Beer, Batman, and Bureaucrats

Last Friday I seized the opportunity to immerse myself in the Derby traditions, culture myself with UK, and adopt the European values by… going to the 35th annual Derby Beerfestival, of course!!!  Deciding whether or not to go was the easy part, picking between the 250 beers and 50 ciders from local microbreweries, now that’s a completely different story.  Split into categories from super dark logger to blonde, it was difficult to know where to start.  Between my selections and the roommate’s I went with (Stuart, Angy, Anna) I was able to try more varieties of beer and cider in one night than I think I’d tried up til then. No Natty here!  Overall a great evening, complete with live band performances and a souvenir pint glass to commemorate my experience.

After getting a late start on Saturday, Nottingham was next on the cities to see.  Stuart and I hopped on a train to city center and a taxi to Wollaton Hall/Park.  This Victorian mansion has stood the test of time having been built in 1588 and its extensive grounds have been converted to a large park.  With natural history exhibits displaying hundreds of stuffed animals and landscaping that would make the Queen proud this manor definitely exuded ye ‘old Britain.  While all the history was intriguing Stuart and I knew it held a much more interesting roll in history than the old manor of a wealthy lord.  It is more notably known as being Wayne Manor from the final movie in the batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.  For a few extra quid (“pounds”/the equivalent of saying bucks for dollars), Stuart and I took a private tour which included special access to the top perspective room, a walk around the balcony, and decent into the creepy cellar and underground well, led by a fascinating volunteer tour guide who we found out collected classic American muscle cars.

We caught the train back to Nottingham where we met up with a friend of Stuarts who attends University of Nottingham and had just completed a study abroad at UVA.  The three of us went to Ye Olde Jerusalem, the oldest pub in Nottingham built in 1189, grabbed some Italian (I enjoyed my first pizza since arrival in England), then went to Glee Comedy Club.  There were 4 comedians each funnier than the last and all hilarious.  This was my first experience with live stand up and I definitely plan on visiting some back in the States, it was a riot!

I had the pleasure of being invited, with my two housemates, to a lunch meeting and reception with the Vice President of Finance for Rolls-Royce North America and about 20 Virginia State Legislatures the following week at work dealing with inspiring youth to pursue engineering as a degree.  The 3 of us were specially introduced and I enjoyed a lunch of fresh exotic fruits, hot sandwiches, and decadent deserts as opposed to the standard PB&J, crackers and carrots.

Following the spirit of Wollaton Hall’s part in the Dark Knight Rises, I organized an outing to see the movie at the Derby movie theater (very similar to Tysons back home).  A few weeks before I had chanced upon two co-workers who I had worked with last year at Crosspointe while they were on a 6 month rotation in the states as recent university graduates.  The two of them plus one of their friends, my two Rolls-Royce roommates, Fumbi (a recent RR hire who I met on orientation), and I grabbed dinner in town and enjoyed the adrenaline pumping 2h45m movie.   I had a great time catching up with my past colleagues who I had enjoyed lunch with almost every day last summer.

Derby: Settled In

Crazy to think I have already been in Derby for 5 of my 12 week internship, since I have not posted in a while about derby this is sort of a “catch up” post on what I’ve been up to so far.  Mon-Fri there is little room for variations in my schedule I wake up at 6:45AM every morning, yet I don’t return till about 7:00PM at night.  Outside of the standard 8 hour work day, my time away from home is spent on public transportation to/from work and gym time(yes I go every day).  By the time I get home change and make dinner I often don’t start on the “other things” until 8:30/9:00.  That leaves me about 2 hours a day that needs to be split between, planning for my Euro trip, Skyping, gathering info for my study abroad in Hong Kong and blogging.


Work

NX CAD Modeling example from Google
(Same Program as my work, but I cant show my Drawings)

My last post mentioned how I was working on a manufacture change for the OGV’s to be proposed at a “high-spots” meeting with all the senior executives.  My main role in the presentation was gathering information from many of the involved parties then organizing it into tables and diagrams for an organized PowerPoint.  Intermittently with this assignment I was assigned some more CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) oriented tasks which I find very enjoyable to do.  One of which was making modifications to a component on the rear fan case to confirm proposed weight saving values a supplier predicted if they made certain changes in the manufacturing process. Another involved taking the lessons learned from the most recent engine in the Trent Engine family the (XWB) and applying it as part of an upgrade package to a previous engine (T100); This is actually the preliminary design that will then be sent off for computer testing and refinement by other divisions in my building.  However, there is a large flux in my workload, at times I get pulled into a busy task then other times I almost have to beg to be assigned work.  On Friday I got the start of 2 more long-term projects and will be assigned another one this week so hopefully this will lead to a more steady work stream.

