This past April, my travels took me to back to China where I visited my family. Once I got off the plane in Wuhan, I realized that I felt out of place. I am Chinese by birth but all my time away from China has changed my views and ideals. The above thought made me think back to when I first moved to Canada more than 12 years ago and how I thought about Canadian culture exactly the same way. However, I learned to open my mind and reaccept the way of life there and the following weeks turned out to be quite exciting. My second stop was in Xinxiang. The city radiated an ambience of expansion and modernization, not at all the small town I remembered it to be. Next, my travels took me to Guilin and its scenic mountains and rivers. I spent the finals few days back in Wuhan. It was great seeing my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins again, but sadly my trip had to end and it ended all too soon. The next thing I knew, I was starting spring classes back in the University of Calgary.

After spring semester, I went back to Newfoundland and had the chance to study under Dr. James Yang and his graduate students on the topic of Dynamic Analysis of a Drill-string under Deterministic and Random Excitations. I had the opportunity to obtain valuable insight of the random vibrations area from experts in this particular field. Under their guidance, I researched and reviewed papers of drill-string under deterministic and stochastic excitations. Furthermore, I understood the importance of scientific research in exhibiting efficiency in the engineering industry. Overall, I am happy to have spent this summer with family and friends, especially with my sister Megan, and I am ready to tackle my next year in engineering!