I mean, I'll try it...but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Some of our design buddies

A little friend

Mark, Drew, and Friedrich (Germany)

Pile of "ingredients"

Our first day of class was September 1st. Before the first lecture, we were introduced to our fellow peers when they came in to the studio in what seemed to us as a swarm of yelling, laughing, and general excitement. They sure are a rambunctious bunch. We all then proceded to our lecture together for the Special Design Class 400. This class involves combining all the disciplines of design into a 9 week course created to provide the students with a chance to work with on a real client sponsored project. There were at least 15 projects to choose from, and for each one there was a professor "mentor" who briefed the class on the parameters. Some of the project clients included BMW MINI, Hong Kong Transportation Department, A Hong Kong lifestyle store called G.O.D., and a headphone company.

Each student ranked their choices 1-5, and hoped for the best. We both ended up getting our first choices (BMW MINI for Drew and G.O.D. Store for Mark) and are really excited to see how the rest of the project goes.

After class, we were invited by our classmates to join them for a traditional "hot pot" dinner. This dinner is usually meant for a large group of people, and it works a little like this:
1. A large pot is put in the middle of the table on a burner. The pot is filled with two kinds of cooking oil/soup mixture.
2. The people at the table then order from a large list of both raw and cooked items which are then brought out to the table on plates.
3. When the oil boils, the ingredients are placed into the pot to cook by the people at the table
4. After the right amount of time, everyone just digs in, using their chopsticks to pull out items they want to eat. Food is continuously added to the pot as the night goes on.

Now, the words "both raw and cooked items" can include anything as simple as lettuce, to as crazy as chicken testicles. Other notable items include squid, cow stomach, corn, dumplings, fish balls, tofu, raw beef, and fried fish skins. Needless to say, the meal was delicious and we had an awesome time.