Hi there!
First of all I wanted to clarify that in the previous post I was astonished by a wooden retaining wall I saw in a construction site thinking that it didn’t make any sense but it turns out to be way better for the earthquakes because of it’s flexibility. It’s so interesting to learn a about the sheer walls here which are reinforced concrete walls that go from the ground floor (they call it first floor here) o the top. Usually there are four sheer walls in a multifamily/office building: one per facade. These walls hold the whole wooden structure in the event of an earthquake.
Today though I’d like to speak about an office trip we did yesterday to Santa Catalina Island!
It was so much fun! We did pool car from the office and took a ferry at San Pedro bonded to Avalon. We saw lots of dolphins and a submarine going around! When we arrived we sorted ourselves into groups
and went for lunch in different restaurants. I chose sea food, and it was so good. It was a restaurant over the sea with the foundation emerging from the water around 9 feet above the sea level. It makes the place so fresh!
We did kayaking and snorkel, and then some coconut drinks in the beach. On the way back we saw the sunset back in the ferry. It goes, so fast! The sunset was impressive. Certainly the colours are different than in Europe, maybe more intense.
Last but not least, I wanted to report I saw my first snake while going for a run and it was not that bad. I feel a lot of respect for them and I was frightened about encountering one. People in the office told me that is not that dramatic, and it’s true. They don’t really want to bite us, when that happens (very odd) it’s because someone was walking out of the path without high boots which is not a clever combination. Knowing this we are okay! They can even be beautiful.
I’d like to post at some point about my work in the office because it’s so interesting, but my project is at a very early stage at the moment so I prefer to leave it take a bit of shape first!
Meanwhile let’s keep in touch! Have fun 😊
