O-Week days 4-8

Day 4: Wednesday February 20, 2013

The carnival

Today was the carnival. A big bouncy castle, laser tag, a dunk tank, and lots of food was set up in the center of George Roberts.

At 1am all of George Roberts was woken up for the “Fresher Run”. This is when the freshmen are taught the GR chants and we run through campus yelling our cheers at the other colleges (dorms).

It was raining for our run, but we learned “We Are The Reapers” and were off. Only a fight broke out when we got to St. Pauls, they egged us and jumped one of the guys, but it was broken up quickly.

We got back to GR around 2am and did one last chant before heading to bed.

We Are the Reapers

We Are the Team

We Can't Be Beaten

That’s Easy Seen

At the end of the season

You'll know the reason

Why we are

the number one team

Yip Yah!

Whose Reapers?

George Roberts Reapers!

Did We Win?

We Shit’d It In!

How Did we do it?

Easy!

What Comes After G?

Rrrrrrrrr!!!!

Day 5: Thursday February 21, 2013

Lawn bowls

Tonight all of GR dressed in white and went to play lawn bowls. Once we arrived, each fresher was tied to an upperclassman. The goal was to stay tied together as long as possible. We all drank and tried to play, but no one was any good. I was tied to Chris, (or Christ- his nickname) we stayed tied until we got to Uni Club (about 5 hours). The rest of the night was spent catching up with people from my orientation in Cairns I hadn’t seen in a while and dancing.

Day 6: Friday February 22, 2013

Op Shop

Tonight was op shop (thrift shop) where everyone dresses in the most ridiculous outfit they can find. I borrowed a shirt one of the RA’s had worn last year, it wasn’t the worst outfit out there. A lot of people were dressed in little kid’s Halloween outfits. All of GR danced and drank in the JCR (next to the dinning hall) then headed to Uni Club in our ridiculous outfits, I haven’t been there once in normal clothes.

Day 7: Saturday February 23, 2013

Sponsor’s Night

Tonight was Sponsor’s Night, where each of the colleges goes out to town to the bar that sponsor’s O-Week and other events. GR’s sponsor is Mad Cow. We arrived at 7:30 and were given a limited amount of free beer and wine. The wine ran out in about 15 minutes and the beer only lasted an hour.

The rest of the night mostly involved a lot of dancing with some freshman GR friends. Although, on a random note: I got offered $3,000 to marry a guy so he could get a green card.

At 2am, a bunch of GR kids and some other JCU students got on a public bus to get back to campus, we almost got kicked off doing GR chants. When we got back to GR we did the reaper chant really loudly and then all headed to bed.

Day 8: Sunday February 24, 2013

Recovery & Awards

Today was the last day of O-Week. There was a recovery session down at the river, only a few people went, but it was nice to relax in the river for a while.

After dinner was the awards ceremony, where stupid awards are given out based on silly things that happened during O-Week. Mostly, it’s a bunch of inside jokes, but since the college is so close knit you hear about everything anyways and they were really funny.

Classes start tomorrow, apparently GR is actually very studious during the week so there will be a lot less chaos. 

O-Week days 2 & 3

George Roberts :)

Day 2: Monday February 18, 2013

River session:

All of George Roberts (GR) went down to the river, which is about a 10 minute walk from college, and swam and hung out for a while.  My roommate, Myles, climbed up into a tree to retrieve the rope swing and jumped into the river from way up there. The event was supported by the Red Frogs, which basically come to a bunch of events and give us red frog candy and other stuff.

Trivia night:

Tonight was trivia night where freshmen team up with some upperclassmen and play 3 rounds of trivia. The first round was a bunch of random sex questions like “how long is a pig’s orgasm?” (it’s 30 minutes if you were wondering). Round 2 was GR questions about the dorm and it’s famous residents and events in past years. The final round was beards, (yes a whole round on facial hair). It was a lot of fun, everyone had been drinking since river sesh and when the SOMETHING chant played all the guys dropped their pants. Apparently it’s a tradition that whenever that song plays GR gets naked.

Pat Pat’s house:

After trivia I went to a guy’s house for a small get together. It was very similar to what UNE people do on a random night. It was fun and really nice to have a low key night amongst all the crazy O-Week stuff.

Day 3: Tuesday February 19, 2013

Toga night

Where to begin with toga night? Probably the craziest night since I’ve been here.

Most of O-Week events are just with your college (dorm), but toga night is the entire school and most of Townsville, it made the news. 

Here’s a report from the Townsville Bulletin

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/02/14/375394_savvy.html

Go troppo in a toga

JANE ARMITSTEAD  |  February 14th, 2013

IT IS a rite-of-passage for any university student to remain intact in a bedsheet and do as the Romans do.

Thousands of James Cook University students old and new will kick off their year of study with the annual O-week Toga party on Tuesday night as part of the traditional week-long celebrations from Monday.

From their favourite bedroom linen, a spotlight classic or traditional roman drapery, students will be decked out in their finest creations for Townsville's favourite costume party.

JCU Townsville campus officer Margeaux Garms said that it was an important not-to-be-missed tradition for all uni goers.

She said the Student Association would be hosting the "biggest and best" toga party yet.

"We have made this year's theme tropical or troppo, so all togas, drinks and games will have an island vibe," she said.

"It is a massive night and it is a must for any uni student."

Underage students can join in the fun from 5pm at The Pool in a separate toga event.

The festivities will continue on Thursday with the O-Mazing Race, inspired by the television show, which will send students hunting across the city in search of the ultimate prize.

