Goodnight and good luck

I shall begin this post as if it were any other post I've written before, though you and I both know it simply isn't. Instead of dwelling on the melancholy fact that this is my last post, I will talk about this past weekend. Yesterday I woke up and went shopping. When I say I went shopping I mean that I bought one thing and walked around with others who were shopping. I learned one thing from this activity: a fedora and scarf combination is not an easy thing to pull off. That being said, I must admit rather modestly that I wore the crap out of that combo. I mean I looked HOT. I think I'll end that part of the day on that note. Later we went for a hike on Sella del Diavolo, or for you English speakers the Saddle of the Devil. Having walked on it, I can understand why he's such a mean guy. The hike was very rocky and if I had to sit on saddle like that I'd be pretty upset too. However, the hike did offer many nice views despite it being overcast. I believe the cloudiness of the day created an interesting atmosphere. The night concluded with dinner and a nice sit on some church steps with a group of friends.

Today we went to Orroli, which is a town a little over an hour north of Cagliari. The town was celebrating Saint Caterina by holding a parade in which the participants wore traditional Sardinian outfits. They threw baked sweets to the crown from atop trailer-drawn platforms. Traditional music was being played in the city center as they passed by. It was an entertaining festivity to take part in and seemed a fitting last cultural excursion for the dialogue. After the procession finished, some traditional dancing broke out on the square. Some of the more adventurous members of group happily ventured to join the locals. I sipped tea and enjoyed watching from my seat a comfortable distance away. I considered joining, but knew that I didn't posses the energy to keep up  at the time and consequently decided against it. Perhaps when I return to Sardinia I won't hesitate to jump in.

Well this is it, my last blog for this trip, and perhaps my last blog ever. I know you guys are feeling a whole range of emotions (mostly a deep sadness), so I'll try to keep it simple and sweet. We have been through a lot, all four of my followers. We have swam in the Mediterranean Sea, and we have trekked up a mountain before the sun woke up. We have been stuck in an elevator, and we have stayed up to watch the sunrise. The trip has been filled with activities and certainly hasn't tapered off as we approach the end. I like it this way. It feels as if we're still making the most of every opportunity. I will not soon forget this experience and will always be grateful for it. The excursions have been amazing. The locals have been beyond welcoming. Our professor, and leader, has been better than I could ever ask for. And, most importantly, the people I have shared this adventure with have made it the best it could be through their undying enthusiasm, camaraderie, and overall splendidness.

*****UPDATE ALERT*****

Yesterday we had two guest speakers. The first one talked about end of life vehicles (ELV). These are exactly what they sound like – cars that have expired their designated usefulness. However, to say that they are useless would be wrong. At this point, the automobiles can be scarped for parts. Also, they contain some hazardous material such as mercury and motor fluids that must be removed prior to disposal. The rest of the car is sent to a shredder. From there what's left is called Automobile Shredder Residue (ASR). This contain a generous amount of recyclable material that can be separated and used as secondary raw material. The rest of it can be combusted in an incinerator to help generate electricity. So, as you can see, when Lightning McQueen from Disney's Car dies, he'll still be able to give back!

Our second speaker was an engineer from Italy's EPA equivalent. He discussed the work he was conducting involving the old Sardinian mines. These mines were opened, used, and abandoned without proper clean up. Therefore, the environment around them has suffered from high concentrations of unwanted chemicals. Our speaker's job requires him to evaluate these sites and develop a means of remediation to control the problem. He spoke about different sights throughout the island and provided an example of one that he worked on. On one of our excursions earlier in the dialogue, we witnessed some of these old mines from the bus window. Although there is a lot of work left to be done, the remediation is currently being funded by the Italian government, so it seems like it will continue until the problem is solved.

Today we went to a beach and I got a sunburn.

Guess what?! It's Sunday!

