documentation of life as i know it

dance with me;

sway me to the sound of some beautiful melody

and let the words

send us spinning around the room.

hold me close,

so i can feel your warmth

and i may become focused

on keeping time to the beat of your heart.

rock me gently;

oscillate me in two

and hold me with such tenacity

that i forget what it means to be solo.

sing to me;

how great it would feel

to be enveloped in your alluring harmonies

of sweet nothings and tonic cadences.

when the music stops,

don’t loosen your embrace.

the tune has diminished,

but love has no fine.

love is a masterpiece—

a duet between two

where a song is composed,

unlike anything before.

we are the artists,

we choose the chords,

we set the tempo,

and author the score.

love is music,

and our song is on repeat.

Season’s greetings!

My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m a second year student at the University of Utah! I have no doubt that my love for sweaters and mittens fits in quite nicely with the beautiful, snowcapped mountains of Utah, however, a little known fact by many people at college is that I’m actually from the flat plains of Northeastern South Dakota. 

Now if you’re the average person, the odds are good you know literally nothing about South Dakota. I’ve come to understand that once you’ve driven through one maize field, you’ve driven through them all, therefore, I take no offense. Sometimes though, I can’t help but think that maybe people are actually super curious about SoDak. What if the majority of people lie awake at night tossing and turning because they have so many questions about it, but no one to answer them?

If this is the case for you...well today is your lucky day.

Today I’m going to share with you the basic three things you need to know about South Dakota. If you know these, well jeez Louise, you’ll be able to knock the socks of most people. Hopefully this also helps you sleep a little better tonight.

1. South Dakota is the state that has Mount Rushmore.

2. South Dakota is better than North Dakota. (They call it NODak for a reason.)

3. South Dakota winters can be some of the most brutal in the Midwest.

Let’s take a bit to talk about that last point. South Dakota Winter.

Some of my friends at school say to me, “Julia, Utah has pretty terrible winters and since you’re not that much further north are the winters really that bad?”

Yes, friends. Yes, they are.

Winter in South Dakota is pretty much an entire lifestyle choice a person has to make. 

This type of winter almost always includes shoveling inches (and sometimes feet) of snow, starting your car twenty minutes before you leave, and nearly falling on your face every time you walk out. 

Sometimes you have to sacrifice wearing cute outfits because the temperature is in the negatives and they aren’t warm enough. 

During the winter you have to wait weeks to wear your new shoes because there’s dirty snow slush on every walkable surface. 

In South Dakota, if you don’t have four wheel drive, you’re not going anywhere during a blizzard, but also after because they take a hot minute to plow anything. 

Before a snow storm everyone and their dog run to the grocery store to stock up on sustenance. Getting snowed in is very much a real circumstance.

You always have to kick snow of your car’s mud-flaps before you park in the garage otherwise you’ll have a manmade lake by morning.

During a South Dakota winter, everyone gets excited when it’s in the thirties because they can finally take their cars to the car wash without them freezing over.

If you desire to have Christmas lights up outside during the holiday season, it’s your best bet to put them up in October before it snows.

Most importantly, it’s against any South Dakotans religion to drive a car that doesn’t have a snow brush/ice scraper in it at all times.

Despite all the work this winter war can be, there is always one pro. South Dakota looks stunning in white.

To wrap today’s conversation I took some pictures of my friend’s exterior Christmas décor following this week’s blizzard. It was absolutely freezing when I took these, but I thought the space really captured the beauty of the South Dakota winter season. As you look through this gallery, feel free to grab yourself a cup of cocoa and enjoy the blessed warmth of the indoors.

Stay safe—it’s icy out there, and have the happiest of holidays!

Hello!

My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m just your average run-of-the-mill college student with an absurd amount of homework and a blog that gets more attention than it probably should. 

Psh, millennials. Am I right? 

Anywho, I’m in my second year of pre-architectural studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. As many of you know, I just returned from my semester abroad in Volterra, Italy. Now I’m not one for clichés, but studying abroad was truly a life changing experience. Over the last three months, I’ve noticed that I have more confidence in my style, better time management skills, and all together a newfound affirmation that architecture is what I’m being called to do at this point in my lifetime. By learning abroad, I also made some close friends and got to visit places I had always dreamt of seeing. It’s some pretty rad stuff, really.