"They will be sent on a scavenger hunt around the city to take photos of certain items and find random things in various stores or hotspots," she said.

"I think that will be really entertaining and a lot of fun." JCU Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Cocklin said participation in the Orientation Program was a great beginning to the JCU experience.

"James Cook University is a great place to be, and many students will receive a taste of this during O Week," he said.

"O Week is a good way to become more informed and more comfortable with the journey ahead, to start making new friends and to familiarise yourself with the university and the campus, accommodation, people and wonderful resources."

I dressed in my purple bed sheet and went to Uni Club, which the campus bar and club. The club has an indoor dance floor with a DJ and small stages where you can get up and dance on if your feeling brave, or really drunk. There is also an outdoor bar and patio area to hang out with picnic tables.

A lot of people went into town to go clubbing as well, so all of Townsville gets in on toga night. 

O-Week

O week: February 17, 2013- February 22, 2013

Day 1: Sunday February 17, 2013

My dorm:

George Roberts Hall

The international students are grouped with the freshman for orientation (or O-Week).  Each dorm (or college) has it’s own traditions and activities that mostly just involve a lot of drinking.  Most of the upper classmen move into college early to join in the festivities.  I’m in George Roberts Hall, I’m not sure exactly what the other dorms do, but here’s my O-Week adventure:

On Sunday, the freshman and internationals (we’re all called freshies or freshers) are given their fresher buckets and a headband with a nickname on it.  The bucket is basically a spew bin for your bedside and to take on the fresher kegger bus (which happens on DATE).  The bucket also has some information and other random goodies.  The headbands are light yellow for under 18 (the legal drinking age in Australia) and darker yellow for the 18+.  In Sharpie is a nickname, mine is Grylls after Bear Grylls because my parents used to call me Sar-bear.  It’s a bit of a stretch (or loose as the Auzzies say), but it’s a fun one.  All freshmen are required to wear their fresher headband for the entire week.  If you’re caught without the band on, upperclassmen can write in Sharpie on your forehead a worse nickname.  By the end of the week, you are known as your nickname.  Many of the upperclassmen still go by their fresher nickname and have it on the back of George Roberts shirts and on their dorm room doors. 

Out at the tav wearing my fresher headband

Sunday night was speed dating, where the freshman rotate around the room and get 30 seconds with an upperclassman.  It’s basically all of George Roberts yelling over each other for 30 minutes.  Then we went as a big group to the Tav (or the campus Tavern), which is a fun place to drink and only about a 20 minute walk from the dorms.  

Cairns Australia: Global Links Orientation (Day 1-5)

Day 1: Saturday February 9, 2013

The Trip/getting to Cairns

As soon as I got through security I saw a girl with the Global Links study abroad tag on her bag and introduced myself, we were both relived to have someone to hang out with for the trip. We ran into another girl at our gate who was also in the program, and from then on slowly the entire group came together- once we were in LA we had a group of around 20 or so all hanging out on the terminal floor in a big circle.

The flight to Brisbane wasn’t bad: I was asleep before the flight crew finished the safety information. Then 15 hours later I was in Australia!! The huge group of us had to run to our next flight to Cairns, which was a quick 1 hour flight. We were met at the airport by the Global Links leaders and taken to our hostel by bus.

The hostel is amazing! It’s a place called Gilligan’s and has a pool with a waterfall and a club. Check it out:

Chinese New Year celebration just outside our hostel 

After we were all settled into our rooms (there are 6 of us to a room with bunk beds), we had an orientation session and then dinner. On our walk to dinner we got to check out Cairns a little:

Beer at a pub overlooking the view you see below

View of Cairns at low tide

The lagoon, a little pool where seawater is pumped into- it allows people to swim in the ocean safely without getting stung by jellyfish

By the time everyone had a little food in them, we were all ready to crash. Dinner ended up with all of us staring blankly across the table at one another in dead silence. The night ended early, I was way too tired to go out. Jet leg is no joke.

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Day 2: Sunday February 10, 2013

Rainforest Station Nature Park

Went to the farmers market this morning and tried some cool fruit:

A few of us trying dragon fruit

Today we went to the Rainforest Station Nature Park, where I:

Went on a duck boat tour:

They are similar to the Boston duck tour boats and go in water and on land. Ours got stuck when we were in the water, but our tour guide was very nice and taught us all about the flora and some of the fauna we were seeing.

Threw a boomerang:

Learned about traditional aborigine weaponry:

Painted in aborigine style:

Saw a didgeridoo performance:

Held a koala:

Saw a HUGE crocodile get fed:

AND

Fed kangaroos and wallabies:

Australian slang:

Ankle bitter: small child

Crook: sick, ill

Barbie: barbeque

Chook: Chicken

Knocker: someone who criticizes

Barrack: to cheer on a team (don’t say ‘who are you rooting for’ because Australians use root as a term for when people get naked and friendly…)

Bludger: a lazy person

Vejjo: vegetarian

Coldie: a beer

Mozzie: mosquito

Ripper: good, fantastic

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Day 3: Monday February 11, 2013

The Great Barrier Reef

Today we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef with Passions of Paradise. We sailed out on a big catamaran two hours out to a dive and snorkel sight. It is jellyfish season, so we all wore skins to protect us from stings- aren’t they sexy?

PHOTO in skins

Here are the highlights from my first dive:

Sexy snorkel suits :) 

A jellyfish I almost ran into: 

We then had lunch and headed out to our second dive sight, which was much shallower and easier to get close to the coral and fish.

Underwater video: