Hey guys! If you're reading this I am actually back in the States but that does NOT mean I need to stop blogging! Unfortunately I did not talk about my last couple of months in Qatar but I will now. Also, the interview I talked about last post is now up on the VCUarts site! If you want to check it out: https://arts.vcu.edu/qatar-is-calling-inside-an-interior-design-majors-semester-abroad/ To sum up my last couple of months in Qatar I got to go on a boat ride in the Corniche with some friends, drank delicious karak and learned how to dance desi style. The last couple of months were also tough because our workload got heavier but in the end I came out alive! Luckily I was able to balance workload with socializing and going out and that's really the key to any college experience, time management. I learned new softwares, how to laser cut models and touched on a bit of Rhino and Grasshopper (3D modeling softwares). Qatar has a lot more resources for students and that was one thing that made my experience entirely different from being in Richmond. Since I have been back I have gone to study abroad fairs and sponsored VCUarts Qatar as much as possible. So far a few interior design students and students from fashion are interested and I have been able to share my experience with them. I am officially a VCUarts Qatar Ambassador. I want to thank LaKisha who works with students 24/7 and helped me make my experience a lot better and easier. She does a lot for the students and makes sure events run smoothly and the first few days she made me feel comfortable in a brand new place! Since I studied abroad alone it was easy to feel out of the loop but I would not change the experience I had. Not to be cliche but, growth, maturity, global efficacy, and realizing who I am as a person, I became aware of all of these during my trip. SO if you are reading this and you want to study abroad to the Middle East or VCUarts Qatar PLEASE let me know. Now that my memory is as vivid as it can get I want more people to know that new cultures are nothing to be afraid of. Especially Qatar, it is one of the safest countries in the world and that helped my parents as well. We're a Christian household but that did not make a difference knowing that I would be a minority in a Muslim country. If anything, I have learned so much about Muslim culture and getting that exposure was really cool for me. My parents were never worried about me and that is what every study abroad experience should be like. If there is anything I did not talk about that you want to know submit me a question! Or email me at, [email protected] . Shout out to my friends that I grew so close with over there and obviously it will not be the last time I see all of y'all! And thank you to the readers who are either from Qatar or from America (or other countries!). In the end I hope y'all take this new information and spread it, that studying abroad is valuable and you should not be afraid of it! Salam! Peace! ~Margarita
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Happy October everyone! This blog takes place in the beginning of October so I'll be talking a little bit about recent activities (ironic that I'm making this blog at the end of October).
So far I've adjusted well to being here, at this point I am not as home sick as I was a week or two ago thanks to some great friends I've made here. I can tell you now that people have been asking if I will come back, and I definitely will! Recently there was a photography event at VCUQ, a photographer sponsored by (or working for) Canon came to the school. He told us all about how to take nice architectural photos properly and professionally. Not only that but also what type of camera equipment is best and how different lenses work...Even though I'm an interior design major, yes it's true, we use EVERY medium including photography! He not only showed us AMAZING interior/exterior photos but because he's in the business he travels all the time. The nice thing about VCUQ is that they have twice the amount of local or international artists come to the university. Recently there's also been a Japanese artist who makes kites from printmaking techniques. When I'm not doing work I love playing volleyball with my friends. Recently we had the end-of-the-year tournament and I was decent enough to play! It's nice to get out of VCUQ and my residence hall which is why I knew it'd be perfect to play volleyball. Unfortunately football (soccer) won't be until next semester. Makes sense since it's so hot right now. One regret I have is not coming in the spring not only because of the weather but I heard there are more Education City events happening as well. A food festival, a dance, VCUQ's desi night, so many things!! The main reason why I came now is because I am able to come to Richmond right after and see everyone again. I am glad I came now because of that instead of going straight into summer. Of course I miss everyone back in the states but at this point I'm trying to experience as much as I can here. So far I've met so many people and the Arabic slang is so fun to learn. Some common ones include" "Yallah", "Yanni", "Wallah", "Mashallah", "Inshallah", those last two incorporate God, such as "God bless" or "If God allows" sort of phrases. One other cool thing since I've been here, unlike in the states, a lot of people here think I am Filipino. I realized I have more Filipino features than I thought and it is strange because I've never been asked that until now. Crazy how the change in region can change the way people perceive different nationalities. And the cool thing is there are SO many different nationalities here. Hope my blogs are still exciting for you! I JUST posted some new Education City photos so check those out!! Salam! Peace! ~Margarita Hi! For this post I will be talking about the fourth week of September since the blog posts completely went over my head for that week. Thanks for continuing to read, specifically I will be talking about the goal to have VCUarts Qatar heard by VCUarts Richmond students and WHY.
