More Ricotta Please

I'm having a mid trip crisis I think. I dug myself into a hole during this 100 year winter in Boston and I have finally remembered what fun is again. Being in this place gives me the same feeling as being in love. Its exciting at every turn. Invigorating. Nurturing and nerve racking all at the same time. I want it to last forever.

We did so much this weekend. We ate the best Ricotta cheese ever and meat made and prepared by shepards in Nuoro, Orgosolo. We saw street murals in the main city center. I decided to start a knife collection and bought two knives at the market, conquered a mountain and was healed by the sea.

Nuoro, Orgosolo

Artist's Opinion on American-Vietnam War

Celebrating

When I got to the top of Supra Monte, the first thing that went through my mind was "how am I going to get down now?" A direct result of the lazy city life I live in Boston. My legs are still sore by the way.

Danielle and I are both city girls so we stuck together through the hike and I don't know if I enjoyed the hike as much I enjoyed the hilarious moment.

"Whoaaaa!"
"Dima what? What is it did you see something?!"
"Nothing nothing I just slipped on a rock."
"What rock?! Dima there's no way we can climb up this."
"D we definitely can, come on let's get there we'll be so mad if we don't see what's up there."
"You're right, alright."
"OOOOOP!"
"What?!"
"Nothing I tripped."
"Dima!"

The way back down was much easier. We got down and saw this awing sunset. The kind that makes your heart warm and cheeks tense.

We had some delicious pasta and rabbit for dinner. Took a shower and gazed at the night sky. The stars glowing in our eyes.

We're so fond of nature here.

The next day our time in nature was even better. It was refreshing.


The road to the beach was rough, so rough that I got sick when we arrived to the port where we were to take a boat to a Grotto and beaches on the gulf of Orosei. My mood was shot. I could not focus on anything for a very long time. Even though the way looked like this:

Orosei

I went through the Grotto and the tour guide gave a very good explanation of its sea lion history and the stalagmites from the ground joined to the stalactites in the ceiling but I might as well have had my eyes closed because of the severe state of queasiness I was experiencing.

When we got to the second beach, it was filled with pebbles pink and white. The water turquoise.

Our boat docking (photo by Anna Murphy)

 I sat and opened my book up, I needed to just take my mind off my current state. Then I heard the other kids laughing and cheering. They were jumping off boulders, giggling and singing in the sea. I was suddenly slapped out of my mood and ventured to go join in on their joy. We made it up a massive boulder that nearly tore the bottom of our feet up. We all stood a foot away from each other. I held Maggie's hand. We counted down from four (no reason in particular) in unison:

"4" - Laughter
"3" - Hesitation
"2" - Ready
"1" - Jump

The Last Resort

Yesterday we drove about an hour to go see how another method of waste management is done. This is the last method on the European Union's hierarchy of waste management systems, the one used when there is no other option. We went to a landfill. 

The road was quite bumpy but once we got there we were able to go outside and see the gigantic area that the waste occupied (see Figure 1). I learned that this land was previously used to store waste and then covered with a clay top for the placement of hazardous waste. 

         Figure 1: Waste Storage Area 

The hazardous waste is ash that was obtained from an incinerator and then chemically treated for any hazardous substances before being placed in the ground. There is still however a little bit of  chemicals that are left in the ash that would become leachate when it rains. The leachate is collected by placing perforated pipes at the bottom of the waste and sloping the ground towards them. 

What was unique about this landfill is that it uses both vertical and horizontal collection systems one for collecting the leachate and the other collected the biogas that comes from the ash decaying. The leachate is stored in the containers shown in Figure 2 and then sent to a municipality for treatment while the gas is used as energy both electrical and thermal. The electrical is sold back to the grid and then thermal is used to treat the GHG. 

       Figure 2: Leachate Storage Tanks

There are a lot of things that can come from using a landfill which I found very interesting. I always thought that landfills were just mountains of garbage, but this landfill is actually being utilized well and the energy recovery generated is key to environmental sustainability.  

 

Beauty & Truth

One of my favourite quotes ever is by the reknowned author Gibran Khalil Gibran and it goes:
"of life's two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer's hand".  I love this quote because, as a typical human, the two things I constantly think about are my loved ones and my career whether it be academic or professional. This weekend I met a family who provided me with some perspective about beauty and truth.

Before I got to meet this family on Saturday evening, we drove an hour and a half West of Cagliari to pay a visit to the City of Iglesias where Porto Flavia Mine is located. The whole way to Iglesias was decorated with scenes from what seems like one of a world where all that exists is earth and water.

Iglesias, Sardegna

The thing with beauty is, it never gets old. I have seen many a coastline before but I always find myself in astonishment at the unbelievable majesty of the drumming ocean waves, blue as ever rumbling and scurrying onto the tiny sedated grains of sand. The reason we always search for beauty, I think, is to get that moment that takes our breath away back even if it is just for a second.

