Outcome

       Last weekend, the Spain Family had been traveling to Barcelona!! But, we got separated because of our schedule and budget. The boys were together to do their own adventure. Prapti and I were together to do our own thing because we couldn't keep up with the boys. Basically, two lady, that speak none to little Spanish, tried to survive in foreign country for 2 days without the boys help! Well, we did survive because we got back to our home safe and sound. We walked around so much, according to my Health App on iPhone, we walked about 14+ miles on Saturday. I felt like my legs would give up on me and fell off. It was the most walking distance that I've never done it in years! There are so much places to visit. We couldn't make it in 3 days. We got to Barcelona on Friday night, around 9 pm. It was dark already, so we just ate dinner and walked around a bit. Then, we went back to Valencia on Sunday evening. If I ever have a chance to come back to Spain again in the future, I will need as much time as possible to visit all these beautiful places in Spain, whether it be Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, and some other places. 

The food I cooked.

        Overall, being here in Spain taught me a lot of things. First of all, I've never lived with roommate before. So, this is first time ever! Living with someone that you've never knew them before was challenging. You got to learn how to get along, learn about their culture too because each one of us is different, and help and lookout for each other. Also, I cook so much more here. Normally, in America, I only cook when I really really really want to eat something that is not available anywhere. It's easier just to grab something to eat in America because the restaurants open all the time. I ended up cooking a lot of things that I've never cooked before. Our fellow Spain Family is the guinea pigs to try my cooking, which they said it was good. I don't know if it's actually good or they just want to make me feel better about it hahaha, but I know for sure it's eatable... 

       Also, I have learned and be able to use public transportation in here. I have used public transportation in Bangkok, Thailand and Chicago, USA. before, but in Spain is different.  We took metro, tram, taxi and train. It was very cool. I would be so scared to drive here, I was scared even in the blablacar ride. They drive manual, which I don't know how to drive haha. Recently, Prapti and I went to Barcelona by train, Renfe. It was our first time riding the train for both of us. We were exciting! The train was very nice and comfortable. It was like we were riding on a mini airplane trip. It has AC, which I love it very much, little television,  which it shows us some movies, outlet, which we can charge our phones,  and etc. I love the train ride here very much, and I enjoy the scenery along the way very much!

Valencia Estacio del Nord Railway Station

       Most importantly, I have learned how to enjoy life while working. Let me remind you guys again that I'm here to do the research on Containing Shock Waves Generated in Explosion! The culture here is so relax and lay back. They do not live the rush life like us, in United States. For example, I was so stressed out about the presentation that I have to do at the end of this week. So, I met with my mentor, talked about it, and told him that I will read on some materials during my train ride to Barcelona. He said "No no no, don't do that! Enjoy your trip, your weekend. We will figure it out when you come back." I was like, "Really? Are you sure?" "Yeah, you should visit Cathedral for sure!", he said. I was like, "Aw, Thank you!"  I was so impressed!! He is my favorite mentor ever!!!! Even though he was so busy with everything else, he still had time for us to meet and talk about what's going on on the research. He wanted to show us around, but he couldn't because he has so much to deal with right now. It's totally understandable for me. I was so impressed that he still managed sometime for us too.      My prior educational background impacted my ability to perform on my project so much. Luckily, I took elective class, which is Construction Management, Equipment and Method, before I came here. There was a chapter about blasting rock, so I have a little knowledge about explosive, shock energy, and gas energy. Since we just started about the project that I'm working on right now, understanding the shock waves and how it behaves is the good first step on the research.

     The challenge did I faced during my educational training is that the difficulty on how to research about explosive. Some stuff that I found it's out of dated, and the most recently one is from US Army and they keep some stuff confidential. So, I only touched on the surface of it. Again, we only have  6 weeks to do the research, which is very short period of time, it's not much that I can get done in  6 weeks. Unfortunately, my mentor went through some difficult time with his family. So, he wasn't have much time for us, but he still manages to help us in every way the he possibly can. He earned so much respect from me.

     Overall, IRES Hazard Mitigation of Civil Infrastructure Project has been very great opportunity and experience for me. I have got to apply my knowledge that I've learned throughout school in the real world applications by doing the research and working with people in the field. I am forever thankful for this amazing opportunity. Thank you to Dr. Nur Yazdani, Dr. Liza Thompson, Ana Barella, Dr. Luis Pallares Rubio, Dr. Miguel Carrion and all of the stuff that have been helping me throughout the program. Also, a big thanks to my "Spain Fam", Prapty Sharma, Omar Rubio, Eric Chavez, Amanda Quisenberry and Jose Leyva, who make this trip full of adventure and fun!

Spain Fam!