Day 2 In Montreal - The Training Begins

Yesterday our training began. Since it started at 2pm we decided to down to Old Montreal and have some breakfast. It was spectacular, and the buildings were so historic and weather beaten. You could see the history and culture of the city all in one little strip of road. We found this little restaurant that served crepes, fondue and local Montreal favorites. It was delicious. I had a crepe that was stuffed with avocado and bacon with a béchamel sauce that was put in the oven. YUMMMYY!!! After our breakfast we stopped by a local museum showcasing modern art which Minna and I were interested in. Next we passed by the Notre Dame Basilica which was again, beautiful and enriched with the history of Montreal. The inside was so intricate, all the beautiful blue that surrounded the church. The stained glass windows and the many candles around that lit up the church. It was HUGE!!! When you looked up you could see the stained glass that was above and the light which shinned threw. As we got back to the hotel we were rampaged with a light blizzard, there where thick flaks of snow that where really wet and just took a taxi the rest of the way back. After freshening up in our suite we went down and met our mentor and the rest of the trainees from BC. Later we all got together with the rest of the trainees at the room for the conference. Everyone had some connection to global warming and we got some useful networking done for when we get back home. When the training started Dr. David Suzuki gave a talk to us that I thought was very enlightening and inspirational. Then Al Gore came into the room and nothing but cameras turning on and taking a snap of Mr. Gore. Sad that our seat was too far so the pictures that I took were sort of blurry. We had a great Lunch buffet, and when around talking to people about how we got here and what we did back home. It was nice to see everyone’s point of view and what they had to say about global warming. Latter after that we head to the Place – des – Arts for a the live presentation by Mr. Al Gore himself. What an experience that day, I was so exhausted. But I couldn’t wait for the next day.

Day 1 - Arriving to Montréal

We have a rived!!! We are now in Montreal… yay!!! We arrived at 5 pm and dropped off our bags at the hotel. After we ate at a restaurant called Au Pied De Cochon which means “Feet of a Pig” or “Pig Feet”. It was soo sooo sooo gooooood. It was my first time eating Fois Gras it was soo yummy. I was so happy to go to this restaurant because I have heard of it before and was amazed on how rustic and down to earht the restaurant was like. His philosophy should be shared with all chefs around the world. I cant wait for tomorrow.

Going to Montreal

So excited!!! Minna and I were invited to go to a training session in MONTREAL!!! By Al Gore of all people, about his presentation An Inconvenient Truth. Just 2 more weeks to go!!! We leave on the 3rd and come back on the 7th of April. I just found out the on the 5th well be watching a comedy show that will raise money for a Global Warming fund.

Interactive Innovations

A few students in my class including myself, were invited to conference about Innovations in BC. It was an after school event that when till 8 pm. In the beginning schools got to showcase their innovations and we presented our PowerPoint. It was nice to see what other schools were doing, but it didn’t relate at all with what we were doing, except for the Bing presentation.
I was followed by a presentation from a man (which whom I forgot the name of) , he started young with technology and put up a website at the age of… I think was 10? He talks about how he sold his website and made a new one that would network teens from across the world. It was very inspirational showing how youth can influence so much.
Dinner with and orange theme. Yummy….
There was another presentation by an Olympic winner. She talked about her life and about her struggle. She also talked about bringing playing back into families and communities. Her idea was that not enough people played outside anymore and that there should be open gym for families. I thought it was completely irrelevant to what we were here for and I don’t think this applies to us. I think this was mostly targeted to parents and teachers, but the idea did make sense.

Summit Planning

Lately our class has been involved in planning for a summit on April 28 about sustainability with representatives of city hall. Our school is taking of lots of work focusing on the budget of the event, the gift bags and the catering (which I am in charge of). We want to inform the Vancouver School Board about global warming and how they can help school conserve more energy, water and how to use less.

Meeting sponsours...

Today in class Diana brought in representatives from VanCity and the Real Estate Foundation who sponsored this program. There names were Calina from the Real Estate Foundation and Michelle from Vancity. We took pictures with the sponsors with the checks from there organization. After that each group were called up to take a picture with them again, we had to use a prop to show what our group was working on… we picked the fountain. The representatives were really nice and in the end in said “thank you”… I hope they got what I meant.

Global Presentation

I’ve seen this presentation before on TV. The first time I saw it, it changed my mind set on global warming and how we can help the world. I knew little about global warming before the presentation, but his just showed me a more worldly perspective. It shocked me on how much global warming affected the earth in such a drastic way. The presentation showed the effects of global warming, like the glaciers that are melting at an alarming speed and the hurricanes that are attacking many costal cities. After the presentation a few of us (from Ms. Kam’s class) stayed to talk to the lady who did the presentation. We talked about what we’re doing in our school and how were the only school that has a solar panel, we also talked about how we could shop locally. There is a conference soon (I don’t think she specified when) on food, and for school’s to shop locally. I can’t wait to get back from her about the conference; I think it would be a really good experience.