Hooray for sleeping in! Well, kind of. I still woke up relatively early. Probably because I was so excited for an SP Grand Days breakfast. NOMS. We had the morning free to do as we please. But, we had to have three slides done before noon for the group presentation that will be given to COSTFORD about our favorites experiences in India. That wasn't too difficult, though. After our free time, we traveled to the Department of Architecture of the College of Engineering, which is where Jerry got his undergraduate degree. We met with the President of the University and then went to hear a presentation by some of the planning graduate students. The students presented about a redevelopment project in the boat jetty area in Kochi (the same ferry and area I was in last week) funded by the state government. The issue is the large amount of traffic occurring in the area. They completed this project in only 6 weeks for one of their classes, which was really impressive based on the amount of work that was put into it. They did a lot of background work on the area, took surveys in the area, did research in the area, and compiled all of their information in various ways to look at where the issue is heaviest. Then they came up with proposals to improve the heavy traffic. Recommendations that they came up with include: building a vertical parking structure (like our parking ramps. These are extremely rare.), constructing an entertainment center, promoting tourism through the water canals, relocating vendors off the streets, and developing better waste management systems (which would be wonderful!). It's nice to see that there are people here that are capable and want to improve the infrastructure of the streets. They are extremely chaotic and could definitely use a little bit of TLC!
Mini model of the school
Courtyard art
Afterwards, we went to an Ayervedic spa resort on the Arabian Sea. Most people got massages, but I opted out. Quite honestly, I'm glad I did after I heard everyones stories. I added links to other students' blogs on the right of my page, so if you would like to read about the massages, feel free to read theirs, because I'm not going to go into details! :) I lounged around the resort, ate some pakora and samosas (essentially just friend vegetables), drink hot ginger lime honey, and enjoyed the sea breeze. Just living the life, ya know?
Looking out to the Sea
Taking the boat over to the restaurant in the resort
Only two more full days in India. Time is simply flying by. Soon I'll be home and cuddling my kitty! :) Here's a picture of him, just because:
How could you not miss that face?! Adorable.
Sounds like you had a very relaxing day! I know this sounds lame but I would have probably slept if I had the morning free to use! haha I'm sure you wanted to get out and see things though since you are half way around the world and all. ;-) What did your breakfast consist of that was so "nom"? I'm sure your kitty misses you too and will be glad when you are home. Or he will act like a cat and be pissy at you for about a month. ;)
ReplyDeletelol. My cat is least pissy cat I have ever met. For breakfast there is always fresh fruit (usually 2: pineapple, cantaloupe, papaya, or watermelon), toast, eggs to order, corn flakes, yogurt, oats, various pastries, juice (two, or vanilla milkshake), and a lot of other Indian breakfast food that I consider dinner food. And I always end up eating way too much because it all looks so good to me in the morning. Well, I didn't intend to wake up early. It's kind of just a habit now since everyday I've been waking up at 6:30 or before.
ReplyDelete