It's in these moments for me, that I find truth in life and it's the primary reason I travel. To become a better rounded person and to understand the world I was brought into a little more.

Which brings me to the lovely little family we met when we went to our next destination. It was a bed & breakfast farm ("agriturismo", learnt a new Italian word) called Sa Perda Marcada. The animals I met totaled to 4-5 horses, 2 rude geese, 1 extremely buff turkey and too many chickens running around to count at once. They grew and bred what they ate. From the minus 24 hours that we were there for, we ate 3 meals, all of which were freshly prepared. This is a mighty feat for 3 ladies to cook for over 20 people in that amount of time.

The family that we met had a very excited grandmother, a shy sister and our gracious hostess and her adorably energetic little son Inerio and his pet labrador Nuvola Nikita shown in the picture below. His father never made an appearance but the pictures displayed a happy marriage.

Nuvola Nikita (left) & Inerio (right)

When I met Inerio was the moment I absolutely fell in love with this family, puppy and farm. His mother had been inside all day teaching us how to make homemade pasta from food she and her family work everyday to grow and nourish. I had gone outside to make a phone call when I saw the little yellow Labrador excitedly running towards me and the little boy trailing happily behind. When everyone else met him he showed us his toy trucks, miniature ATV and taught a few of us how to kick a football around on the grass. He was the happiest boy in the world and every time he called for his mother she always answered him with unconditional adoration "si, mi amore?" They are all very happy people who enjoy every part of their life from the professional aspect and the personal. Isn't that what we all want?

Bedroom Exterior (photo taken by Anna Murphy)

Of all the things we did in the past two days Porto Flavia, the Roman ruins, cooking, and the beach, Agriturismo Sa Perda Marcada was what really closed this short getaway in a beautiful and happy way. The landscape was absolutely stunning and the people captured my heart with their charming and authentic life and I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to live it even if it was just for a short time, it took my breath away.

Cagliari & its Waste

The City of Cagliari handles waste much like most of the world still has street containers where the waste is placed before final collection. As can be seen in this photo on a main street.

What I don't like about container collection like this is that it is an eye sore on the street as well as space taker. This sidewalk for example could be much wider without it. When I am walking on the street and I pass by these containers I have to either walk in a very narrow passage or go on the street with the potential to get hit by a car. 

In the picture below for example this may also be a health issue as the trash is right nex to a restaurant and a very high traffic pedestrian area. It is also blocking the window view on the store Mango behind it. 

Another thing that concerned me is that we do not have recycling bins in our dormitory. So I am assuming that they seperate the plastics in the waste collection facility. 

What's Up With Our Waste

Today was a long and exhausting day. We visited 3 different plants that all handled waste in different ways. Seeing that we are environmental engineers, we need to learn about current methods in order to help improve them or see beyond them for better systems.

Cagliari currently deals with waste by collecting it at first and placing it in containers on the street as seen in the Figure 1 below. Then, depending on what type of waste it is, paper, plastic, organic. It is taken to the appropriate facility for proper disposal.

Figure 1: Street Collection Containers

The first plant we went to recycled cardboard and paper to produce new ones. We walked with the manager of the plant, he showed us the intricate process that the materials go through. Figure 2 on the right shows the cardboard and paper piles created which are then compacted.

Figure 2: Cardboard Compaction

The paper is then put through several steps in order to be clean again and then remade into new paper which they sell and is one of the ways the plant stays running.

My initial reaction when I saw this obscene amount of paper product piled up like this was shock. I thought about how many trees this all equaled to. And then I got a headache thinking about how can the environment be saved?






Next we visited a compost facility called Tecnosaic which was very high tech and apparently smelt as foul as a monkey's butt. They walked us through the collection facility and the procedure that aids in the foul smell. The compost has to lay indoors for a month under a pressurized heat system that canonizes the toxins and then is laid outside for another 2 months (see Figure 3) to be cleaned and stabilized. What I found the most amazing about this facility was that it costs them around $120 per ton to make fertilizer out of this compost and they sell it for $2. The operating costs of the facility come from taxation. They are non-profit!

Figure 3: Tecnosaic Compost

By this time we were fighting the exhaustion that came after touring two facilities but we managed to get one final tour in, this was the incinerator plant. This visit was probably my favourite but also the most perplexing. It's my favorite because I really like the idea of turning waste into energy which is electricity in this case. They generate around 5600 MW of electricity from incinerating the trash. Half of that electricity powers the plant and the other half is sold back to the energy grid for a profit. Did I mention the government also pays them to do this? So one way to say it is, I like it because I think its nifty and the trash is gone. They also control and stabilize any fumes that the plant produces. 

