It’s been there, done that fourth time now for me, but for many, it’s their first time, and the first time is always the most special. What am I talking about? None other than…first week (back) at uni.
In many ways though, this week was a first all over again. Seeing campus so crowded and lively again after spending the last 2 years in Bosch (which, if you want to know the significance of, stay tuned for my review of buildings around campus series), seeing people line up yet again for the copy centre and Co-op bookshop (hey, even UTS seems to have their own queuing problem, as seen from the bus along Broadway), stressing about getting organised, and…a (relatively) kick-ass timetable which meant three days of uni this week and one day away from uni all other weeks.
Note how I said one day away from uni, not one day off. That day is placement day. I bemoan not getting an actual day off with no uni commitments of any sort, unlike some of my colleagues (you’ll realise that your classmates get referred to as colleagues at uni), but at least I’m not rushing from placement to uni. So if you’ve ever wondered what uni students live like, and think like, there you go. As you might be able to guess, talking yourself into a hey, it’s not so bad after all is one such activity, which is particularly prevalent at the beginning of semester and can be found in students with sub-optimal timetables, especially science students with crowded-out timetables.
Which leaves the discrepancy of how I managed to get two days off this week. Most tutes and labs do not start until week 2, so having two days with only tutes…you can do the math there. I can hear a sigh of relief from first years stressed about getting prepared for everything. Don't worry, second week is crunch time. Another first for this semester was having only 4 hours of lectures a week, compared to at least 10 in previous years. This is both good and bad, because you don’t see the same people as often. Which is of course good if there are people you’d rather not see again, but bad if you want to see friends. On that latter point, it’s not as depressing as it sounds because you’ll (naturally) try to customise your timetable so it’s similar to your friends, so chances are you’ll still see them. But it is quite a change, especially if you’re doing something as closed as pharmacy.
And since we’re on the topic of firsts, this is the first time I’ve had double lectures (2 hour lectures) and trust me, they’re not pleasant. Especially when you’re sitting on a hard, wooden bench such as those in the Quad General Lecture Theatre. Usually though, the lecturers are not unreasonable and will give you a five minute break in between. I think the highlight of my year (apart from placements, which I’m really looking forward to) will be those prized five minute breaks.
Now, onto my favourite activity of the year—“spot the first years”. Characteristics include:
a) Being dressed for the runway. You see some heel lengths that you didn’t think were even humanely possible to wear.
b) Having their head buried in a map, and exclaiming out loud, “oh I think that’s Carslaw over there….no wait, I think that’s the Law building….wait what? Maybe we should ask somebody…”
c) Tiptoeing into your lecture (usually from the front too), only to find it’s the wrong one and dash out again. Even more amusing if your lecture isn’t for a first year subject
d) Lining up for the copy centre and Co-op bookshop (though this is not exclusively reserved to first years)
e) Having to refer to their student card for what their library borrowing numbers are, so they can log into library computers
f) Staring confusedly at the library printers and photocopiers because they don’t know you need a copy card to release your jobs
And this is just on campus. What about off campus? Generally they’re the people who line up at the ticket machines, blocking the entire concourse at Redfern station, while all the older years cruise through the ticket barriers. Or, they’re the people who pay onboard buses while everyone else cruises through with their TravelTens. And, because they don't pull out exact change (or close to it) because they don’t know the prices, and don't knw that it’s protocol to pull out your student card before requesting concession prices, the bus never leaves on time.
Ah, the joys of first week. On a serious note though, welcome to all new students, welcome back to all returning students, and best wishes for the coming year to our Year 12 readers. And the first years really aren't as bad as I made them out to be. They're young and fresh, and I get a good chuckle out of them everytime I see them, which is important when you're a jaded final year student. Stay tuned for my series on which buildings are the best (and unfortunately worst) on campus!