Last week I talked about “culture shock,” which is a concept people ask me about all the time moving between two drastically different places. This week I’d like to do something similar and answer another very popular question I’ve received since I’ve been home. 

“Julia, what was the average day like for you in Volterra?”

This question actually fits really well with the social systems I’ve been exploring  in my blogs lately because many of them can be exhibited by a look into my daily routine while I was abroad. Allow me to lay out one of my typical days for you and then we can highlight some of these moments.

7:15-8:30 - Run through the town/workout

I used to run the bare minimum while working out and I most certainly did not run on inclines. I’ve also never considered myself an athlete and I have often found myself stressing at the gym because of it. However, after considering the beautiful views and petiteness of Volterra, I decided to give it a go. To my surprise, I found relief as I ran up and down the hills of the town. The peaceful atmosphere gave me time to reflect and prepare for what my day would hold. I also found that running through the streets brought me closer to some of the locals. People at cafes would wave at me and other runners would encourage me to keep going and pushing myself.

Disclaimer: People weren’t usually out when I ran super early. I definitely encountered more social interactions running at about 9:00 or so.

9:00-1:30- Studio

This was a class just like any other one offered at a university. In this course, each of us spent the semester designing a Montessori school that was going to be constructed in a site of old church ruins located just down the street from our villa. This part of the day for me was pretty student-typical. As for the rest of the town, this period of time during the day is when they open and run their shops. 

1:30-3:00- Lunch

It’s very likely that you’re sick of hearing me talk about the significance of Italian food, but guys, I cannot stress enough how important meal times are to Italians. The prolonged meals support the Italian values for maintaining good physical, mental/emotional, and social health.

***Sidenote: Siesta starts at about 1:30 and lasts until about 4:30. Siesta is a period of time that happens each day where most shops will close up and take a break until evening time.***

Disclaimer: Mealtimes are important, but I will say that I skipped lunch a number of time to give myself extra homework time.

3:00-4:30 Italian Language and Culture

This course was exactly what its title states. Although, there was a hidden lesson I learned while we went on class field trips to some of Volterra’s hidden gems: “Slow down.” Our professor for the class strongly encouraged us to walk slower and look around. There are so many things to see in an old city like Volterra and if you only go about your day heading from place to place, you’ll miss the details that make the place unique.

4:30-8:00 Homework

This was my prime time to work on homework during the day. I’m not exactly sure why, but a pretty common encounter I’ve had is that people develop the misconception that students who study abroad don’t actually take classes or have homework. I’m here to tell you that is absolutely false and that this is one of the hardest semesters of college I’ve had yet. Studying abroad isn’t a vacation, but rather education in a different light and setting. As wacky as it may sound, I’m just another student.

8:00-9:45 Dinner

Dinner was arguably the most important time of day. In Italian culture, dinner is the time to share news with your friends and family. It’s the time to relax and have a glass (or bottle) of wine. This meal is the time to indulge and fill your stomach after a long day’s work. 

Dinner is everything.

9:45-12:30 Homework

This is the period of time in my days that was most like school back home: late night homework. This semester I learned how to push through the wall of tiredness one experiences after a hearty two-course Italian dinner. My method? Candy and plenty of hard rock. Works like a charm.

Hello! 

My name is Julia Friedrichsen and this is my blog! Just a friendly reminder for those who may not know me personally, I’m a second year pre-architectural studies student at the University of Utah and I just recently returned from my semester abroad in Volterra, Italy. A little bit more about me is that I have some mad Christmas baking skills and my favorite way to celebrate the season is by wearing my earrings that are penguins wearing scarves. Cute, I know.

What I’d like to share with you today is a topic that I’ve been asked to cover by a number of people, especially since I’ve been back here in the States. This blog will be over my experiences with the concept of “culture shock.”

Culture shock is “the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.”

The first time I had been informed of the official term was during orientation for my learning abroad trip. I was told that I should expect to feel a little out of place and maybe even disoriented when I first arrived in Europe. Aside from a new sleep schedule, many people struggle with a change in diet, social structure, language, and religion. Culture shock can cause a multiplicity of emotions, but also stress, which can ultimately lead to anxiety and/or depression. 

