The obligatory introduction. Well, foolishly, I waited until after my fellow first years had posted and I'm now convinced that I need to write a small essay in order to measure up to the standard that has been set. Well, maybe a long essay. In two separate posts. Nevertheless, I will attempt to make a worthwhile contribution.
So, O-week. Contrary to just about everyone I have spoken to, I didn't seem to get the same thrill from meeting hundreds (thousands) of new people. That's not to say I didn't have fun, but it wasn't the most amazing experience of my life. Sure I joined some clubs (mostly those promising free goodies) and I will concede that I think my expectations of those clubs are going to be exceeded in the first weeks. Nevertheless, the whole week reminded me of a giant circus where nobody had a clue what they were doing but were damned well going to have fun anyway. And it was fun. Just not as amazing as a lot of people thought it was. Still, besides O-week, there were plenty of other university related things that have occupied my thoughts over the last week and a half.
Firstly, the timetable system. I don't mind Alloc8. It's quite a nice system, given that it assigns me a timetable without any input. What I do mind is the amount of "overfull" classes that result from the university enrolling far too many students in the Bachelor of Biomedicine and not having the foresight to realise that the theatres originally rostered were certainly not going to be sufficient. So, they changed them. Several times. They're still "subject to change" on the system, so I'm hoping when I turn up to my newly scheduled 8am lecture tomorrow it hasn't moved again! Also, maybe some official "tute-swap" system would be beneficial so I don't get 20 emails a day begging to swap lectures
But I'm happy (more so than I was) now. Uni is about to start. Things appear to be good.
Since I wrote this over the weekend, I've actually experienced my first day of classes. Everything from this point onwards has been written on Monday the 2nd, whereas the previous paragraphs were written on Friday-Saturday-Sunday. The theory that "first years don't have 8am lectures" was (as already outlined) destroyed and I arrived to my morning Chemistry lecture to watch Architecture students get kicked out for not having read their timetables. Heheheh. 9 hours later (and after some delicious cookies in a meet-and-greet tute.) I made some very important discoveries.
- Don't choose clothes for the day based on the temperature at 6am when you wake up. Sweating my way through the day in heavy jeans and a hoodie wasn't such a great idea. It got even worse during my practical class when I wore a lab coat over the top.
- Make friends in your lectures. I'm going to lie and make up some numbers to prove that, statistically, you won't attend every lecture. You know you won't. I met a fellow blogger in my Creative Writing lecture and I plan to mooch off her when I can't attend.
- Make an effort to be amused by your lecturers. One of mine reminds me of Woody Allen (big plus, despite the entire adopted daughter-wife thing) and another is just plain funny.
- Try to bring food from home. Not only are you going to save a small fortune, but you don't need to wait in massive lines to buy it.
- Get a decent bag. My normal side-slung bag was defeated by the massive weight I attempt to cram into this morning, leaving me to dump everything into a backpack and run for the bus.
- There are some sweet vouchers in the Uni. diary. Get some spare copies so you can get multiple special offers and discounts.
- South Lawn is good for sleeping.
Well, that's all on my Uni. observations and I realise I haven't actually introduced myself at all. Well, I'm doing the Bachelor of BioMedicine and I'm lucky enough to live relatively close to the university (at home, with parents). That means that not only can I get to uni easily, but I have a support network that I can use for a constant stream of snacks/household chores/washing/laundry/etc. Also, I'm going to the Coldplay concert tomorrow night so I'm kinda stoked about that. I'm also ridiculously pretentious (I chose my name based on Bronte's sole novel), so it's probably a good thing I'm not readily identifiable from this blog.
Heath
So here I am again, updating faithfully to the 1st year blog.
Hoo-rah, Hoo-rah. <- Indication of sleepyness and not sarcasm. If it was sarcasm it'd be a pretty bleak thing to uphold, this is more along the lines if the British had all snuggled up with a hot chocolate and blanket at the Battle of Waterloo to simply find out that they'd won. Why would they celebrate with enthusiasm they're comfortable with their blankets. Let them sleep.
Ahem.... moving on from being critical of writing. The reason I am sleepy is because of my method (and perhaps *Snigger* MADNESS) of the day.
