Airbus Tour
Wednesday June 6, 2007

         I woke up early today and went down to the computer labs today with Maria and Gabby to work on our ME379 presentation. Here is how backwards France is in terms of the internet and computers. There are three computer labs on INSA which is an Engineering facility. We went into one of the laboratories today and started to sit down when someone started yelling at us in French. Apparently there was a class going on there at the time and we weren't allowed to do anything in there even though there were empty seats. So we left there and headed off to another computer lab which you need a key from a secretary to get into. We go to the secretaries office and after some confusing realize that she isn't there on Wednesdays.....*sigh* So we go to the third lab and finally sit down. Unfortunately every thing in France is about 6 or 7 years behind America when it comes to the internet so everything on the web is just completely firewalled like nothing else. I can't reach the site where I would be uploading all these logs because it's blocking me. It is so frustrating. The internet and the computers are also both so slow. It's infuriating.
         I will not be giving any picture as promised because apparently you are not able to bring cameras into the tour of the Airbus facility. I was really disappointed. Oh well. The tour was pretty cool although they talked about the A380 like they invented the lightbulb or something. I mean, it's a cool plane and very impressive to stare at but I really think they're making way to big a deal out of it. It holds 555 passengers and has a 261 feet wing span so it's really cool to look at but they seriously were building it up way to much. We go to see the assembly line where they make the plane and the field where they do all they're testing. Apparently it's parts are manufactured in four different countries and then the final product is put together here in Toulouse. You may remember stores in America about two years ago where it's first flight took place which was here in Toulouse.
         We came back to the dorms and worked on our presentations some more, finished that, and now I'm just bored in my room. One of the girls' twenty first birthday is today so I think some of us are going to go out and celebrate.