Culture shock is unfortunately inevitable for most people, but the good news is that it can be combated or at least lessened. To weaken the effects of culture shock, I think the biggest tip I can give is to take baby steps and lots of deep breaths. Every situation is different, but what really helped me entering Europe was that I took a red-eye flight from Minneapolis to London instead of flying straight to Italy. By doing this, I got to London right away in the morning (daylight is super useful when entering foreign places) and was able to recompose myself in a place where I could still speak to most of the people before continuing on the rest of my journey.

Adapting to Italian culture was pretty difficult mostly because it involved slowing down. This was challenging for me because I’m a person that always does my best to keep my days busy and full of adventures. The Italian way of life is much more relaxed and easy going. I caught on to that pretty quickly after about three or four of our two hour dinners. This semester I learned to slow my roll, lighten up about not always being able to finish my to-do lists, and savor conversation.

Going to Europe, this was definitely difficult, but interestingly enough, I think I’ve personally encountered much more culture shock upon my return to the United States.

Luckily, I handled the jet lag very well returning because I was able to go straight to bed right after I got home in the evening. Although physically, my body has handled the change fine, a big adjustment has been how diverse the social and environmental systems of Salt Lake City are to that of Volterra.

Salt Lake has wide streets and buildings that spread over large footprints of land, whereas Volterra had more slender, one-way streets and buildings smooshed together on both sides of the road. The feeling of Volterra was a lot less vast than that of Salt Lake, and certainly much more intimate.

In Salt Lake City, people don’t talk to each other on public transit. Everyone puts in their headphones and that feels so strange because that’s not how it was in Italy. The people over there made an effort to talk to others as much as they could and made having conversation an encouraged experience for people of all ages.

Salt Lake City has fast food, but Italy only acknowledges one word out of that phrase. Consuming food is sentimental bonding time in Italy and in America it’s merely a period of time necessary for survival.

People party and dance to music in the streets of Volterra while the people of the United States more commonly have venue spaces for doing so.

All the people in Volterra know each other, but that isn’t the case for SLC.

Differences like this have made coming back to Utah more of a shock for me because everything feels out of reach. I can’t just walk to a grocery store or restaurant in a matter of minutes. Here everyone drives or takes transit. In Salt Lake there is danger, there is a crime rate. That’s not so much a concern in Volterra, so I’ve had to practice putting my guard back up and not walking so much at night. I enjoy both social ecologies respectively, but I can definitely say it’s going to take a minute to re-familiarize myself with this less personal social system of America.

To cap off this conversation, I think the biggest loop I’ve been thrown for being home is just all around how surreal everything feels. It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve been here. I miss the lax lifestyle of Italy, but I’m super excited that I get to see my friends and the snow!

I feel the sunlight kiss my skin and

The heat radiate from the pavement below my feet.

As I saunder down the road

(A pace all too familiar here)

I inhale the fragrant aromas

Of sweet pastries and fresh flowers.

People around here aren’t so distracted by the outside world.

Italians are living the moment—

The experience, rather.

And so, in a desire to make my visit most sincere,

I take a moment to lift my gaze.

I find myself enamored by a sea of orange buildings.

I continue my promenade

With my eyes peeled.

As humans, it is in our

Most divine nature

To find fault with anything we

Take to be most extravagant.

It’s as though our minds

Can’t accept the success or perfection

Of those around us.

Aha, here it is.

The error, the slip-up, the imperfection.

My eyes lock with a wall of stone,

Rugged, deteriorating, and oxidizing.

I am immediately captivated.

I am drawn to an opening, perhaps once a doorway.

I see how unforgiving and unyielding

Time has been to this unkempt place.

However, I’ve never been one for a bad attitude,

So my I keep my eyes moving.

They scan quickly,

Looking-- hoping to find anything more.

It’s not but moments later

That my eyes catch something most peculiar.

Green.

Plants have crawled their way

Up a decrepit wall.

Moss clings between cobblestones

With the most beautiful intentions.

My eyes are drawn to striking fuschias and yellows

In the crevices of this mundane place.

That’s it.

This place has a niche.

I see potential;

A new story perhaps.

I see growth.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy so I apologize for not keeping up on my blog! 