First of all my sister (older) decided she would ride with me this morning. I had no idea, and was frankly not keen (preparations were not undertaken on my sisters bike) and so 30 minutes into the ride my sister (behind me) finds out that her brakes are not connected.....Great. But who's fault is it? Mine, I should of known (as I've been riding for soooo much longer than her) that they were broken, and to tell her to use the 1st gear when going up steep hills and etc.
Lovely morning I had, especially with a lecture pressing. So being the young brother that I am, I said "Take a train, I need to make it to Uni on time," and rode off. Not sure if that was the right choice........ suggestions anyone?
So the moral of this story, well the reason I wrote it up is to explain that Bike riding is cheaper than Public transport (And much quicker as evidenced by me getting to University with only a 5 mins to walk into the lecture theatre). So if you can do it, go for it! It's exercise and it promotes good problem solving skills.
Such as:
Car 1 is heading towards the intersection at 40 km/h I can cross the intersection at 5km/h from a standstill but if going at 7 or 8 I can miss car 347 that is heading towards the intersection at 50 km/h. There is a stop sign. What do you do....
Ok probably not the funniest thing in the world but it more or less makes you a bit more responsible and aware of conditions on the road and your own limitations. That being said public transport is also awesome, if a little slower and more expensive.
Ok so that's why I'm sleepy and that's one of the ceremonies I'll preach to you today, besides bike riding O week-esque introductions are not over yet!
In lectures you will most likely be having to sit next to someone you don't know. Jeeze, what a social dilemma, what to do? Introduce yourself like the gentleman or Dame/Lady (whatever you prefer really) that you are, of course! Then things will go down smoothly and you'll at least keep meeting new faces (or in my unlikely case someone you haven't seen for 9 years). In any case everybody should have the moral imperative if not the will to be friendly and not gossip mongre around you. <Still going on make new friends jihad.
Huff puff, heef, (insert some other onomatopoeia expressing exertion). What else? Oh feelings. My feelings for university have been up and down based on either enthusiasm or the expiration of said feeling and concurrent adrenaline. Today was something of a nervous anticipation (of the oh no university I hope everything will be ok and the lecturer will like my choice of clothing and haircut) to the ego soothing (based purely on the niceness of the lecturers, the ability to ask questions and also meeting with peers).
Following on with the word peers, I have to say everyone I've talked to 1st year wise are awesome and that's not a lame attempt at flattery. People at university will not (often) rip your head off for presumptions or being friendly but like you (hopefully) try to reach a constructive understanding/goal through general communication. Don't be scared of them, they're your awesome uni buddies, they'll help you out. I hope, my optimism might run low come next week and/or tutorial doing.
My thought for this week:
Week 1 is more of a O week epilogue heading into the sequel of 1st Semester, there is really no need for nervousness because like Bantha herders (yes a Star Wars reference) the university will give you a lead into what you want.
This seems like enough words for my second post and I for the life of me can't think of anything to say. I hope everyone is enjoying uni still and that it's not too taxing for anyone.
Tell me if I'm wrong about peers!
Thanks
Yoddeuss
- I’m bored.
- I have no work… yet.
Ok… where were we? Oh right.
Day 6 (Wednesday)
Slept through quite a bit today and decided to go into town to get some things I sorely needed such as a handivac and iron and did a load of washing before heading up to the Uni.
Why a handivac I hear you ask, gentle reader?
Well, I shall impart to ye a grand secret imparted to me by my grandma… (yes I can hear you ‘Oooooooh’ing in anticipation) if the floor is clean, it makes everything else LOOK clean, even if it isn’t. Neat trick, eh?
I actually had an early night owing to the fact that I knew tomorrow would be the worst day of them all…
Day 7 (Thursday)
Two words that can bring a grown man (or woman) to his/her knees, OR fill them with ecstasy:
PUB. CRAWL.*
*Now firstly I feel I should put this out there to begin with. I am affiliated with a lot of the University’s er… ‘Fine Beverage Appreciators’ (henceforth known as the FBA) and I’ll have a few myself. But there’s a time and a place and when push comes to shove we hunker down. I think it’s perfectly fine to drink and it’s perfectly fine not to. What ISN’T fine is when it gets out of hand. So as you sit there, judging me (which, as a reader you have every right and I can’t stop you) just remember that that’s what I think, and also remember that at this stage of the year, it’s O.K. to go out, because we don’t have to work. Later on it gets a little harder to manage.