Social media is a huge part of people's lives in this point in time and I've never been amazing at it. I don't post much on Instagram or Facebook (sorry mom), but during this trip I knew I had to up my game by posting pictures and creating this blog so people back home witness my experiences. On top of all of this, I remembered that VCUarts always lets people takeover their Instagram stories if students are studying abroad or participating in a big event. One day I decided to contact them and they said I could takeover the Instagram for a day! I ended up taking over the account during VCUQ's Culture Day. Basically a day where people dress in their cultural attire and bring food from their culture. There was music and dancing and I witnessed beautiful dress from Pakistan, Syria, Nigeria and even Mexico. VCUQ is small but it is so diverse which I absolutely love. Not only did the VCUarts followers get to witness culture day here, I also showed snippets of the IDES department and the projects we've been working on. They're entirely different from the projects in Richmond! Doing this made me realize that not a lot of people know about VCUQ. Not many know where it is. How big the student body is. Which majors are here. I only knew about this campus because I asked my department chair, "Where can I study abroad"? Currently I am thinking...more VCUarts people from Richmond need to hear about this sister campus. You'd be surprised how many VCUQ people want (and usually do) come to Richmond. Reversely, it's not equivalent. Luckily I got in contact with VCUarts' social media manager and he wanted to interview me about this trip. At the moment he is working on a profile of my trip and will put it on all of the VCUarts social media channels and the VCUarts blog. When it's done I will post it here. AMAZING. It's surprising to think that no one from the main campus has done this before. You may be thinking, "Margarita, isn't it expensive though?" Listen... I am saving more money being here than if I was in Richmond. But we'll get into those details later. The point is I really want more people to experience Qatar and know about it and the power of the internet is helping me do that. No one really knows about Qatar except when they have Qatar Day in Richmond and Richmond Day in Qatar. Even then, it's hard to hear about it. Not only is it the Utopian architecture and great food in Doha, but it's mainly the people I've met that have made this experience so amazing. I know there are others that would love to come here equally as much. To echo what I wrote in the Intro page, Living here gives you a knowledge of many things outside of Western culture. The gift of studying abroad is that it gives you the ability to go outside of a culture you are used to. Even then, there are so many things that I can relate to with the people here, it's pretty amazing how that works. Additionally, this city is a designer's paradise. I have seen innovations big and small that you cannot get in America. That's all I have to say about that. I mainly wrote this post for those that hear about the blog on a social media channel. If you are one of those people, thanks for reading until the end! I know blog posts can get lengthy! Once again, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. I can answer them in a blog post. Additionally, once some of the VCUarts social media posts come out I will tag them here. Salam! Peace! ~Margarita Hey to those reading! Apologies for not writing in over a month, it has been more chaotic than expected but I am planning on updating you all ASAP. A lot has gone on from promoting VCUQ to adjusting to the different interior design curriculum. Currently we are having a fall break so this is a perfect time to collectively reflect on what the IDES classes are like and what else I've seen!
