Welcome to UTS

One thing I am impressed with is the orientation activities that UTS has planned for both new and international student in the weeks prior to the start of Uni (that’s how they say college here). There have been many exciting events and activities planned for us pretty much everyday– from orientations to BBQ’s to festivals and other social activities. The older students and advisers have been very friendly and welcoming, making our transition to this new culture easier. UTS seems to be a great school with a good network of people to meet and a friendly staff to help work with us. The main city campus is about two blocks away from my apartment, a massive 25 story building (quite different from the campus at Long Beach that I am used to). We had a welcoming BBQ on Monday – the food wasn’t that great, but o well. On Wednesday night three was a cocktail party for international students – free beer, wine, and champagne for three hours; this is something that we would never experience back home. We rarely have social activities like this, let alone an open bar for the evening. There were tons of people that showed up and then we all went out for the beginning of the year pub-crawl. I’ve heard of crazy pub-crawl stories from friends in Europe but never experienced one. We were scheduled to go to a couple bars down at “the rocks” (an area down by Sydney harbour). It had the makings of a crazy night, but I am proud to say I paced myself and was able to enjoy the entire evening. Then on Friday the design department held an orientation for all first years – while we aren’t in the four-year program, we went to meet some of the faculty members and become familiar with the design building. The program here seems to be really intense, but also totally awesome. I am so excited for some of the classes I am taking, although I am disappointed that my photography class got canceled. They are doing work on the photo lab and wont be able to start the class until April which would extend my trip until July or August. While I do love it here, I can’t stay out here much longer than my anticipated departure at the end of June. After the meeting, we made our way to the Alumni green, a field behind the main campus, for Ofest. With live music and heaps of people, this was looking to be a pretty cool event. We spent most of the afternoon socializing and drinking a little. With all these end of summer activities, it was hard to picture starting school on Monday. We have been so distracted by meeting new people, getting settled in, and finding our way around the city, that I forgot the real reason I came here. I am taking classes that I know I will enjoy though which will make things easier, even though they may be challenging since they have a strict design program. With all this free time on our hands these days I know it will be nice to get into a routine next week.