Ok back to the ‘Fine Tour of the Local Establishments’. Now after about the 4th pub it actually gets rather difficult to read a map, and the guy with the dubious hair suddenly looks effortlessly cool, so it’s always good to be in a group with people you know and who look after you. But having said that, it’s a great way to meet new people, which I did… I think. Even if you can’t remember names, it’s good to see a few familiar faces around.
Anyway a mate of mine chivalrously walked me home where I drank some water and managed to clean myself up enough to attend the college ball where I danced like crazy with my next door neighbor and awkwardly tried to make small talk whilst painfully aware that while everyone knew my name (people seem to remember me… maybe it’s the name, maybe it’s the charm…) though I still had no idea what their names were and thus spent the whole night going “hey… YOU!” and smiling the biggest smile I had in me.
By the time I got to bed I had pretty much travelled to the future and truly wished to go to bed but I managed to lock myself out after my shower (I know, and I had been doing so well!) and so had to stumble across the oval in a towel and get let in. Yeah. It’s kind of one of those things that would be hilarious if it wasn’t you.
Classy.
Day 8 (Friday)
Oweek over and I couldn’t be happier. Not that I didn’t LOVE every second of it, but MAN. I need sleep, my body has so many bruises and gashes all over it and I kind of need to detox before I get into it - not that I don’t LOVE looking like a zombie queen, but it will be nice to actually use my brain rather than trashing it (I know, BLASPHEMY!).
(By the by, the ‘zombie queen’ comment is so NOT sarcastic – imagine having your own zombie army doing your bidding... *sigh* if only…)
Also, French was moved so my timetable had an epic clash, but then Alloc8 seemed to realign itself, which worked for me. I also contacted the French dept, but by the time they replied it was sorted. The tenor of the email sent was somewhat rude considering it was them inconveniencing me, not the other way around, but meh. Stressful week all around for them I suppose, and as much as I wish I could make some stereotypical French joke I’m not sure it would be entirely tasteful, or fair.
Two major gripes with this though, which I believe are reasonable:
- Changes were made at the END of the week and the email was sent at 3:46. Late notice much?
- Most people have lives OUTSIDE Uni (shock horror), including work. Not everyone is as reasonable as my work is, and even then they were angry with me for having changed my availability. During a time when everything is changing, we do kind of need SOME stability people!
So…
All in all a BUSY week. I can’t remember names and my eyes are so drooping I look permanently stoned (but I’m dreading going to sleep because it’s almost 30+ degrees in my top-floor room). But I’m loving every second of it.
So is it uphill from here? Or downhill? Guess it’s up to me…
Oh, O week is soon over.
Now comes the time when you can finally get to know people. No more sitting around in a circle, doing awkward ice breakers. No more: What's your name? Where do you come from? And what course are you taking? I'm taking Media & Communications by the way. Just so you know, so we can hurry on to the next step, the interesting one. But before we get there, let's see what O week was like.
There is a mix of feelings related to O week. In short, it's been the busiest, most wonderful time of my life. You get to meet people, you find out there is a zillion clubs to join (and that, regardless of your interests, there's probably a club devoted to it), and that the uni resources are overwhelming. Everywhere, you will hear people shouting:
GET INVOLVED!
I'd say:
TAKE A DEEP BREATH!
It's OK to take it easy.
Don't feel forced to join the zillion clubs straight away. Instead, have a think about it. What do I actually want to do? The transition to uni is big as it is, for everyone. O week is so full of activities and parties we almost forget the most important thing: that adapting takes time.
And it doesn't take a week. That's what O week is telling us.
This past week being O-Week, it's basically been akin to spending entire days at uni before the semester has even started. Some highlights and notable things :
- Travelling to uni. I live out east where I'm halfway between two train lines yet nowhere near either. So it took a bit of time to figure out the adequate travel time needed to get to uni. Made me stressful after having gone to school at the same time every weekday in the past four years, although it did help that my high school was close to the city, so it involved public transport as well, making the transition much easier.