Four weeks ago felt like a rapid haze. Not only did it mark a month being away from home, I officially felt homesick and almost lost in my tracks. If you know me I'm an organized workaholic but at this point my motivation got lost because I was lost in my classes. At this point we were working on a major collaborative assignment in studio with graphic design students and working on a set of construction documents in the graphics class. The mix of these projects for some reason took a mental toll on me, my brain is working differently than I am used to. Not only is the program very digital-heavy here, but at this point I felt like that was the only option in our projects. Was it the only option? Not necessarily. Interior design is interdisciplinary, I forget that at times especially when everyone is doing one method. On top of this, there were more lectures as well. I missed the hands-on programming that professors do in Richmond more. I can't say specifically what felt off but the programming here made all the difference. To sum it up, it's more by-the-book programming here. Our construction documents had to include way more components as if we were giving them to real contractors. Each project had a very "step-by-step in this order" ideology. My friends here said that is exactly what it is. The professors put you in positions that you will most likely experience in actual firms and clientele...I began to realize even though it got highly intensive and rigorous at times, it prepares you well for what could confront you in a workplace. Additionally I cannot complain about the professors because they are all amazing here. I've learned so much from them. But basically, they are really good at making sure you ride a bike without having ridden one before!! On another note, I had some gaps of time to use leisurely. My friend Amna (who is my all-time favorite) and I decided to go to The Torch about 20 minutes from Education City. It is a 51-story tower compiled of restaurants, salons, and hotel rooms that each have outstanding views. We heard about Three Sixty Restaurant so we decided to go there and try the dessert (everything else costs an arm or two). We go up the high-speed elevator and take a seat in the lowly-lit space. The layout is a ring because the tower is cylindrical and the entire ring platform where the seating is is moving at a very slow speed. This way after 5-10 minutes your 40-story view changes ever so subtly. It was a crazy experience. Somehow you could feel the silent evening outside of the massive windows while there were quiet or loud conversations going on in the inside of the space. A restaurant 40-stories up not only changes the atmosphere of the space but your own mental presence. Not only did we experience something so grand and rich in stature, we did it on a good budget. SMS...Spend Money Smartly! On another cool note I visited the golf club that is near EC with VCUQ. We were given a tour by some of the admin, a Scottish guy showed us around and he was very nice but turns out it is a farther drive than expected. A plus side? It is a state-of-the-art professional 18-hole with a driving range next to that and it is WAY cheaper than Top Golf. We got to use the driving range which was awesome and they had spare left-handed drivers. Are my arms still in shape? Somehow yes! Thanks for reading, once again I will try to summarize each and every week. Pictures will be added soon as well, including the projects we have done! Questions? Feel free to ask in the questions section of the website! Salam! Peace! ~Margarita Happy Monday y'all! Remember when I said I would post every Friday? I realized I can't always guarantee that, but no matter what I will post once a week. The blog following is getting bigger and I really appreciate it. When I told people I was going to Qatar there were those that had no idea what a Qatar was and those that recognized the name. It wasn't until later in the conversation that they would say "I only know because FIFA 2022 is going to be there." GET EXCITED because the emblem was just released a couple of days ago!! I really loved the video so I will attach it. It really encapsulates the small and large gems that are in this country. Additionally, I want to hear what you think of the emblem. There's strong and valid opinions on both ends of the spectrum. If you don't live in the country already, people here will tell you that the parts that aren't desert are packed with construction. The way people say this is an understatement. There is MAJOR construction EVERYWHERE. My guess is at least a couple hundred roads are being renovated or created, as well as 4-5 stadiums. Recently a metro station opened up and a tram system is coming soon in Education City. Stay tuned to find out if they get the rest of the construction done in time for the cup. In related terms, currently I'm working on one of our first projects...construction documents! Last year the class here made office floor plans and last year I made a residential floor plan/render. We are using these past projects in order to learn Revit software and understand cover sheets, floor plans, furniture plans, sections, and elevations that contractors would need to approve of. I definitely like it more than AutoCAD and Sketchup. It does a lot more work for you rather than making every single element from scratch. To say it in my professor's words, "We are making the pizza, but Revit is cutting the slices"...imagine a BIG pizza (I hope you get the analogy). The other project we are working on is a re-brand of the VCUQ library. Not to mistake it as the Qatar National Library, it's not at all similar. It's very old looking, low ceilings, dark, all the things a library shouldn't be. We are collaborating with the graphic design juniors to "re-brand" the library. We will be designing the space based on the brand we choose, they will make it come to life with