O-Wightey, Here We Are (Kiryll)

Good evening! How is everybody resting after a week of absolute mayhem?!
I sure was tired after what had been a 5 day marathon of people, smiles, people, rain, tents, South Lawns, queues and more people!

My experience didn’t have pub crawls and compressed bodies jumping in unison at central locations in the CBD. But it was great, sober fun that left me excited for March the Fourth (tomorrow!).

Hi, my name is Kiryll!

The phrase that gets the most rotation on iTunes album – “MelbUni Orientation Week”. With that mantra, I have met heaps of people! I saw people at the “Academic Writing” lecture in Old Arts – said hey, had a chat and left knowing that there is a familiar face somewhere in the midst of Parkville Campus.
I also got lost during Host Program! Not to stress. It was the first day, 10 am, gloomy sulky weather. There was I. Alone, but determined, aloof with a yellow umbrella. I was on a search to find my blue garbed Host. But I failed. I would have walked  off with tears that I would brush off as silly rain droplets. Alas, I was found by another Host, too kind to be true. With the pseudonym of J, J took me in to their group: where a few friendships were made!
Those same friends began to pop up everywhere from that day on. It was great to know that this once humongo unknown crowd of fresh students had a face I recognised!

I also tried to be less awkward around people and gave “Speed Meeting” a go! After a few bumpy exchanges, the hour turned into awesome conviviality. I read on this same FirstYearBlog that O-Week and the later weeks to come are the most welcoming times. Heaps more people are willing to go out of their way and let their guard down, to open up to strangers. What was cool, was that people felt comfortable with each other, as if they’ve known one another since Prep! My theory is that, once people have made friends, and a ‘mate-group’ forms, their willingness to be open with strangers will diminish in proportion to the growth of their mate-group’s amity. I am not a sociologist, so this can be discarded as famous pseudo-science. 🙂

Did you guys hang out mostly with your friends from high-school or with new buddies? Or both? At one of the days I had my best friend ‘favourite Venusian’ visit the free pizza and movie night organised by the Union. We tried to talk to fellow people near us in the Queue of Doom. There was a speedy and casual hour wait for tasty free pizza!! Or is anything tasty that is free? In the end, that queue helped me realise that a lot of people come to Melbourne from other states or countries and, like Victoria, live in unilodges, shared housing or even the illustrious colleges!
So I realised that MelbUni is quite a colossus in the world and Australia, while here was I looking at the Moon and missing the whole universe of this institution. People my age went to great lengths to be here in Melbourne. It is a brave commitment and I salute you guys!
For the students living by them-selves, with roommates or in colleges, how is that life compared to the one you left behind? Does it heighten the uni experience: Freedom=Uni*Independence^2? The more independence one has (like one’s own place!), the greater the freedom?

A quick word on clubs

Like Simone, I also joined six clubs. I joined Rats, Can’t Say, La Di Da, Rooftop, The Social Bar, The Bar.
No, no. I did no such thing.
Like Simone, I joined six clubs slash societies and look forward to the meetings and gatherings! By the way, I found out anybody can look up all the clubs and societies that exist on the UMSU page and check out their respective facebook pages to see if one’s timetable meets a club’s scheduled weekly meeting or BBQ or just to see whether a club/society is what one is looking for.
You guys thought of creating and chairing your OWN club?! You can totally do it! You can make an official Pub Crawl Club, or a Fight Club Club, or a Tram Appreciation Society, or something that you are interested in and have not found in the UMSU societies’ list!

P.S. I have purchased one textbook and a few subject readers so far. I think tomorrow I will opt for online options since the Oracle tells me there will be a human wall barricading me from entering the Co-Op bookstore!

Have an awesome nervous and jittery but great first day!
If you even have scheduled classes on tomorrow. If not, I salute you.