As you'll notice from the number of empty booths in the picture, there aren't as many "keen" students as the ones from Canada .. Jake being the only project in his row who was completely set up. So as the Intel Media Relations department was wandering around looking for people to interview, he was one of those selected. I know for sure Mathieu was also interviewed, not sure about any of the other Canadians. It really took almost the whole day to set up. We would get students started, then move along to the next group. But then one would want to re-do their binder and one had forgotten something, etc, etc. A couple needed to go out and purchase things .. batteries, leads, binders, stands, so we did the usual "divide and conquer" with chaperones and kids and got it all handled. In between, we had a few safety violations to deal with as well. Because we'd had such a huge breakfast, it was past 1 when we realized we hadn't really eaten lunch. So Liane, Spencer and Caitlin grabbed the kids for the luxurious McDonalds lunch, then headed back to the convention centre.
Because of the SRC issue taking up a good part of the day, we hadn't focused on getting our "Shout Out" poster done. Shout Out is one of the highlights of the opening ceremony, where representatives from each country make a poster. At one point in time, each country is announced, and a couple of representatives run on stage with the poster that they have made. It's a loud, colourful and energetic display! So, as is our tradition, we select a student from each of YSC, Montreal and BASEF to go make the poster together. So Claire, Tavian, Jen and Jake came with me to record a 25 second video and make the poster, while the rest of the group went to the Pin Exchange.
Pin exchange is another IISEF tradition. Students bring pins (and other items like pencils, flags, bracelets, etc) representing their city, region, country, and then trade with other students. It's really a brilliant way to get the kids to all meet each other. Jake had also been looking forward to pin trading, so, since our poster was taking a little more time, we let him head over to the pin exchange part way through. Below are Tavian, Jen and Claire with our completed poster.
Jake, despite his arrival half way through the process, came home with the greatest colleciton of pins and other stuff, including the only Russian flag that had been available for trade! After pin exchange, we all head back to the hotel. Some of the kids didn't eat much at pin exchange, so we decide to have a "hotel party" and order 8 pizzas, pop and chips. We wound up with most of the gang back in Stef and Spencer's room eating pizza, and either hanging out, or working on projects, binders or speeches. Eventually, we realize the 11 pm curfew has passed .. and send them all to bed!
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