• An Allegorical Alliterative Bike Ride

Right now it is a splendid sunny Spanish morning (trying to make my 10^th grade English teacher proud, alliteration!) but the only part of my body able to move without causing an excessive amount of pain are my fingers, thus I am doing some blog writing. Don’t worry mom, there was no terrible car crash, a group of us simply went on a 70 km, 9 hour bike ride yesterday. Yup, 70 kilometers! (43.25 miles) Now I’m not exactly out of shape, but that ride for me along with most people in our group, has hell. It was also one of the best days I’ve had since coming to Spain. The trip took us from a train station about 30 km north of the city, through orange groves, to the Sierra Calderona mountains, back down to the beach, and finally a harrowing journey through downtown Valencia as we raced to return our bikes on time (or face paying $2000!). All of it was beautiful. The scenery I mean, not the agony I felt (and still feel) in my quads. This day trip was definitely not for everyone on our trip, I know that a couple of the guys would not of enjoyed a 70 km ride in a sweltering 35 degree heat (95 Fahrenheit). But as a “corn-fed country boy” from a tiny little speck of a town in the middle of south Texas, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The views got more surreal as we climbed higher in to the mountains, never fully out of civilization we passed through beautiful quaint Spanish villages, biked along rock walls at least 200 years old, and washed our faces in crystal clear cold running water. We were able to see a wide variety of landscapes throughout the course of the day, much like my drive from Valencia to Granada but on a bike we were able to experience the beautiful scenery in a more intimate fashion (i.e. we could literally stop and smell the roses).

The views, the villages, the vivacious people (I just wanted more alliteration…) were all spectacular and were straight out of a novel. A novel I had already read before. While not taking anything away from yesterday’s ride, or any part of the IRES experience, I will say that nothing has really surprised me since coming to Spain. Spain is almost exactly how I expected it to be, tiny cars and café’s, cigarette smoke and topless beaches, orange groves and quaint mountain homes. That being said, there is no substitute for experiencing Spain first hand, but after a childhood filled with reading novels by the gallon, and probably too much time spent on travel forums pre-departure, my expectations coincided with the reality of this place almost completely. The only exception being our actual work here, I did not anticipate working in a chemistry lab, and how much it overlaps with civil engineering (more specifically corrosion of rebar within reinforced concrete structures, but that is another blog for another time).

(our return journey from the mountains)

I was brought up in a rural, conservative, farm town in Texas. My high school was in the middle of a cornfield. Friday night football games were second only to God. Yet it’s kind of funny how much people stereotype that life (I mean…it wasn’t EAST Texas…). Football practices usually ended in yoga, many of our jocks were in theatre, dance, and band. My parents have always told me to do what I love. Heck, our priest is from South Africa! So while I have sat here this morning and stated how Spain has been everything that I expected (and visually that is true), I hesitate to make broad social and cultural statement about the people after only living here for a month. Yes, they take siestas and might replace their morning coffee with a quinto (1/5 liter of beer) every now and then. But to imply they are less productive than us 9-5 Americans would completely miss the mark. I said it before in a previous blog and I’ll say it again here, life moves at a different pace here. I think the only thing an American, living here for a month and a half can hope to do, is match it. 

• A Multifaceted Isuue

(a Texan, a Panamanian, and a Honduran fix their hair...)

A diverse group of people walk into a bar… Had I any skill in drawing, there would be a nice little political cartoon to go along with that sentence, but unfortunately it’s hard to draw diverse stick figures. If you don’t understand my point (here comes my mini rant blog): it’s that diversity, globalization, starting a conversation, having this discussion, are unfortunately becoming meaningless buzzwords. During the past few years, I’ve taken to doing homework at Starbucks (and perhaps developed a bit of an addiction to the brown stuff). As basics sip their pumpkin spice lattes, soccer moms their frappes, and hipster writers order their espresso; those words are thrown back and forth across the room like a game of thrones. (I originally meant to write ‘game of badminton’, but ‘game of thrones’ came out, the season 5 finale…dude.) The sort of shallow definition for these words, the meaning that I hear as I work through fluids homework, is like something from a Buzzfeed article.

