One Week in Alicante, Spain

It’s been just over a week since I first arrived in Spain and I think I am finally settled in. With the help of Nicole, another EngSci student here on PEY, I was able to find a large room with a newly installed hardwood floor, TV, desk, and private ensuite bathroom for just 280 euros a month. Not only is the room nice, but it’s located right in downtown Alicante, just minutes away from the beach and nightlife, and it’s across the street from work! Here are some pictures:

A typical day in Spain goes something like this:

7:45am – Wake up after my cell phone alarm has gone off for the third time.

8:00am – Check my e-mail.

8:20am – Eat a quick breakfast.

8:28am – Leave home.

8:31am – Arrive at my desk at work. The mornings are usually not the most productive since I’m still tired, but I usually figure out what it is that I need to accomplish for the day.

11:30am – 2nd breakfast! In our office at CYPE, everyone works in “boxes” or clusters of 6 people. Every box tends to hang out together, except for my box which splits up and goes with people from other boxes. Since I’m new, everyone wants me to join them, so I tend to rotate which groups I eat with. 2nd Breakfast consists of walking to a nearby cafe and ordering a “tostada media con tomate y un cafe con leche” which is a toasted panini-like bun topped with olive oil and crushed tomatoes, usually seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper. “Cafe con leche” is basically the Spanish equivalent of a cappucino. 2nd Breakfast costs anywhere in the range of 1.90 to 2.20 euros depending on where you go.

12:00pm – Back to work. I usually get the most work done in this period of time since I would have just had a coffee.

2:30pm – Lunch break! I typically go home for lunch since it’s just 2 minutes away. Sometimes people from work go out to eat at a nearby restaurant, and sometimes I’ll go to the supermarket to buy fresh bread with which to make a “bocadillo”.

3:30pm – Return to work. Sometimes I’ll take another hour for lunch and return to work at 4:30, but then I have to stay an extra hour at the end of the day.

6:30PM – Home time, unless I took a 2-hour lunch. Also, on Fridays, we skip lunch and leave at 3:00pm. During the summer months, we get out of work at 3:00pm every day.

7:00PM – Go for a run by the beach. There’s a nice 6K route along the water.

8:30PM – Start cooking dinner (unless Nicole is cooking for me… we tend to take turns cooking for each other).

10:00PM – Do stuff on my computer (like upload pictures, respond to e-mails, and update my blog).

12:00AM – Bed time.

As it’s now midnight, it’s time for me to go to bed.

Adios! Here are some pictures (I’m now experimenting with Flickr):

Preparing for a Professional Experience Year… in Spain!

A shot of Raphael in the Sicilian countryside.
Raphael in the Sicilian countryside.

It was two summers ago when visiting my family in Europe that I first got the travel bug. At the time, I had just finished my first year of Engineering Science and dreamed of working in Europe for a summer. The prospect of learning a new language, being immersed in another culture, and having the freedom to travel to many fascinating places has always excited me.

When it came time to decide if I was going to do a Professional Experience Year (PEY) term in third year, I came to the conclusion that I would either find a rewarding international experience to pursue or continue on to fourth year and complete my degree. As a student of the Infrastructure Engineering program, there were great opportunities to work in different countries and I applied to jobs in the both the United States and Europe.

Last December, I was hired to complete a 12-month work term in Alicante, Spain starting in September 2009. I’ll be working with a local Spanish engineering firm called CYPE Ingenieros, S.A.. My main focus will be on the expansion of a CAD software that can automatically verify if the designs for a structure meet the building code in the country where it will be constructed. I’ll be succeeding another Engineering Science Infrastructure student, Geoff Frost (0T9+PEY), who has worked at CYPE since September 2008. While I can’t share my PEY experiences yet, you can follow me on my journey by visiting my blog at http://raphsammut.ca/.

Raphael receiving his first place prize at the Canadian Engineering Competitions in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Raphael receiving his first place prize at the Canadian Engineering Competitions in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

In addition to finding work abroad, I was able to fulfill my appetite for travelling during the school year as well. This past winter, I competed in the University of Toronto Engineering Kompetitions (UTEK) and won first place in the Engineering Communication division for my presentation on emerging applications of RFID technology. This led me to compete in the Ontario Engineering Competitions (OEC) in Guelph where I won second place and qualified for the national level of competitions. At the Canadian Engineering Competitions (CEC), held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, I built upon all the feedback received from the earlier competitions and won first place along with a sponsorship to attend the first National Engineering Summit in Montreal held last May.

Currently, I am working with Professor Evan Bentz as a summer research student. My main projects have been related to the development of Augustus, a software suite that acts as a post-processor for the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis of structural elements. Augustus has recently been expanded to allow easy modelling and simulation of entire structures.

Website Established

Welcome!

RaphSammut.ca (and RaphSammut.com) is now the home of Raphael Sammut’s personal blog.

I’ve been meaning to set up a site for some time now, and decided to get something together this summer while I’ve still got lots of spare time.

I’ll be updating this portal fairly frequently with entries, pictures, and other media as great experiences occur in my life. I’ll also have to catch up a fair bit with some events from the past that deserve publication.

Some exciting entries to look forward to:

  • A summary of the first National Engineering Summit held in Montreal from May 19-21.
  • I’ll be taking a trip to Vancouver during the last week of July for a 5-day camp in the Squamish Valley (near Whistler).
  • A bike trip (still in the works), likely in the Niagara region.
  • Business Ventures! Yes, I’ve started my first business and have many more ideas brewing. Stay tuned for updates.
  • A 12-month work term in Alicante, Spain with CYPE Ingeneiros (and lots of travelling, too!) starting in September 2009.
  • Reflections, as inspiration strikes me.

Until my next post,

Raphael