"O-WEEEEK.! Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! "

I’m not going to go into detail about classes, I know, it’s the boring stuff. But! I will go into my orientation week or O-Week as it’s called. All this week is O-Week and there are things to do every day. They do not have Greek life in Australia but wow, hazing is 100% legal here. For example, each college on campus ( dorms) has different things that they have to do throughout the day. Take Emmanuel College, they have to be up at 5am, the hall leaders wake them up and make them run around the campus screaming absurd chants that often include F-bombs and ridiculous singing. They all have to wear sailor hats with nicknames on them, and if a leader sees you around campus without your hat on, then they write your nickname in permanent marker on your forehead. Crazy right? Another college, Women’s college, has weekly dinners that they wear “dress robes” to and they live like Harry Potter ( only thing I’m jealous about!) but during the o-week they are required to wear their houses Polo and navy shorts. I’m not sure if this post is getting the message across, but every day you KNOW who lives on campus, because they are the ones doing ridiculous things. These examples may not sound that bad, but honestly if you saw it, it would be a different story. See, this may seem fun, but at Uni, most people that live on campus are ages 17-19. So if I was a freshman, I may have thought this was awesome, but my friends that are currently living on campus, say it’s more of a chore at 20-21 as a junior or senior in college.


Fast Fact of the Day!(Maybe I’ll do this each blog, what do you think?)

In Australia is someone asked what college you’re in, that actually means what residence hall you are living in. If they ask what you are studying, you tell them University of Queensland. If they ask what area, that is when you say your major. Example time! So I do not live in a college, I live in Southbank. I’m studying at University of Queensland and my area of study is marketing. Doesn't seem to complicate but when you’re in a conversation, Australian’s give you a look like you have five heads if you tell them you go to college at UQ and your major is Marketing. Little culture gap there!

Okay, so besides the whole hazing and living on campus thing, which doesn’t really involve me, I just find it amusing. I have to tell you guys about Market Day! Market Day is the best day ever! Market Day at University of Queensland is amazing, it is when EVERY SINGLE CLUB OR SOCIETY comes out with a table for people to get more information about a certain area, sign up, or just get free things from different vendors! These pictures don’t really do it justice, since they were on my phone but all of these white tents had different clubs. At UQ each club you join has a fee, so if you want to participate you pay the membership fee, and if you have no interest your student fees don’t go to something you don’t have interest about! Over 250 tables were there to look at. There were tables for sports teams, law clubs, translink ( the public transport), the local police, IKEA, cell phone providers, Apple, choirs, student unions, different religious clubs, alumni association…pretty much if you ever thought of joining a club, they have everything possible to offer you. I ended up going on my own, because I love getting free things, it may sound terrible but if you look hard enough, free is right there!

I was in all my glory! I got calendars and post it notes, water bottles, reusable bags, I won a t-shirt ( which I said during my previous post), candy, cokes, pens, pencils, other various food items, stickers, important info , ice cream, ect. These may not sound very exciting but I got as much info out of these people as possible so I knew what was in the area and so I could be knowledgeable and hold a conversation other than “sooo you’re an international student” to another student. I ended up joining 2 clubs which I’m very excited about. Both only cost a $5 membership fee too! The first organization I joined is the QUEST Society, which is a group of multicultural students from around the world but we all share a common interest of learning more about Brisbane and the state of Queensland in general. We have discounted day trips, as well as a student’s perspective on where to go out at night, or to eat a cheap meal to nice areas to just enjoy the scenery.

I am excited about this because we are already finding really local spots that most travel books never even mentioned! Another society that I joined was the UQMA which is University of Queensland Management Association. It is a not-for profit organization for students that are looking to pursue a more professional side and to be able to be connected with quality networking opportunities’ throughout the semester. With my membership card, I also get discounts at different restaurants and free entry to clubs and bars. This is hopefully a society worth joining because even at the table I felt like I fit right in. The UQMA is for any Business, Economics, Commerce or Law majors so I was right at home!

There is a 3rd club that I am hopefully joining. What is this club you ask? Well, it’s the DIVE TEAM! Not as in 1 meter diving, but SCUBA diving! I didn’t have the amount of money to join today but I am going to a BBQ tomorrow night at their dive house that is located right next to UQ’s outdoor swimming pool. Don’t worry family! I have a friend that is doing it with me, his name is Chris and he also is a student from the US and both of us are really excited about this dive team! I’ll have to keep you posted on that but I would love to be able to join a club that I otherwise would never be able to join at Bridgewater State. 

Cheers!