Roommates

Roommates (minus Caroline)

Last time I posted it was me, Becca, and Stuart all of us from the states here interning with Rolls-Royce.   It was only the 3 of us individually renting rooms in this 6 person house.  Since then the other 3 rooms have been filled with Caroline, Anna, and Angie.  Caroline moved in while I was in Morocco and in the 2 weeks I have been back I have literally seen her only 3 times, she works odd hours as a server at one of the local bars and seems like a fun, pleasant girl.  Unfortunately, I really don’t know much about her cause I have spoken a cumulative time of max 10 minutes with her.  Anna and Angie are Derby University Students originally from Latvia, who will be letting their rooms on a long term basis.  They brought not only high-speed internet, but a lot of life to our house.  Since they are students at the local university they have a large social network of friends who come over semi-frequently and are all really friendly.  Angie works at an outdoor open club/bar which Becca and I visited last weekend and hooked us up with some heavily discounted drinks.  Similar to Morocco, I have embarrassed myself trying to pronounce words in a different language, I’m just thankful everyone speaks English well.

Activities


Heights of Abraham

Green English Country Side

Last Sunday Becca and I (Stuart was with his parent in London) took a 30 main train ride to Matlock where we visited the Heights of Abraham.  This ex Galena mine, turned national park was recommended as a good day trip by one of Becca’s co-workers and ended up being the perfect day trip from Derby.  After taking a gondola up to the top of a mountain there are multiple activities to do, including museums, restaurants, playground and two guided cave tours.  We were fortunate to have “the best weather in 2 weeks” as proclaimed by one of the tour guides while also avoiding the large crowds that sometimes flood the area.  For whatever reason it was not very busy which resulted in one of the tours being just The Guide, Becca, and me; this is unusual the guide says there are often upto 70 other people on each tour!  Overall it was a great day to see part of the English countryside.

Derby Olympic Torch Festival

Olympic Torch Bearer

With the 2012 Olympics taking place in London, I was able to watch the torch as it passed through Derby.  Derby was picked as one of the 5 English cities for extended torch coverage by BBC and also chosen for a Friday evening visit!  The walk back from the bus station to my house I walked through the packed city center, passing numerous English Flag vendors, food companies passing out free samples and proud UK citizens fully decked out in their Union Jacks.  I got home, quickly changed before returning to the torch route with all the roommates (minus Caroline) to stake out a spot.  The actual torch bearer was precluded by large tour buses with people on top to pump up the crowd, with big name sponsors like Coca-Cola and Samsung.  The torch bearer actually ran by quite quickly, I was able to grab a picture but I overheard some of the other spectators around me saying they missed getting a good photo.  Becca and Stuart joined me for the short walk to a park just on the outskirts of the city where a large stage with a brazier had been erected to accept the torch flame for the evening.

Wish everyone the best back in the States, between the West Coast wildfires and East Coast hurricanes it seems like quite a tumultuous time.  On a more upbeat note with the recently acquired high speed internet, I can Skype most weekdays 7:30-10:30 my time then sporadically on the weekend so add me (Cam.Thurman) if you haven’t already and we can catch up!

Morocco: I Miss You! (Part 3)

Best ice cream of Africa

My 2nd day in Marrakesh began with sleeping in till the last possible minute before the hotel breakfast buffet closed at 10.  Glad I woke up though! The breakfast selection was much better than any cold continental, Hampton-Inn type buffet, this was: multiple platters of warms meats and vegetables, a cooking station for my favorite Msemen, a cold food area with dried apricots, dates, and nuts, all topped with fresh squeezed OJ or mint tea to wash it all down.  After sufficiently stuffing myself, Yuri and I digested for a bit in the room before doing a full Ab workout in preparation for lookin our best at the pool!  After donning my armor of sunscreen, we headed out for a relaxing few hours of reading, sleeping, swimming, tanning and talking.  While we relaxed Mrs. Protzuk and Rashida (Yuri’s Aunt) went to one of his grandfather’s condos nearby and did a few loads of laundry, so nice of them!  Upon their return we went to an exquisite ice cream parlor, that Rashida claimed is the best in all of Africa.  Boy was it good, I think Rashida’s claim may be accurate.  

