Sydney Life

For those of you who have been reading my profile updates with a keen eye, you may have noticed that it now says that I live at the Women’s College. Although I’ve started my third year of uni, 2009 marks my first year at College – which means that I am technically a “Fresher”. What does this mean? It means that during O-Week, I was juggling the main campus festivities with the ones at College. How is College O-Week different? Well, for one, it’s the start of your new life living on campus – so it involves tonnes of activities to help you get to know freshers in your own college as well as at other colleges.

basically, I now live in some crazy amalgamation of a sorority and Enid Blyton's "St. Clare's"... except there's no curfew + I can come and go as I please. note: I live in the uglier building that I have strategically left out of this photo.

These activities include, but are not limited to: a toga party, a rubix cube party, a cruise, dinner, lunch, dinner, breakfast, running around in academic gowns, the Salisbury, breaking it down to the Pussycat Dolls and wearing the same t-shirt several days in a row. As a budding anthropologist, it was interesting to partake in some genuine “participant observation” during the College O-Week… I’d always heard about the College O-Weeks, and finally I had a chance to experience it firsthand! Unfortunately(??), I was already quite busy with the USU O-Week (which was, I have to say, AMAZING) – meaning that my experience of the College O-Week wasn’t as in depth as my anthropological curiosity might have enjoyed. However, that said, what I did partake in (breaking it down to the Pussycat Dolls, breakfast) was pretty awesome – and everyone I met was enjoying themselves too.

I am quite surprised that I have enjoyed living at College thus far, actually. From the outside, it’s easy to lump college kids into a pile of their own: they are easy to spot at uni because they only carry their books and tend to have a distinct “I rolled out of bed 5 minutes before class” kind of look about them. Well, that’s how it seems at first. In truth, although it is highly tempting to sleep in until you have to go to class, most of the people I live with (250!!!) get up at a reasonable hour and are dedicated to uni… they just happen to be more inclined to do it in their pyjamas. I can see how it’s easy for those living at college to just stay at college and live in the “college world” while at uni (that is, only making friends with fellow college kids) – after all, these are people you see daily: from breakfast to dinner – but I think that this mentality is slowly shifting as well. The happiest college kids I know are the ones who have made friends outside of college as well – they’re involved not only in college life, but also in university life. It’s strange, but living on campus really gives you a totally different and yet entirely awesome experience of university.

Anyway, FYI, I'm going to attempt to keep you updated on what it's like at college... the Women's College, at least. If you have any particular questions, let me know!

Next up in Courtney's College Chronicles: ROOMS & FOOD.