Figure 4: Incinerator Plant

It was the most perplexing because as can be seen in Figure 4, its an intense system with several components far beyond that of the paper or compost facilities. Just the sheer structure of the facility intimidated me.

There were several machines heating, cooling, storing throughout the various phases of the incineration.

Figure 5: Incinerator Chimneys

The chimney's that controlled the fumes seemed to be as tall as sky-line towers in Boston as can be seen in Figure 5.

I wondered how long it took to build the plant and what kind of regulations were imposed on them. What would happen if one part of the system went wrong? Like today for example, they found radioactive waste in a diaper. The whole plant had to stop because regulations restrict radioactive waste incineration as it could be dangerous. They all had to find this diaper in order to resume work.

Figure 6: Incinerator Garbage

When I saw this mound of garbage my jaw (Figure 6)  dropped. How do we put out that much waste into the world? Annalisa told us that each person produces about 1.5 kg of waste a day but I never visualized what happens to the trash after its collected by the trucks. "Out of sight, out of mind" I guess. 

Soon all this garbage will be converted into electricity to light several homes and businesses alike and the trash will be gone. 

Seeing all these different procedures to dispose of waste in an efficient way is very inspiring and motivating as an environmental engineer. I hope that one day I can contribute to this ever changing field.

Sardinia Thus Far

I feel like I have been here for a week already but in reality it has only been 3 days now! We arrived on Thursday afternoon and went straight to our rooms for some much needed rest. After a quick nap and unpacking we went to the local square and had pizza and wine for dinner.

Friday was a long and eventful day because that's when we first met the Italian students from both the University of Cagliari and the University of Padua. The University of Padua students took a special interest in us because they were studying their master's degree in English and they wanted to improve their language skills. The day was filled with lectures, ice breaker activities such as a debate and lunch. What I like about food here is that it always comes with wine. Something not very common in the States. Later that night we went to dinner with Professor Onnis-Hayden for probably the best meal I have had thus far in Italy. It was all-in-all 13 courses, and fish based. No wonder Sardinians live so long.

The next day, Saturday, we were invited to the beach house the Paduan students were staying at in Geremeas for the day. This has probably been my favourite activity thus far. The drive was about an hour long and well worth it. The drive was all on the coast so it was very scenic, we also saw flamingos in the lagoons. Upon our arrival to Geremeas we hit the beach straight away. The water was cold but beautiful. We played some beach tennis on the sand with Enrico and Rachele. After lunch we taught the Italians a classic American drinking game called Flip Cup. This game is hard to get through even for me. The Italians thought we were crazy after playing a few rounds. We beat them every time! But we had an amazing time with them. The house itself was stunning, every house in Geremeas was white with dark brown shutters. It almost looked like Santorini. 

Today we had an early wake up call at 9 am in order to catch the tour bus to go around the island and learn about the history of Sardinia. Our tour guide, Frederico, looks like an eclectic musician with his man bun and dark, baggy clothes. After speaking with him in my broken Spanish, I learned that he is an archeologist, journalist and part time DJ. He took us to Nuraghe Di Barumini which is an ancient ruin that was discovered by archeologists. We went into the ancient huts and military fortresses which by there build have proven the test of time. We also had lunch in a quaint restaurant with beautiful views. Then trekked for 4 miles into a forest to spot wild horses. What I loved about this activity the most is the tour guides respect and appreciation for the horses' privacy and distance. He also pinpointed all the plants and their special uses.

What I can say thus far is that I am surely falling in love with the Italian culture and the food. I have been trying to pick up some Italian. So far my favourite phrase has been "sono distrutta" because I am always so tired.

My Sardinian Expectations

As I get ready to go to Cagliari tomorrow evening I can barely contain my excitement. I have been to Italy before a couple of times and but never to Sardinia, so this is a completely new experience for me.

I expect that the area we will be living in will be a calm, authentic city. I hope there's cafes right outside of the house because I got a few books with me that I would love to read while sitting outside and drinking espresso. A pizza place nearby wouldn't be so bad either! I also cannot wait to be back in the gorgeous turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. I'm actually looking forward to all the historic sites and activities that we will be doing, especially seeing flamingos!

Italians are amazing, strong people in a beautiful country speaking a fantastically romantic language. I love the way they talk so expressively with their hands. I am looking forward to picking up the language and their way of life as much as possible. I could not really say I am afraid or apprehensive about anything other than the language barrier maybe making me vulnerable, but I suppose that comes with the territory of being in a foreign country. I just have to be respectful and keep an open mind to better connect to Italians.

I will try to learn a new phrase every time I speak to an Italian, whether it's in a coffee shop or in university. I'll eat food exactly the way an Italian would and hopefully my ultimate goal is to make as many Italian friends as possible at university or anywhere else I will be going regularly.

To summarize in one sentence, I hope Italy will be the experience of a lifetime!