For those of you that may not know, my name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m a second year student at the University of Utah. I attend school for Pre-Architectural studies and I spent this semester abroad in Volterra, Italy. I spent about three months abroad and during that time I was very fortunate to visit a variety of countries such as France, London, and Switzerland. I made my trek back to Salt Lake City on Wednesday and after twenty-seven hours of travel, I can proudly say jet lag did not get the best of me. *insert applause*

What I’d like to take a second to talk about today is one of my worst nightmares; not being able to eat ice cream year round. Ridiculous? Maybe, but scary nonetheless. Ice cream is one of my favorite desserts and in Italy, gelato is generally inexpensive. Plus, Italian ice cream is almost always homemade and within walking distance. Some think it’s dangerous living so close to a gelateria. I think it’s convenient. 

It was on a brisk and breezy afternoon about two weeks ago that my nightmare came true. I was walking to my favorite gelato shop post-lunch with my friends when we noticed that the shades were drawn and the door was closed. We decided that the chilly weather and closed gelato shop were merely coincidental and attempted to try our luck at one of the other ice cream parlors. No dice.

This was no coincidence.

It was a purposed occasion.

It was also just a royal bummer.

It wasn’t until later that evening talking to my Italian professor that I figured out what was going on. My teacher informed me that all gelato shops in Volterra close for the winter, and the bars that sell more than just gelato either take it out of their inventory or sell chocolate instead during this time of year. Once spring rolls around, so does the gelato.

From an outsider’s perspective, this may seem a bit strange, however, this change in season isn’t solely exclusive to gelato and ruining the days of sweet-toothed children like myself.

Similar to a majority of small Italian towns, the economy of Volterra largely thrives off of tourism. As one might guess, the most profitable time of year this occurs is during the warmer months. Due to this, many of Volterra’s shop workers close up their stores here and migrate for the winter months. Some take time off and vacation, others just relocate to where the tourism is better during this time of year.

Well here it is, folks. I’m sad to say that this was the last gelato I was able to buy for the season. You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone and this is a prime example of that. To make light of this situation, I’ll leave you with a proverb.

A wise prophet once told me,

“Keep your friends close, and keep your gelato closer.”

Ciao!

A quick intro for all the newbies out there, my name is Julia Friedrichsen and a couple fun facts about me are that I know how to auction and my spirit animal is the ostrich. Pretty rad, huh? I thought you might think so. It might also be useful to know that I’m a second year pre-architectural studies major at the University of Utah and that I’m spending this semester studying abroad in Italy. I often get distracted which typically causes my blogs to get done later than I’d like. I guess my best advice for my readers is to not become so big of a fan that you ceremoniously sit on tumblr refreshing for the new weekly post to come out. I can’t promise consistency, but I can promise moderately solid content at my own discretion.

I’ve been living in Italy for about two months now, but this was my first time visiting Rome! As I mentioned in my earlier post (See: “To the Artist with No Name), it’s always been a dream of mine to visit the Vatican City. Even though I loved so much about it as well as the rest of Rome, I would still say it was far from being my favorite place. I often found myself frustrated and pushing away street venders. People don’t take no for an answer and the lines for everything are very long. However, there were some positive aspects of Rome. I had some of the best gelato I had ever tasted while I was there. I also got to see the Vatican Gardens, which in case you were wondering, have turtles. 

The atmosphere of Rome is pretty difficult to describe, but I’ll give you the best story I have to articulate how I forged my trip and created an unforgettable experience. 

A friend and I were walking around the Vatican museum and began to make the long trek up to the Sistine Chapel. Everything was kind of a blur once we reached the front door of the chapel. I recall feeling like cattle as we were herded in by a mass of guards. I was dismayed to see that people were treating this holy place with such disrespect and not honoring the rules that the security guards were loudly trying to enforce. I was distraught and ready to leave the second I entered the space, so I walked with my head down and planned on getting out as soon as possible. It wasn’t until my friend grabbed my arm and pulled me aside from the flow of traffic toward the center of the room that I began to actually appreciate my surroundings. We took a few minutes to just absorb everything that was above us and take some time for ourselves. I feel like that’s how I had to enjoy the majority of Rome. Instead of searching for silence and beating all the crowds, the best photos and moments I had were when I finally accepted that you can still find solitude amongst thousands of people.

Here’s the best part. These are some of my favorite images I captured in Rome!

Cafés and Conversation

Good evening! 

