Waking up to the call of a lone bird in the courtyard of your residence has a certain poetry and poignancy. Calm and serenity are two descriptions that come to mind. However, I have yet to experience a day that was peaceful and slack at Shad Laval. Within minutes of opening my eyes, the alarm clock went off. As I slammed my hand down on the shrieking little box, I knew that I was in for the twelfth day at Shad. A guaranteed whirlwind of activity, competition, laughter and hard work. Having whipped on my clothing for the day, I trotted off to breakfast, arriving just in time to snag the last few pieces of fruit in the cafeteria salad bar.
La première activité de la journée à été de travailler avec nos équipes distinctes sur nos projets. Pendant ce temps, Nic, un membre du personnel Shad, a fait une présentation sur la conception. Tous les groupes ont décidé de scinder, certaines personnes participant à la présentation, tandis que d'autres ont travaillé directement sur leurs projets spécifiques. Mon équipe a travaillé tout au long de cette période, et c'était comme exactement une heure et demie, quand il était temps pour l'activité physique.
As with every event so far at Shad, we were presented with a surprise.
We arrived at the field, and were informed that we were dividing into sides, and challenging each other with relays of our own making.
Within no time, we were all sweating: it was 32 degrees Celsius, with 70% humidity! Nonetheless, energy was still fairly high. Everyone was in good spirits as we trouped off the the residence to clean up for lunch.
Après le dinner, nous nous sommes divisés en groupes. L'itinéraire tout-puissant a déclaré qu'il était temps d'aller à des séminaires. Il y avait beaucoup de sujets différents à choisir: les robotiques, la santé, la kinésiologie, la programmation et l'avenir de l'homme. Je suis allé à la robotique séminaire. J'ai pu voir et de contrôler un robot prototype, destiné à l'espace. Enfin, mon groupe a utilisé un programme informatique utilisé pour la rédaction des instructions aux robots.
Next on the list was a presentation about the Laval supercomputer. It is the second biggest computer in Canada (the largest being in Toronto). It was interesting to note that the computer was built inside an old particle accelerator from the 60s. The computer itself was amazing. We had the opportunity to tour the inside of the computer, starting from the basement level, 25 feet beneath the surface of the earth. We went to each of the three other stories of the computer, all of which were jammed with motherboards, wires, and cooling systems. There were circular spaces in the center of each level, and walkways around the outside.
Le souper fut délicieux, et ensuite je suis allé au magasin pour acheter des billets de bus pour notre excursion de demain. Nous allons aller au Vieux-Québec! J'ai eu du temps libre, que j'ai passé à travailler sur un spectacle instrumentale avec des autres Shads. La pièce est pour le «Coffee House», une célébration décontractée de talent Shad.
To top off my day, I received a package in the mail from my beloved family. Upon opening the box, I was presented with a dazzling array of snocks and sweets. Enclosed was a letter from my family, telling me of their activities, and enquiring of mine. With the prospect of sharing my new goodies with my fellow Shads, a fantastic day has had a delicious close.
Eila Collings, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
