Welcome to Catherine and Manjot’s LIYSF 2023 blog series! Hello all! I’m going to give you the recap of Manjot and I’s journey to London as well as day 1 of LIYSF! Manjot and I began our journey on Tuesday at 9am in BC. We arrived to the airport and got on our first flight from Vancouver to Montreal where we then got on another flight straight away to London! Once we landed in London we collected our bags, met up with a fellow Canadian Jessica from Memorial University in Newfoundland, and took the tube along with a short walk to check in at our halls of residence (Beitside halls).
All in all, by the time we had arrived at Beit halls Manjot and I had been travelling for 19 hours (without sleep!) so we were exhausted. However, it was only about noon in London so we decided to go out and get an English breakfast to make the most of the day!
Once we finished eating we went back to Beit dorms and checked in, Manjot and I were lucky enough to be dorm mates! I also was told that I had been selected to represent Canada the next morning as the flag bearer during the opening ceremony.
The next morning after breakfast I checked in and practiced waving the flag for the ceremony (yes I required practice). The ceremony began with the introduction of the countries attending (a whole 84 countries!) and Manjot captured the moment for me on camera!
We then were lucky enough to have chemistry Nobel Prize winner Dr. Ben Feringa give us a lecture on nanoparticles. The lecture was so interesting as I had never heard of this technology before. As a flag bearer I was invited to a drink ceremony with the VIP guests afterwards where I got to chat with Dr. Feringa and even get a photo!
After lunch we had a lecture with Dr. Dame Sue Black on the forensics behind hands! This really made me consider the role of forensics in the court room.
After the lecture we went back to the dorms and while I was in the laundry room the fire alarm went off! In my panic to exit the building I took my laundry basket with me!! Please enjoy Jessica posing with my basket.
After the chaotic couple of days with a total of 29 hours awake it’s safe to say Manjot and I had a deep sleep that night before waking up and starting more adventures the next day!
Stay tuned for Manjot’s blog tomorrow about our day 2!!
Catherine <3