Milan EXPO

Wow. Monday was such an amazing, adventure filled day! Daniele, Giammi, and I went to the Milan Expo, otherwise known as the Worlds Fair and I'm so happy I got to experience it. 

The themes, as I have explained, is about food and sustainability and ending hunger in the world. A common sub theme was the fact that by 2050, more than 9 Billion humans will inhabit the earth, and we need to be able to feed all of them. The best way to combat the hunger is simply to educate ourselves, and teach ourselves to be more conscious of the foods we eat. 

Statues of warriors, based on drawings by some artist. They're all made of fruits. 

So we started off in Pavilion Zero, which was projecting a video of the beginnings of a Hunting and Gathering. The next room discussed early farming, and growing crops like Walnuts, Sunflower seeds, spices and herbs, etc. But what was interesting about that room is that they filled walls with these products, walls with little boxes on them. I know I have pictures on my camera, but I'm not sure about my phone. 

Another interesting room was the Food Waste and Natural Disasters room, which is pretty self explanatory: it talked about all the food that Americans and Europeans waste because they were out of cold for too long or their expiry date has passed or they are bruised so the stores have to get rid of them. Why do we waste so much food and throw it away when more than 1 billion people are starving?

After Pavilion Zero, we got lunch at the Bio Mediterranean area, but the only thing they had for cheap enough was Pizza, so we all had a couple slices of pizza, but it was with really thick wheat dough for the crust so it was a new thing for me. 

It was then that we started visiting each country's Pavilion, starting with America (and of course it was my favorite one) which was wonderful! It had little interactive tables where you could learn about sustainable agriculture taking place in America, nutrition, and a few other things like why farming is important. Downstairs, they showed 7 short videos about American food culture, like Barbeque and Thanksgiving, and one of them talked about how we should be growing more gardens and buying locally. I think the other guys enjoyed it?

Next, we visited the German Pavilion, which was definitely unique. They gave us these cardboard "pamphlets" that, when you held me under specific lights, they would activate and become interactive. I'm not sure if I can insert a video, so I'm not sure how I can show you, but I have a picture. 

The final part of the exhibit was a performance by a couple musicians, and they did an interpretive piece about bees and their usefulness. Fun hint: don't kill bees!! They're helpful!! Kill wasps because they're scary and don't help us, but without bees, no more humans!!

This year was the first time China has participated in the Universal Expo, which was pretty good. Their exhibit was beautifully made, but I'm sorry I don't have a picture on here. Only on the camera. Ugh that's a bother. 

China's pavilion talked about how they are feeding their high population and trying to stay out of hunger. They are starting to eat more Tofu, in order to stop killing cows and pigs and... Dogs... And therefore, they stop killing their environment. 

The Slovenia Pavilion was really wonderful. I got two stickers that say "I Feel SLOVEnia" so that was clever. They talked about how they are using bees and honey to provide for the world. I also got a really nice Tourist's Guide to Slovenia, which is amazingly convenient because I'll be there in a week!!!

We also visited Sudan's Pavilion, and Ireland's, and Israel. Israel's is real cool (come on that was funny) because theirs was a set of videos where you could sit and watch. And I found it interesting because I learned that Cherry Tomatoes were invented in Israel to help save water in a country where water is scarce. But then, they talked about how they invented the Drip Sprinkler, which waters plants exactly where they need to be watered and exactly how much water needed. So they are actually starting to grow rice in Israel and Sri Lanka, both countries with little to no fresh water. 

The Tree of Life, based on a drawing by Michelangelo 

I think I covered the important parts of Milan Expo here. At least, I talked about the places I went. It's so big: there's no way you can do it in one day. Maybe 4 days minimum to see the whole place and all the pavilions. 

For dinner, I stuck with Holland and got Meatballs and Chips, but they use the terms loosely. The chips were really good French fries, but the meatballs reminded me of the Croquetas from Spain. (The Little flour/milk balls that are fried. These meatballs had a bit of lamb mixed in, while in Spain you normally get Ham ones.)

So it was a really great day. It helped broaden my perspective on world hunger and what we can do to help. I'd go again without question. Unfortunately, I'm leaving Milan today. I'm writing this on the train to Bologna, where I will catch a connection to Venice!

Inside the UKs Pavilion, which resembled a kind of metallic Bee Hive. It lit up with lights at night time.