Read this if you have time to kill

It's been a busy past five days. Wednesday night, we went to a local bar called Republik to watch the open mic performances. The musicians played a variety of classic rock songs and blues song, which made it easy for us to sing along. I managed to get myself a free bottle of water due to lack of currency below a five Euro note. Whether is was because of insufficient change, no desire to do basic math, or simple Sardinian generosity I can't say for certain. However, based on the general atmosphere of the pub and my experiences so far on the island, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter. Either way, I should probably refocus my narration on the music instead of dwelling on water. The performers played with a lot of energy and were clearly enjoying a release with what seemed to be a lot of regulars and friends. The night rattled on and then a new sound began emanating from the stage. I say new, but what I really mean is different because this noise was actually quite familiar to me. The energy of the room quickly shifted from head nodding and foot tapping to head banging and jumping as a System of A Down cover band began performing. It was a very nice surprise, especially considering how late it was in the night (it must've been at least 2:00 in the morning at that point.) after the SOAD cover behind left the stage, we stayed about an hour longer listening to more music. We left around 3:00 or 3:30 and the music was still going. I have to imagine they played until the sun came up.
That takes care of Wednesday night, which means there are only three more days to cover! We slept in after our long Wednesday night before going to class for the afternoon and early evening. After dinner, four of us decided to walk down to the port and walk along the water. We went along a pedestrian walkway that I had not been to before. The water was incredibly still, save for one exception. Across the surface of the placid water, fish about the length of a middle finger were jumping about an inch out of the water. At the end of their flight, the bodies of the fish collided so softly with the surface the only sound they whispered was a gentle rain tapping the Mediterranean Sea. Occasionally, a larger fish would appear and disrupt the shower with a louder splash and we'd watch the finger fish scatter in all directions. We walked further down the walkway to a set of benches where we sat and reflected on our childhood bedrooms and our family dynamics. The stars were clearer near the water, and it was possible to see the Big Dipper without much effort. Starlight is, of course, an internationally shared wonder. Still, I couldn't help thinking I had a piece of home with me as I viewed the constellations I've carried with me since childhood. After a moment of silence and self-reflection, it was time to head back to our home away from homes.
Friday morning began with a two and a half hour bus ride. At the end of it, we arrived at a museum that contained traditional costumes from the island's rich history. The outfits were displayed on a large collection of mannequins arranged in way to create a crude map  of Sardinia. The attire worn by the mannequin represented the costume corresponding to the region of the island where the mannequin was displayed. Some of the dresses were beautifully ornate, while others were quite simple. The museum continued into another room where hooded and masked mannequins represented a very old festival that is still celebrated today. Looking back, I'm a little foggy on the details. However I do remember that in the old days, this festival would involve some sort of flesh sacrifice. Fortunately that tradition is as much a part of history as Roman gladiators.

We left the costume museum and continued to a small church nearby known as the Church of Solitude. This church was not incredibly ornate, as one might expect with Italian churches. Instead, it was incredibly simple with exception of the detail found on the door picture below. The significance of this church is not found in its beauty, but rather it's influence on a writer who lived nearby at the end of the 1800s and the early 1900s. Her name was Grazia Deledda and she was the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926. In recognition of her great achievement, she was given an eternal resting place in the church that was found in her writings. 

The day continued and we found ourselves on the top of a mountain. It was lunch time and we were given wooden paddles and asked to sit on long benches. Shortly after, shepherds approached us with a variety of food. Please note that we were not being served by men with beards and hooked canes dressed in robes, but rather modern men wearing polo shirts. They came with water, wine, bread, sausage, smoked cheese, pancetta, potatoes, sheep, and some of the most delicious pig I've had in my life. I got up to use the restroom just as one of the shepherds was serving people a mysterious liquor we have since called Firewater. When I returned from addressing nature's call, I found some of the boys being photographed with women of the older variety from a separate tour group. I'm not sure what was in that Firewater, but the two tour groups which were so distinctly separated by nationality and a large quantity of years quickly became one large group with an average age of about 40 without one 40-year-old in site. The meal concluded with a performance by the shepherds. They sang in a traditional throat style exclusive to the area. If you asked me to describe what I heard, I would say that it almost sounded as if they were trying to communicate to the sheep they herd. The voices sounded like bahhhs of varying pitches and rhythms. It was very interesting to witness. As the singing concluded, another shepherd approached with an accordion. While he played, the "40-year-old" mob broke into a circular formation and began dancing a dance with linked hands. This was the finale of the lunch atop the mountain. Below are rooms modeled after traditional shepherd huts. They are available for nightly accommodation and are situated near the edge of the of a drop off, allowing for a stunning view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.   

