Crossing the border proved to be no problem since I'd applied for and been accepted for a visa before arriving. Thus, it only took a quick stop at the border office for a final background check before my visa was placed securely in my hands. The border officer was being ever so serious, and my dad was doing his best to break the guy's facade, and finally succeeded when we were looking at the conditions listed on my visa: "Not valid for employment in businesses related to the sex trade such as strip clubs, massage parlours or escort services." My dad's sigh of "Thank goodness!" caused the border officer to let slip quite the smile.
We spent Monday night in the town of Bruce Mines, and on Tuesday we arrived in Sudbury, where Laurentian University is located.
Though Bruce Mines is a fairly small town, my dad decided we'd spend Monday night there since he found a great little overnight place called Bruce Bay Cottages & Lighthouse. However, we arrived in town by early afternoon, so decided to do some exploring in the town before checking in.
The town's name stems from the copper mining that took place back in the mid-1800s. An individual by the name of James Cuthbertson laid an original claim to the mine in 1846, but it was acquired the following year by the Montreal Mining Company and production began in 1847. Bruce Mines became the first commercially successful copper mine in Canada. In 1865 the mine was purchased by the West Canada Mining Company, but declining profits caused it to close in 1876. Subsequent attempts to resume operations met with limited success. When we went to visit the mine, we discovered tours do not take place on Mondays, so we simply snapped some photos from the outside before heading over to visit the Bruce Mines Museum across the road. |
When we arrived in Sudbury, it was drizzling outside, but once we unpacked at the hotel and started driving to downtown the skies let loose. We could barely see the road in front of us as we drove. Once we made it to the bank to set up an account, the banker told us that that sort of weather is unusual for Sudbury, so I'm hoping I can hold her to that promise.
The two big things that happened today were both meetings: one with my new employer, and one with my new professor. The first meeting was an "interview" with the company Tutor Doctor for an English & math tutoring job, i.e., she sat me down and filled my schedule full of tutees right from the get-go. I'm looking forward to meeting all the students I'll get to help. :)
The second meeting was with Chantal Barriault, the founder of the science communication program at Laurentian. I was so excited to finally meet this person I'd only corresponded with via email, and she was an absolute pleasure to talk to. She told me I get to go to a national science communication meeting this September in Ottawa, which is the capital of Canada!! :O That road trip will be a great time for me to get to know my fellow classmates (speaking of which, me and one guy from Germany are the only two international students in this program). Additionally, Chantal got my dad and me tickets to go visit the local science center, Science North, where I will be volunteering as part of the science communication program.
Some fun things I learned today:
- Lego was invented in 1958 (and still today is the greatest downfall of parents...when they step on them in the dark at night)
- The beluga whale is Ontario's only resident whale! They are saltwater animals so you won't find them in any inland lakes, but you will find them along Ontario's northern marine coastline of Hudson Bay.
- You can actually SEE cosmic rays!! A cosmic ray is a highly energetic proton or atomic nucleus that zooms through space near the speed of light. Cosmic rays pass through Earth all the time but are so small and fast we don't notice them. However, a cloud chamber at Science North, which consists of cooled liquid alcohol in a tub that saturates the enclosed area above it with alcohol vapour, forms tiny alcohol droplets when the cosmic ray hits it. I included a video below so you can see cosmic rays too!