July 31, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
News
Sister-County program brings Italian students to the Bay Area By I-chun Che Before Flavius Daniel Demian, Alessandro Mrakic and Damiano Meacci came to California this July, the three University of Florence students thought of California as a place of sunshine, beaches and blue-eyed blondes. But after a three-week stay in the Bay Area, they realized the impression of California they got from Hollywood movies was wrong. "Living in America is living in the world," said Mrakic, a student of architecture and archeological restoration. "I was impressed by the union of the Mexican, Vietnamese, European and American cultures." Thanks to a Santa Clara County sister-county educational program with the University of Florence, the three Italian students could experience the Bay Area's diversity in person. The Province of Florence became one of Santa Clara County's three sister counties in 1987 (the other two are Moscow, Russia and Hsinchu, Taiwan). Many exchanges such as commerce, culture and fashion have occurred throughout the years to share ideas, resources and experience from which both regions can benefit. This year is the first time the county's Florence, Italy, sister county commission held a summer student exchange program. Three San Jose State University students went to Florence while three University of Florence students flew to San Jose for an intensive cultural and art tour July 9-July 28. The program's organizer is Willow Glen resident Wendy Teague, one of the 25 Florence, Italy, sister county commissioners. Teague, principal designer of Garcia Teague Architecture + Interiors Inc., said she began considering conducting a student exchange program when she and her husband, Gil Garcia, were invited to present their architecture projects to the architecture department of the University of Florence in June 2000. After numerous international phone calls and email correspondence for the past two years, Teague said she was happy that the first group of Italian exchange students finally landed on American soil. "It has been a tremendous amount of work," said Teague, who studied design at the University of Florence in 1986. "But it's a labor of love." For the past three weeks, Teague and Garcia have shown the Italian students many architecture masterpieces around the Bay Area, such as the wineries in Napa, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and San Franciso's famous Victorian homes known as the "painted ladies," The couple also gave them a tour of their own design projects in Willow Glen. One of them is a Craftsman-style residential unit at 1468 Lupton St.
Demian, an architecture major, said the house's design reminded him of his favorite American architect, the late Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed architecture should blend into the landscape. "The scale of the house is very comfortable because it is similar to the neighboring houses," Demian said. "I feel as if I could talk to the building." Demian, 24, said Teague's organic design is consistent with the most important thing he has learned from his training in the University of Florence, to incorporate urban design in individual projects. "I am going to steal some of your ideas back to Florence," Demian told a smiling Teague, while taking pictures of almost every corner of the house. Meacci, a jewelry design student, said his dream is to have a house like this in Pebble Beach. "But more stone, less wood," Meacci said. "It's more solid." Although the climate of Florence and California is similar, Florence does not have thick forests as California does. So Italian buildings are mainly made of stones. The Italian students also visited universities around the Bay Area to know more American campus life and its academic system. Mrakic, 24, is particularly interested in geographical information system (GIS), a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information. When he learned that San Jose State University is one of the leading schools in GIS research, Mrakic decided to go to SJSU for a master's degree. "My particular study is based on relating the GIS with archeology to find a method non-destructive of archeological exploration, survey and analysis," Mrakic said. "I would like to connect the technology of Silicon Valley and the historical heritage of Italy." Mrakic said he enjoyed his trip in California, where many Italian immigrants found a new life. "The exchange is a great experience that gives us the possibility of the union between the future - Silicon Valley and the past - Florence," Mrakic said. The exchange program is also a rewarding experience for Teague, whose great grandparents emigrated from northern Italy. "I like to keep in touch with young people," Teague said. "They make me feel young." Teague said this summer student exchange program is only an experiment. She will travel to Florence as an official county delegate to expand the program. "Wherever they visit, these Italian students are serving as ambassadors for Italy," Teague said. "People here can learn more about Italy from them. I want to keep alive people's passion for Italy." |
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