After lunch, we drove to a nearby town called Orgosolo. We were dropped of at the end of one of the main streets in the town. Along the street, people have painted murals depicting various scenes. Originally, they were done as a method to educate the children of history, both local and global. Over the years, some of the murals became more about political statements than education. It was interesting to walk down the street and view graffiti not as vandalism, but as art and a important part of the local culture and history. I've included a sample of the murals, however it only provides a very general representation. Each mural is different than the one before it, and thus one image can't provide the whole picture. Come to think of it, that statement can be applied to everything I've seen on this trip.

 After wondering down the streets of Orgosolo, we were brought to our hotel Enis Monte Maccione. It is located about halfway up Monte Corrasi and offers amazing views. About half the group decided to hike up the mountain before dinner. The top of our hike was at an outcropping of rocks. The last part of it involved scrambling up these rocks to achieve a view about twenty feet higher. The ascent proved quite treacherous, and it was not made any easier by choice to wear converse sneakers. However, the view was beyond worth the risk. Recognizing we were late for dinner, we descended down the trail quickly. Dinner was again a multi-course dinner, which I fear I might have become too accustomed to. While we were waiting between courses, a few of us elected to go up to the top balcony outside of my room to watch the sunset. Below is a panoramic view of what we saw. Once the light was all but gone, we went back to the dinner table and ate. One of the courses was rabbit, which was another first for me. It was prepared very well, and I did enjoy it. However, I believe if I saw it on a menu I'd probably opt for a steak first. We were given a few options for dessert and I selected Tiramisu. Like everything else before it, it was delicious. After dinner, we sat on the balcony and admired the clarity of the stars. We noted how the lights in the hills below were spaced just so to mimic the scene above. It was hard to leave the stars, but I elected to go to sleep earlier than others.

We had decided Friday night that we would wake up early enough on Saturday to hike back up to the outcropping and witness the sunrise. Therefore, about half the group woke around 5:00 in the morning. We walked silently into the dark woods behind the hotel illuminating the path before us with the light of our phones. The higher we climbed, the lighter it became. Pictures will never do justice to the view we found that morning. I was awestruck and can faithfully say that the view I observed was one of the top five views I've experienced in my life. I've included a picture below in a foolish attempt to demonstrate this spectacle. However, it was more than just the sight that elicited such awe. It was feeling of the air that surrounded me as I sat on the narrow rock. It was knowing that a misguided movement meant, at best, a mountain's worth of pain and, at worst, an abbreviated life. It was knowing that in spite of that danger, everyone of us ascended one at a time to experience what was laid out so beautifully for us. Perhaps what made it so special was that it felt as if the land was formed in such a way for us specifically to enjoy. Though we shared in it, I don't doubt that we all enjoyed it in our own way unique to ourselves.

We weren't the only ones admiring the view that morning. On a distant rock, Maggie spotted a bird. I'm fortunate enough to have a camera with 42x optical zoom, so I decided to zoom in as far as I could to get a closer look. What appeared in my view finder was the strangest bird I've ever seen. It stood on four feet. Where the wings should have been was instead a flat back. The head held two large curled horns, and the face had a beak more similar to that of a sheep than a hawk. As it turns out, what I was looking at was not a bird at all, but rather a ram. Silhouetted against the rising sun, the ram surveyed the landscape before him. Perhaps he was lost and wondered up the rock looking to find his path. I like to think, however, that he set his alarm at 5:00 in the morning, woke up, began his hike in darkness, and eventually arrived at his favorite spot to view the sunrise.

After a quick breakfast, we took the bus to the coast. We descended steadily down the hillside along a grey snake that slithered back and forth. The head was a town with a harbor where we exited the bus and boarded a ferry. A short ride brought us to a limestone cave system that had been carved out by the sea and an ancient underground river. The water was incredibly blue and incredibly clear. It was still inside the cave, and provided pristine reflections of the calcium carbonate chandeliers hanging above. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take pictures inside the cave, so all I have to show for it the entrance shown below.

We returned to the boat and were brought to a nearby beach. The waves were gentle and the temperature of the water was perfect. I floated in the tranquil water as surrounding rock faces towered above. They were not looming, however. Instead, they stood like sentinels guarding the small beach from the treacherous waves beyond and the wild landscape behind. We spent about an hour there before going to another beach. On this second beach the sand seemed to have been replaced with an infinite amount of white pebbles. They hurt your feet as you walked across them, but the water and the view made it bearable. We climbed up large rocks that stuck out of the water. We approached the edge and allowed ourselves to fall into the color blue below. After about another hour on the pebble beach, we boarded the boat to begin our journey back to the bus. Unfortunately, my camera was out of battery before we got to the beach, so I don't have any pictures to show. However, I managed to squeeze out one more picture on the ride back.