Check for the Bucket List

After showering we returned to the Jemma el Fna for another evening of festivities, on the drive there we passed a carnival were I was able to take a loop riding a camel.  Riding a camel in Africa…. Cross that one of the bucket list!  We returned at early evening at the hotel where I took advantage of the high speed internet to upload most of the photos we had taken to facebook and watched the first three episodes of House of Lies a new Showtime comedy series which I would definitely recommend. 

View from my Hotel Room

After waking up, hitting the breakfast buffet, and checking out of the hotel we started on the road for Agadir, a beautiful beach town with waves comparable to San Diego, but the sand and warm waters of the Caribbean.  Unfortunately I had woken up with a mild headache, which throughout the day turned into a major headache with chills and a loss of appetite!  I tried my best not to let the sudden illness affect me, but it definitely took its toll on what should have been a splendid day.  Regardless, the couple of hour drive went by pretty quick and I was thrilled when we arrived at our 5 star resort (Check out: Sofitel Agadir for more pics!).  We were greeted with hand towels soaked with rose water and check-in took place with clipboards while lounging on large outdoor sofas inside the huge opened ceiling atrium.  The rooms were decked out with a great pool view and extra comfy down pillows, pads, and comforters… the lavish life of luxury!  We grabbed a table in a ground-recessed, square stone patio, where the recessed walls had pillows and there was a table at each of the four corners.  

The effect was unique as when you were seated your eyes were at ground level looking out towards the ocean, unfortunately for me my headache and chills were at their peak so I needed to wrap up in a towel and laydown even though it was balmy for everyone else.  Mrs. Protzuk ordered me a special soup of blended mixed vegtables and spices which made me feel much healthier.

Appetizers at the Reasturant (Yummy Mixed Veggies for me)

In an attempt to feel better, after lunch I went back to the room and huddled in my comfy bed for a warm nap before returning outside to a giant outdoor lounge bed with pillows where Yuri and I soaked up the last sun of the day.  After returning to the room we prepared for a late, multiple course meal at the night lounge restaurant.  For my main course I decided on a Lamb and Prune Tagine, served still sizzling in its traditional clay cookware.  With a mixture of sweet prunes, crunchy almonds and savory, fall-of-the-bone-lamb, it was deliciously-exquisite!


As a way to digest Yuri, Mrs. Prozuk, and I took a long walk along the wide boardwalk were we soaked in the ocean smells and lapsing, evening waves.  We passed a variety of couples, kids, and families all wearing a bright smile clearly enjoying themselves as much as we were, Agadir is truly a wonderful town.  Returning to my room, I found myself quickly sinking into the heavenly bed were happy dreams soon enveloped my consciousness.


I was pleased when awoken to find the headache and chills gone, and keen to make the most out of my second (and last) day in Agadir!  We quickly met up with the driver, Mrs. Protzuk, and Rashida and drove to a nice café a ways down the boardwalk to have a light breakfast with a view of the ocean.  Following breakfast Mrs. Protzuk and Rashida went to an open market while Yuri and I went to the Moroccan equivalent of Walmart to purchase “beverages” for the planned evening at the resorts night club.  Returning to the resort we hit the gym followed by a protein packed Asian lunch which we finished with an exotic fruit platter.  While the sun was still high in the sky we seized the opportunity to go bodysurfing, I passed on some of my knowledge gained from my San Diego trips to Yuri, and had a blast catching wave after wave.  

For King, County, and God (View from our dinner)

We grabbed dinner at an upscale restaurant in the Agadir Marina, where we enjoyed calamari for an appetizer (we shared quite a bit with an adorable stray cat) and I had a seafood risotto with muscles, calamari, scallops, and white fish all of which had been pulled in earlier that day.  We were seated outside, right inside the docks with a view of both the ocean and the mountain side that had a large lit up Arabic phrase.  Next on the list was some pregaming which included room-mixed drinks down by the pool while smoking some hookah (Only other time I have smoked hookah was in turkey so I figured I’d add Morocco to the list as well) while we highly anticipated one of the “Top 3 Nightclubs in Agadir” according to our research online.  To our dismay, even though it was past midnight on a Friday evening with a live DJ there was maybe all of 15 people there with an average age in the mid 35s.  So after Yuri had a Red-Bull and Vodka ($19!!) and we waited another 25mins or so we before calling it a night.  The evening was sort of a letdown, but we still had a fun time just catching… at least we gave it a shot.