- And on that note, no more yearly student passes now that I'm in uni, so I'm going to have to shell out $80+ a month for a monthly ticket. Argh. I'm sad.
- Overfull classes. If the mass-populated orientation sessions I attended on Thursday are any indication of what my overfull lectures (as indicated by Alloc8) are like, then I say HECK NO. Half of my timetabled classes are overfull... so I'm definitely not going to turn up late and have to sit in front of everyone else, staring right at the lecturer. Oh but it's courtesy that if you arrive at a lecture late, you should enter from the back inconspicuously instead... Ahem.
- Joining clubs and societies. The Clubs and Societies Expo, held over Thursday and Friday, was fun fun fun. Mainly because of freebies. I ended up joining quite a few clubs, including the Choral Society, Hong Kong Students Association, Chinese Music Group and Chinese Theatre Group. Singing is another passion of mine, and acting I've never tried, so it'll be a good start. And... CTG is looking for people to help them write English subtitles for their plays. If I do get into that, it'll be an invaluable experience as practical work in translating. I was also on the lookout for MUMS, but unfortunately they didn't set up a booth, so I'll have to hunt them down next week. And... should I join M-ASS ?
- Student Union. So far I've heard divided views on whether or not one should cough up $99 and join the Student Union. The pro's include access to the Rowden White Library (where there are signs on tables advising you "please do not study") and discounts for various things (including the Uni Bookshop, membership to certain clubs and societies, as well as eateries around CBD).This might be a good start if you want to find out more. Disclosure : I'm an SU member.
- Textbooks and course material. I'm sure a lot of people would've told you so already : it may be worthwhile to hold out on the textbooks until you're definitely sure of the subjects you intend to do this semester. Personally I've gotten all my books already, but that's because I'm content with my subjects and know I'll enjoy them. Some of you may prefer to stick around in different lectures during the first week, to explore a few different things, to get an idea of which is better and which is not that suitable for you. In general the Uni Bookshop does accept returns of textbooks and course notes.
- Timetables. Unlike other people I know who have somehow managed to stay up all night in order to get their hands on a perfect or near-perfect timetable (ending up with something like my Commerce friends' Monday-free schedules), I've been quite passive about mine. I have one-time-only maths lectures four days a week, and on the remaining day a Logic lecture, meaning I have a full five-day week. As a result of mutual elimination where one session rules out another, I'm left with only one tutorial the time of which I can change without making everything else clash. But if I reschedule that tute, it'll mean five hours on Thursday, so I'm just sticking with what I have. In a way, I'm glad. At least I only have 10 or 11 am starts.
- Social life. Lastly, it's been a good week for me socially too. If you know me, you'd know me for the social ineptness out of all things. (I can talk heaps after I get to know you a while though.) Anyway, now that we're all in university, I've been able to catch up with friends from both my first and second high schools, as well as those from other schools whom I don't normally see besides in social gatherings. And of course, just as Yoddeuss said, "DON’T STICK TO YOUR OLD FRIENDS". Actually, it's been a long time since I've made any decision as "out there" as this one : applying as a first_year@unimelb blogger. Haha I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and I'm a regular blogger in my other life anyway, so why not ? Well it turned out I've already met a couple of new people here... (You can certainly take this as a hint to apply as an f_y@u'er if/when you're coming to Unimelb haha.)
That's all I have to say for now. Hmm I'd better start getting some reading done...
Check,
cenvii
Why the literary reference ?1 Simply because A Tale of Two Cities is on my to-read list, and how fitting that line is for what I'm going through right now. And since you'd be stuck as my imaginary audience for the year (while you enjoy the tasteful commentaries offered by my fellow bloggers), you might like to know a little more about this troubled tormenter that is yours truly.
Over with the obscure language. The name is Vincent, and hey, that's actually pronounceable in French. (cenvii, or simply cv, is my alias.) As you may or may not have noticed, I have a passion for language and its quirks. Part of that perhaps arose from my ethnic background.