All in all, I think this might have been my favorite weekend so far on this trip. Sorry for the novel, but I'm currently sitting on my balcony and felt like doing nothing else besides writing.

It's time for my semiweekly blog post!!!!!!!!! Huzzah!

Dearest All,

The morning began like any other: twenty minutes of trying to make my hair look suave, followed by some fruit in yogurt. However, it quickly became entirely different from anyone of the seven thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven days that came before it. Yesterday I visited a landfill for the first time. That's right, two days ago I was a landfill virgin. Fortunately, that part of my life is in the past and I now have a better understanding of where modern waste meets its maker (I mean that in the colloquial sense, of course). To say that I am a changed man because of it would probably be a bit of an overstatement. That being said, I did find it quite interesting.

The landfill I visited is called Eco Sardinia. Currently, this landfill does not handle Municipal Solid Waste due to a lack of permit because of new regulations. Therefore, the waste is manages is special waste. This includes both fly and bottom ash from waste incinerators, construction and demolition waste, as well as industrial waste.

We witnessed an active cell being filled with ash from a nearby waste to energy plant. This is shown in the picture here:

In the empty space next to the active cell, we observed a leachate collection pipe being placed. If you look closely, the picture below shows the process:

Leachate collection is important because it helps keep harmful substances out of the groundwater near the landfill. At this landfill, the leachate was collected in tanks before being sent to a waste water treatment plant. 

This plant also collects the biogas produced by the MSW in some of the old landfills on the site. The biogas is processed and used for cogeneration of electricity and heat. All of the electricity is sold to the grid, while the heat is used to heat the onsite facilities. Below is a picture of one of the engines used in this process:

The landfill also installed solar panels to produce more electricity. This is because the energy that the landfills are currently producing does not make full use of the available energy output for the site. Thus, the solar panels make up for the difference. 

All in all, I am happy that I was able to witness a landfill first hand. It has given me a better understanding of all that landfills entail. It erased the stigma in my head of a smelly plot of land, and replaced it with a modern sustainable resource. You know what they say, "one man's trash is another man's electricity." Or something along those lines.

Mine, Lunch, Temple, Farm, Dinner, Sleep, Breakfast, Cooked, Puppy Nap, Lunch, Beach, Blog

For those following, and you who are required to follow,

I had a splendid weekend –  in every sense of the word. After waking up on Saturday, I boarded the coach bus promptly at 9:00am as instructed. A little over an hour later I arrived at an splendid old mining area. We took a man-made tunnel under the mountain which lead to a splendid view of the sea. From there, we went to nearby restaurant located adjacent to a splendid beach. Here, we enjoyed some splendid seafood and scenery. With our bellies full we continued to the site of a splendidly old Roman temple. We took some splendid photographs on the ancient playground. I left after climbing a splendid tree, which required some of my skin as a cover charge. The splendid, little farm we arrived at briefly after was full of splendid sights, animals and people. The latter fed a splendid dinner, which included a first for me: goat. It was splendidly delicious. The splendid stars were a welcome sight as we enjoyed the night air after the meal. After a splendid series of card games, of which I won none, it was time for a splendid night's sleep. Breakfast was contained a splendid surprise of eggs, as well as two cups of delicious Lipton tea (which I believe is only found in Sardinia). After breakfast, we learned how to make this splendid pasta called Gnocchetti and a traditional Sardinian dessert called Seadas. While we waited for our pasta to be prepared, I enjoyed a splendid little nap with a pretty, young bitch (a female puppy). After my nap, I wolfed down the splendid pasta mentioned above. I wish there was more. Lunch ended with our splendid, handmade dessert. It was splendid. With our bellies full we continued to the splendid beach. Here the waves nearly splendidly killed us, nevertheless is was still splendid. Now I'm back in Cagliari writing this splendid little blog post for you all to read. I guess if I had to describe this weekend in only one or two words, I'd call it pretty neat.

T-money

Remember that time I referenced pictures in blog and included none of them? Well here they are! I just wanted to keep you guys on the edge of your seat. As you can see, people from Cagliari, much like Americans, use trash cans to collect waste. They also use a system that requires sorting waste to appropriate bins so that it can be properly be sent to the correct disposal facility. Each color of the bins below resembles a different waste material. The waste is collected from these bins and sent to the respective processing plant. The pictures I have included show a paper recycling plant. In these pictures you can see a picture of the paper upon arrival, as well as the final recycled product. I hope you enjoyed this little picture post! 