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Julia Friedrichsen, and what you’re reading is my blog, which is filled with zest, gusto, sunshine, rainbows, and so much more. You name it, I got it. Anywho, I’m a second year student at the University of Utah, and I’m currently savoring every second of the next two weeks as I’ve been lucky enough to spend this semester studying abroad in Volterra, Italy.

Being here for almost three months, I’ve been exposed an entirely new way of life, but there is one experience that has been most prominently unique— dining.

Disclaimer: My first time eating was not when I arrived in Europe.

Allow me to clarify a bit.

European dining takes place daily, and typically is celebrated for a couple of hours at a time. This makes the act more of an event with deeper meaning than just a quick task that many Americans even goes as far to neglect. Keeping in mind this contrasting element, we can begin to dissect the depth of this subject. 

Let’s start with understanding the occasion. From a social standpoint, eating is very important. Aside from nutritional benefits, meals are the main source of how people here partake in wholesome conversation, share their feelings, and all together make memories. Whether it be over the typical morning cappuccino or a bottle of wine at dinner, mealtimes are the prime circumstance in which people relate to each other. There are many hypothesis as to why this may be, but I think for Volterra this is primarily the case because meals are associated with having a gathering (of people and food) as well as sharing. The same can be said about the emotional aspects and that’s why they’re elongated and more sentimental.

Another way to analyze meal times is by where they take place. Bars and cafés are huge in the European dining industry. Most, if not all restaurants have a garden spaces that allow people to eat outside. This is a point of interest when studying the social ecology of meal times because these outdoor patios fuel an intimate connection between the people that partake, as well the one they have with the environment. I’ve found that it’s significantly more common to see customers utilizing the outdoor space than the indoor. I think it’s totally plausible to say that it’s because we feel most comfortable in our natural world. The outdoors encourage people to engage in conversation more freely.

It’s also important to keep in mind that many outdoor restaurant spaces are conveniently placed on the streets. This opportunity is an invitation for a whole other series of relationships to interconnect. When sitting outdoors like they do in Volterra, people respond to the cars that drive by, the people that walk past, and the sound of the leaves being rustled in the breeze. The cafés and bars play the role of facilitating the experiences people have while engaging in meal times.

My favorite aspect of dining in Europe has been how malleable the occasion can be. While meals are a key point of socializing with others, the experience is also versatile to be customizable and personal. As you can see at the start of this blog, I posted a short video of my view while eating lunch alone in Florence. Despite the commonality of socializing, eating in solitude is not an unusual circumstance in Europe. I actually see it quite frequently, especially for breakfast. Many people here like to start off the day being reflective and by taking a little time for themselves. Eating alone can be just as impactful as social meals because it forces you to observe the relationships you’re being exposed to. This ability to accommodate solitude and socialization maintains individuality within the social ecology.

This week I challenge you all to step out of your dining comfort zone. Eat with others if you typically eat alone or vis versa. Eat outside or in a sunroom if given the option instead of in a completely confined interior space. Changing your meal situation up a bit should help you not only learn more about how you function as a component in your social ecology but also introduce you to techniques for making dining an experience.

Happy Halloween! As a special gift for one of my favorite holidays, enjoy these spooky images I took at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris! 👻💀🎃🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️

Happy Monday!

As usual feel free to fast forward to the more interesting content (the stuff after the line) as I’ll be taking just a second here to introduce myself for the sake of any new readers! My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m from Northeast South Dakota. I enjoy watching horror movies as I edit photos or sketch and if you try to say hi to me in public, there’s a pretty solid chance I won’t even acknowledge you because I’m listening to Queen or Danny Elfman movie soundtracks much too loudly through my earbuds. I apologize in advance. Aside from that nonsense, I’m a second year undergraduate student at the University of Utah. I’m a pre-architectural studies major and I am currently studying abroad with a small group of my peers in Volterra, Italy. We’ve all been here since late August and sad as it is to say, we’re almost near the end of our semester! We have about three weeks left here and then we’ll report back to Salt Lake City for final exhibitions and exams. I’ve been putting out content all semester to try and give people an idea what my experiences have been like while studying abroad. I’m not certain, but I think there might be people out there reading these and moderately enjoying themselves... so mission accomplished!

