In the Beginning, There Was a Rant

So yesterday we had our International Student welcome/the beginning of Orientation at UC. Volunteers in red t-shirts (which is the only qualification to be a guide, apparently) herded us into this giant lecture hall, where we pretended to listen to old white dudes in suits blab about the importance of education. They were wearing these maroon and gold glittery robes that made them look like Gryffindors over their suits, though, so that made the speeches a tad more bearable. Then the coordinators split us into small groups (still containing at least twenty people each). I was hoping that we would do some sweet icebreakers Gustavus style, but oh no. We sat awkwardly around a table and listening to our guide (or tried to, because English was her second language and people kept walking by and making noise) read the pages of information she had out loud. Literally, a powerpoint would have been more interesting. After that, we went back into the lecture hall and had more people talk at us about enrolment, insurance, etc.

Yet this mind numbing story is not, in fact, the worst part about orientation.

You may be thinking, "How can that be? I almost fell asleep reading that summary!"

Well. Allow me to explain. The University has planned all kinds of stellar events/parties for students: A toga party, paint party, comedy act....oh, and MACKLEMORE (musical artist for the old folks at home) will be performing next week. Sounds great, right? I thought so too, until I learned that all of these events require tickets (each upwards of $20) and most are already sold out. SOLD OUT. Yet we just learned of these events this week.

Maybe I'm the only one who's thinking this, but WHY in the name of Greeters would anyone schedule an orientation that is exclusive??? Isn't the whole point to be inclusive? The sheer stupidity of this setup is incredible. There are no small groups, no get to know you games, no interactions with any faculty or staff, and oh, one small thing, NO EVENTS THAT EVERYONE IS FREE TO ATTEND.

Okay, I need to move on, this rant is getting out of control. Needless to say, my appreciation for and belief in the effectiveness of Gustavus' New Student Orientation has only deepened.

After the sad excuse for orientation finished, a bunch of us went to the mall to run errands. We found a K-Mart, which has everything for incredibly cheap, and the discount grocery store, which is basically like a Costco except everything is normal instead of dinosaur sized. I never thought finding a K-Mart would feel like discovering the lost city of Atlantis, but when everything around you costs the blood of a virgin and your firstborn child, that's pretty much how it works.

My friend Elise and I then ventured to the Macpac store (basically New Zealand's version of REI), and I bought a legit pack for tramping! (Tramping is what Kiwis call hiking/camping). I originally was just going to try some on and look around, but I found one that was perfect and the guy helping me kindly gave me a student discount, which was a sizable 30% off. I was (and still am) really excited about this successful purchase, and am even more excited to put it to use!

This morning was enrolment. Despite being a bit unorganized (on the Uni's part, not mine. Shocker) and frustrating, in the end I am incredibly excited for my courses. I am taking New Zealand Literature, Popular Children's Texts and their Representation on Film, Kiriata: Maori and Indigenous Film, and Rebuilding Christchurch: An Introduction to Community Engagement in Tertiary Studies. The last two courses are amendments to my original schedule, and I am really excited about them. The Maori (pronounced Mau-ree) one incorporates Postcolonial theory, which is a course I just took at Gustavus and completely loved. The Rebuilding Christchurch one involves hands on work, so we'll be doing community service in the city, speaking with people who were effected by the earthquake, etc. I am so excited for classes to start!

General Facts/Updates:

-I am really starting to settle in here. I like everyone in my program, but I'm definitely starting to connect with some on a deeper, long term friend sort of level, which is a great feeling. Once classes start, I know I'll get into even more of a groove and feel more at home, so I'm looking forward to that.

-The weather in New Zealand can literally change at the drop of a hat. Checking the forecast ahead of time really does no good, and sometimes even the daily forecast will change significantly, even if you checked it that morning. Weathermen here frequently just say that the weather will be "fine," because they can't give much more accurate descriptions than that. I find this hilarious.

-Kiwis eat a lot of pumpkin. You'll find it in really odd places, such as macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, spreads, etc. At first I thought this was really weird, but it's actually so delicious. I just bought pumpkin and kumara (basically New Zealand's sweet potato) hummus, and it is sooo yummy. I love trying all the new foods here, and have yet to be disappointed!

Today is my friend Sam's birthday, so tonight we are all going out to celebrate! It will be nice to dress up and experience the night life a bit instead of just wearing grubby camping clothes all the time (even though that's nice too). Sam is a film major and in two of my classes, so we're basically the same person.

I realize that this post is super text heavy, because none of the subject matter was really worthy of a photo, so I will just tack some on the end here as a reward for reading the whole thing. Good job, random stalker!

This is a "Monkey's Puzzle" tree, named because the branches resemble monkey tails!

This is a cute little sailboat I found at Sumner Beach. It practically has my name on it! (My middle names is Joy.)

Cheers!