All about that waste

Greetings, all four of my followers.

Today you're in for a special treat. This morning after breakfast I boarded a coach bus with my fellow travelers. Instead of venturing to a typical tourist attraction, we opted for something a little bit different, and a lot bit smellier.
After about a twenty minute drive we arrived at our first destination – a paper recycling plant. At this site, about half of Sardinia's paper waste arrives throughout the year. This paper is from both residential and commercial sources. When it arrives, it is checked for quality before it is sent through the "pulper" for initial cleaning. Afterwards, it is run through a couple more cleaning apparatuses to remove the finer contaminants. It is then ready to rolled into useable paper. The pictures below show how this waste is collected, as well as a before and after shot of the recycled paper. It was quite interesting to see the entire process involved including the waste and final product.
That being said, it was time to escape the glorious odor of sustainability and eat lunch. We exited the bus about a five minutes drive away from the plant. Most of the group ordered sandwiches from a small cafe, while a smarted faction wondered a bit further. I was part of the latter. We found a pizzeria where a wonderful, elderly Italian women served us. I enjoyed a virgin martini while squinting – desperately trying to be the essence of cool, and, for the most part, succeeding.
The two hours came and went, and it was time to move on to the composting plant. Here organic waste was processed to form a fertilizer or soil that could be used for agricultural purposes. This process takes a total of 3 months, whereas it might occur over a few years naturally. The plant itself is a non-profit organization. It costs them 120 euros to create a ton of compost, however they sell it for only 2 euro per ton. The cost of operations is handled by taxes collected by the government. Any non-organic waste found in the original bulk is sent to the nearby incinerator.
Our journey finished with a tour of the incinerator. Here waste is fed into a 13 meter long drum that completes one rotation in about 5-10 minutes. Inside the drum, the temperature reaches about 1300 degrees celsius (about 2372 degrees Fahrenheit). The incinerator produces 35 megawatts of energy that is sold to the public, and also produces its own energy used to run the plant. Although it got a bit smelly, it was very interesting to see first hand some of the processes used in sustainability.

The other day I was asked to partake in a debate regarding whether an individual should search for a career in his or her home region, or look elsewhere (out of city, out of state, out of country). My group was tasked with the argument that remaining home was the better option. I poured my heart out arguing our side of the debate; discussing factors such as familiarity, family, and, of course, love. However, I couldn't help feeling a bit hypocritical considering I am here in Italy about to begin a month or so of course work. Of course, there is a great difference between course work and a career, however the basic concept of being abroad is still there.

Having only been abroad a couple of days now, I can't attest to actually working away from home. That being said, I am thoroughly enjoying myself. Therefore, the rest of my bog post will consist of arguments against myself (or rather against my assigned side of the debate.)

1) Although getting accustomed to a new culture may seem daunting at first, it is quickly remedied by the welcoming nature of people. We met with students from Cagliari and Padova, Italy who were excited to accept us. The debate  mentioned above served as a great ice breaking technique, however the true fun came the next day when we joined the Padova students at their professor's beach house. There we enjoyed classic Sardinian cuisine and the sands of the nearby beach. We shared some of our own culture in the form of an adult beverage consuming game. All in all, culture acclimation doesn't seem like a real issue.

2) Leaving friends and family behind is always hard, however, thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, we have airplanes. Therefore, their never too far away. Plus, you're likely to find a new "family" of sorts abroad.

3) Getting stuck in an elevator is essentially the same wherever you are!

In conclusion, never limit yourself to your comfort zone. It's only outside of it where you learn about the vast world around you. And, in turn, it's outside your comfort zone where you learn the most about yourself.

First Post

Based on what I've heard about Italy, and what I've experienced having visited the country before, I'm excited to experience Italian culture and to interact with the local people. From what I understand, Italians are a warm and welcoming people who are very enthusiastic about their culture. They enjoy being together and sharing their culture.
I have been to countries without knowing the language, but never this long of a time period. Therefore, I am a little bit nervous about the language barrier, but I am hopeful to overcome it. I don't expect to be speaking fluent Italian by the time I leave, however I do imagine I'll learn quite a bit. In my free time I plan to study some basic Italian phrases that will help me interact with the locals on a day to day basis. I'm excited to fully immerse myself in another culture. I think that when you step outside your comfort zone you learn the most. It will be nice to experience a different perspective. I'm looking forward to learning about a different culture in a way I never have before. I believe only so much can be taught in an Italian course across the ocean. Living in the culture itself will always prove to be more effective. All in all, I'm excited for this experience.

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