MEEES People!

I reread a few of my blog entries and noticed a) my writing can use a little help b) I have used this bulleted style before and c) I haven't written about who any of the people in the program are. Sadly I don't have pictures of everyone but I do know their names nationalities and the noise they make when tickled. Also I felt like we were getting a little too close so I decided to distance myself by putting up pictures that I know they will hate. Enjoy!


Left: Romain-Portuguese/best hair- All around great guy adds a spark to any social event unless someone makes the terrible mistake of attempting to speak with him in Spanish.


Right: Gary-Irish/best embodiment of national stereotype- Lets just say this man enjoys the occasional beer! He also has a great sense of humor and should find the above joke incredibly hilarious probably retorting with some patriotic slam on me.


Left: Sanja-Crotian/best German- I would have put best liar but recently I found out that she was not lying about speaking German and apparently doesn't even have a hint of an accent. Bravo Sanja!

Center: Enrique-Costa Rican/most fitting photographic placement- The center of excitement and fun Enrique is always up for anything. He is an excellent room mate and makes some killer eggs! Shares the life motto of work smarter not harder.

Right: Melissa-American/best northern accent- I honestly didn't believe in northern accents until I met Melissa, I mean wow! She also is very used to engineering boys and is great to joke around with. I am afraid to say it but I think I might be making friends with a yankee!


Left: Deng-Chinese/commands the most attention- Don't let her soft voice fool you, she is one feisty little lady.


Center: Chen-Chinese/most likely to accidentally make you laugh- He says things to me like "You drink a lot of water. It is very useful. Especially with breakfast." and "I am worried I will get sick. I am very weak and tired." He does all of this with an extremely animated expression on his face I wish I could bottle him up and take him with me everywhere.


Right in green: Andreas Greek/best tour guide ever- I know it must be difficult for him to have to lug us around all the time but we really wouldn't be able to function without him. He gives us rides around town and has helped with all of the paperwork that we have to complete for the visa which he doesn't even need. Also knows his way around the basketball court.

Left: Tamara-Costa Rican/most passionate- She is quick to break out in a song , enjoy a good laugh, or spark a fierce debate. You can bet that anything involving Tamara will have a little extra spice. (no ethnic pun intended)


Not pictured

Mohammad-Iranian/most helpful- This guy knows how to get things done. He doesn't speak any of the language but knows how to do everything from go to the various ancient ruins to set up your computer account with the university.

Neghar- Iranian/most likely to write the book on civil engineering- She knows almost everything about the field. Quick to correct the professors and to follow along with mind exhausting derivations this girl has it all. She has found her passion and is sticking with it.

Bureaucracy: Greek Style

If you love photo IDs and getting the runaround from the establishment then Greece is the place for you! So far I only have 5 Greek IDs but I think I can push that in to double digits if I try really hard. I have a residency form, health book, cafeteria pass, student ID, and Visa. I think that I will also be receiving an ID for the gym and also another visa to put in my passport. So that makes 3 for the school and 3 from the government that are almost the exact same thing. Also I have already been here almost 5 weeks and am just now getting all of my paperwork done. On the bright side I will never have a problem coming up with two forms of photo ID ever again!

Classes

I figure I should write a little something about the classes that I am taking to show that it is not just all fun and games.

Advanced Materials and Seismic Retrofit Technologies- This class is centered around different systems used to increase the strength or deformation capacities of existing structures in response to an earthquake or an additional loading. So far we have talked about the applications of fiber reinforced polymers (mostly carbon fiber) and their uses for beams and columns as well as different application techniques. This class is very interesting, especially due to the amazing strength characteristics of carbon fiber. It is 25 times stronger than steel by weight, pretty exciting!

Seismic Design of Concrete Structures- The professor is a little on the boring side but the course is introducing me to an entirely new way to think about a building's structural system. So far I have only thought about the gravity loads on a structure but now I am starting learn the different mechanisms used to dissipate the lateral forces imparted on a structure due to seismic accelerations.

Structural Dynamics- This is a class that apparently I should have taken in undergrad so I am a little behind but I am hanging in there. The most amazing thing to me so far is the idea that structures have a fundamental period and vibrate much like a tuning fork. These vibrations can be modeled and displacements calculated. I just got an assignment where I will have to calculate a structure's ultimate displacement given the acceleration data from an actual earthquake. I am very interested to see the results and worried about the amount of work it will require.

Dynamic Soil Structure Interaction- I think that this will be the most challenging class I will be taking. It combines the elements of structural dynamics with geotechnical engineering. I will learn how waves propagate through soil and influence the structural responses. Also once the structure begins to move how this motion affects its foundation. The professor is pretty young but apparently very distinguished. Last week we had to cancel class because he had to go to China so he could sit on a board at the international earthquake engineering summit.

