Zaragoza was the first stop on our vacation in August though we did not go into the Expo with the kids (we are crazy but not THAT crazy). From a distance, we saw all the flags, the water drop building, the bridge pavillion over the river, and the basket building. Seeing those things, doing a little research, and talking with a friends piqued our interest in going.
We found a great place to stay right in the middle of the old city ... overlooking a Roman ampitheater and down the street from the Pilar Basilica. Piluca and Michael (and Sara and Blanca) met us in the city, showed us around, and brought us out for tapas. We went to bed early so we could get up early and go to the Expo.
The gates of the Expo opened at 9:30 - at which time people SPRINTED. Oooooooh. There must be something reeeeally good. Come on, let's run!!!! We ran in the same direction as other people and got in a line that was forming outside a bamboo building.
When we caught our breath and got up our nerve, we asked someone what it was we were standing in line for. Hee hee. Lemmings. It was the Spain pavillion. Okay, cool. We ARE in Spain. About a half an hour later, we were walking through the pavillion. There was a lot of interesting displays and interesting information. But, my FAVORITE was the volunteer's outfits. They all matched.
Now, anyone who knows me - knows I don't usually care about outfits or matching (or even looking presentable). But, it was a nice touch and it reminded me of my sister, Monique. She would have thought of doing something like that and she could have made them all. The men's shirts were classy and the women's dresses and capes were elegant and even looked comfortable.
The theme of Expo 2008 was "water and sustainable development." It was very interesting to see how different countries interpreted and presented the theme. Sometimes the presentations fit our expectations (which, unfortunately, are based on overly-simplistic stereotypes) and sometimes they did not. Sometimes, the presentations had nothing to do with water.
Just as I expected, there were countries I never heard of before. Maybe they changed their names after junior high school when I colored in the corresponding maps. I got good grades in my geography class - I was a good colorer.
- The Caribbean pavillion included presentations for all the Carribbean nations ... and, as we expected, a central bar serving tropical alcoholic drinks. Haiti displayed photos of waterfalls and rivers and had colorful art on the wall but there wasn't very much information about Haiti itself. Jamaica was packed full of people collecting information about traveling to popular tourist destinations. Cuba was selling rum and coke.
- The Latin American pavillion included presentations for the Latin American countries ... and, as we expected, a central stage for music and dancing. All of the Venezuelan and Brazillian displays of mountains and rivers and jungles were lush and beautiful - and so were all of their volunteers. The "waiting line" for Argentina was an area to relax and talk and was filled with tropical plants. Columbia was selling coffee - but no drugs as far as we could tell.
- The facade of the Polish pavilillion was about 2 feet deep of brush, branches, twigs ... with singing crickets that had made it their home.
- The Chinese pavillion displayed 1000's of years of history and projected 1000's of years of future against a beautiful modern art backdrop of waves in addition to interactive techno-displays.
- In Saudi Arabia, there was a life-size projection of King Abdullah II. He reminded us that there are more similarities between us than there are differences. I watched the projection twice but I must have missed the part where he talked about water and sustainable development.
- Since a lot of Holland is already below sea-level, they are experts in reclaiming land, preventing erosion, and sustaining their fresh water supply. That is exactly what I expected. According to my mom, the Dutch are experts in everything.
- I got a henna tattoo at the Qatar pavillion and we watched an art demonstration using water and dyes. We thought it was some Middle Eastern art technique. Nah. It turns out that the artist was from the United States and a lot of kids do this kind of art in preschool.
- Sudán had plastic water bottles displayed up on the walls - in recognition and appreciation of companies around the world that have provided drinking water to the Sudanese.
- The informational kiosks, posters, brochures, and movie in the Thailand pavillion showed (repeatedly) how His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is so great and kind and generous and wise. I confirmed that he patented a waste water aerator and rain-making techniques. Also, he personally funded a lot of development in Thailand though it seems that Thailand might have funded him too since his estimated worth is about $35 billion.
I was really keen to see the inside of the water drop building since it looks so impressive from the outside. When you walk in, there is a curtain of water across the foyer. The foyer is 3 stories high and there are a few water displays and sculptures and an escalator to the next level. On the next level, there is a sculpture of a splash of water.
From there, you could see all the way up 20+ stories. There is a ramp sloping up, along the wall/windows, all the way to the top. That's it! This big building, which certainly required a lot of resources, was filled with almost nothing! Matthew had to ask if there was or would be something more. Whew! Yes, a bank has leased the building and will finish the inside to suit their needs.
From there, we went to the cool pedestrian bridge. We wanted to walk across. We thought it would so awesome - a grand bridge over the grand Ebro River. Below, there is a picture of it from a distance.
Once we got there, we were in disbelief. Except some high windows near each end, there are no windows; you cannot see the river from the bridge! Apparently, this building/bridge has also been leased. We hope they put in some windows!
At night (er, early morning), we went to a Los Lobos concert at the Expo. It was a great concert with a lot of energy. Near the end of the concert, the lead singer said that the next song had to do with elements ... and water was an element. (He hoped -out loud- that he remembered the words.) Thank goodness he tied the concert into the theme of the Expo.
We spent two full days at the Expo with a few hours of sleep between. Overall, we enjoyed seeing it. Our favorite part of the Expo was a small display that apparently wasn't important enough to put on the map.
The display (shown above) included devices and appliances that collect, conserve, or purify water. Most of them are currently in use in different parts of the world. We found them fascinating and relatively simple - a solar dish that can boil water, a water purifier made from stuff you can find at a dump, a bicycle used to pump water from deep wells, rolling drums that are easy to move and can hold 5x more water than the traditional bottles that women and children carry on their heads, and ... drum-roll ... a bio-composting toilet. (HEY! Matthew's brother, Tim, has one AND he grows tomatoes!)
But ... none of the bathrooms at the Expo had bio-composting toilets (or, Matthew adds on behalf of North America Corporation, motion-sensor faucets). We found only one drinking fountain. Otherwise, you had to buy water in plastic bottles. How about a well or a fountain powered by a bicycle or a treadmill?
There was a lot of information about the high-ecological cost of production and consumption ... yet the cafeterias served food in disposable containers and many of the pavillions were giving away trinkets that will probably be in landfills by the end of the year.
Oh well, there's always room to improve. I will start with "the woman in the mirror."
Here are all our photos from our visit to Zaragoza and the Expo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157607164819122/
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