My life so far is a series of migrations : New Zealand » Hong Kong » Australia. Kiwi-land I have little recollection of, aside from the occasional anecdote dropped by my parents. Hong Kong the "International City" is of course by far my favourite, seeing how she has bred an entire culture in me, and I do love her dearly for that. Then on Christmas Eve in 2000, I found myself Down Under in the M-city. Believe it or not, I've stayed on for another eight years.
To review a bit, Year 12 was mostly a blur for me, probably to the consensus of many people. All I can say is, been there, done that, now moving on. As I said to my friend not so long ago, it's a pity that the ENTER2 phase lasts barely over three months. ("Oh how did you go last year ?" "Did alright..." Awkward silence, ensued by either a reluctantly produced or long-awaited proud moment of "I got so-and-so for my ENTER score".) By the time you've enrolled in uni and found your footing in O-Week, you would've discover that VCE really is all in the past. Forget it.
At least that was the case for me. I got into what I wanted to do, so that's that. Contrary to most people, I was actually of the opinion that Unimelb is the right place for me because of the Melbourne Model. I don't mind doing breadth subjects – hey, that enabled me to do maths even as part of my Arts degree, to the initial dismay then relieved delight of most people (including my uhhh asian parents).
My focus in the Arts degree is linguistics and criminology, although I have yet to figure out which would be my major (or if I'll double-major). I guess I'll have more idea towards the end of this year. Linguistics, because I abso-fabulously love languages. (I just made up a word there.) Criminology, because it's part likely that I'll go on with the JD postgrad. Or I might just move back to Hong Kong after these three years and never come back again. Again, who knows ?
As I've mentioned, I'm also doing maths as breadth. Okay, I know some of you might say it's to do with being "asian" and all, but honestly, I've been straining to persuade my parents that as much as I love maths (I do), I still feel the BA would be my natural niche. And it is. Except now that I've discovered there's a newly introduced Diploma in Mathematical Sciences, I might be able to marry arts and maths together.
I made inquiries about the diploma at the Science Department earlier ; the staff there don't seem too sure of the details either, so I left my contact details and hoped they would send along further information or something. So far nothing has come out of it, so as they say, I'm going to get out there on my own and do some investigative work next week, once semester starts. From the scarce bit of information I do have, it seems preferable to apply for the DipMS at the end of first-year so the selection officers have some academic records to go on. That means if I don't work hard in my maths subjects this year, it'll probably be a waste of time come application period.
So there, I tend to write a lot (and talk much less in real life), so I'm not even sure if you'd reach this sentence or not. But if you do, good luck and all the best to you, whether you're starting uni this year like I am, or you're looking forward to go to uni and just about getting your head into your final years of high school.
Out,
cenvii
1 Note the unorthodox way I punctuate. I like to be faux français among various other things...
2 By way of explanation, the ENTER is one's percentile ranking within the particular year's cohort, calculated from the aggregate score of one's high school exam results. It's the thing that used to be crucial at one point, that which had determined whether you get into your preferred tertiary course (along with a range of other criteria).
What with the traditional Entering-University hazing basically relegated to the Collegiate, I found my first real test-of-character-and-assorted-idiocy-referred-to-euphemistically-as-‘tenacity’ with the artist formerly known as Alloc8. (I mentally spell it ‘AlloKate’; I fear this may have consequences for any Kates I meet in future. A preemptive apology to all the Kates and Katherines-who-shorten if I come across as fiery-eyed and slightly, er, terse.) For anybody who has not yet had the pleasure (o lucky souls!), Alloc8 lets you mess with your timetable online. How spesh.
Okay, so I was one of those people staying up until late became early so I could schedule a three-day weekend for the semester. My parents thought I was flippin’ insane. A couple of Commerce buddies had similar intentions; we traded running commentary about how best to sneak into the system even with the downtime and the deluge of similarly-minded weekenders. It only kind of worked. I fell asleep just before four AM with a charming - if slightly imperfect - timetable. I woke up the next morning to an email that one of my classes had been totally rescheduled and that as a result, my once-glorious timetable went the way of the dinosaurs.
Oh reader, how I wept.