            Diversity – not white people

            Globalization – call centers in India

            Starting a conversation (discussion) – what people with power say after a tragedy

That’s how most people (well, most people at Starbucks) tend to think, and whoever can use the terms often enough in their job interview wins!

And thus ends my cynical rant.

The point to all of that being that that is how I thought of those buzzwords for the last few years until I came to Spain. Working (if even on a small segment) on a large interdisciplinary research project at a Spanish university showed the power behind words like diversity and globalization (conversation, I’m still not sure on). Three guys from our group of six, plus me, are working in the electrochemistry lab at UPV on a massive, multifaceted (eh?) project. For those of y’all who are unaware, I am a civil engineering major. So why are the majority of participants in a civil engineering research program working in an electrochemistry lab?

That was my question when, during our first week, Dr. Juan Soto a chemistry professor at UPV, gave the four of us a 2 hour lecture on the basics of corrosion theory and electrochemistry. In Spanish. Luckily two of the guys in our group are fluent and could translate. But for anyone who’s never had a lecture in a foreign language, I suggest you go to one if ever you have the means. It certainly changed my perspective (or I had a “paradigm shift”, if this was 2005) on the way we learn, and how I am likely to approach my classes post trip. With Carlos translating, Dr. Soto painted a brilliant picture of corrosion mechanisms, and how to quantify them. The fact that his lecture was in Spanish and getting his words through another person meant that an intense level of focus was required, and as such, I felt that I learned as much in two hours as two semesters of general chemistry. 

(some of the mentors at a UPV science fair this week)

What I didn’t realize for several days after the lecture, as we were working with civil engineering professors and grad students to measure rates of corrosion within reinforced concrete and how to slow and stop corrosive ions, was that learning the subject first from a scientist’s perpective, as opposed to an engineer’s, got me up to speed on this ongoing project much more quickly, and as a result I have (for the most part) fully understood everything we are working on and where this project is headed. A diversity of backgrounds, from chemistry to structural engineering to material science, is where this research stems from and the only way to study such a specific topic. The technical papers and books we reference, were published in Europe and America, with authors from around the world. Some tests use the RILEM standard (European) while others use ASTM standards (American). The new tests they are developing is a hybrid of the two. And then there are the people. Juan Soto and Jose Gandia are the guys in charge, a chemist and a building engineer, one looks the part of distinguished professor and one looks like he just got back from surfing. From there we have Rafa, the oldest guy there and definitely the most loved, he doesn’t speak any English but makes me laugh on a daily basis. He even gave us a bottle of champagne our first week! And of course there is Jose Enrique, who looks like he just came to the lab from a heavy metal concert. A diverse group of people, from diverse backgrounds, using information obtained on a global scale for a genuine purpose. In this I have found a truer meaning for these “buzzwords.”

What I can’t wait to take back to the states is the way we acquire information when working at UPV. Dr. Gandia gave us a brief overview on how he expected research to be conducted, and spoke about “lines of research.” Meaning, let’s look at the sources for this paper, if there is a specific thing we need more information on, let’s follow that source. And then do the same thing to that paper, and so on and so forth. I’m sure this is a pretty common means of study in higher academia, but it was a method never before shown to me. And using this, I feel I have a very complete picture of the macro while still knowing the ins and outs of our specific tasks. I know that this, more than anything else learned on this trip, will help me to achieve success in grad school and beyond.

Now let me diverge for a moment and talk about Granada.

Granada. To say it’s like something from a storybook or a Disney movie would be insulting to the city. This thousand years old city, the last Moorish stronghold till 1492, is incredible. Overlooked by the snowcapped Sierra Nevada, this city sits upon three steeply sloped hills, and gave my roommate and I a double dose of history and culture last weekend. I knew at once it was going to be an interesting weekend when, on Friday afternoon, a very French man (long curly hair in a ponytail, chain smoking cigarettes, driving an insanely tiny car) met Carlos and I at a gas station to give us a ride from Valencia. 

