Group 7 6-7/7

We arrived at Stanford tired, jet-lagged, but nonetheless excited. We were given a warm welcome upon arrival at the dorms, and the student counsellors did their best to make us feel welcome. Lunch and a tour around the famed Stanford campus passed in a blur of awe and amazement at - honestly speaking- basically everything. The evening came upon us quickly, the director of the programme himself giving us a speech at our orientation dinner. Afterwards it was a mad dash for the showers and then blissful, blessed sleep. 

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After a night of well-deserved rest from an exhausting 14-hour flight, we finally got down to our much anticipated classes at the esteemed university of Stanford. The 10 groups of 42 students were divided into A and B respectively, with slightly different schedules. Our group, Group B, began our day with an enriching and eye-opening introduction to neuroscience. Learning about the basics of neurons - the fundamental units of the nervous system - as well as the history of their discovery and development, we were lucky to be given the chance to be exposed to this relatively new, but in no way insignificant, field of science.

In the afternoon, we settled down for a workshop of mathematical exploration. We played two games which stimulated our thinking process and tested our abilities in working out a winning strategy quickly in order to beat our opponent. For example, if two people were to take turns removing 41 stones by turns of 1, 2 or 4, how would devise the winning strategy in order to be victorious under any circumstances? The key here is to act as the first player and keep the number of stones in groups of three, leaving no room for mistakes. This fun and innovating experience has allowed our minds to be broadened in ways we never thought possible.

To unwind and appreciate the beautiful summer breeze on campus, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, relaxing by the fountain and taking many photographs holding precious memories. We also had time to browse the giant book store with various Stanford-themed items available. There was even an astoundingly wide variety of books, both fictional and nonfictional, that would put a normal bookstore to shame.

The evening drew to a satisfying close as we chose different recreational activities to do with our friends, including basketball, football, Scrabble, etc. Apart from giving us a chance to have some fun, we were also able to forge tighter, stronger bonds with each other.

- Cydney Skinner, Jocelin Kee, Joyce Woo, Cherry Suen