Patras Campus

Unlike everything else in Greece the campus is more than a little different. The buildings are in various states of disrepair but have plenty of flat screen tvs and ping pong tables. There is an abundance of "wildlife" including sheep, goats, dogs, horses, donkeys, and gypsies. There are plenty of chances to interact with these indigenous species as only the sheep and goats stay outside. The dogs are everywhere including on the third floor of the engineering building where they would sometimes come into our study room for a quick visit. Mostly the dogs stay in the cafeteria and which is also where we would occasionally see a pair of gypsies ride through the maze of tables bare back riding a black horse. The grounds are not manicured and filled with olive trees reaching all the way up to the rocky peaks of the mountains just behind the campus. The grounds are also littered with beautiful bronze sculptures, graffiti, communist propaganda, cigarette butts, coffee shops, and apathetic students. In between the various protest marches groups of farmers drive around the campus harvesting the wild olives while we sit in class learning about the intricacies of soil structure interactions during seismic events.

There are many factors contributing to the craziness on campus but the two biggest factors are that school is free and the police are not allowed on campus. School is free as in free tuition, free food, and free board. Needless to say there is little motivation for anyone to leave and no one has any kind of motivation to finish in any timely fashion. The police not being allowed on campus would not be a huge deal if the students were not so great at riots and protests. This gives the campus a modern wasteland feel as some days we would show up for class only to find that the doors had been barred and four students were hanging out inside just playing cards. Needless to say it is quite an interesting, confusing, and beautiful place. It would be hard to understand the feeling of the campus without actually being there but hopefully these pictures will help.

Last Few Days in Italy

After the week long trip with Mike I only had three days before leaving Europe and heading back home to Raleigh. This was just enough time to pack my bags, take a few final laps around the city and say goodbye to all of my good friends. My time in Pavia was incredible! I will miss the streets full of people, amazing gelato, afternoons spent by the river, nights out in Piazza Vittoria, and all of my amazing friends.

A typical day in Pavia was far from average. I would wake up catch a quick shower and leave just before the maid came in to clean the bathroom and turn down my bed. Gary and I would then hop on our bikes and cycle to class. Our journey was around 15 minutes and took us down tree lined streets and past the castle on our way to the university. There I was privileged to listen to lectures from world leading researchers opening my eyes to completely new understandings of structural engineering. For dinner Gary, Enrique, Romain, and myself rotated cooking and cleaning. The system was fantastic! Mostly we would eat chicken and pasta, or sausages in rolls, but occasionally Romain would show off his culinary skill by cooking rabbit or seafood. When we were all feeling lazy we would simply stop by one of the many amazing restaurants for a fresh pizza. Our favorite spot was "C'e Pizza" where a short bowling ball of a man would take our orders and joke around with us in a deep Italian growl. After dinner there was always some entertainment either a few hours of competitive ping pong or a couple of drinks at the Irish pub in the city center. After all the day's activities I would go back to my room to finish my homework and catch up with everyone back home on skype.

It was hard to leave Pavia but I was able to get more closure than when I left Greece. Most of my closest friends had already gone so I had a couple of days to my self while everyone else was beginning their next class. This gave me plenty of alone time for reflection on the long 10 month experience. I had an incredible time and made a lifetime of memories but after being gone for so long I couldn't have been more excited to be headed back home.