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.