This week I figured I’d share a little bit with you about one of my favorite social events I’ve encountered during my time here in Volterra—the Saturday morning market. Farmer’s markets are a growing trend in the United States and are a great way for community members to become familiar with their local harvesters and artisans. However, in lots of places, these markets tend to be pricey, inconveniently timed, or only seasonal. This is not the case for Volterra. Each week since I’ve arrived there’s been a local parking lot market until about 1:00 on Saturday morning. At this market, a series of shop owners organize stands with a wide selection of their products. From shoes to produce, the Saturday market has it all. 

There are a few food venders that come to sell at the Saturday market as well! For many locals, their friends are the storeowners, so it’s very common to see people stopped and talking while here. It’s actually pretty interesting because although my Italian is very broken, I can tell that their conversations are about more than just the ananas being out of season or the blankets getting marked down. The people converse about life and how they’ve been doing. For them, the market is commonplace where people hang out and catch up.

Venders will often fill their tent to the brim with merchandise. They usually offer crazy sales and will typically barter with you if you’re not sure about the price of something.

Fun fact! This last weekend I went to the market to pick up some supplies so I could make fresh pico de gallo. I picked up two peppers, five pepperocini, two limes, an onion, some garlic, seven tomatoes, three apples for snacking, and a bunch of cilantro all for five euro! I’m pretty good at finding the best bargains at Smith’s, but the deals are never as good as that was!

All in all, my market experience here in Volterra has been fantastic. Aside from its cost efficient prices, the market is also a weekly social gathering that noticeably strengthens the relationships within the citizens of the community and this, in turn, keeps the local businesses alive and thriving. 

Bonjour, everyone! 

If you’re a regular, you can skip this part, but if you’re new, let me introduce myself quick. My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m from a little town in Northeast South Dakota. I enjoy brownie batter ice cream, Bob’s burgers, and plethoras of pillows. I’m a second year pre-architecture student at the University of Utah and this semester I’m adventuring abroad in Volterra, Italy! There you go, we’re basically best friends now. On to real business.

As you may have already seen from my vast amount of Facebook photos, a couple weeks ago I spent part of my fall break in Paris! Not to be cliché or anything, but I think I fell in love with the City of Love. Paris is beautiful architecturally, environmentally, and even socially. The Louvre isn’t overrated and Parisian food is so exceptional. I actually feel a little bad because I went into Paris half expecting that I wouldn’t like it. I have so many friends that have visited and despised Paris for being stinky, dirty, and unsafe. I’m not saying it’s always clean and tidy and that the people are all kind, but I am saying that if you are considering going abroad for school or vacation, give Paris a chance.

Before I let you check out some of my favorite pictures I took, I’d like to share a few of my favorite moments from Paris.

1. Shakespeare and Company

Finding this coffee shop was actually a happy accident. It was Sunday and I was very disappointed because a friend and I had just missed the cut off for making it into the evening mass at Notre Dame. Totally bummed out, we decided we needed some coffee. This little shop is right off of Notre Dame Square and it’s the cutest thing. They had a variety of drinks and snacks and they were vegan friendly so I was able to drink my mocha with zero stress! As if the delicious coffee wasn’t enough, my friend and I had the best conversation all thanks to the paper placemat on our tray. The placemat was covered in a series of conversation starting questions. Being a proud introvert and often finding it difficult to approach people in conversation, it was beautiful to see that there are people out there who still see the value in making communication comfortable and as effortless as possible.

2. Mass at Notre Dame

While I didn’t get to attend a Sunday mass at Notre Dame, I was very fortunate to catch a weekday mass later on in my trip. I think Notre Dame is one of my favorite churches I’ve ever been in. The somber vibe of the gothic architecture is striking and definitely makes a point to evoke a sense of gravity for anyone that enters. Notre Dame is also really remarkable because it houses the Crown of Thorns. It’s only venerated during specific times of the year, but you can still see it in it’s red case and let me tell you that was impactful enough. Religious or not, it was crazy to see how emotional it was for everyone being in the presence of something so solemn.

3. Sainte Chapelle

So yes, this is another church, but it’s entirely different than that of Notre Dame. Of course Sainte Chapelle is way smaller, but it also has a completely different visual aesthetic. This chapel is covered in some of the prettiest stained glass windows I have ever seen. It’s not utilized for mass anymore which is a bummer because the interior is so beautiful, but it’s nice that it’s at least still accessible for the public to see. I really liked that the sunlight always hit the stained glass at just the right angle to paint the whole sanctuary with color.

