Lisette F. Alor Pavon July 11-12, 2011

Monday, July 11, 2011
The day began with a rather intriguing lecture on the differing viewpoints on global climate change, as well as a general discussion on the theories themselves and the effects these changes could have environmentally and economically speaking. Following this, we began our course on Czech Literature with an overview of different crucial authors and poets. Our third lecture was a discussion of the development and regulation of organic farming in the Czech Republic, which was followed by lunch.
After lunch, we embarked on a journey to the center of Prague, beginning at the National Theater, and we toured some areas by the Old Town Square as we learned about the agricultural styles present in many buildings there, from Gothic to Baroque to modern.
























Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Today consisted of an off-site excursion, which began with a stop at a Baroque chateau and continued with a trip to the Veprek photovoltaic power plant, which we toured as we learned about its production capabilities (35 Megawatts) and its history.
Following our tour of the solar power plant, we arrived at the Zhile farm, where we spent some time learning about its history since the Communist times. After lunch, we had a chance to meet with a family farm and chateau owner, who discussed the history of his farm, particularly after communism, and allowed us to walk through his (quite run-down) chateau, which he is currently trying to sell.
We continued our tour with a visit to the hog “production” facility (although I hesitate to call anything involving living animals a “production,” as I feel this leads to objectification, but this is what they were calling it on-site), where different varieties of pigs were presented to us, including boars, pregnant sows, and piglets.
Next on our schedule was a tour of the dairy production facility, where we had a chance to observe the dairy cows in confinement, including a couple which were being milked.
Finally, we ended the tour with a return to a small meeting room, where refreshments were served as we had an opportunity for a final question-and-answer session.