Windows down, and Spanish jams a-blasting, we started our journey. The drive to Granada was one of the most surreal experieces of my life, there is no I-35 esque highway connecting Valencia to Granada, so we took (for lack of a better term) the scenic route. And scenic it was, in four hours we went from costal cityscape, to large hills, to flatlands and a semiarid region that was a little like New Mexico, and then through rocky mountains and pine wood forests, before sloping down into the valley that holds Granada. I got to see a lot of Spain that day, orchards that ranged from growing olives to oranges. I got to see castles and cathedrals and gypsy caves. Yet Granada has definitely set the standard in Spain on castles, cathedrals, and gypsy caves. It was kind of nice to play the tourist for a weekend, of which Granada is crawling, and tour the Alhambra, see flamenco shows, and of course, eat my weight in Tapas. The Moorish influence is still very present in the city, while the Catholic influence is just as strong. These polarizing cultural forces create a beautiful contrast that gives Granada a certain uniqueness in its overall vibe. Basically, the coolest place I’ve ever been.

(so much Tapas!)

After such a life changing weekend, coming back to Benimaclet in Valncia, and going to work on Monday morning felt a bit…mundane. Which is insane because I live in an apartment in Spain within walking distance of the Mediterranean! Last weekend’s experience, as well as this entire trip as a whole, has shown me that just finding a job that gives a nice paycheck is simply not enough. I’ve been bitten by the travel bug, and bitten hard. I hope to work for a global organization that provides travel opportunities, utilizes all types of disciplines, and even has…a diverse workforce. 

(while Granada may be grand, Valencia has its charms too, like free adventure time pizza!)

• Spain is Like, You Know...Really Cool and Stuff

(This hilarious video explains the title, and is like 60% accurate  about Valencian life LOL)

For starters, my sincerest apologies go out to those who read my first blog entry last week expecting to read…well, a blog. And instead found more of an essay format. I’m fairly sure the last time I had any sort of blog, it was during the MySpace era, like Vote for Pedro shirts were still uber popular. Anyways, this blog is part from the heart web logging and part assignment for the National Science Foundation’s International Research Experience for Students. Pretty cool, right? There are certain bullet points I’ve got to hit so if your just here to see what cool stuff Boehme is up to over the summer, bear with me. If you’re evaluating my participation in the IRES program, I hope you find in these entries exactly what you’re looking for. And if you are like me from a few months ago and trolling through every former participant’s blog because you are either applying to or have just been accepted to the program, relax. Spain is pretty great!

                 
    (Delicious paella cooking at a street festival)        (Tapas festival a block from our apartment)

Right now it is about 16:30, and I just woke up from about an hour-long siesta. This morning I had an apple before walking to work at 8:30 (don’t worry folks I’m not starving myself over here, just wait!) and then at about 10:30 my lab partners and I, along with most people at UPV, along with most people in Spain come to think of it… Went and took coffee. A tiny little espresso shot and a split bocadillo de jamon between my roommate and me. Went back to the lab at 10:50 and kept on working till 13:30 or so, came home and had a large lunch, and finally…siesta. People in Spain know how to live. One of the first things I noticed at UPV is that this schedule of taking coffee (and perhaps a cigarette or even a beer) at 10:30 and lunch at 13:30-14:00 is like clockwork. Whereas in the US our mealtimes are much more sporadic, usually fit into our 9-5 schedule, the Spanish put just as much emphasis on meals as they do on work, with astounding results!

(I spy a little bit of America here...do you see it?)

Before going on this trip, there was a day long workshop to give a heads up on what to expect, what was expected of us, and other little housekeeping issues. “Culture shock” was emphasized during this workshop as a common ailment of students going abroad for more than a month. The abstract definition and supplemental diagrams illustrating the disorienting and depressive symptoms of culture shock scared me a little. With the exception of a brief excursion or two across the Mexican border, this South Texas boy was expecting to take this trip like a deer in the headlights. But as of day 12 I am completely culture shock free! If anything I have “culture embrace”, instead of a deer in the headlights I am a koala on a Spanish tree. It took about a week or so, but now my roommates and I have all adapted to the Spanish eating/sleeping schedule (did I mention siestas? i.e. the greatest part of Spanish life!).

