Welcome to O-week, where things are heaps free and heaps awesome! Our first week here was filled with plenty of info sessions and events for students to get to know each other and the Uni. There have also been lots of activities especially planned for us study abroad and exchange students. The week kicked off with a bunch of meetings about the Uni, health care, visa, and enrolment information and of course we rolled out of each one with a free swag bag. I now have three new water bottles, a baseball hat, two packs of noodles, four pens, three notepads, three reusable bags, a poncho, a sewing kit, and heaps of recycling. Phew.
A buddy barbeque was arranged on Monday where we were supposed to meet and greet with our assigned Australians for the semester, and I’m pretty sure mine was the only one who showed up (Name: Dom, went to Laurier last semester)…but there were also lots of other cool exchange students we met that day, including some fellow Canadians! Next off, we were introduced to The Lighthouse or “The Lighty”, a nearby restaurant/bar (seen in pic below) where we spent our afternoon learning about drop bears and traveling in Australia while drinking pitchers of free cider. Yum.
The next morning we headed to campus at 10:00am for a free pancake breakfast, but in true Aussie fashion, the food wasn’t out until about quarter after (or later…I’m not really sure), so we decided to get our student cards before-hand. Another free lunch followed shortly after we ran around campus trying to get organized and then we headed to the mall for some air conditioning and shopping. At first the mall was pretty confusing to me, with there being hardly any store I recognize, but it’s becoming more familiar now, as everyday it seems we need to head over and visit the supermarket or pick up random supplies.
The last three days of O-Week have been pretty unpredictable, as thunderstorms have been rolling in and out when you least expect it. You can actually see them coming way off in the distance, but when they arrive, the rain still seems to catch you off guard and you’re left running around trying to close the windows before everything gets soaked. The rain doesn’t seem to last very long from what we’ve experienced and we’ve never had a full rainy day (as of yet..), so it’s nice to get some cool air once in a while.
Despite the weather, another night out at The Lighty seemed appropriate, with a beach-themed evening, it wasn’t too bad walking over in the rain.
Thursday looked like it was going to be a dud, waking up to a cloudy morning, but it cleared up early afternoon and the sun shone for our afternoon boat cruise around Lake Burley Griffin. All of us exchange students hopped on a bus and were taken into the city (about ten minutes from Uni), where we then walked another ten-ish minutes to the high class yacht club for some drinks and munchies before our troll around the lake. Seeing as we’re all students and it must have been at least 35°C outside, we were all wearing shorts, flip flops (thongs), and singlets…but this attire was strictly against the club’s dress code and we weren’t allowed to step foot indoors. This turned out to be alright, since we found some shade on the patio and enjoyed our free cider, beer, and delicious potato wedges. The cruise was about an hour long on the 4m deep lake, where we basked/burned in the sun and learned about Canberra’s significant buildings and landmarks.
The final day of Orientation was pretty uneventful, we just made another trip to the mall/grocery store, came back to our room to another flash flood, and made a hearty chicken dinner. That evening I tried my first attempt at pool, and as it turns out, it’s not my hidden talent…but maybe after some practice I’ll give Knuckey a run for his money.
With more events to come soon, I’m getting excited to see what the different parts of Australia have to offer.
Love, Laura
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