There are plenty of other fantastic moments, but they would take me forever to write. Okay, I suppose you’ve been patient enough. Here’s what you've probably been waiting for. 

Please enjoy the beauty of Paris as seen by my eyes.

Happy Sunday! I’ve got a pretty important subject to talk about today, so let’s get right to it, shall we?

 My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m a second year pre-architectural studies major at the University of Utah. This semester I’m studying abroad in Volterra, which is a little town in the Tuscany region, a couple hours South of Florence. 

Despite what people might think, I’m not just on a three month vacation over here in Europe. I’m taking classes, they’re just taught a little differently than how they’d be at home. I would say they’re more experiential and hands on. For example, I’m taking a history class, but we often will go see actual sites instead of just listening to a lecture about them. The same can be said about the ecologies course I’m also taking because in order to truly understand the ecological systems of Volterra, I must get out and explore. I hope to make my observations apparent in my writing and that you find Italy as compelling as I do. I understand that this is a pretty large topic to digest as a whole. No worries, we’ll take little bites. 

This week’s topic started in one of my other classes, “Alabaster Workshop.” In this class, each student is given a cylinder of alabaster and must make a creative piece with personal meaning. During last class we spent the afternoon making clay prototypes for our pieces. Near the end of class we took a break and walked next door to an alabaster studio. I’m not sure how much any of you know about alabaster, so I’ll fill you in on the most important bit. Alabaster is delicate, but when worked correctly, can make some of the world’s most alluring pieces.

This beauty however, is not the sole purpose of this blog. Allow me to explain what I mean from a slightly different lens. In this blog, I’ve used some images I took of my favorite works in the alabaster studio. These elegant compositions are fully functioning alabaster instruments and they can’t be found anywhere else in the world. This is a marvelous feat no doubt, except, there aren’t many people who realize that. As we were in awe over these stunning creations, my professor made a statement. “There are so many artists whose talents will go unnoticed and forever hidden.” 

We often take for granted that everything we encounter has an embodied story. People, places, and items alike. Understanding this often overlooked connection is important because it keeps our relationships intimate. Without paying any mind to the seemingly invisible, we will lose the meaningful experiences we establish within our environment.

Firstly and foremost, thank you. 

It’s always been a dream of mine to have a unique and unforgettable experience in the Vatican City. What better way to remember it all than with a permanent ink stain, right?

If I can be honest though, walking into your parlor that evening, I really didn’t expect to walk out with a new artistic addition. In fact, I had lots of doubt.

“The website says he takes walk-ins, but I’m sure there’ll be a line.” 

“He says he does minimalistic tattoos for a reasonable price, but watch it be way out of my price range.”

“What if he doesn’t understand what exactly it is that I want?”

Lucky for me, you’re a man of your word. I was at your shop for about half an hour and my wallet didn’t shed even a single tear. Entrepreneurs that work honestly are often sought, but are seldom facile to find. I applaud you for being so genuine. That’s such an admirable quality to possess. 

Perhaps it’s strange that we never formally introduced ourselves, but looking back on it, I never gave it a second thought. I never caught your name. Is that wrong of me? Then again, I suppose you never caught mine either. Have we glorified the concept of building social barriers? Some may say, but I feel that despite skipping the prefaces, we still successfully managed to acquaint ourselves with each other’s likeness. As designers, it is our job to learn how to create and ultimately communicate meaning through a number of modes. Our exchange was not bound by financial contracts, waivers, or even a ‘proper introduction,’ but rather by a piece of paper with a picture on it.

It continues to astonish me how effectively and universally the language of art functions. For example, it only took inscribing a measly phrase for you to learn everything about me. Three words to signify my surface simplicity. The placement on my wrist to exhibit my vulnerability. The best part is, you never once asked me, “What is true? Can you explain your idea behind the French?” I firmly believe it’s because you already knew. 

Art needs no explanation. My story was all there in ink, just like any other type of literature.

The work you did in five minutes holds meaning that will last the rest of my lifetime.

And for that, I am most thankful.

Buon giorno, readers! As promised, another late blog post has been written. Again, I’m sorry to have been sidetracked from all of you. My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m a second year pre-architectural studies major at the University of Utah! The semester I’m studying abroad with twelve classmates in Volterra, Italy. While we’re enjoying Tuscany we’ll have the opportunity to take major based courses as well as take some time to explore Europe for ourselves.