The Aquarium in the Casablanca Mall

Between finishing my kindle-book Hawke and beginning the 4th book of the Game of Thrones series (The first 2 books have already been made into a very popular HBO series I plan to watch later this summer) on my ipod touch, the 5.5 hour drive to Casablanca flew by.  We were staying in one of Yuri’s grandparent’s two condos for the evening and after moving our stuff in, 2 of Yuri’s cousins came by to take us to the Largest Mall in Africa. The mall is incredible, we are talking 3 floors of high-end shops, complete with an indoor aquarium, children amusement park, and state-of-the-art Imax theater.  I coupled the last of my Moroccan dirhams with my credit card to purchase a replacement pair of Ray-Bans for the ones I lost my first week in England. (Maybe not the most practical decision considering England is cloud covered about 90% of the time).  After perusing the 20+ restaurants in the food court I decided on Thai of all things for my last dinner in Morocco.

Good 'ol cloudy Derby

The next day was all pretty cookie cutter, sleep, airport, British Airways Direct to Heathrow, underground to Kings Cross, walk to St. Pancras train station… 1.5 hour wait at St. Pancras, Train to Derby, Taxi to townhouse, asleep by 12:30AM, up by 6:45AM to start the work week.

Clouds over the Moroccan Atlas Mountatins... I Miss You!

Overall I had a better trip then I could have ever anticipated, the hospitality and generosity that I received and the splendor of Morocco completely “wowed” me.  It’s a country I would definitely recommend to prospective tourists to visit and one that I hope to return to. 
                                                                   

Morocco: Down to Monkey Business (Part 2)

Drive to the Farm House

The smell of another delicious breakfast made waking up bright and early the next day a relatively easy task.  Added dishes to the breakfast feast my second day where Moroccan pancakes, similar to traditional ones just filled with more air pockets, and a sort of porridge with onions which has a Moroccan name that I cannot recall.  After another super filling breakfast we hopped in the Land Cruiser and headed off to the first of two farm houses that we would visit that day.  On the way to the countryside I began noticing wealth discrepancies from the well commerced city to the weaker economic country side.  In otherwords from passing the construction site of a new Ritz Carlton resort, to the rusted Coca Cola Cafés with old plastic furniture.  This other side of Morocco was just as fascinating as the city, as all the little towns seemed bustling with activity where “Vine Ripened” produce and freshly skinned animals were at every country store and corner vendor.

Goat Mechoui with Dipping Salt and Spice

Opening the gate and pulling up to the first Farm house was quite a spectacle, with the semi-Spanish clay architecture exterior only to find the traditional Moroccan interior.  After a quick tour of the house, including the balcony which overlooks the vineyard portion of the farm, we were served a very traditional Moroccan meal.  Starting with ¼ of a Goat prepared Mechoui style, I tried one of the kidneys which is considered the best part of the goat.  Not a fan of the kidney, but the rest was top 5 foods Ive ever had, starting with a goat that was killed earlier that day, then slow roasting till the outermost layer was crispy and tasted like bacon to the juicy interior it was absolutely phenomenal.  Following the Mechoui was the traditional homemade Morrocan Couscous, with day-of-fresh chicken and vegetables from the farm.  For desert was a mixture of orange and green cantaloupe (we don’t get green in the states) that was by far the best I have ever had… picked fresh and ripe earlier that day.  To wash it down was the best Mint Tea I had all trip where loads of fresh (im sure you get the picture by now) peppermint leaf was added to the green tea to make an unbelievably savory drink.  I know this was a lot about the lunch, however this feast was so delicious any less of a description wouldn’t do it justice.

Thumbs up from the People Packed Truck (See the Goat?)

Post-gorge we walked around the farm a bit to digest, walking by the worker’s huts, checking out the farm equipment, and petting the horses.  Afterwards, we piled back in the Land Cruiser and headed out to the second farm house (much smaller than the first and just recently completed) which sits on 100’s of acres of land.  The approx. 1 hour drive was pretty neat as we climbed to a much higher altitude on a windy two lane road, occasionally passing large harvesters going 1/3 the speed limit or pick-up trucks filled to the brim with a combination of people and livestock.

