A Long but Fun Day

I am exhausted after a day of new experiences, new vocabulary, and getting up earlier than I have in a very long time. I met Erin, and Erica at 8:15 at Correos to head to our internship. Joaquin was also supposed to meet us but his alarm clock didn't work and so he didn't come til 8:45. We were a bit cold and irritated but I've had similar situations so I didn't hold it against him. We arrived at Intromac which is by the sports facilities on the campus and listened to a presentation about the company. The company does a lot of research with rocks and how to engineer them into useful products for roads, buildings, bridges etc. We then got a tour of the facility. It was much bigger than it looked from the outside. More importantly, the organization doesn't make much sense so it's very difficult to navigate around. I think i was lost a total of 4 times in my first day there.

I then was introduced to my mentor, Marisa, and her coworkers, Patricia and I can't remember the other one's name, but I will let you know when I do. I'm working in the Chemical Analysis lab where they do chemical testings on the different materials. Today I was shown around the lab and then worked with Patricia learning some of the procedures. My favorite thing we did today was burning one of the samples in a crucible on a bunson burner and then baking it in a 900 degrees Celsius oven. I had to wear these thick long gloves and long tongs to put the crucibles in and take them out of the oven. It was kind of scary but lots of fun.

The procedures I learned today--some not in entirety and will finish tomorrow--were residual insolubles in hydrochloric acid and sodium bicarbonate, loss of mass by calcination, determination of sulfates, and percent silt. When we were waiting for parts of the processes to finish, I wrote down all the vocabulary words I had learned in the lab and looked through a chemistry glossary to learn other chemistry terms in Spanish. It was very interesting. I was pleased with my ability to understand everybody in the lab. I definitely am improving everyday.

One of the noticible differences between labs in the US and in Spain is the attention to safety. I was never instructed about proper lab attire and lab rules, did not have to wear safety glasses, and there were bags of sand and rock scattered on the floor. I did wear gloves and a lab coat but it was interesting to not have to go through a safety seminar or packet at all. I just dove right in. It doesn't really bother me except that I wouldn't be surprised if one day I totally eat it on one of those bags and knowing me i'll probably be carrying something breakable or hot. We'll just hope for the best. I only broke one thing today and it was probably the most difficult thing to break in the lab, the plastic clamp on the water hose. I guess I pushed on it too hard. But I did well otherwise.

Overall I'm enjoying the internship very much so far. It is nice to be able to expand my vocabulary in my area of study. Hopefully by the end I will be able to sufficiently use my Spanish in the work place.