One Week Complete

The first week is complete and a lot has been accomplished. The students have moved into their Spanish homes, familiarized themselves with Sevilla, and started their classes.

This is the Statics class. The students have covered the first 4 chapters in the text, learned how to use Mathcad, and had their first exam.

This Dr. Mark Vaughn's Thermodynamics class. They have covered the first three chapters and will be ready for a test on Monday.

Things happen fast in a summer session. Our normal schedule is to start class at 9:00 and continue to a break at 10:45, resume class at 11:15 and continue to 1:30. That is a lot of time to spend on Statics or Thermodynamics in a day. We cover the new material, do practice problems, answer all the questions, and move on. After the morning class, which ends at 1:30, the students go home for a lunch and siesta. The afternoon classes start at 5:00 and go to 7:30. It makes a long day.

With a weekend to themselves, many of the students took the train to Cadiz and will stay overnight. On Monday, I will try to get one of them to provide pictures and a story.

Hola Sevilla!!

All 50 students have arrived safely. Some of them had a few difficulties and four did not make it in until late. Here, they are greeting each other in the lobby of the Hotel San Fernando and comparing travel experiences.

The first order of business was a half mile hike to the TTU Seville Center and a briefing on what to expect in Seville. Most of the students have just finished 24 hrs or more of travel so this is absolutely misery. However, its all part of the plan. Keeping them up until the local bedtime helps to adjust to the 7 hr time differential.

After the orientation session, its back to the hotel and dinner. Afterwards, they are finally released to go to bed. There probably was not much wandering around Seville on Friday night. They were bushed!

Here is a link to an online photo album for images from the orientation and dinner

The students will have a lot of new experiences in Spain - beginning with the food. It is a Mediterranean cuisine and not at all like the Tex-Mex we are used to. The Caracoles (small snails) are in season now. They are a lot of trouble for not much meat. (This one isn't really alive. It was boiled with garlic and cloves.)

One of our favorites is the "blood" sausage that is available at the local markets.

The Spanish are very family oriented. On Saturday, there were many couples out with their children.

Packing for Seville

The spring semester is finally done and now it is time to pack for a summer in Seville, Spain. For you students, prepare for a fantastic experience. You will certainly learn a lot about statics and thermodynamics but you will also learn about Spanish philosophy, history, and art.

For family and friends, you are welcome to follow this blog. There will be almost daily postings that will help you keep up with the students activities and allow you to share some of their experiences