The other Farm House Roof Top, Land extends to the
2nd Farthest Ridge

After arriving, more mint tea was served and we enjoyed it with a spectacular view of the surrounding areas while sucking in large amounts of the fresh and cool mountain air.  Outside of the super overloaded hay-semi’s and people packed trucks, the ride back to Rabat was uneventful.  At dusk we were taken on a short tour of the actually city of Rabat where I was able to see the major tourist attractions all lit up at night.  After having a light dinner we plodded off to bed where again I had sweet dreams.

Yuri on our Marrakesh Room Balcony

Waking to a wonderful breakfast I said my goodbyes to Rabat and Thank You’s to my hosts (They told me I now have Moroccan grandparents should I ever make it back), and Yuri, his mom, his aunt and I headed for Marrakesh.  The 3 hour highway drive went by quick between sleeping and reading, at times it was even interesting listening to Mrs. Protzuk and her sister speaking in the French-Arabic tongue of Morocco, I had a go of it myself which resulted in Laughing Out Loud from the other passengers and some stifled sniggers from the driver.  Good thing is I’ve always known languages aren’t my thing so no dreams of becoming a linguistic where crushed that day.  The decision was made to stay in a hotel as opposed to one of “The General’s” condos in Marrakesh, so the blackberry was pulled out to explore the Marrakesh hotel options where we decided on a hotel that had a nice pool and a large breakfast buffet and was near the condo.  After Yuri and I got acquainted with our room we headed down to the pool to catch the last sun rays before going to the Jemaa El Fna.

The Monkey with its Hair Pulling Death Grip

The Jemaa el Fna was an incredible experience, where there were thousands of people milling around and vendors that sold all products: From fresh spice stalls and hot cooked meals to knock off Dr. Dre Beats and football jersey’s.  I picked up some delicious dried dates while I was on a sensory overload from the exotic spice aromas, foreign language bartering, and vendors trying to persuade me to visit their shop or stall.  I even got a picture with monkeys; being shamelessly honest I was freaked out in the picture cause one of them had just jumped on my head and started pulling my hair.  After a long night at the Jemma el Fna we grabbed Moroccan McDonalds (much better than the US) before retiring to bed.

Just one of many Spice Stalls

Still have Agadir and Casablanca left to blog about, I hope to do them tomorrow.  Blogging time has been largely reduced as various other pressing matters (Gym/Hong Kong/Euro Trip) have started hogging my free time.

Cheers until Tomorrow!

Morocco: Livin Like a King (Part 1)

My Train Football Fan Mates... No the Lady did not
Participate in the Drinking

I expected my Saturday trip from Derby to be just like any other travel day, a mixture of reading, sleeping, and jamming to the iTouch. Between the train to London, the Tube to Heathrow, the flight to Belgium then the flight to Casablanca I saw nothing but cramped seats and busy transfers in my future.  However, this particular travel day had a little extra spice… or should I say pints??  On the train ride to London I met a particularly friendly/”wankered” group of football fans on their way to London to watch a match.  After divulging my nationality, they welcomed me with not only open arms but an open invitation to their vast supply of Strongbow.  The trip to London flew by discussing a broad range of topics with my new “mates” who offered drinks in a pub should I ever find myself in Leicester, England. The memories from the train station to my flight departure gate are all slightly blurred from the moderate buzz I was carrying, reflecting back maybe not the smartest decision but definitely better than Kindle time. 

(There was however plenty of Kindle time later that day and the rest of the trip, finished the last bit of Mockingjay and the last 70% of Hawke.  Mockingjay has a horrible ending and is by far the worst of the Hunger Game Series, Hawke is the first of a Tom Clancy like series and was quite a page turner.)

A Golden Shower of Coke in Brussels Airport

Catching the smaller jet from Heathrow to Brussels went just as expected except for the 50% capacity which resulted in an empty seat next to me.  Landing in Brussels we alighted onto the tarmac where a city bus looking transport took us to the main gate.  Shoutout to my sister Corinne who used the Brussels Airport as her main airport during her study abroad in Belgium, it is a neat (and empty) airport.  At the suggestion of my Dad I did some Duty Free Shopping for some delicious Belgium Chocolates as a housewarming gift and boy where they good!

