How to school?

It's so easy to forget that I am here in Cagliari to attend school and not roam around the city or hit the beach every day. School on Monday morning was not exactly easy - it took me until Tuesday to finally feel caught up on sleep. We had three lectures and had time to get started on our first project of the dialogue. It was nice to have a two hour lunch break (which is considered normal in Italy). We explored around the University of Cagliari and had a great lunch overlooking the water. After classes, a few of us went to a supermarket about a 20 minute walk away. The produce here is really fresh and extra tasty (ugh, America). I also learned on Monday that Italians absolutely do NOT wear shorts unless they are headed to the beach. No excpetions. It was an 85 degree sunny day and every Italian was in closed-toe shoes and pants. I was asked by many people how the beach was (even though I did not go that day) and was simply laughed and pointed at by Italian students at the univeristy. Needless to say I wore pants on Tuesday...

Tuesday I had morning classes then the afternoon free to have lunch and work on our project. It was definitely the most academically oriented day I've had in about two weeks! I'm still adjusting to the academic life again. 

Today was more learning! But through field trips - our first stop was a paper mill. There we saw how paper comes into the mill or is bought to be used to create cardboard or high quality paper (printing paper). From what I understood, the recycled paper is shredded, watered down and removed of all things not paper (plastic and metal). It then gets formed, dried and rolled. Next we saw a composting center. It was rediculously smelly. But interesting to see how organic waste gets sorted and put through the composting process in such large quantities. Plus I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable puppy!

Lastly, we visited a site that contained an incinerator as well as a waste water treatment plant that used anaerobic digestion. This specific incinerator produces enough energy to charge one million Ipads. The waste water treatment plant supplies at least all the water used in the incineration process. All in all, not a bad day. Tomorrow is my first day off! It's about time for my first Italian laundromat experience...

Audriana