          (people are always chilling in Valencia, even on a bed of nails! He even let me try it)

So in Spain they speak Spanish, si? No, as most of y’all probably know from having been corrected by “those friends”, in Spain they speak castellano (or Castillian). What I did not know before coming is that each province has its own dialect. Here in Valencia, all of the street signs and official markers are in Valenciano, very much like Spanish (sorry, castellano) but with germanic influence. Being in a country that you do not speak the language of has plenty of challenges, but luckily my high school Spanish classes help with the basics. Besides, for the really tough situations, I’ve got two roommates who are fluent! When it comes to language, having heard from others and now experienced myself, western Europe is lightyears ahead of the US when it comes to language diversity and globalization. I very large percentage of Spaniards I’ve met thus far speak some English or are fluent. And by “speak some English” I don’t mean it in the way people claim to “speak some Spanish” back in Texas. Just knowing how to count to ten and say “hello, what is your name” does not qualify as knowing a little English around these parts. People here who are embarrassed by their lack of English, and speak “very little” are still at a conversational level (if a choppy conversation). So as far as getting around with a language barrier, Valencia is not too bad. The biggest challenge is extending my social network, but it’s getting easier day by day!

(a youth soccer game in front of a Roman bridge)

We’ve only been in Valencia since arriving though this weekend Carlos and I are going to experience the birthplace of tapas and flamenco in Granada, so I’ll definitely have some more pictures and stories for my next post. But it’s taken about 12 days to really see a lot of and get a feel for this city. There are bridges and castles and buildings that more than double the age of the US here. I love winding through the labyrinth of the historic district, with its streets and alleys packed with shops and restaurants (mostly for tourists). Most of the streets in this area barely allow a single car to pass through. The cathedral is of course breathtaking, built in the 1300’s and as a Catholic I feel obligated to attend mass one of there one of these Sundays.

(I have no excuse to not go to church now)

Bottom line: Spain is very different from America. Every little thing from the tiny cars, to the weird power outlets, to the design of their toilet seats (not going to gross y’all out with specifics, but way more efficient). Stores close at two and open up again at five, there are just as many people over 40 out and about after midnight as there are under. It’s relaxed, nobody is ever on time but that’s expected. There is booze EVERYWHERE but it’s a part of the culture, people are not going crazy with it. Well, not too crazy. I’m proud to be an American, and value our industriousness. But for now I’m a part of the International Research Experience for Students program, and I intend to experience this culture in addition to more scholarly endeavors. There’s a different pace to life here in Valencia, and I am happy to match it.

• ¿Por que Ingenieria Civil?

Despite what the title might suggest, my Spanish es muy mal. Yet somehow I find myself walking the streets of Valencia, stopping in at un cafeteria to order a café solo before going to la playa, and later meeting up con mis amigos for a cerveza and tapas. Like I said, terrible Spanish. This experience, which is truly an honor to be a part of, is analogous to how I have felt more than a few times since beginning my civil engineering degree program, a little lost but very excited about what’s happening.

(artistically designed airport in Madrid)

Civil engineering is a profession that spans back thousands of years. It’s a stable market, it pays well, the job outlook is good, and there is plenty of visual payoff (you get to drive down the road and point out giant structures you had a hand in). Obviously these are all reasons why I want to get my degree in civil engineering, even that last one (everyone has some level of ego, right?). Although these reasons, and a knack for math and science, might cause just about anyone to get interested in civil engineering, there is something that draws me to this profession more so than the “career day reasons.” I want to be useful in this life; I want to help create things that help people, that large amounts of people use on a day to day basis without a second thought. Of all the paths I’ve considered going down over the years, this seems to best lead that way. My parents always taught utility as a virtue, my sister mastered several positions in softball in order to be anywhere she was needed on the field, my brother seamlessly switches between baritone and trombone in his high school marching band to better their sound and help in competitions. In whatever I do, I try to emulate my family by being there when needed and just being plain useful. On a more pragmatic note, I want to live out in the country with a few acres of land, and civil engineering as a profession would allow me to achieve this goal. Definitely my second biggest reason for wanting to be an engineer…

(lake near my parent's ranch, this was a CANYON a few weeks ago!)