Took Royal Air Maroc for the last leg of my day where I was served a complimentary hot meal on my maybe 40% full flight to Casablanca (you just don’t get the same quality of flights in the US).  Upon landing I was pleasantly surprised to see Yuri, the friend I came to visit, at my arrival gate. I found out Yuri’s grandfather is a retired high ranking General of the Moroccan army and was able to pull a few strings so I received similar treatment in the airport as the Top-Named celebrities.  

After clearing customs we were taken to a fully loaded Mercedes where one of Yuri’s Grandfather’s drivers chauffeured us up to his grandfather’s house in Rabat(The Moroccan capital about 1.5 hours from Casablanca).  Let the Life of Luxury begin!

The Atrium Ceiling, One glimpse of the House

The house where I would be hosted for the next two days reminded me of a mini-palace, with tiled mosaic walls, muraled ceilings, intricate word-worked moldings, marble columns, detailed wool rugs, fine silver dishware… the list goes on and on.  I later found out each feature was hand worked, painted, woven etc. so it they are all one-of-a-kind.  My hosts, Yuri’s grandparents, were some of the most welcoming people I know and it was explained to me that guests are to be treated with the highest honors in Morocco; I definitely saw this level of hospitality.  An assortment of Moroccan cookies were opened, where I ate one while chatting with Yuri’s mother and grandparents (his grandmother spoke no English while his grandfather spoke it perfectly).

The Breakfast Spread: Yuri &Grandfather/The General

The next morning began with a delicious breakfast of Msemen (fried dough) and croissants topped with my choice of fresh jam and honey straight from the hive.  Let me note that every meal was all-you-can eat where large platters would be prepared and brought out by one of the 3 house maids, we would eat till content (or in my case beyond stuffed), then the platters would be taken away for the house maids/helpers to finish in a different room.  At the end of breakfast we were served Mint Tea, a Moroccan traditional drink, made with green tea mixed with fresh mint leaf then slightly sweetened with sugar cubes. I am not a tea fan, but I could not get enough of this drink!

One of the Drivers/Cooks preparing the Cookout Meat

Before I was finished digesting breakfast we were chauffeured over to the Golf Club where we had a traditional Moroccan lunch, I ate Kefta Tagine, before Yuri and I hit the much needed gym, preceding our Hammam.  “I have never felt so at peace” what I whispered to Yuri as I laid in the post scrub down room wearing my thick cotton robe where rose-water-soaked cotton pads were gently placed over my eyes.  Next on the agenda was a cookout at Yuri’s Aunt Fatti’s beautiful/contemporary home less than 5 mins down the road from his grandfather’s.  We dined with much of Yuri’s extended family and feasted on multiple salads, meats, and deserts each bursting with its own unique, mouthwatering flavor.  A food-coma sleep came easy after having such a relaxing day. 

I have posted alot more pictures for the First Half of the trip on Facebook... Friend Me if we aren't already!

*More Moroccan Posts to Come*

Note: I was officially accepted for my Study Abroad in Hong Kong so I am swamped with paperwork to fill out, I will be updating with the rest of my Moroccan trip as I have time!

Gettin Down to Business

After 3 weeks of unorganized chaos it was finally time I settled down into a nice routine.  As it stands right now the routine goes a little like this:

Packed Bus From Work

6:45 Rude Alarm Wakeup

7:15 Showered and Dressed

7:43 Breakfast inhaled/lunch packed

8:05 At Bus Station

8:08 Catch Bus 61 from bay 18

8:21 Arrive at bus Stop begin walk to work

8:35 At Work

16:36 Catch Free RR Bus Home

Free Time*

23:15 Kindle Time

23:45 Passed out

*Free time thus far has been a mixture of grocery shopping/dinner/planning my next adventure… this brings me to my next adventure!

… Morocco!!!

Mid May a good friend of mine from back home, Yuri Protzuk, invited me to come down to Morocco for part of the time he would be there. Unfortunately, I had to turn him down because I didn’t think it would be proper to skip out of work after only being there for a week.  Turns out first day of work rolls around and I find out the offices will be closed Monday-Wednesday for the Queen's Jubilee which results in a slow Thur&Fri due to workers extening their Holiday.  I followed in the British footsteps and am booked to be in Morocco June 2^nd-June 10^th.

Yuri’s mother grew up here and his grandparents live in Rabat so I was invited to go stay with them, I will fly into Casablanca and cannot wait to see Africa for my first time!

