O-Week and other "induction" activites....

Here is a brief update about the hectic, but fun, UQ O-Week!!!

It started out on Monday, Feb 22nd with a huge International student welcome in the UQ center. We heard from the president of the uni, as well as some international representatives. Then, we went through country by country and had to stand up when our country was called. Did you know that there are 191 students from Canada here this term? and over 789 from China, 534 from Vietnam/Korea/Malayisa etc. The Asian countries are very well represented. Let's put it that way.

Afterwards, we had a free BBQ and the chance to meet UQ regulars. It was great to chat with some of the current students and find out about what to do and join on campus. The afternoon was spent in a seminar about the Australian culture - where we were all introduced to critical things, like politicians, Aussie slang and the most important thing of all....THE TIM TAM SLAM!!!

For those of you who don't know (which I assume is most) the tim tam is an extremely Australian biscuit - chocolate wafers covered in chocolate and a chocolate mousse stuffing. The tim tam slam is an appropriate Aussie pastime, where you bite both ends of the cookie, and sip your coffee/hot chocolate through the cookie. Of course, the heat melts the chocolate inside and the cookie eventually breaks apart, but it is AMAZINGLY yummy and I know Customs Canada is going to have to deal with me bringing heaps of tim tams back into the country. Does anyone know if there is a legal limit to how much can be brought back???

I was finished up for the day after this session, but went to get my student ID card and had to stand in line for ages. Unlike the Queen's system, which is pretty slick, we had hours of waiting and you had to take your photo right then and there, wait some more, sign the card, activate it etc etc. It was painful, but at least I now have my ID and can use it to get some great student discounts on and off campus!

Tuesday morning brought a session all on safety down under - things like, don't swim in the ocean at dawn or dusk to prevent being eaten by sharks, stay away from spiders, snakes and don't camp within 50m of a creek to prevent being eaten by crocodiles. Some quick facts about Australian wildlife..... 7 of the 10 world's poisonous snake species live in Australia. Also, there are spiders here that carry enough venom to kill 50 people with one bite. There have been over 1800 shark sightings in the past year. Scared yet?? The only consolation was that most of the poisonous species are found mainly in the brush, and since anti-venom was created in 1981, no one has died from a spider bite. One thing I found crazy though, was being told that if bitten by a spider - CATCH IT TO SHOW TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. Who in their right mind would catch the damn thing after it bites you??? Not me, that's for sure.

Tuesday afternoon was filled with more free food, another BBQ and a chance to wander around the UQ student complex. Queen's, I'm sorry to say, you have been upstaged. Here on campus is:  a movie theater, subway, sushi, ice creamery, bakeries, a HUGE candy store with bins FILLED with all sorts of candy (my new fav spot!), lakes complete with fountains and cockatoos, tennis courts, athletic tracks, 8 playing fields, an outdoor swimming pool and a huge gym facility. Not to mention 14 libraries and countless academic buildings. Needless to say, it takes a little longer than 5 minutes to cross campus from one side to the other!!

Wednesday was a CRAZY day, again rivaling Queen's. It was Market Day today, similar to the sidewalk sale but on a much larger scale. There were booths from all 200 clubs on campus, plus booths from downtown stores and places like Coke, Bundaberg Ginger Beer etc etc. I collected SO much free stuff - it was crazy!! My fridge is now stocked with 8 cans of coke, 3 bottles of vitamin water (which they call nutrient water), juice, biscuits, fruit etc. I also had 3 free BBQ's - one with the market day, one with the Science society and one with the International group. I'm loving all the freebies....it's great to be a uni student!!!

I've also signed up for a couple clubs - QUEST, the exchange student society, the squash club, possibly a field hockey team and maybe the Wine and Cheese Club. There are so many cool things to do, and I wish I had time to do them all, but I know my courses are going to be pretty intensive.....

Thursday was a free day, but I still came to campus to skype with Danny and catch up on some emails. I also took the free time to a) hit up the candy store (hahaha) and b) find the rooms where my classes are going to be held at the start of next week. Like Queen's, I have 10 minutes to travel between classes, but it will be pushing it since some of the buildings are not close at all!!!

Friday was a lazy day - I spent it at home cleaning my room and doing a massive grocery run since I had run out of food. Andrea and Derek popped by for the afternoon as they were getting a ride to Noosa with Marilyn that evening, so we had a nice walk in the Botanical Gardens before enjoying a sushi lunch. After saying goodbye that evening, I curled up with a couple books I borrowed from the public library and went to bed early!

Now, it's Saturday and I have a bunch of forms to print out for classes Monday morning. I'll be able to update you more then, but I have 6 field trips to organize and sign up for as well as lab sessions and lectures to sort out. I'm lucky in the fact that I get to use the printer upstairs and the internet in the office space above my apartment, so I have my own key and everything! Tonight, our neighbours next door invited us to a mexican themed birthday bash, free food, tequila and live music! I'm quite excited to meet the neighbours as John (my landlord and the owner of the house) says they are really nice.

That's about it for now - thanks for reading and keeping in touch as best you can!

Love to all,

xoxo Danielle