Hi guys this week is an exciting week as we will be volunteering at a conference, get an unexpected snowfall, bid farewell to our mentor - Paul and embark on a 5-day trip to the United States (US) since we have completed our final presentation to the team at IBM.
We started off the week by volunteering at IBM CASCON conference from 4th to 6th November. CASCON is the premier industrial and academic conference for advanced studies in computer science and software engineering sponsored by the IBM Canada Laboratory. CASCON attracts software developers, researchers, innovators, technologists and decision makers from academia, industry, and government who come together to learn about technology trends, present papers, participate in workshops, and exhibit prototypes and solutions.
There were multiple tracks ranging from AI, to Cloud Computing, Privacy & Security and even upcoming technology trends such as Quantum Computing.
On the last day of the conference we got lucky, it started snowing!
The next morning after a night of snowing, we got treated to the sight of a winter wonderland. I'll leave some pictures of the snowy sights on my usual walk to work.
On Thursday our mentor, Paul brought us to their team's lunch. It was a fusion restaurant serving Japanese and Thai Food.
After the heavy lunch, we headed back to office where we bid farewell to Paul as he was heading overseas for a business trip and it was none other than Singapore!
On Saturday morning we embarked on a 5-day trip to the US. In this post, I will be documenting our first 2 days of the trip to Boston and New York State.
We set off for the US from our place in Markham and used the Niagara Falls crossing to cross into the US. We were lucky to catch another glimpse of the Niagara Falls again after our previous visit here with our lecturers.
After a long day of travelling by coach (approx 8 hours) we finally arrived at Boston in the night. Our first stop is the world renowned university MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
Thereafter we headed to Quincy Market which was a historic market complex for dinner. I got crab roll and clam chowder for dinner before heading to the hotel to rest.
The next morning we went to walk around Harvard University.
One of the landmarks inside Harvard University is the John Harvard statue which is also nicknamed the "statue of three lies". Firstly, the statue isn't John Harvard. It was Sherman Hoar who acted as a model for the head of the John Harvard Statue. Secondly, John Harvard wasn't the founder of Harvard university but was one the major donors to the University. Finally Harvard wasn't founded in 1638 but in 1636. There is also a believe that by rubbing his shoes, it would give you good luck to do well for your academics.
Next we went on a cruise to tour the Boston Harbour.
After the cruise, we headed to a Chinese Restaurant for lunch (we were following the tour group). One of the dishes was lobster which is considered a must have in Boston.
After lunch, I managed to squeeze in some time to take some shots of the Chinatown in Boston.
Our next stop was the factory outlet in New York State, not too be confused with New York City. I didn't had anything to buy so I walked around and did window shopping. I had Shake Shack for dinner.
Finally, after a long day moving from state to state we went to the hotel to rest.
Stay tuned to next week's post on the remaining part of the US trip!