Back story on my Boss

Before departing the States I was very tentative on how my working conditions would be as I had reached out to my boss multiple times over a 2 month period and heard no response, I figured this was because he perceived me as not worth the time in his busy schedule.  The morning before I left Virginia I received a call from my HR manager explaining there had been a mix up… apparently Darren Smith is a very common name in the UK and I had been given the wrong contact info.  I was delivered the right contact info with the news that my boss would be on holiday till June 8^th, so I still have no idea what my boss will be like but at least I know he wasn't ignoring me on purpose.

First Couple days

Trent 1000, The OGV is a circular ring that straightens
the flow coming from the fan blades

I have been placed into the Fans team for the Trent 700, 800, 900, 1000 series of engines.  Until my boss returns I have been placed under the “Producibility” team lead where I will be assisting in the compilation/presentation of information for a DAR (Design Alteration Request) to make alterations with the OGV (Outlet Guide Vane) on two different engine types.  Yes it is only my third day on the job and I’m already being drowned in a sea of acronyms!  I spent a good deal of Monday reading up on the components that make up the “Fans” section of the jet engine and how this subsystem falls into the rest of the Jet engine, see the diagram for more info.  My teams seems like a really good group of guys, but I can tell I have a large amount of catching up to do if I want to perform at the level they expect out of me.

Roommates & Shopping!

City Center/Shopping Area (Outdoor Part)

So since moving in I have spent the past two days in the shopping center of Derby, which seems to be comprised of a large outdoor area that has shops/café’s lining either side of a wide, brick, pedestrian-only  packed street and an enormous indoor mall.  Since I have no internet at home yet I have been stealing wifi from the McDonalds, a café chain Gregg, and the local Library.  Unfortunately only the library, which I am now officially a member of, has an outlet and their hours are very limited combined with a 35 min battery life has led to minimal internet usage the past few days.  Side note pretty angry I left my Ray-Bans in the library and noticed within 5 minutes after leaving only to return to find them taken. Note to self: Do not take expensive sunglasses to Europe!

I have finally joined the smartphone revolution; unfortunately I joined a very limited pay-as-you go company so I am currently in the process of switching to another provider. I will soon be getting 400 talking mins, 3000 texts, and unlimited data for only 15 pounds per month/top-up… not bad!

Part of my Walk-The Center Cathedral is Close to my Final Destination

With nothing but my two long legs to get me around I find that I am frequently making trips back and forth to the shopping district which is about one mile/15 minutes away because I can only carry so much at a time. Between bedding, food, and sundries I have gone there and back 3 times both days… that’s 6 miles each day walking, no wonder the Europeans are in good shape.

My two roommates Stuart and Becca have joined me and turn out to be really nice/fun people.  They are both rising seniors in mechanical engineering and attend University of Virginia, which even though we are rival schools we have found some way to put aside our differences.  Stuart is from Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech’s location) where his dad teaches a mechanical engineering course and Becca is from Chantilly, VA where it turns out we went to the same elementary and middle school, but she was a grade ahead of me. To quote a particular mouse “It’s a small world after all!”

PS: I bought a duvet to use as a mattress pad and 3 pillows (one of which is memory foam) so I am sleeping easier. Then today we all spent a good amount of time scrapping and scrubbing + purchasing some air fresheners so everything is smelling a bit better… finally starting to feel a bit more like home.

First Impressions

Piccadilly Station - Notice the Olympic Rings in the back!

I am exhausted… I left Washington Dulles at 6:40 PM to arrive at London Heathrow at 7:05 AM, however between the time change/meals/plane sizes I was only able to get about 3 hours of sleep. On the plus side the flight was only about 60% full and the seat next to me was unoccupied, a much unexpected treat!  After arriving at Heathrow and clearing customs I took the underground to Kings Cross Station (about an hour ride), crossed the street to Piccadilly station, and purchased the next available train ticket for Derby.  It surprised me how disorganized the train station seemed to be; the train departure platform isn’t announced till about 7 minutes before the train departs and is shown on a frequently changing old school mechanical tracker board.  The train was delayed about 20 minutes, but luckily I had built in plenty of traveling time so I didn’t need to worry, however I will definitely remember the reliability in the future.

I dosed for about half of the 2 hour train ride, but soaked in the English country side while I was awake.  It is just like I had expected vast rolling fields of green with a spattering of thatched roofed cottages in the country and faded brick skinny row-homes with black mold/moss that only shows the age of houses in the cities.