And you all know what that means....
It's time for another blog post!
Cue the theme music..
Theme Music

*Please do not continue reading until you have finished the theme song*

So where do I begin...
I suppose I should mention that last Tuesday I went sailing. And what I mean by "I went sailing" is that I occasionally pulled some rope, but mostly just sprawled out on a boat as it moved via wind. Overall, it was a pretty relaxing experience. The only exception was when I was pinned between the boat and a jagged rock. I was asked to tie the ship to a rock that was jutting out of the water. It sounded like a simple enough task and so I happily volunteered. What our captain failed to mention was that this rock was not made of out limestone like so much of the surrounding cliffs. Instead, it was made up of thousands of daggers, and only daggers. So when I somehow managed to get myself between the boat and the rock, these daggers scrapped up my back. All in all, I'd say I did it quite gracefully and it definitely didn't take more than one try. Having successfully tethered the ship to the stone, my crew mates and I jumped into the clear blue water below. It was very refreshing. The rest of the day was spent at the beach.

Now I'm going to press the fast forward button because the next three days comprised of class and a technical visit, and I like to reserve that content for Wednesdays.

Friday night a group of us went to a local Irish pub for dinner. I split a burger and spare ribs and could not have been happier about it. The rest of the night consisted of a game called fish bowl (highly recommended – would play again), and sitting on the steps of a nice church. Yesterday began with breakfast and a walk around the city. We went in and out of shops, but my only purchase was a traditional Sardinian knife. It's pretty neat. For lunch I tasted my first horse meat. It was prepared quite well and tasted a bit like beef, but had it's own distinct flavor. I think I would try it again if I saw it on the menu, but I can't say it's the top of the list of meats I keep in my diary. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the beach. I made it back to the guest house without a sunburn, so I consider the trip a success. I ordered lasagne and a hamburger for dinner last night. The lasagne was great, the burger was a surprise. The plate consisted of a good quantity of tasty fries and a plain burger patty. Either I was missing something, or the burger was missing lettuce, tomato, onions and a bun. The menu was in a Italian, so perhaps I just misunderstood and had to order those things separately. Oh well, I ate it anyways! After dinner, we walked down to our favorite gelato place called Peter Pan. Apparently he told everyone how to get to Neverland because the place was poppin'. I tried the banana and nutella gelato and was perfectly content with my decision. From there we walked along the water. We sat in benches overlooking the still harbor and concluded our night.

Today I got McDonald's lunch for a late breakfast and purchased some postcards for some of you guys back home (so be checking your mailboxes). Now I'm writing this blog. After I type my last words for the day I will probably attempt to do the following:

The Following

Thanks for reading

Anaerobic Digestion

Today we visited a waste management plant operated by VillaService S.p.A. Here, they have 3 landfills; one is closed, one is about a year out from being filled, and the last one is being prepared to accept waste. Biogas is collected from these landfills and is burned to create energy and lower methane emissions. The plant also has a water treatment facility that collects the leachate from the landfills so that it can be used in a process called anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion involves taking organic waste and introducing microbes to it. These microbes consume the waste and produce a biogas as a result. This process it similar to what occurs in a landfill, but it happens much faster. Like in a landfill, this gas is collected and used to drive electric generators. After this process, the leftover is put into a landfill rather than used for composting because it takes on a glue like consistency and cannot be processed. That being said, the plant does also conduct composting. The process used is similar to the one used at the previous composting sight we visited.

Despite the overwhelming odor that was only intensified by the hot weather, it was interesting to see how waste can be processed and used to create energy. The anaerobic plant produced 2,263,623 kWh of electricity in 2013, while the landfill produced 28,844 kWh. The amount of electricity that was transferred to the network from these two plants was 638,089 kWh and 1,138 kWh respectively. Similar to the last landfill we visited, this site also contained solar panels. A concept has been introduced that would involve solar panels being placed on top of the closed landfill to maximize space efficiency.

Sorry for the somewhat dry post, I have other business to attend to! Have a nice morning/day/evening/night! (depending on what time you read this)