Orientation

Today (Monday 22nd) was the first day of orientation at the University of Wollongong. I woke up at 7am to take a shower, just because you never know who you will meet! All five of us roommates left for the bus stop at 8 and about 10 minutes later we were on our way to the Uni (as people call college here).

We arrived early so we tried to mingle with the other international students. At 9:00 we signed in and were given eco-friendly bags filled with all sorts of information. We then moved to a large lecture hall where we staid for a couple hours. Topics that were covered included all the countries that our group was from (over 20 total), safe surfing, enrolling in classes, etc. It was freezing in the lecture hall so I was happy when we got to leave.

All 200 or so of us were told to sit in an outdoor area for a group picture. The group was so big that the camera man kept having people move around. He eventually took some pictures, but totally forgot to let us know that he was taking the pictures. Who knows if anyone will be looking the right direction in the picture.

After the group pic, we headed to an area where we were able to get information about spring break trips and other trips throughout the semester. We then split into small groups were given a sort tour of the campus. The day before when my roommates and I had visited the campus our own we had a better tour than we were given today.
A funny thing happened on my tour. I was walking into the building as another group was leaving, I noticed a guy who looked familiar and he noticed me too. He said "Ashley?" and I responded "Bryan Crowley?". Brian went to Simsbury high with me and I haven't seen him since high school graduation so it was crazy to see him in Australia. What a smal world!! After the short walk, we got a free lunch I had a chicken sandwich. I met some girls that seemed pretty cool and I am sure I will see them again.

After lunch, I got my picture taken for my id. Even though I had taken a shower this morning, I didn't look that great in my picture because earlier I had to put up my hair because I was sweating so much (the temp today was about 93 degrees).

It was neat to meet some new people who did not come to Australia through the same program as me, and to hear about the experiences they have had since they got here.