I have gleamed from my classmates and professors

Be Creative:

Why else would we have joined a program as interdisciplinary as planning if we thought the world could be fit into some sort of box. The challenges we will face in our careers and in life will require fresh approaches. So expand your horizons, travel, pick up a hobby, be free to explore and just when you think you've figured things out, take a step back and see what other perspective you can take.

Be flexible

Not everything in life will go as planned. I'm sure we already knew that, but perhaps we can be reminded that when life throws us curve balls we should be prepared to face these challenges with a smile. I can thank Prof. Leo Estrada for always reminding me that.

Look at the big picture

We enter a world that is ever changing. A world where the city is no longer bounded by an easily defined city limit; so let's not limit ourselves to these arbitrary boundaries. The problems we will tackle as planners will cross multiple boundaries and we will need to use as wide a lens in order to fully understand what the consequences and benefits of our actions would be. I think Prof. Ed Soja would be pleased to know that he's imparted his regional thinking on me and many of us here. And though I could probably not come up with a word to describe this, I'm sure he could.

Tread lightly on the earth

This is the only world we have, so let's leave something for the next generation ok? I want to thank Prof. Stephanie Pincetl for challenging me to think critically about what it means to be environmental and what does the pursuit of sustainability mean. We need to be better at understanding what the consequences of our actions and inactions have so that we can live in a world that not only sustains our lives but our spirits.

Be compassionate

Know that the world continues to have an unequal distribution of resources. And we have now further alienated ourselves from the majority of the world's population by joining a very select group who hold advanced degrees. Let's be sure that we put the knowledge and skills we have learned to benefit those who have been denied the opportunities that we have.

Be fabulous

Urban planning was voted as one of the top five hottest jobs in 2007. According to fastcompany.com. We are the architecture of 2006, so always remember that when you are out in the world representing your profession. I hope that we can also live up to the fashion sense Professor Ligget inspired us with as well as her knowledge of regression analysis.

My fellow graduates. I hope that we can all take to heart the skills we have learned. And not forget that the accomplishments we have achieved in large part through the love and support of those around us and through the close bonds we have made with each other.

So congratulations Class of 2007, you've done it…now get out there and start making the world a better place.

Working in China...the details are starting to roll in

It's official. I finally got some details on the kind of work I'll be doing in China. I'll be working with the Chinese Academy of Urban Planning's Water Resource and Environment Institute based in Beijing on a water system planning project for Miyun County. I still don't know what I'll actually be doing for them, but at least I know I'll be in Beijing and I'll be working on water issues, so I'm very excited about that. I'll keep you all posted as I hear more news about the assignment.

A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step...

And a trip around the world begins with a ticket to China. Yes, that's right folks, Andrea and I have finally bought our tickets to Beijing which will be the first leg on our trip around the world. After way too many hours researching flights and possible. options, Andrea in all her wisdom suggested we just by the ticket to Beijing and the ticket home so that we could concentrate on more important matters at hand, like trying to graduate in June. Once things get settled down we'll work on the full itinerary for our trip and fill you in on all the details. As of now we hope to hit up China, for at least 2 months, then make it over to India where Heidi will join us as we travel all over India and Nepal then fly over to London and explore a bit of Europe before heading back to LA in time for Christmas. Stay tuned for more details, and better yet, maybe we can see you somewhere along the way ;-)