From the week of Orientation Week (O-Week) to the night before uni actually starts is what I will discuss in this post. Oh and I'll throw in some stuff in between I suppose. Read on...
Monday, February 18th was the day of orientation for students at the Queensland University of Technology. Thus, it was the beginning of O Week. Now, back home in the states orientation wasn't that big of a deal. Neither is it in Australia besides the fact that everyone returns to uni around that time and all the clubs and parties are in full swing. They say when in Rome do as the Romans do soooo I did as the Aussies do and took advantage of what was offered. The next three paragraphs are going to talk about that day, and the ones after that will talk about the good juicy stuff (not really) that happened that week.
Of course I was excited because I knew that I'd get to meet some cool people and check out the cool clubs and organizations that QUT offered. It first started off with a program called Connect (I think). It was very similar to University 101 in a shorter condensed version. When I walked in all the chairs were in a circle around the room. I was one of the first ones to sit down so I watched as the rest of the students filed in. Everyone looked rather young at about 17/18 except for the foreign exchange students. The rest of the program consisted of the dreaded ice breakers and dry but useful information about the university's resources. After that lonnnngg and boring part of the orientation was over, we went on a campus tour. Because I'm such a rebel, I ditched the group and met up with my Urbanest family who did the same thing.
After ditching the group it was about lunch time. Everyone was outside, there were tents set up with different organizations and business, cheap food was available and there was even a band playing on a temporary stage. Sounds awesome right!? Well it wasn't because it was raining, so nobody felt like going to the different tables or standing outside to enjoy the music and meet one another. Oh well.
 |
 |
Right after lunch all the internationals had to meet up for another presentation. I actually enjoyed this part of the day. My American group of friends all set on the front row and there were some others scattered around the room of what looked like 400 students. They began this portion with a role call of the 30 different countries represented. Of course the United States was last, and of course I made sure that we all stood up and yelled (when no other group stood up) to be as obnoxious as we are stereotyped. Free trips to different parts of Australia were given out (I didn't win), we sang happy birthday for an unexpected few and then we listend to some a lady cop tell us how to scream if we're in danger. You know the usual orientation type stuff. Oh and I met another African American guy from South Carolina that day. Okay, moving on...
 |
| image taken from the internet |
Tuesday night I went on the Brisbane River cruise that was organized by the International Student Services office. It was nice because it gave us all a chance to mingle with more of the exchange students. Many students were from Norway (seems like every 3rd person I meet was). I've also met exchanges from Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Finland Canada, Denmark and so many other nations around the world. The city lights were beautifully reflected on the river although it rained a bit. The food was pretty decent although I was expecting something a bit fancier. A few of us Americans enjoyed dancing although we couldn't seem to get everyone else into it. Overall it was a good night.
Wednesday and Thursday was all work until I got home that night. It was our mate A A Ron's (purple shirt), Aaron for those who don't know him, birthday on Thursday, so we kicked off the weekend for him. We had to show him a proper time so we played some classic American games that involves red cups and ping pong balls down in the lobby and then proceeded downtown where we showed him how to cut a rug. I know he had a great time, we all did as well.
Friday night was toga night, and it was CRAZZZYYY. It wasn't just your ordinary toga party. It was the world's largest toga party with about 4,000 people in attendance. There were fireworks, dancers, djs, half-naked people, djs, free donuts, fire breathers and inflatable obstacle courses. I've never seen anything like it, and for it to have been sponsored by two of the top universities in Australia was odd to me. We're doing something wrong in America. Just saying...
Saturday was another train trip to the Gold Coast with Mandy. This time we went to Surfers Paradise, QLD. Such a beautiful place. It was nice to use my Sony NEX - F3 that I picked up earlier that week. We explored the city by bus, foot and by air in an awesome cheap ferris wheel ride. The bus back didn't show up on time, but we met a cool dude from Chile in the process of waiting so it's all good.
Tonight is my last night of freedom before uni starts. Other students started back on Monday of this week, but I only have class on Wednesdays and Thursdays each week. A group of us went to the movies tonight to see The Last Stand, the stupidest most predictable movie I've seen in a long time. Great way to end my extended break from the
life of a uni student...
Cheers from down under,
Kyron S. Whitfield