At that point, I did not know you could spam entire faculty mailing lists with torrential, ungrammatical pleas to SW4P TUT3Z PLZ?!!? You can, it’s ill-advised; however, a polite and relevant variation on the theme might get you what you want. Really. You can usually find someone who wants what you have and vice-versa. Just email Alloc8 helpdesk with the name of your swapper and all those deets and they'll do it for you quicksmart. This info is handy, because it avoids conversations like the following between hapless firsties: [paraphrased for sake of conciseness]
her: I have x and I want y
me: I have y and want x shall we swap?
her: okay how do you do that?!
me: *boggles at the irony*
My name is Suzi, and I am the token Commerce student in this year’s crop of Nerd Blog Squadders. MORE OF ME (and my Oh-Week experience) LATER. Tonight, I am going to thank the sweet stars that ‘early night’ is no longer a dirty phrase in these advanced years of mine and go to bed really, really early.
kisskiss,
SuziQ
Hello to everyone.
I'm as the name say's above ( or is it below?) Yoddeuss. This is mainly due to the fact that my real name was already taken and I have a penchant for aliases. Not that I'm too secretive just that it' s because of a series of circumstances that I'm not at liberty to change it (aka, the profile tool won't let you change your name). So here I am ready to give a brief introduction of myself after the electric amd somewhat surprisingly hectic O-week.
Me an Arts student is also doing a diploma of languages (Japanese) to make his course longer, and so I've only got for my first year one "true" art's subject choice per semester. How so? IDF takes up one spot, Breadth takes up a spot and Japanese takes up a spot out of the 4 course slot's you're provided with. Anyway, anyway, anyway getting to an introduction of myself. Here we go...
I am a guy from Melbourne, who travelled a lot for school, had a job, for a trip to Japan and went for about three weeks. < It's almost a song (think the tune from The Grand old Duke of York). Moving away from shanties (?) and sing songs; I've lived in Melbourne all my life, but alas! For lack of money (and a penchant for working really hard for school) I know not too many hip/cool city joints. I mean while there is a kinda image of University students (or perhaps it's just me) as being the party animals and knowing all the really good nightlife spots, I'm not going to become something I'm not. I'm more of the not going out much kind of uni student...person everything doesn't have to revolve around uni, but now I'm getting away from myself and turning this introduction into a rant about the irresponsibility of SOME people.
Ahem.... moving on.
During year 12 (which while annoying is only really 9 months, getting through it is a nice relief) I was one of those always studying (hard if I want to flatter myself) kind of person/people based purely on the fact that I wanted to do well(ish) during my last year of school. Kinda like Boxer in Animal Farm, (yay literary reference) it was more or less something that I had to slog through. Which is why I'm kinda a bit wary(?) about how much freedom (see social life, parties, BBQs, Birthday parties, clubs/societies, theatre productions and anything you can swing a cat at) I've got now as opposed to last year. So while some people might have been experiencing all this freedom last year or the years before (I'm not judging and neither am I a saint), I'm still new to the whole experience.
Wow, twice with the whole party thing. I must be feeling a bit threatened by everyone’s party atmosphere and my own very conservative (and perhaps what I think is boring) stance on being responsible and able to get home by myself (no one is going to pick me up drunk). Thankfully university is not completely like that at all. It's more of a bit of this bit of that atmosphere where you can do what you want, so kinda like life (the smallest example I could think of. No one is forcing me to feel this way, it just seems like they're (the party people) are having more fun until you see them throwing up or in the gutter or in the gutter throwing up. Then the charm goes away.
Moving onto another tangent University is full of temptations in that you have unlimited choice (more or less) in everything you do (see clubs as an example). So while you can go right ahead and go out to do things you've only dreamed of or make friends with a bunch of new people you've always gotta keep something for yourself. Hrmph, hard to explain that. Let's try again. In university you have a chance to become a new person and do new things, but while the possibilities of choice are there you should always stay true to your own wants and soul. Don't sell yourself out, there we go that's what I was trying to say. Hmph still stuck on party/becoming something I'm not tangent. Probably because of all the things I can go to but haven't because of something else being on.
