Finally, Some Time to Relax

Personal

On Wednesday night, I was on the bus when a fight broke out. Luckily, there were several ticket-checkers on the bus who helped to separate the two men. I didn't see much directly since I was averting my eyes, but some of the people almost ended up in the seat next to me when they were trying to restrain one of the men. The other guy was allowed to get off the bus, but they stopped it for a while until the police arrived. After some talking, they took the guy away and we were off. It's unusual for me to witness any kind of fighting, so even that small skirmish was a little scary.

On Friday, we left for Milan. Our hotel has been splendid, and our room even opens up into a garden. We spent all of yesterday touring the city. We first walked on the roof of the Duomo which gave us a great view of the city. The major shopping area, Quadrilatero della Moda, was fascinating but frightening in terms of cost. After walking the grounds of the Castello Sforzesco, we saw something that looked like the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and made our way there through a lively park. We then attended evening Mass back at the Duomo which was very enlightening. Around the cathedral, a giant celebration was going on. People were dressed up and spraying shaving cream at each other. We saw a cake that said "Women's Day," but I'm not sure what that is. This morning, we are heading to Savona where we will board the cruise, and I'm definitely looking forward to the unlimited supply of food and the chance for relaxation.


Program

Though this past week of classes was short, there was certainly plenty to do. In particular, we presented our initial ideas for the Ottobock socket design. We received some helpful feedback and formulated questions to ask Herr Finke at Ottobock. The following day, we had an opportunity to speak to him and this really helped to narrow down and clarify what is expected of us with this project. We have now broken down into three major teams with a real focus. Whereas I felt completely lost before, I now have an idea of what we are actually doing and I feel confident in our ability to design an impressive socket. However, I am concerned with the amount of time we have left.