The content of this post is an adaptation of an original text written by Guy Laliberté.

I spent the morning of June 23 reading and learning all about docking systems; it was great, I felt like a little kid in a candy store!

This part of the course explained the docking of the Soyuz at the International Space Station (ISS). Everything is done automatically and I won’t have to lift a finger, but I attended for my own personal understanding. The backup system is manual and will be handled by Maxim and Jeffrey.

Then it was time for my class on the life support system, which is one of the most important things I have to learn. We studied the oxygenation system, then how to take care of personal hygiene requirements in space, how to use the space suit, etc.

It was pretty riveting, important stuff, and the teaching manual for this part has the most pages. It’s far from being relaxing bedtime reading, but I’m covering a lot of fascinating material.

At the end of my study day, I had a Skype meeting with Claude Péloquin and Fernand Rainville. Fernand is the co-director of the poetic event for my Social Mission in space. He’s a good guy who worked on our Wintuk show in New York. He also co-directed Saka, my friend Gilles Ste-Croix’s equestrian show. Furthermore, he directed AQUA, a sensory experience created by the ONE DROP Foundation to raise public awareness regarding water-related issues and inspire people to commit to the cause. He is therefore a well-integrated member of the Cirque du Soleil creative family and of the Foundation. It was an excellent brainstorming session, and we set up another meeting for next week.

The next morning (June 24), I woke up feeling a little nostalgic. It was Saint-Jean Baptiste Day, the national holiday of Quebecers, and here I was in Russia. I would have liked to be in Quebec, especially since I read in the media that it was pretty fun.

My day was mainly spent finalizing the meals I would be taking in space, based on tastings that were done before I left for Montreal.