After consistently being late for the 7:30am breakfast, I decided to wake up early today. Unfortunately, my resolve was weaker than my strong desire for sleep. So, waking up at 7:20am, I began a mad dash to the washroom a couple of doors down the hall. Getting dressed quickly, I began the walk to breakfast at McConnell hall. Walking across the green campus dotted with countless red-bricked buildings, I arrive at McConnell hall, ready for a hearty breakfast consisting of pancakes, sausages, potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a glass of my signature morning Pepsi.
After the filling breakfast, we arrived at the robotics lab. This was the moment of truth, following 3 days of constant building, wiring, and programming. Our robot, despite looking like a garbage can on wheels, was running smoothly and my team’s sprits are high. Lunch was a meal of wraps, cake, salad, and some canned pop. The meal as complete with entertainment in the form of scientific experimentation: including lightsaber like devices creating lighting on Tesla coils, which was, believe it or not, even cooler than it sounds.
After lunch, the robotics competition continued. Much despair and mourning followed our placement of 15th, in a competition with 15 teams. I refuse to talk about this sad memory any longer.
From there, we departed for the physics department. As always, the presenter was experienced in his field and had a brilliant sense of humor. We even had the chance to see some super conductors in action: including floating a magnet on top of one; to put it in a typical Shad nerd’s words: like Harry Potter castingWingardium Leviosa.
Free time (Shad time) was after. This time to just chill out with amazing kids from all over Canada is the time I look forward to the most, and it couldn’t have passed faster. After free time, a supper of chicken stir-fry and pasta was offered.
CT time, a time to work on our group projects, was next. In designated groups of 7-8 we worked on our solutions of the various problems of Canadian seniors.
The rest of the night was spent on getting briefed on our camping trip tomorrow, eating snacks, and quiet time.
And here I am, using my quiet time writing this blog. Just lounging on the couch, recalling today’s events, typing away. I promised myself not to have a corny ending, but Shad Valley is without a doubt the best experience I have had in my life. To meet and befriend 60 of Canada’s most brilliant students is not an everyday experience, to say the least. Although the program is mentally and physically stimulating, the highlight of Shad Valley for me is without a doubt all these incredible students who surround me: these students who understand each other, who empathize with each other, and who genuinely care for each other.
And here come the program assistants, probably to nag me to get to bed. Guess it’s time to sleep or suffer the wrath of the staff, and trust me; you do not want the latter.
Xu Han, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