After arriving at the Derby train station I had about an hour to kill so I grabbed a delicious mozzarella and ham on baguette at a baguette specialty cafe then killed the rest of my time reading my kindle before grabbing a taxi to the reality office where I arrived just on time only to find that my check-in meeting was pushed back an hour.  I am definitely finding that time is handled in a much more relaxed manner then it is back in the States, I haven’t decided whether I like the change or not. Regardless, my recent kindle purchase has already saved me many a time from having to twiddle my thumbs when my schedule is changed by external forces.

Arriving at my rental property I am a little disappointed at the living conditions. It is a very old 3 story with 6 individually rentable rooms, row house.  The whole house has a sort of musty smell with walls that appear to have been painted over multiple times without sanding down the previous coat which gives the house a very old feel.  My “mattress” is more like “A-cluster-of-springs-with-no-padding” and I have already found it very difficult to sleep on.  Good news is that after some air fresheners, a mattress pad… or two, and some elbow grease I should be able to greatly improve my current situation.

Last note, I am writing this blog now after being rudely awaken by the next door neighbors who were loudly playing their outdoor radio (its 11 PM). However, since I started writing they have moved to a single acoustic guitar and are taking turns singing occepella all sorts of genres from Katie Perry’s Firework to Sweet Child of Mine.  Their singing/laughter is loud, but their singing voices are amazing and their cheerfulness reassures me this will be a good experience. That being said earplugs are definitely being added to the long shopping list for tomorrow!

The Beginning

At Dulles about to leave US

I am sitting at my flight terminal about to kick-off what will be a true six months of interesting experiences, this blog is my way to share some of my travels with my friends and family.

Basic Itinerary:

May 24^th-August 17^th: Interning for Rolls-Royce in Derby England

August 18^th-September 3^rd: Euro Trip

September 5^th-January???: Chinese University of Hong Kong Study Abroad

Background on the Internship:

Back before thanksgiving break I received a mass email from the Assistant Dean of Engineering requesting applications for a unique international internship with Rolls-Royce, where a student will have the opportunity to spend 12 weeks working outside of the United States.  For those of you who don’t know I interned for Rolls-Royce last summer in southern Virginia in a brand new Fan Disk manufacturing plant, so I figured I would fill out the application and throw my resume into the pool and see what would happen.  Before proceeding I want to mention that I will be receiving no free car/discount on a car/test drive of a car, Rolls-Royce cars are produced by BMW and are a separate venture from the Rolls-Royce Jet/Ship/Nuclear that I will be interning with.

Of course I was told I would hear back after a week or two…. 6 weeks later, after thinking I had been passed over, I receive a call they want me to come in for an interview.  I guess I said something right because here I sit about to start work on Monday the 28^th.

Background on Euro Trip:

Blake and Me Summer '10

My good friend from home Blake Alexander and I had talked last summer about the possibility of doing a Euro Trip for summer 2012, when this internship came through plans started to become reality.  Right now the only things that have been 100% finalized are the starting location and date (Brussels, Belgium August 18th) and that I will end September 3rd, while he continues for another 2 weeks or so.

Right now our tentative cities are:

Brussels, Belgium
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic

Budapest, Hungary

Barcelona, Spain

Ibiza, Spain

It is quite a bit for 2 weeks so we may have to cut out a city or two... we will see. I will keep updates as they come.

                     
                                                                View EuroTrip 2012 in a larger map

Background on Study Abroad:

Coming into college with quite a few AP credits has allowed me to accelerate my studies so that I have completed my first 5 semesters in only two years. Virginia Tech stops offering required courses both semesters which has placed me with an opening for Fall of 2012 where if I stayed at tech I would have like one applicable course so last fall I decided that I would fill it with a "Life Broadening Experience".  This meant that I either wanted to find a Co-Op (Basically interning during the school year) or Study Abroad.  Since I will have already interned for two summers I chose the study abroad option but this is where the challenging decision came into play... choosing a location.  Because I would be in Europe this summer I wanted to go outside of Europe to either Australia or China... Australia's school start dates conflicted with my internship dates so China it was!  Within China Virginia Tech has exchange programs with multiple locations, but Hong Kong seemed the best because of the strong English and big city mix.

Chinese University of Hong Kong

I was put forth as the Virginia Tech exchange student with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which means that its like a 99% chance that I will be going, but the official paper work does not come through until mid June.

First Post More to Come!!