International Orientation

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This past week was spent on campus for International Orientation. To get to campus we had to take a bus, with all of our stuff that we had packed for the week. We made an interesting group to say the least. A ten minute or so bus ride later we arrived, walked up a huge hill which makes Luther's hills look like nothing, and then began trying to register. I had not received one or two of the emails that everyone else got so my registration took a little longer. They gave us our room keys and we went to unload. The rooms were pretty nice - all individual with bathrooms and a joining to your roommate's room.
The week was spent getting to know campus which wasn't too difficult once we figured out where the main buildings were. The main difference from Luther is the sheer size. While I can walk across Luther's campus in 10 minutes, I would need probably almost a half hour to get across the campus here. Getting to campus is also something that we explored. We spent time figuring out bus schedules and stops and the merits of riding the bus versus walking or bike riding. Bus or bike probably won since it is a good 45 minute hike from our flat to campus.
The week was not, of course, free of frustrations. Much of the week seemed unorganized when it came to communication between departments and between the university and us. For example, when we did health registration they had told us all we needed was our health forms. As we were queuing up, they suddenly announce that we need our letter of acceptance. This announcement caused many to have to go back to rooms to get said letter. Also, nothing on campus seems to be done on-line. At Luther, we register for classes months before the classes start, on-line; health registration could also easily be done on-line with no need for confusion or queuing. This experience has made me appreciate the Internet and its many uses. Thank goodness Luther uses the Internet! I cannot imagine going through things like this every year.
The experience was not all bad. The first night we went to the karaoke and quiz night hosted by the International Student Bureau. Some of the singing was very, ah, inspired. The quiz was great fun and we did really well, and we tied for 1st!! We also made friends with the ISB exec board. The second night we got free candy and lemonade and watched Casino Royale - good movie. On Thursday, we went to the ISB sponsored Club Night and danced until our feet hurt and stayed up really late.
All in all it was a good week, even if it wasn't as informative or organized as we might have wished. Tomorrow registration starts and then classes begin on Thursday.

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