With our bus for the airport leaving at midnight, the night time flight didn’t feel real. It was hard to believe our two week adventures were finally over. On the bus ride we listened to music before we all went our separate ways. After our flight out of Cyprus in Larnaca to Frankfurt, checking in…
Tag: Nicholas Starace
A Bittersweet Last Day
The last day in Cyrpus, it was hard to believe. For our last company visit we toured the Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) training center, a company that specializes in the training required for individuals in the shipping industry. Different from all our other company visits, BSM had no presentation planned but rather the entire two…
Hard Hats and Harder Decisions
On our last full day of activities, we visited Vassiliko Cement Works and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The first hour of the visit to the cement plant was a presentation that was disappointing and disengaging. While Vassiliko detailed the process of creating cement starting from the extraction of the limestone, it was overall a presentation…
A Multiverse of Medicine
For Tuesday, we had another day packed with company visits. Today, the first company we visited was Medochemie, a global pharmaceutical distributor. What struck me most about Medochemie was its commitment to quality control. In the presentation, the speakers were very passionate and detailed when it came to quality control. The presenters also went into…
Centralized or Decentralized? The Impossible Question
At the start of the school week, we returned to the University of Nicosia for some lectures on blockchain, data science, and forecasting along with pharmaceutical demonstrations. I was most excited about this day because UNIC is one of the leading schools for blockchain technology. We were lucky enough to hear from Mr. Antonis Polemitis,…
An Elaborate Deathbed
Yet another day packed with cultural visits, today we visited the city of Paphos, known to be the birthplace of the Roman goddess Aphrodite. Our first stop and sneak peek at the city was a walk on the beach around what is known to be the birthplace of the goddess, Aphrodite’s rock. Legend says anyone…
Central Heating for Ancient Times
Our first and last whole weekend in Cyprus was filled with purely cultural visits. To start the day, we met back up with our favorite tour guide we had been seeing all week. Going a little outside of Limassol, we visited a castle, used by the Crusaders and built during the 13th century. From the…
Eurogate: Scandal or Supplier?
For our third day of company visits, we remained in Limassol to visit some companies that are part of the shipping industry here in Cyprus. Due to the location of Cyprus being between Asia, Europe, and Africa and its geography being an island, one of the biggest shipping industries in the world is located in…
A Day of Wargaming, Emission Tracking, and Spaghetti Tower Building
Our second company visit was to Wargaming, a video game company that is known for a variety of authentic war-based tank, plane, and ship multiplayer games. Located in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, the Wargaming headquarters staggers over the city and is a beautiful building for the city to look at. When we were first…
Sustainable Measures for a Harmful Industry
Our first professional visit of the trip was today with the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI). Soon after our usual and extensive breakfast across the street from our hotel, we traveled back to Larnaca, the same city we flew into Cyprus to meet with CMMI. CMMI is a government-funded research and innovation group focused…
North of the Green Line
With Cyprus divided into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Southern half of the country occupied by people of Greek descent, we have spent all of our time on the Greek side of the country. However, today we had the chance to visit the side of the country occupied by people of Turkish…
Byzantine, Ottoman, Roman, Frank… Endless Rule for an Endless Culture
Today we had the chance to travel to Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, and learn more about Cyprus, its culture, and its language at the University of Nicosia (UNIC). Our morning consisted of a fresh Cyrprian breakfast, including Halloumi (a Cyprian cheese made from goat and sheep milk), various meats, and bread. Once we arrived…
Uniform yet Diverse
After a long few days of traveling, we finally flew into Larnaca. The ocean was clean and clear enough that we could see the ocean floor from the airplane window. With such a large shipping industry centered around Cyprus, it was surprising to see such clean water and minimal pollutants. After we got off the…
A Window of Opportunity
It was hard to believe that our trip to Cyprus was finally starting. After an early morning to catch our bus at 12:00, we arrived at the Pittsburgh airport to take our first connecting flight to Dullus, VA. Leading up to our departure, some of us made a last-minute run to Target to pick up…
The Beginning of a Cyprian Story!
Hello everyone! My name is Nicky Starace and I am finishing up my first year in the Swanson School of Engineering. I plan to major in engineering science with an emphasis on nanotechnology due to my interests in photonics, lasers, and anything pertaining to light. Outside of school, I love the outdoors and spend a…