Orientation: Day 1 (of 10)

Today I will stop randomly wandering the woods - someone will give me a map and tell me which way north is. I jest, but orientation would be so much more fun if it involved being dropped in the canadian woods with a map and supplies and given 10 days to get out. Instead I will be subjected to campus tours (at least 2!) and drawn out monologues, where a sheet of bullet points and some time for questions and answers is really a better use of my time. I also don't get to go camping because I am not an international exchange student :(. Ok, now that I have the griping out of the way I can actually get on with the orientation:

Today's topics:
Campus Tour
Welcome Speech
Welcome BBQ
FAQs with student mentors about banking, cell phones, and where to buy things. (hopefully they can recommend a good place to get my hair cut - it is up in a pony tail today which is far too long for August, even if August up here means only weather in the 70s with a cool breeze)

Onwards.

Orientation: Day 1 recap

My major take away from the first day of international orientation is that there are so few international students on campus. 2/3 of the people there were exchange (junior semester/year abroad) students. There were less then 50 students there that were "degree seeking." My second major take away was that I have come such a long ways since 18!

Once I get photos working on this thing I will post a picture of the wrist band I have to wear for the week for identification. The colors of this school are purple and gold (not yellow, actual gold) and the mascot is a golden hawk - which is actually the best school mascot I have ever had - too bad it doesn't really matter as a grad student. But the wrist band I have to wear is a pale pink. It might even glow in the dark. I don't get it. 


To finish (i'm exhausted!) i'd like to leave you with some gems from the International Student Handbook I got today:

"WLU is located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, one of the safest places to live in an already safe country."

"Canada Decoded: 'Eh!'
"A very common Canadian word that means to ascertain the comprehension, interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed (Example - 'That was a good game last night, eh?')"

"Canada's climate is not as cold all year around as some may believe. We have four seasons in Canada: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter."

"Women in Canada dress for comfort and climate, so it is important to note that revealing clothing is not an invitation for sexual attention." (does that make a parka an invitation. . . . ?)

"Although Canada's legal system has a reputation as being easy on soft drug use, this is not true and you may face serious legal consequences."