My experience in El Paso has been pretty great so far and UTEP has a beautiful campus, whose sand colored buildings along with the dry, hot sun never let you forget that you’re in the desert. I met Dr. Walker’s research group as well as my mentor for the summer, Seye, Monday morning and immediately began my training on different types of water analyses. Seye had some water samples from the desalination plant that he had to test, so we used that as an opportunity train me. Throughout the week, I learned how to measure alkalinity and total dissolved solids, test for silica, and use the Ion Chromatography machine. I’m happy to report that everyone is very friendly here.
On Thursday, I got to help disassemble a solar powered water desalination system located at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson desalination plant, which is the world’s largest inland desalination facility producing 27.5 million gallons per day. We arrived at the desalination plant around 7:30am to beat the sun, but it was tough work and the disassembly took longer than expected. I appreciated the experience because it gave me an opportunity to see the world’s largest inland desalination facility in action as well as see the setup of a solar powered desalination system that will be used to produce water suitable for human consumption or irrigation in Honduras this summer. By the way, I cannot carry a cinder block by myself and the El Paso heat should not be underestimated.
This weekend I made it downtown and stumbled upon a free music show with a band called Sangre Gitana. It was an enjoyable experience and I felt fully immersed in El Paso’s culture for the first time as I watched people dance and enjoy themselves with their family and friends on a typical Friday night. I also stumbled across San Jacinto Plaza, which seemed to be located at the heart of downtown El Paso. There was a fountain at the center of this plaza with a statue depicting several alligators climbing one another. A man passing by informed me that the fountain used to be a pond that held real alligators, which I found hard to believe of course, but turns out he wasn’t kidding! Apparently, the pond was permanently removed after 1974 for the alligators’ safety and today, the sculpture honors the original alligators that were once a staple of El Paso culture.
