Outcome

What an experience!I am very thankful to have been selected for IRES 2016. These last 5 weeks have been truly great experience. I got to visit places that have been on my list for some time now like Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. I attended festivals that were quite different from my culture.. Traveling to Alicante for the festival (mentioned in an earlier post) was very fun and something I would not have done on my own. There is so much to see and experience in this country, we tried to squeeze in as much as we could. As for the places that I haven't, until next time! 

I have learnt so much by exploring a new country as well working in a new environment. Being able to navigate through the alleyways and public transportation without speaking the language is a big confidence booster. This trip has encouraged me to travel to new places even if I am not fluent in the language. And also emphasized the power of internet, being able to translate quickly is one of the tricks to survive in a new city. Adjusting in a new environment is another thing I am taking back from this trip. Ever since I landed, there has not been a minute where I felt homesick. I am glad to have travelled with my new friends as they helped make this an awesome trip as well as the welcoming locals! Ana, our local contact, has always been there when we needed help, I really appreciate her help. One new thing for me is to learn to use a software on my own. I am not a fan of computers, so when I found out I would have to use a software, I was not very excited. But my mentors, Hospitaler and Hector, were very nice, they gave me enough time to learn the software. In the  end, I actually enjoyed learning something new. Something I have will be using in the future as I am pursuing an engineering career. After this trip, I have been able to understand Spanish a lot more, and it has also increased my desire to learn the language.

A salad that I actually can eat as a meal!

Churros con vanilla y sumo de naranja

During Spring 2016, I took Reinforced Concrete class with Dr. Yazdani. It was an interesting class and a base for the masters course I am pursuing. My research trip focuses on the seismic effect on buildings and the use of hinges to minimize it. This was a very new topic to me. But as my mentors explained to me what I had to do, I found out it was very similar to what I did during reinforced concrete class. I got to use a new software called Etabs, which is similar to SAP2000 and Risa, but just a bit cooler! The manuals used in this project were mostly American Manuals so I did not have to worry about translating the documents. 

I had been trying to learn Spanish for sometime, but being an engineering student it is sort of hard to separate time to learn the language. I knew the very basic words, I was mostly relying on the guys to translate for me. Once we met our mentors, I found out Eric and I will be working in the same area. Phew.. When the mentors starting talking, I was happy to understand few words they spoke. I was getting excited since I could understand a little bit. I should have waited until I heard them really talk! Man they speak fast, on top of that once they get excited, they speak even faster!! And then they start using valencian words, that when I gave up trying to understand and daydream instead! It would have a been a different experience had I been fluent on Spanish. They would try to speak english as much as they could, which was very nice of them. There were not many challenges in terms of engineering principles but since they used spanish technical terms, that was a different case.

Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona 

Barcelona Cathedral 

The mentors were very nice, not only did they explain things to us in simple terms, they also showed us around the city. They provided all the documents and manuals necessary for me to understand the project. One of the mentors was very knowledgable of the Spanish history mainly valencian. He showed us around the city and also told us about some folklore, the crocodile that attacked the locals long time ago. The naughty crocodile is depicted in the picture above. They told us about different foods to try and the local places to visit! I am very grateful to have worked along with them.

One of Gaudi's  master pieces, Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

La Sagrada Familia

Now to the exploring part, we headed to Barcelona for our last weekend in Spain. It was quite hot but every bit worth it! The city was so beautiful, pretty buildings everywhere. I looked up for the most part of my stay. And when I looked down, I could see all the pretty dogs! Ahh and not so much of poops. Me and Cherry were on our own to exploring the city and man we walked! We got to see the Barcelona cathedral, Santa Maria del Mar, Casa Guell, Parc de la Ciutadella, and the famous La Sagrada Familia! The city has so much to offer, but we tried to see as much as we could in the little time we had. Visits to these places was worth every bit, sitting on the benches and admiring the altar was truly a great experience. And wondering how they built all these magnificent buildings was interesting. All the hard work and dedication put in to designing and building is very admirable. Barcelona is a magnificent city to visit and the people there are so friendly like all the other we have met so far! Standing in front of all these buildings made me think of what we can achieve as humans and what we are capable of building.

La Sagrada Familia

After this experience, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of exploring a different culture as well studying abroad. It helps you grow as a person while creating wonderful memories! I hope to keep traveling and until next time Ciao!

Social Identity

Growing up in Nepal, I always dreamt of visiting other countries. When I first went to Singapore, it was a new experience. The city was clean, bustling and very pretty! Then came US, which exposed me to the American way of life. I had heard from my cousins about the American dream and the american way of life, even after all that I still got excited when I stepped out of the airplane. I still haven't been attracted to the american dream yet, I guess it will happen eventually.

For the last few years, I have been living in the US. Life there is very different compared to Spain. People are usually in a hurry, always in rush to be somewhere. Time is money, that I learnt after living in the country that many dream of living in. Here, it seems like people are more relaxed. They value spending time with their friends and family more than being in a rush. I have yet to see someone sit in front of a computer or laptop and eat. During the evening, I see elders walking with their friends or their better half and just having a good laugh. This reminds me very much of Nepal. It also reminded me to enjoy my time more and just take some family/ friends time everyday. Something that I forget once the semester starts.

A glass of refreshing Horchata

I knew few things about Spain, mainly the architecture side since I was once an architecture student, little bit of lifestyle. I knew of the late dinner time and long lunches. But I was not familiar with the closing of local shops during this lunch break! We learnt that the hard way. There are some shops on our street that we have seen open only once or twice because of the weird opening hours! Ha, life here is interesting. Whoever said the best way to learn a language and culture of a country is by living there is very right! I have been able to understand a little bit more of Spanish than the first day here. The Spanish cuisine is quite interesting. Having tried different paellas, I must say I will miss it when I get back to US. Horchata, a drink made from tiger nuts, is little sweet but very very refreshing! And we made sure to try one from the famous Daniel's Orchata. 

One thing that was bit surprising here is smoking. Oh dear god, I wish they would smoke a little less or not so much in public! Back in America, you don't see people smoking in most public places. Our uni is a tobacco free uni, and how I wish they would that here or at least designate a smoking area. Drinking was another interesting thing. I didn't expect people to be enjoying a glass of beer at 9:30 in the morning or serving vino and cerveza at the uni! Its quite acceptable here and also refreshing during hot and humid days. People still shop at the local s grocery stores more than at the supermarkets unlike States. And the joys of public transportation! Oh how I will miss it when I get back home and the many roundabouts. 

Porta de la Mar

Street Art in Valencia

'Personal space' thats another thing that I have to keep aside while I am here. People stand very close to you when they are talking. Sometimes I pause while walking to see if the group of people are talking or fighting. After a few seconds, I realized they are just talking and having a good laugh! 

Now lets talk about the work life. Working with the Spanish professors us quite fun! They are ever so lively! And the interactions between the professors and local students is very impressive. They are always there and willing to help the students. Its always fun to greet them in Valencian or Spanish first thing in the morning! Besides working, we are still exploring this wonderful city full of life. We start off at one point and no matter now many times we have walked by, we end up discovering a part of the city that we somehow missed before. Walking through the narrow streets and then coming across a beautiful plaza is very rewarding. This week we managed to walk from one end to the other gate of the city, Torres de Quart. I wonder if I will be able to explore all the mysteries this city holds in one trip, for the ones that I cannot, I will be back soon!

Fun Lunch!

Torres de Quart