We continue our stroll through the Expo. The US pavilion should logically be the best in every respect. How could it be? It's a world exhibition, and everyone needs to show who's the master of the planet, not just in military might, but also in agriculture and food. The slogan for the World Expo is "Feed the Planet. Energy for Life." I suggest we take a look at how the Americans interpreted this slogan and what they presented to the world...
I wouldn't say the American pavilion looks particularly impressive. It's quite large, and the first thing you notice is the enormous American flag with food symbols instead of the usual state stars. It's also a Food 2.0 version, hinting at a new American perspective on food. While other countries have embraced the motto "feed the planet" in a global, forward-looking way, Americans have taken it literally. Food means food.
It was scorching hot outside, about 35 degrees Celsius. The Americans had installed cooling structures at the entrance to the pavilion, with pipes spraying mist. Nice:
The pavilion operates on a free-entry basis, meaning there are no video presentation groups, like in Kazakhstan, for example. Consequently, there are no lines, but there are plenty of people. It's America, after all, and everyone wants to see it:
At the entrance you will be greeted by projection installations:
What is unusual is that the planes onto which the image is projected are made at different angles and of different shapes:
In one of the halls there is a pedestal with state entry plates:
On the walls there are information boards about the same states and American food:
Map of regional divisions of states:
Another large hall on the first floor is occupied by various board games and information panels:
Escalator to the second floor. We go up:
On the second floor there is an open veranda:
The veranda's main feature is a huge banner on which anyone can write whatever they think about America, any thoughts or wishes they may have:
They mostly sign autographs or put the name of their favorite American fast food restaurant, like Burger King and so on...
African-American women only have time to bring markers and change the banner:
Someone got creative and drew a hot dog, and then captioned it to avoid any ambiguity:
To ensure the right thoughts come to mind while drawing, guests are fed chips:
Since I don't eat chips, I spent a long time thinking about what to write. Thoughts kept popping into my head that it would be tactless to write about their food in the American pavilion... as they say, there's no accounting for taste:
There's a bar on this same open veranda. The bar counter is made from an I-beam (that's what I know):
Coffee, pastries, dessert, alcohol… all the usual:
To my phrase, "I am from Russia. How are you?" I received a fine response, along with this beautiful smile:
The veranda of the American pavilion offers a good view of the Russian pavilion:
The Russian pavilion was surrounded by the following partner country pavilions:
This is a view of the central alley of the Expo:
Next to the American pavilion is the Kuwaiti pavilion. I called it "Arabian Sails":
A layer of dust (sand) has accumulated on the Kuwaiti canopy, which greatly emphasizes the actual geographical location of Kuwait:
Let's take another look at the open, spacious veranda of the American pavilion:
And let's go down with the Indonesian army soldier:
Another flight of board games:
A sprinkler system is located right at the exit. Drops of water fall from above, splashing onto plants and visitors. Very refreshing:
Finally, one more angle of the main façade:
To sum it up. My report may seem like I was being sarcastic when I talked about the American pavilion. Let me explain. I really don't like American food and its popularization, but I do like American computers and cars, for example. If I'd been at an IT expo or a car show, my impressions would have been different. But here...alas.
That's all!
Source: travel.ru
