Friday was a very exciting day here at UAB. Anna Petit defended her dissertation on sustainable waste management infrastructure, and now she is officially una doctora! She expertly presented her research and handled every question like a pro, so it is safe to say that everyone at UAB was very proud and excited for her. After her defense, the judges deliberated for a few minutes (although not long because it was clear that she deserved it), and then they announced their decision and everyone headed upstairs for drinks and tapas! It was definitely a fiesta siesta kind of day.
The custom of sharing drinks and tapas is something that seems to exemplify Spanish culture and certainly illustrates our experience here so far. People generally do not eat dinner until late, around nine or ten, and then the meals consist mainly of small plates called tapas along with a beer or a glass of sangria. The five of us have already spent many a night meandering through narrow cobble-stone streets, searching for a good spot to share some pan con tomate, patatas bravas, or a Spanish tortilla. We might sit awhile and have a drink before wandering down the road to find another little place, and after the party on Friday, we spent the evening walking around Barcelona doing just that.
Fun fact of the day: Pablo Picasso spent his formative years in Barcelona, as a young artist apprentice. The Picasso museum in the gothic Palau Aguilar contains 4,251 of his works from these years. It was amazing for us to walk through the museum and see firsthand just how skilled he was even at such a young age!
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