In my previous post I talked about my excursion to Venice and the wrath of the birds, but I left out one huge moment in my experience there; visiting the Biennale. 

The Biennale is an international exhibition that presents works from artists all over the world. The exhibit is renowned for being one of the most prestigious galleries. It originally previewed only the works of artists, but in 1980 established an architecture showcase and has been rotating with the art showcase each year since then. I was super fortunate to visit the Biennale Architettura. The showcase contained pieces of visual design that embodied this year’s theme entitled, “Freespace.”   

On account of the visual emphasis these projects had, this post is going to be a slightly different format than the rest I’ve written. I took lots of pictures at the Biennale, but I’ve carefully selected a few that I’d like you to observe and enjoy. This approach might be a little more successful for some blogs posts in the future because they may become a little more complex and rely heavily on imagery. To give you the best understanding of these abstractions, you’ll have to just look for yourself.

So sit back, relax, and create your own experience.

Freespace

Ciao friends! My apologies! I’ve been away from you for a few weeks. Life has been full of chaos lately, and I’ve found it quite challenging to prioritize my blog with so much going on. But don’t fret too much! I’ve got some exciting things to show you. As always, allow me to start with a brief introduction.

My name is Julia Friedrichsen and I’m a second year pre-architectural studies major at the University of Utah. An exciting element of my education is that I’m studying abroad in Volterra, Italy this semester! I’ll be here eating all of the gelato in the world and blogging my experiences until Thanksgiving time, so feel free to keep reading the content I put out.

Okay, on to real business! 

A few weeks ago I went with my twelve classmates on an excursion to Venice for the weekend! Ahhh Venice. One of the most romantic cities in Italy, right?

Welllll. Yeah, I mean, I guess kinda.

However, we need to get one thing straight here.

People talk non stop about the art and gondolas of Venice, but why is it that they never talk about the insane amount of birds?! In St. Marco’s square there are always at least 200 pigeons promenading around. Now don’t get me wrong, wildlife is pretty neat, but guys, these birds are ruthless. I don’t even think I can fully express to you how bad they are. I guess to put it in some sort of perspective, I was nailed in the legs by a few of them because the guy behind me had the nerve to be holding a croissant. Not only that, but I was sitting indoors at a restaurant when my peers pointed one out walking by my feet. 

My worst encounter took place early one morning in St. Marco’s Piazza. A friend and I had arrived early in hopes to beat the tourists and snag some rad pics. We managed to do just that, but shockingly enough, Venice wasn’t any less full. What we didn’t see in tourist numbers we made up for in masses of birds. You don’t realize how many there really are until the people are gone— easily hundreds. With that in mind, my story continues. My friend and I were walking when suddenly a man accompanied by a literal posse of birds, turned and started strutting toward us. Only moments later, the man picked up one of his feathery friends, and tried setting it on my arm in exchange for five euro. Let me articulate my two cents on this.

No sir, I do not have a desire to hold your pigeon friend. I am not Snow White.

Secondly, I’m not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted that the birds recognize you as “the bird man.”

The birds run Venice. They don’t care who you are or what you’ve done.

 They will come for you. 

Though the birds are quite a prominent feature of the area, they are not the only sight you can see in this area. Venice is filled with historically rich art and architecture. 

Vaporettos are the public water taxis that took us around Venice. They’re relatively cheap and definitely the most efficient method of getting from one side of the island to the other, but the trade off is that they’re a pretty terrible social experience. One might relate their experience to feeling like a sardine squeezed in a can with a bunch of others with very little wiggle room.

Restaurants contribute to the romantic clichés by playing live love songs.

Disclaimer: Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On,” pales in comparison to the sparkling rendition done by these Venetian men.

One of my favorite parts of Venice was experiencing the intimacy it provides. Aside from lovers enjoying gondolas or men playing romantic music, the proximities within the built environment also relay a sense of togetherness. It’s also a huge bonus because the buildings make for some striking pictures.

I made this joke on my Venice insta post (Shameless Plug: Go follow @jfreddie3 on Instagram.) but I realized that if you wear a striped dress in Venice, you can definitely pass for a gondolier. 12/10, would recommend.