All of the professors are pretty well known and taught in the US for many years before going back to Greece. The professor for my FRP class, Dr. Triantifilliou, knows Dr. Rizkalla who is one the most distinguished professors in Civil at NC State. I feel very fortunate to be studying under such amazing professors and surrounded by so many bright students.

Santorini

This past weekend I exercised some of my last remaining free time before the semester really gets started (Notice it is already the middle of October. Greece is fantastic!) and went with seven other students to the beautiful island of Santorini. The day started as almost everyday does with a trip to the hospital to complete another one of the many medical tests required so we can extend our visas. After a quick exam we got a cab to the bus station and then we were off on our long journey to Santorini.

First stop, the port of Pireaus right outside of Athens. The port was incredible! I have never seen so many huge ships. The dock must have been at least a mile long with ships packed in like sardines. The ferry we took was was more like a cruise ship than any of the ferries we have back home. There were airline style seats, cabins and a restaurant. Armed with my economy class ticket I went up to the top deck and the general admission seats. There I hunkered down and the open air deck and took advantage of the amazing views high over the emerald water. As we left port the sprawling city of Athens shrank in the Mediterranean sunset and I could hardly wait to get my feet onto that black sand beach.



The ferry arrived in Santorini at about 3 am, 8 hours after we left Athens. As the boat sailed into the caldera of the volcano the lights of the little towns glistened along the 800 foot tall cliffs surrounding the port. Once off the boat we found the bus to our hotel, the Villa Romantic. Leaving the port we began a hair raising ascent on the road that knifes up the cliff face to the town of Thira. The driver sped up the steep mountain road and passed everything from mopeds to trucks around the hairpin turns. By the time we got to the hotel I was exhausted from the nearly 13 hours of traveling and fell right asleep.

The next two days were filled with beautiful scenery, plenty of relaxation and a few shots of Ouzo. We got up early and caught the bus down to the beach in Perissa. The bus took us past many of the blue domed churches and breathtaking views of the Mediterranean made famous in Santorini. When we arrived at the beach we were welcomed an enormous cliff that plunged into the crystal water and then abruptly turned into a black sand beach. The beach was full of chairs in which anyone can just plop down. The weather was great with plenty of sun and a high of about 80. The water was pretty cold and took some getting used to but was definitely worth the few minutes of discomfort. The perfectly clear water was a little more salty than in NC which gave me more than my usual abundance of buoyancy providing for some excellent swimming.





I felt like I had been placed into a spread in a magazine complete with a beautiful German couple playing with their butt naked, curly blond haired two year old son. They spoke perfect English and the father was airline pilot! What kind of a paradise fantasy world had I been dropped in to?

After a few hours on the beach lazing about and becoming more and more jealous of snorkelers just floating around, Gary and I decided that we should give it a try. Upon procuring a mask and snorkel from a nearby mini-mart we set out on our first snorkeling expedition. Nate, my college roommate, role model, and expert scuba diver, told me that breathing under water was pretty hard to get used to and man was he right. After about a minute of short labored breaths and a general feeling of panic I was able to settle down and enjoy the view. There were thousands of fish of all different sizes and colors. About 200 feet from the shore there was a steep drop off with pretty deep water and a large congregation of fish. This made for great dives to the bottom where I could swim with the fish along the edge of the drop. I could have spent a whole day swimming around the island but sadly I had to catch the bus back to town. The beach in Perissa is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I hope to make it back someday.





Back in town we had dinner at one of the many restaurants built on the edge of the caldera. The view was amazing and so were the enormous shrimp that I ordered for dinner. After dinner we went out for a couple of drinks and just like everywhere else in the world stumbled across an Irish bar. There were still enough vacationers on the island for there to be a little night life which a few of our group took more advantage of than others.





I awoke in the morning at 6 to catch the bus down to the ferry and start the long journey back to Patra. It was hard to leave Santorini but the sunrise and the cliffs were a great going away present.

Olympia

Our trip started early in the morning with a quick breakfast of chocolate filled croissants and a short bus ride to Olympia. The bus dropped us off in the central square of the town which is just a short walk from the ancient site. Before touring the ruins we visited the site museums which house many well preserved statues and artifacts. Included in the impressive collection was a large amount of ancient discus which I was excited to see. The staff was extremely rude and if the exhibits were not so well curated I would have left immediately. The security would follow you around shooting dirty looks or a quick shhh if you let out even the smallest peep. Fortunately the attitude of the security around the ruins was completely different. The site was totally unrestricted so we were able to walk through the ruins and climb on everything.