logo, type, all that fun graphic design stuff. The clients just might consider one of our projects! The project is not due until the end of the semester so for now I will post process photos. We are reaching the last week of our construction documents so I will finally fill the "Class Projects" section of the gallery! I won't post all of them, I don't think everyone loves reading construction documents haha. On other totally unrelated news, I might do a triathlon with a friend from my interior design class! They are cheaper for students who are members of the Doha Tri Club, it looks pretty cool. They also do duathlons, aquathlons, all of the lons. We will see!! Questions? Feel free to ask in the ABOUT section. Thanks for reading! Salam! Peace! ~Margarita Hi blog followers! Can't thank y'all enough for reading and checking out the site. I just checked the views and in total I've gotten ~100 views in the past week...now I know this blog wasn't all for nothing! This past week actually went by ridiculously fast and luckily I've settled in extremely well. I've been getting all sorts of new habits like cooking almost every day, going to the gym regularly, and being way more time manageable. The first few days of my classes seemed easy going. I am taking a studio class, a class called Light & Color, a graphics class, and an art history class. Studio consists of large-scale projects that will focus on retail and design branding, while Light & Color focuses more on the design concepts [of light/color]. In graphics we are learning Revit and Rhino software, and in art history I am learning about Roman art/architecture. BUT if we're being honest I might switch out of the roman art class because there's an Islamic art history class that I could join. Fingers crossed! One huge adjustment is the way the curriculum lays out in the interior design department. To best describe it, the department in Richmond focuses more on being creative and hands-on while here they are teaching you design in a more structured way. I was surprised that in each class we had some small casual discussion. Basically a time where we debrief and talk about the upcoming project and start working. Instead a majority of class time became more lecture-based than hands-on. Drafted drawings aren't really a thing since we have so much software but I'm a bit sad about that. Personally, I am able to see my ideas and choices clearer on a drawn out plan rather than on a screen. You have more flexibility and opportunity in your designs as well. So...what I'm going to do is channel my inner carpenter and custom build my own drafting board with the wood shop staff here. They showed me all the materials they have and what they CAN give me so I knew I had to jump on the opportunity while I could. I...am SO excited! How will I ship it back home? I'll save that issue for December. On a different note there was a trip yesterday to Msheireb (still can't figure out how to pronounce it) for the new students. It's basically a square with 3 different museums and it was incredibly eye-opening. Each museum is a "house" and each one has something to do with the culture or people of Qatar. I will insert the link to the properties. There was a house that talked about the early oil industry, the labor culture, one about the sustainability and design in Doha, as well as a house about slavery and Qatar's fight against human trafficking. The last one was the most intense and emotional. Most people don't realize just how much profit the industry still gains today (BILLIONS of dollars. A higher profit than Google and other huge companies). Other than that it was a fun trip. Lots of amazing architecture/design in Msheireb as well as some small building models/3D print models that I LOVED. Also, the highlight of the day was my friend Amna running into a glass wall. Pretty much everyone saw it since she was in front of all of us. Shoutout to the designer for that amazing slim-fit curtain wall. I will post more pictures...eventually. Questions? Ask in the ABOUT section of this website. Salam! Peace! ~Margarita - - The link to the Msheireb Properties: https://www.msheireb.com/msheireb-downtown-doha/msheireb-museums/about-msheireb-museums/mohammed-bin-jassim-house/ Hi everyone! It's blog #2 and I may or may not have finished blog #1 a couple minutes ago (don't @ me!).
Blog posts will probably happen once or twice a week, that way it will be easier to sum up 3-4 days instead of each day. If you want me to post more often I can just let me know. Each day has so many new things happening! Classes start TOMORROW and turns out they use a software I haven't ventured through yet. RHINO! It's a lot like AutoCAD so it shouldn't be too hard to learn. Yesterday was the first day I wasn't stuck at VCUQ for orientation because I went to an exchange student orientation instead. Where I and other exchange students from different colleges went around Doha! From Katara to the Souq Waqif we took a quick tour just to see what's around. First we went to Katara which holds one of the biggest multicultural festivals in the world! There also sat a blue mosque with gorgeous tile. To say the least I also geeked out there. The other exchange students weren't art students so I was the only crazy one looking intently at a lot of walls. Our guide, Colby, told us a lot about the designs and materials. It was cool to hear where some materials were imported from. An artificial hill lied there and the grass was imported from the U.S. The trees and plants at the top were from East Asia. This country really screams multiculturalism in interesting ways. As we drove to The Pearl, a swanky (and not affordable) part of Doha, we felt like ants under the gigantic skyscrapers. Some are very funky in stature, some with amazing geometric patterns, and some with giant banners of the Emir (the King of Doha). Which I will talk about later in the post. The Pearl basically