New Introductions, Possibilities & Perspectives

On November 7th, it was back to school again. It was also the first day I stopped living out of my suitcase. My roommate and I were late in coming to class because my watch, which I thought was working well after changing its battery twice in two countries, was slow. Luckily, the class was still doing introductions when we arrived. The teacher? Ezio Manzini.

He looked just as I remembered him from the previous year, although his white hair was a bit longer. By the end of his class, I felt reinvigorated by the potential of designers to help change the world. The cynicism I felt at the beginning of the course was now for the most part gone.

After a quick lunch with an Indian classmate, and the discovery of a really cheap supermarket near the university, the afternoon and evening classes were held, and more introductions made.

Thursday began with me coming late to class by myself. Luckily, it was another introduction period that I interrupted. Unluckily, what followed where 6 hours of “organizational theory”, with a break for lunch. Somebody please help me.

Friday, was a bit of a different day. Public transit was supposed to be on strike (they schedule their strikes here, crazy eh?), but I didn’t really think it would effect me much, since I had a meeting to talk about my internship before class. It turns out that I actually might be able to take on the job in Shanghai while completing my masters in Milan. I might even be able to do it as part of my masters, but we’ll see.

Classes begun that day with Ezio Manzini. His class went overtime by half an hour. The topic covered was well-being and how designers play a role in defining it. I won’t go into any detail about it here, but the later portion of the class was dedicated to the same idea I have been working with since the start of my first blog:

“If you really want to make a difference in the world of development,… go to China. If China can adopt sustainable development practices, so will the rest of the world”.

Again, this is not exactly what he said, but for the purpose of consistency, I’ll leave it at that.

I needed to go to the post office that day, so I missed half of the next class in order to do that. Luckily, it was “organizational theory” again, so I didn’t feel so bad. My roommate and I got a ride to our apartment by another classmate in her BMW that afternoon. I stayed up really late that night writing to my old dancepartner.

My Saturday morning was filled with things to do. Friday was the Indian holiday Devali , so I had an Indian buffet with a classmate and a girl who looked a bit like the Bollywood actress Aishwarya. I think it was the first time I ever thought an Indian girl was really beautiful. I spent the rest of the day looking for a gym.

Yesterday, a lot happened. And it was a Sunday! In the morning, while discussing our plans for the day, I realized something about my roommate: He’s a real designer. His ideas and passion for the subject are amazing. He’s working on a retail space competition that’s due in a few days and I honestly think he will win, if not at least get some kind of honorable mention. His resume already has a few of those. His only problem is communicating his ideas. After visiting the cathedral, Eritrean church, and the hostel later that afternoon, I returned to the apartment with some clearer thoughts of why I think that, and also where my strength is. It is not design, but communication. And I think this experience living with him will help me understand the meaning of that better. Despite the initial (and still potent culture-clashes), I think having him as a roommate may indeed be a “blessing”. His final undergraduate design thesis was an electric city-car system. Talk about good fortune!

My soon-to-be Sunday routine of visiting the cathedral, Eritrean church, and the hostel turned out to be more than just time for contemplation though. At the hostel, I was once again invited to eat with some of the staff, and after already having lunch with the Eritreans, the pasta seemed too much, but I couldn’t say no. I met a pair of Latvians there who apparently were looking for an apartment, so I took them to see ours. It turned out they were interested, and wanted to move in the next day! Crazy. My roommate had just finished an advertisement in search of someone, but said he didn’t expect someone so soon. They are to arrive again today. Crazy.

After the Latvians left, my roommate and I spent the next two hours or so cleaning the apartment for our house-warming party. Most of the people from our class came, as did the Latvians, and a few others. It was a great time. I’ve never helped organize a party like that before, but I think there’ll be more.