The ruins at ancient Olympia are some of the most amazing things that I have ever seen and are definitely worthy of their notoriety. It is difficult to put into words the sheer size of the site but hopefully these pictures will give a better idea. There are three large temples, and dozens of other buildings all around the area. The temple of Zeus is enormous with six foot diameter columns nearly forty feet tall. The temple was destroyed in an earthquake and most of the columns have been left to rest exactly as they fell. They are beautifully unraveled laying next to each other in perfect parallel offering a glimpse into their past grandeur.



The temple is situated in the middle of the site on a slight hill that overlooks everything. Close to the entrance of the temple is the original Olympic stadium. To enter the stadium you must walk through the 3,000 year old tunnel beneath the stands. The experience of emerging out onto the field is one that I will never forget. I could feel the energy of the ancient stadium and the history that surrounded me.



Equally impressive were the ruins of Emperor Nero's house and the athletes village complete with indoor swimming pool. I spent hours exploring every corner of the site and was sad when the park was closing and I had to leave. I cannot wait for my next trip to an ancient site and am thinking that maybe Delfi or the Acropolis in Athens will be next on the list.

Bridge Walk

Today Enrique and I had the most productive day in Greece so far. This morning started off great with it only taking one hour to get chest x-rays at the hospital! This is quite a feat considering yesterday we sat in a waiting room for three hours and when we were finally called it was to tell us we should leave. After the successful x-rays we went to the internet store and finally got connected. Woohoo! Judging by everything we had accomplished we figured it must have been 7 at night but when we got back to the apartment we found that it was only 10:30 AM. I then went to the civil engineering building to try and print my homework and miraculously I was met with no obstacles. It only took 20 minutes to get my login ID and print. After a delicious and free lunch of gigantic butter beans and spanikopita I saw there was still plenty of time to walk down to the Rio bridge.



The bridge is absolutely huge! The engineering that went into it is amazing and the views are breathtaking. The bridge is nearly two miles long and sits hundreds of feet above the ships passing beneath. On either side of the bridge are two mountain ranges topped with windmills. At the base of each side is an old fort which provides a stark contrast to the ultra modern span above. There was almost nobody on the bridge and it was really amazing to be alone with such an impressive structure. As we passed beneath one of the massive towers I saw some maintenance workers come up from beneath the steel grating of main span. I found out that they were from France and were the special maintenance crew that swings around on the cables all day and were featured in the program I watched about the bridge right before I left. It has been a truly incredible day and hopefully the good fortune will continue tomorrow as a group of us are catching a bus to see the ruins at ancient Olympia.

Patra

This weekend I had the opportunity to do some exploring in downtown Patra. There is a fortress that sits on top of a large bluff overlooking the bay and the views are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately the fortress closed at 3 so I guess that means that I have to go back and see this view at least once more. There are a couple of really beautiful churches downtown and some lively little squares that I'm sure I will be visiting a lot. There is also a Roman Odeon/Theater that was closed but will definitely be visited on a later date. The historic sites are apparently on the same schedule as the businesses so I guess I won't be able to see them until I have adjusted to Greek time. In addition to the scenery I also took in some of the local night life. There are a ton of little clubs and bars that stay open until 6 AM blasting house music to a room full of people standing still, looking cool, and smoking cigarettes. Patra is a great town and I know the next few months are going to be amazing!

First Impresisons

The scenery here is beautiful with mountains and olive trees all around. There are also great views of the Mediterranean and the Rio bridge from all over the city. The downtown is a pretty neat area with lots of little bars and cafes that stay open all the time. The Greeks love to just sit around, talk, and drink coffee. It is a very relaxing way of life but I do wish things moved a little bit faster while I am still trying to settle in. All of the MEEES students are great and I think that we will get along very well. We are trying to plan some trips to Olympia, Delphi and maybe one of the islands before it gets too cold. The weather is a lot like it is in NC so I think that I will be bringing my shorts home for good when I come back at Christmas.

My apartment is extremely nice and my landlords are some of the kindest people that I have ever met. We can barely talk to each other but we get along great. The other day I looked out in the backyard and saw that a) there were turtles and b) the big one was stuck laying on its back. I went upstairs armed with my point it book to tell Spiros and Diana to flip him back over. We then spent the next hour playing a kind of charades while trying to talk about turtles or Ghee-loh-nee as they say in Greek. Every day the bring something new to the apartment including delicious home cooked food and chocolates. I still do not have internet yet but maybe today when the phone company said it will be ready tomorrow they really meant it.