During our first day here in Bilbao, Spain, we started off by visiting the Bilbao School of Engineering. There we were met by Professor Saioa, an industrial engineer, who teaches engineering classes at the university. Professor Saioa was really kind and engaging during her lecture. She started off by giving us a local delicacy of the Basque region, Basque rice cakes. She then told us a little bit of the history of the University of the Basque Country and how it differs from schools in the United States. One difference is that most students don’t dorm on campus but instead tend to commute by bus, train, and other modes of transport. Additionally, Saioa told us a little bit about the research she was doing at the University. Her research involved creating a medical device to help assess the movement and coordination of people recovering from stroke in order to help them move normally again. One thing I found interesting was when she talked about the different stages of development for her device, from the first early testing stages to finally clinical trials which allowed her to get private funding for the device.

After visiting the Bilbao School of Engineering and having lunch, we headed out for our walking tour of the city. We started off by visiting the football stadium of Athletic Bilbao, which they interestingly called “The Cathedral.” After this, we headed down to the river that runs through the city. Here we learned a little bit about the past of Bilbao and how it used to be a big shipping port for the exchange of different goods. However, we also learned about the great flood that used to devastate the city and the pollution that came from the industrial period. This was really fascinating considering its contrast to the clean and modern city that Bilbao is today. From there, we headed over to Old Town, also called Casco Viejo, which holds the oldest seven streets of Bilbao. It was here that we got to try one of the staple foods of Bilbao, pintxos! Pintxos are these small, bite sized snacks that are served with bread and a skewer. There are so many different types and each bar that you go to serves uses different ingredients. The pinxto that I tried had olives and anchovies on a skewer served with a side of bread. Pinxto’s are by far the favorite food I have had in Bilbao so far, very delicious! In the end, this day was really rewarding not only intellectually but also for my stomach. Hope to see what tomorrow brings!