Uni Orientation

It's been another crazy couple of days here in Melbourne. Friday I packed a bag and moved into Newman College at the University of Melbourne. Newman is one of twelve or thirteen residential colleges at Uni, which are basically independent dorm complexes with their own dining hall. Rather than having school spirit for the Uni, kids have pride for their college, and they don't switch between them during their years at school. Newman was a gorgeous complex, so gothic and British looking. I don't really have pictures as I left my camera in my other room. I promise to be better about pictures in future posts!

Orientation was a fun couple of days. The overall intention was for us to get comfortable in the city, which they definitely accomplished. Saturday we went on separate tours around the city, and I got to see the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which for a true Aussie would be a religious experience. It was neat, but I don't think I'll become a huge cricket fan anytime soon. They also play Australian Rules Football there, a sport close to the heart of most Melbournians. I will definitely be checking out a game sometime soon.

That afternoon we traveled down to St. Kilda, the beach suburb of Melbourne. It was a glorious day out, and we saw they were setting up for a festival, which we went back to Sunday evening. It was crazy, there were so many people wandering around. I definitely felt more part of the city that evening.

They also took us to the Queen Vic Market, an open air market with everything you could hope for. It's only a few blocks from my apartment, and I will be doing a lot of shopping there. Kangaroo steaks, anyone?

Monday night we participated in a true residential college tradition, a formal dinner. Most of the colleges have at least one dinner like this a week, which makes me appreciate that I'm not staying in a college (I don't even have a pair of heels here!). It was definitely different than any dinner I've had in the Grinnell dining hall.

Tuesday I moved back into my room at RMIT village, the complex I'm staying in permanently. It's nice to take a break from all the organized activities and get settled; I'm excited to explore the city on my own schedule.