Cookie Monstah

This half of the week we continued on with a busy yet exciting schedule of classes and travelling. We had two guest speakers, one of which touched upon monitoring the pathways of nanoparticle contaminants spread from the military base Quirra. This was especially interesting seeing all of his techniques and difficulties since I too work in a lab with nanoparticles and could understand his methodology. The next day we had a mock town meeting on what should be done about the contaminants resulting from Quirra, which was an interesting experience. It is a complex, multifaceted issue with disagreement even on if Quirra is the source of the contamination in the area or if it is from abandoned mining sites. I can understand now why politics seem so inefficient at times. The next day we got to relax some time in the city and then headed out on a nice short hike that over looked our beloved Poetto beach. Below are some pictures from the hike.

The next day we continued working on our projects and then spent the second half of the day at a Sardinian festival. We first went to the starting location and were bombarded by the friendly locals with sweets and drinks. Afterwards we went to another nuraghic structure and got to see it from afar. Then, we went to the end location of the parade and watched all the people of different Sardinian villages come dressed in their traditional clothing, some on horses some on tractors, all throwing cookies at us. Though I am not a very good catcher, I caught every cookie thrown to me and there were a lot. They say you find your true self when you're abroad-I guess I found out my true inner self is a cookie monster. There was also some live accordion music and what I call recreational Italian step dancing. It was so much fun-the people here are so happy and exuberant. They represent my life goals. Here are some pictures from the festival.

Let's go to the beach each

This past Monday we went on a mini cruise on a sail boat through the Villasimius area and went to two of the beaches on the coast. These are some of the most beautiful beaches of Sardinia and even after being so spoiled with all the beautiful beach trips, I could still see why it is so renowned. The beaches are all little nooks with scenic mountains in the background, and crystal clear water. Though the weather was not the best, with a thunderstorm in the distance, the sights were still amazing and an enjoyable beach day. Here are some pictures. 

 

The next day we worked on projects and homework in the morning, and listened to two guest speakers on their work in the waste management industry. The first speaker was Dr.Tiziana Lai who spoke on her Italian experience with end of life vehicle treatment and recycling, and the second speaker was Alessandro Murgia who spoke on his Italian experience with management of contaminated sites resulted from mining activities. It was interesting to hear about their process in treating the ELV and treating the contaminated sites, as well as to hear about their more financial, social, and political conflicts in their industry. 

The next day was yet another gorgeous beach day. This beach was just as beautiful, with clear water and sunny skies today. The day flew by, going back and forth between the scorching sun, castle building, snorkeling, swimming, and relaxing. Here are some pictures. 

The Struggle Bus

This past weekend we had a free weekend after the stressful friday of presenting and taking an exam. On Saturday, I went to Rome which was a long day, waking up at 4 am and coming back around 10:30pm. However it was well worth it and I was so glad we were allowed to go! The day started off with going around the Vatican, visting St.Peter's Basilica first. This church was huge and goregous on the inside. There was a small Mass of sorts going on inside too which was cool to see. Then next we climbed up to the dome and saw a cool view of Rome. Pictured as well are some of the many tourists in the city. It felt good to be able to speak in English again thanks to the tourist nature of the city.

Next, we walked over to the vatican museum and sistine chapel. The entrance ticket line took about 1.5 hours, but it was well worth the wait. Inside were plenty of the world's cherised statues, paintings, maps, and more that the roman empire had created or captured. It was amazing just to be there in the same room as some of these masterpieces. The museum also had beautiful hallways and I  really enjoyed it and the sistine chappel which was connected to the museum. Here are some pictures of the museum pieces- a bust of sophocles, a famous rafael painting, and a sardinian map. I found home!

Next, we took a bus (which took a while to find, but we found it!) and we went to the colosseum and learned a lot about the engineering of the colloseum, how it was used, and just stared in awe that it was still standing. We also were able to see many Roman forums, a fort, and other architecure in the area. Minus the annoying marketing scammers that came around, it was a wonderful day!

The next day I slept in a little after exhuastion from the day before and then made my way over to the molentargius park to see some flamingoes. There were not as many as I expected but it was still cool to see them in their natural habitat. Then, I made my way over to poetto and enjoyed the beach for some time. I am really going to miss the beautiful water when I get back. The way back was a struggle. The buses were less frequent and jam packed from all the people going home. Unfortunately we had to miss 6 busses, and took a bus outbound to try to beat the rush of people. This technique worked and about 3 hours later we finally got a bus back. I subsequently ate an entire pizza by myself for the first time. Here is a picture of the flamingoes and the street I relaxed at waiting for the bus. 

Everyday I'm Shufflin'

The past couple of days have been packed with more events inside and outside the classroom. On Monday we had class with guest lecturer Stefano Milia who taught us about his work iwth remediation of contaminated sites. I leaerned a lot about the different kinds of sources of contamination and how asses the situation to choose the appropriate technology. I learned as well that infact many companies like to just put physical barriers instead of actually remediating the contaminated sites because it is easier and more cost effective. A common type of barrier is a insitu (on site) permeable reactive barrier which is semipermeable and lets the water flow through but blocks the contaminants. We also did some basic calculations-it was interesting to see chemical equations applied in a civil engineering soil treatment context. Afterwards we worked on the project and had some time to explore the botanical gardens near by. The garden was beautiful and very relaxing after a studious day.