Ok ok ok a quick spiel about O week, because that was the title, duh! O week is good, probably the best to start meeting people and getting to know the University. But mostly you have to rely on either yourself being really self confident (SAY HI TO PEOPLE) and people being comfortable enough to say hi back. That being said some people (extenuate the some if you're reading aloud it helps to get the tone out) will in the complete opposite of what I said in the previous paragraph stick to narrow mindedness and do the unspeakable minimalist approach to a conversation AND!/OR! completely ignore you. In short they'll be really selfish people in that they won't give you a real response of interest (whilst talking) but a conversation for the sake of the social environment (see not telling the truth as in continuing to talk to you but not actually having a conversation). Instead they should be honest and say "I'm sorry I'm tired," or "Look I need to get this done, but maybe some other time." Most people luckily are interested in what you have to say and making new friends. That phrase "new friends" uttered brings in another piece of advice, DON'T STICK TO YOUR OLD FRIENDS it's clicky and hard to approach others in that situation especially if you're an outsider. I don't know why but it's easier to come up to one person, have a good conversation and become friends than it is in a group. That's just personal experience though..... But yeah aside from that O- week is just about getting to know the university and the community. Don't be afraid to ask about things within Union House or anywhere, because chances are you'll have to do it sooner or later and the sooner you do it the easier it'll be.
Ok enough preaching onto a conclusion!
Hrumph, it's hard pelting this out when all you want to do is stop for a while on a Saturday morning. Aha, that's another thing I've wanted to say. Don't become a work aholic (note this is more to me than anyone else). Me, I had to work to get throughYr 12 and then after that had to work to go to Japan (which was cool) and so I haven't really had time to stop doing things, such as a holiday, holiday and have become like one of those cross country runners at the end of a race. Ragged and weak. So I think I'll stop now and have a completely me time morning..... before giving up my time (yet again) to go out.
Anyway Hello and hope you enjoy the rest of my posts. AND! That this one was not too preachy in its regards to life so far.
Thanks
Yoddeuss
(Now for a spell check before I put this up) Yay only 3 words wrongly spelt
'ello, 'ello, 'ello :) For some reason the urge to suddenly start talking like a British policeman just got majorly overwhelming. Probably because I just finished speaking to my mum on the brand new, super, amazing Telstra landline which was installed today. Finally! But anyway, I'm losing my train of thought...
So, hello to everyone :) I'm Natty, I'm from England (hands up if you hadn't worked that out yet!) and I'm here in lovely Melbourne for the next three years to study Arts. I'm majoring in linguistics and haven't decided what my minor/ second major etc is going to be yet. This semester though I'm also doing creative writing, democracy and 'an ecological history of humanity' (which always sounds really daunting and serious in my head and hence the quotation marks to covey the gravitas lol).
I arrived in Melbourne two weeks ago and am still trying to adjust to this insanely hot weather and all of the cultural differences. Yes, I know, I didn't think there would be that many cultural differences between England and Australia either. But I was wrong. Luckily I don't have to deal with a language barrier (most of the time... how am I meant to know that a pepper is called a 'capsicum' lol) but have found finding my way around and dealing with currency a little bit difficult. Not to mention Tax File Numbers... I won't even go there today, it just hits a raw nerve haha.
I live on my own in an apartment which I am absolutely in love with and am finding the adjustment there absolutely fine. I've not felt too homesick or lonely yet. In fact, I've only had one minor hiccup which involved me wrestling with a hoover bag for half an hour but it's solved now; I got rid of the hoover. Seriously. I'm going to rent one from the front desk downstairs.
Making friends has been easy peasy Lionel squeezy (does anybody else get the TV ad reference there or am I alone in my British humour haha?). I'm so pleased! I went to Uni for a couple of months in England but dropped out because it was absolutely awful, there were hardly any transition or orientation events and I felt like I hadn't met anybody new unless you count the four walls in your bedroom as 'people' lol. BUT Melbourne has been completely fantastic! I've met so many wonderful people and am signed up to a zillion clubs (M-ASS, CAKE, PIRATES, MUCS, Fotoholics...there are more I think, judging by the number of free bbq's I've attended) and I've been genuinely impressed by all the effort the University has gone too to help students settle in. I hope everyone else feels that way, is anyone finding it to be a completely different experience? Maybe I'm a bit over excited lol... I should be a Uni Melb cheerleader haha.
