In the heart of Spain is a city that was once surrounded by walls and towers to protect its population. Today, Ciudad Real (the Royal City) is open to all who wish to learn from the city’s rich history and vibrant culture.

This summer 24 students from the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering study abroad program visited the Royal City to see what it had to offer.

After arriving in Spain May 25, the students spent a week in Toledo for an integration week, where they took morning Spanish classes and afternoon engineering classes with their civil engineering professors.

This year, civil engineering students could choose a structural engineering track led by Dr. Luciana Barroso, associate professor of structural engineering, or a water resources track with Dr. Francisco Olivera, Wiley Developmental Professor. Barroso’s course combined concrete design with a capstone experience, while Olivera’s course included instruction on Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

After the integration week, the students and professors traveled to Ciudad Real for the remaining five weeks. There they studied and took classes in the morning with their Texas A&M professors at the University of Castilla La Mancha’s main campus.

After being split up by track in the morning, the students were reunited in the afternoon for a long lunch and a mandatory study session. At night the students had free time to do what they pleased before going home to their host family or hotel.

“I went from basic Spanish to almost intermediate in my time [with my host family],” said James Savage, a student on the structures track. “It was amazing to learn the language as fast as I did, and my host family would write me sentences everyday that I had to learn and be tested at dinner. It was great.”

Each Thursday, the faculty took their students on a three-day trip to other areas of engineering significance throughout the region. Some of the scheduled trips included Segovia, Barcelona, Oporto (in Portugal) and Santiago de Compostella. While in Segovia, the students were able to visit the Roman Aqueduct, a designated ASCE historic landmark.

“[The aqueducts] were truly an amazing sight,” Savage said. “They towered about four arches high, all large stones, and ran for thousands of miles. We learned how they were structurally supported, how they may have constructed them, and what the purpose was.”

In the end, the students left Spain six credit hours closer to graduation, but more importantly they came away with a summer and experience they will never forget.

“I feel my experience makes me a better engineer,” said Coby Gee, a student in the water resources track, “by broadening my scope of what the needs of the rest of the world are and how they are going about facing these challenges.”

Some students who participated in Texas A&M Engineering’s study abroad programs blogged about their experiences. Read their entries and watch their videos at http://thinkbig.tamu.edu/blog/.

Written by Cassidy Thomas

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