The next day we spent the day sailing the first half of the day and then relaxing on the beach. This was my first time sailing so it was cool to see how sail boats work. There's a lot of logic that's intuitive from physics and general common sense. What's more fun that physics and being on the water? Trick question: nothing. Though there were many experienced sailors on my boat and I was one of the more useless crew members, it was a good time. We almost hit a boat while on a journey to retrieve a fender, but we just escaped and had a thrilling sailing adventure. Afterwards, we continued to enjoy the warm water on the beach. Unfortunately I did not take many pictures but here is two of of the beach. The water is so clear I still can't believe it. It is going to be a sad day trying to get used to the seaweed and gunk in the Atlantic. 

Today, we went to the anaerobic digestion plant and were able to learn about their process for harvesting organic waste as well as their other plants where they landfill, compost, and harness solar and wind energy. There are two types of anaerobic digestion; wet and dry. The wet digestion involves first a hydro pulper, then a hydro cyclone to purify the organic slurry. The dry digestion involves a rotating trummel screen to filter the organic fraction and an electromagnet to remove the iron scraps. The remaining organic portions are put through centrifuges to retrieve liquid discharges that are then put into the methanogenic reactors to result in biogas. The anaerobic plant uses the biogas produced to produce 2,263,623 kWh of energy, and consumes 526,912 kWh of energy in the harvesting process. It was interesting to hear about their potentials and how their budget prevents them from their full potential functionality. Here are a few pictures from walking around the plant.  

Afterwards we took a mini trip to the mountains to see a waterfall and soaked up some rays. Not pictured: me eating the picnic lunch before even arriving on site (oops). 

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to have another weekend trip Friday and Saturday. We took a road trip to about 2.5 hours away to Nuoro, Orgosolo, and Orosei. We first visited an anthropologie museum and got to learn a bit about the local way of life in this region. Pictured below are some of the traditional dresses which are still worn during festival times. The bells on black figurines weigh about 40 lbs! The area had many bandits in the past, well into the 70s. They target the rich and famous, but luckily I am none of those (though I secretly wanted to see one roaming around).

Then we briefly visited a church which had the tombstone of a famous writer Grazia Deledda of Sardinia. She wrote about the life on the island and started writing as a teenager. Her talent won her the nobel prize-I hope to read her translated work someday!   

Next we drove over to Orgosolo where we dined with the shepards. Pictured below was some of the food we ate. We had pork, lamb, potatoes, bread, cheese, and wine. A common theme of Sardinia, the food was simple yet amazing since they are made with the freshest ingredients. Afterwards, as pictured, we watched the shepards sing and dance the food away. 

Next, we went to the town's main square and saw the beautiful street art all over the town. It was cool to see all the different kinds of messages posted on the walls. Many of them were political, as the one pictured below, however some of them were simply drawings as well. I wish there were more of these forms of free art around Boston and the U.S. in general. 

                        Next, we went to the hotel where we stayed the night and ate some more delicious food (including rabbit!). It was my first time having rabbit and though I enjoyed it, I loved the lamb we ate more. I am going to be very disappointed going home and not eating a ten course meal every day. Pictured below is the beautful sunset that accompanied the stay. 

The next morning we got up bright and early to hop on to a mini cruise starting about an hour away. The first stop was at a cave, which extended for 20 km! We were allowed to see 4 of the main "halls" of the cave. My favorite one was the mirrors "hall", in which the water seemed to reflect the cave almost perfectly. Though the insides were breath-taking to saw the least, no photography was allowed inside the cave so I was forced to take mental pictures in my head. But, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to see it since the cave is only viewable April-October since otherwise the water fills the depths of the caves. Pictured below is the view from the cave looking out. 

The next two stops were two beaches along the coast. The water was absolutely clear and goregeous. The water was so clear that you could see the fish and pebbles at the very bottom. The water was very salty as expected and slightly cold, but not remotely close to the freezing temperature of the Atlantic. It was a relaxing day and I was hoping the boat would forget to pick us up, but unfortunately, it did not. Pictured below is an attempt to capture the beautfy of one of the beaches. 

The next day was a free day in Cagliari, so I decided to roam around and look at all the sites Cagliari has to offer. We first went to the national archeology museum, which was filled with many artifacts from the nuraghic, punic, and phonetian ages. It was cool to see how the generations differed from each other and to see how the archeologists found some of these artifacts and how they deduced information about the different time periods. Pictured below are some of the excavated items found. 

Then, we proceeded to several places. Firstly, we went to the pinocoteca national art museum which featured 16-18th century art. Next we went around the square near by and found a tower and saw the amazing view from the top. Then we continued on roaming and stumbled upon the king's palace, which was so intricately designed, with pretty chandeliers and ornate wall hangings. We ended the excursions back at our favorite and underappreciated food place, the zaza kebab place. Pictued below is some of the excursion sights. 

Overall an enjoyable weekend! Rebecca Black is right-"eveybody's looking forward to the weekend".