Mmm what else to say... writing an introduction is surprisingly difficult but to sum me up I'm usually in a crazily good mood and very sociable, I'm willing to try most things at least once and I absolutely adore people who make me laugh. I was thrilled to meet some of the other first year bloggers today - we have a really crazy, fabulous bunch of people, you are all going to love them!
TAFN.
Love, Natty x
Ok. So I’m sitting in my room here at college listening to the dulcet tones of a drunken student singing ‘Woo Hoo’ in a surprisingly high voice, wondering what to write and… (woo hoo!) I think I’ll give a little day-by-day breakdown. Like a little diary entry – isn’t that just the SWEETEST thing you can imagine? Aww. Get the tissues out.
Day 1 (Friday)
Yes, unusually my Oweek starts here at the SSS (Science Students Society) Ocamp, which is doubly surprising given that I’m not a science student and I hate to camp, generally. This day saw some terrible things, many of which I dare not repeat, but lets just say a few words and you can fill in the blacks, yes?
- Alcohol
- Teenagers
- More alcohol
For the sake of good taste let’s just leave it at that shall we?
Day 2 (Saturday)
Admittedly this could have been a better day for me, but I learned a valuable lesson involving one of the above substances (yes, ‘teenager’ is a substance, but not the one I’m referring to). I was actually really sick, and it was the first time I’ve ever been ill from alcohol (and I’ve had a whole year off) but I think it’s still a good thing to keep in mind that it’s essentially poison, and it’s not a nice thing to try and leech it from your body, nor is it necessary... or pretty. No, definitely NOT pretty.
See? Learning already. But let’s move on - thinking about this STILL hurts, it really, really, really wasn’t a nice experience. Kudos to the SSS, for their brilliant first aid (no, I wasn’t THAT sick, but they did do some great work) and for a great camp. Met loads of people, good way to start the much-hyped Oweek.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Moved into Canterbury, and was still feeling awful AND hadn’t had a shower so I really did fit in amongst all of the people in academic gowns with my ripped jeans and hair matted with oh, I think it was custard and banana?
My room was very small but renovated, and big enough at any rate for someone like me. I found the timetable that Canterbury gave us was a little insular, because, according to them, University Events don’t exist, just college, college, college!
There was a lot of pomp and ceremony and whatever involved with this day and (as I’m sure other people college or not will agree) a LOT of information. TOO MUCH INFORMATION! I mean for crying out loud! I only just then worked out what ‘Alloc8’ (don’t even get me started on ‘overfull’) and I haven’t properly used my brain in almost a year and they’re throwing around words like ‘academia’ and ‘induction ceremony’ and, do forgive me, but I just wanted to pop on some of those glasses with the fake eyes and take a little catnap.
Day 4 (Monday)
We were woken up for a nice formal breakfast, and I felt some strange, warm sensation indicative of the joy of being a part of a large community…
Then someone spilled milk on my lap. Moment over.
We went into the city en masse and harassed unsuspecting people (which I… LOVED) and had epic clashes with other nasty colleges while onlookers no doubt turned to one another and mouthed words like ‘tools’ or nodded in a conceited sort of way and said ‘Oweek’.
I went up to Sydney Rd using the no. 19 tram, which is a great street because many of the stores are super cheap and it has a giant op shop known as Savers which is useful when you’re steeped in debt and wondering whether you should go to StKilda and try your luck there…
KIDDING. I do sales. I promise.
Day 5 (Tuesday)
There was a party the night previous so I slept in somewhat and then headed to University, meeting up with my peeps (God I love that word) from Ocamp and having one or two drinks while a few of them terrorized the Law building, which really isn’t all that cool, even if it is Oweek.
We’re past schoolies now children.
Now this is the important fact: my friends bashed me (in the figurative sense of course) for my going to Canterbury and leaving them to attend a party, DESPITE the fact that I hung out with them for a good7+ hours.
This seems to be a resounding theme, college kids VS commuters, so it will be interesting to see whether I can maintain these friendships or whether I’ll just get sick of it and get, to quote them, ‘swallowed up’.
Well I think I shall turn this into a Pt 1-2 thing because this post is getting long, and it’s starting to make my poor eyes hurt.
To be continued… (DUN DUN DUN!)
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