had a lot of apartments, a lot of expensive stores, and a lot of yachts. It had a very "Florida resort" type aesthetic, with buildings that shined a red granite-like color. I saw a Portuguese flag waving in front of an apartment, turns out the Ambassador of Portugal has a place there! After the Pearl, we visited the Museum of Islamic Art, or, the "veiled woman". At the top of the white island lie two windows that look like eyes. The building as a whole looks like blocks stacked in a pyramid but using your imagination you see the woman and her veil. The museum was built by architect I.M. Pei (rest in peace) so that may give you an idea on the inconspicuous design. By the end of the day we went to Souq Waqif, probably my favorite stop. Away from the rich-ey richness of Doha, Souq Waqif is known for it's market stores that contain everything. Rugs, lamps, spices, falcons (the animal), and a diverse selection of restaurants/cafes. Next time I go I'm getting a rug! We went to Tajeen, a Moroccan restaurant and it was great. We split platters of chicken dishes and lamb dishes. We also tried camel (sorry non-meat eaters) and it was SO good. The best way to describe the taste? Think of how rich duck tastes compared to chicken, it's like that compared to beef...A richer beef! My favorite thing of the night was trying kanafeh. It is this amazing dessert made with filo dough, mozzarella cheese, and pistachios. To say the least, you shouldn't knock it until you try it. I thought I wouldn't like it but I ended up loving it so that's my story of how I figured out my 2nd favorite dessert. It sounds gross to you now but try it...you'll see. Other than the sights and the food it was cool to hear why other people were in Qatar and they were all there for many different reasons. It is easily a hub for many opportunities. That distinction shows in the EC as well. There are so many different schools offering different majors and that's the joy of investing education in the EC. One cool thing about Qatar is the unification it is currently experiencing. Since the embargo that some GCC nations (and Egypt) put against Qatar it's actually helped the country a lot. For those nations it was a way to put an oil-rich competitor at a lower tier so its economy suffered at first. Now it is booming thanks to the Emir who saw this as an opportunity to expand trade to different countries but more importantly, focus on production independently. LaKisha has been here before the embargo and said that its unified the people of Qatar than ever before...as diverse as the population is. That's something real special. NOTE: they are one of the most environmentally friendly countries so that probably attracts other nations wanting a surplus of more ecofriendly imports. Yay Qatar!! Sorry to get all political for a second but shoutout to the Emir, we love an independent and unifying community. Tomorrow is school day so before then I will try to post more photos of the Doha trip. Thanks for reading and don't forget: Ask ANY and ALL questions in the About page!! Feel free to do it anonymously as well if you don't wish to put your name. Salam! Peace! ~Margarita Hi everyone and welcome to the blog! I am SO late considering its been over a week since I landed in Qatar. Sorry to those that have been waiting for even a sentence on here. I've settled well and had the best 7 days in Doha. No bad days! I'll try to sum up the days so this isn't a long post.
The first few days consisted of learning a lot about the city at once. BIG shoutout to the VCU student liaison, LaKisha, who's been the biggest help since she picked me up from the airport. She showed me around Doha, the Education City, and told me how they do things around here. At this point I felt a lot cozier since I really didn't know much at first except the legal stuff. The second day I met my resident assistant, Salma. She's the sweetest and offered to make dinner the night we met. We had only the finest...cornflakes, a cucumber-tomato salad, and lintel soup (shelf-life is half as long since barely anything has preservatives). I'm now happily addicted to lintel soup. Thanks Salma. The next few days I was pretty much left to explore on my own. That's when I got to see a few buildings in Education City. In simple terms EC is a lot like a utopia. Visiting the Qatar National Library (QNL) and Student Center were amazing. I pretty much geeked out because there are things I have not seen before like design concepts or what they were made out of. The next 3 days were definitely the highlight of the week. I went to the freshman orientation for VCUarts and met nearly half of VCUQ. In a way it was actually nice to meet freshman as well, we were all new to this process and VCUQ. The craziest thing? I met another Margarita who works at VCUQ and she is from Mexico. The EC has students and staff from all over the world so I think that's been the coolest thing so far. Hearing so many different stories. - - Classes start soon so I am super excited for that. I heard we'll be doing more digital work than drawing so I am curious to see what our projects are like. For now, I am working on making more friends...especially ones with cars. LaKisha said its easier to be friends with people who have cars to see more things. Totally get that, there's not a lot of public transit and things are far away from each other here. It's not like Richmond where a Starbucks is a minute walk. And the weather? To best describe it it's like a slap in the face every time you walk outside. You only go outside to walk from building to building. As I start this blog feel free to look at the About page and give me feedback! OR questions!! I thought it would be cool to answer some people's questions on the blog that could be interior design, VCUQ, Qatar related, or really anything. Thanks for reading the FIRST blog post! ~Margarita |
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