Never would I have thought upon starting my degree program that there are so many subjects within civil engineering that we know so little about. In just a few days here at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, I’ve learned a lot about corrosion of steel bars within reinforced concrete, but more importantly what we don’t know about it. Even the standards used to detect corrosion set by ASTM are in some ways a set of loose guidelines. Syed, another student on this trip who works in the same lab as me, said it best in regards to a detection method one PhD student here is looking to get patented, “you would’ve thought they’d of had this already.” Between this amazing first week at the university, and my concurrent participation as an undergraduate research assistant back at UTA, I’m hooked. I like being out here on the edge of what we know, and finding solutions that have never been found before. I had already been planning on getting my master’s after graduating, but now I know for sure that I’ll be pursuing a PhD somewhere down the line as well. Obtaining brand new knowledge and using it to create something completely new would without a doubt be a wonderful highlight to my future professional career.

                   (cafe solo to help with studying)                     (a street in Old Valencia)

As of this summer it has been exactly two years since I decided to major in civil engineering, again. That’s right this is my second attempt at obtaining a BSCE. In high school I was an okay student, took AP classes, made A’s and B’s but never really tried hard (ie I was a slaaaacker). I went straight from high school to a good university, my family was proud and everything seemed to be on track for me. Unfortunately things don’t always work out the way we plan. I was completely unprepared for the rigors of a college level engineering class, I quickly fell behind in my classes and rather than reaching for help, I drew in upon myself. By the middle of that fall I had given up completely. I was not going to class and beginning to spiral down into depression, staying in the dorm room watching General Hospital and trying not to think about what my parents would say. The only thing that managed to get me out of bed (besides pizza) was the student filmmaking club I was a part of. As terrible as I was at being an engineering student, making films came second nature to me and was a heck of a lot more fun than failing calculus. So after another terrible stretch of school in the spring, I decided to focus on the film and television industry. “I decided to focus on the film and television industry” is exactly how I tell my story to most people who ask, however the reality is that I failed at engineering and went with something easier. That is the thought that stuck with me over the next few years even though my time in TV and film was fairly successful, if short-lived. From 2010 to 2012 I worked 60 hour weeks at a talent agency doing film production for major auditions, and at the end of 2012 began to take some film classes and basics at the local community college. This time of my life gave me an incredible work ethic, and got me used to working in a stressful high-stakes environment (it certainly was not the “easy” option I had thought going in.) Finally in the spring of 2013, two things happened that got me to give civil engineering one more try. The first was taking a liberal arts math course, it renewed some of the passion for math and science I had thought long burned out. And the second was a Navy recruiter sitting next to me as I sipped my coffee at Starbucks one day. Let me just say, those guys are REALLY good at their jobs. Never once had I considered a career in the military, but this guy in blue camo patiently sat and listened as I spilled my guts on secretly wanting to be an engineer, that film was great but completely unfulfilling. Before I knew it I had taken the ASVAB (the “military SAT”), scored in the top 1%, and was days away from raising my hand and taking the oath of enlistment. For various reasons I eventually came back to the idea that yes, I did want to be a civil engineer and I would be a civil engineer, so I didn’t join the navy but I did sign up for pre-cal and calculus I in the summer. Since then I’ve put everything into being a great student, completely separate from that mopey 18 year old that crashed and burned his first go around. Now I am a mere three semesters from graduating, at the top of my class, and ready to pursue a master’s upon graduation. The road since high school has had quite a few twists and turns, but it’s led to this path where I may feel a little lost at times, but am always excited about the journey ahead.