Orientation Week

Hello all!

Oh, where to begin? Hm, perhaps the beginning!!

On Sunday, I left around 11 or 11:30 (Oops...we had planned on leaving at, um, 10...oh well). We moved my stuff in--it felt like soo much...but when it was all unpacked, it seemed...decent--with the help of Jasmine and her father. I'll get a pic of the room later. But I had to sign off on some papers to get my key. And I picked up my Cobber ID (VERY important...I need it for eating).

After Jasmine and I got a little settled in the room, we decided to walk around to get to know the campus better. We ended up in the auditorium at, like, 3:30 or 3:45. We were supposed to meet our Clubs there at four anyways; it was funny how we just happened upon the auditorium. Sadly, we had to split up because I was in Club 28 and she was in Club 34. Anyways, I met the group leaders (Garrett and Amanda). I was the second person there. I received my beanie and orientation book. Once everyone arrived (I made small talk with people sitting by me), we met at "our spot" aka the grassy knoll outside Memorial Auditorium. We played icebreaker games (the first game was saying our name and saying an animal that started with the same letter, for example, "Tiffany the Toucan" because Tiger was taken...but we had to go in a circle and repeat all who had gone before; next we played Bunny Bunny...no idea how to explain that; then Toilet Tag; and finally Ninja.) Then, we headed off to dinner and watched some upperclassman perform. After all that excitement, we headed to our dorms and had a meeting for the floor and met our RA and people on the floor.

Monday: We ate breakfast and then headed off for the "Hands for Change Service Project" which, for us, entailed going to a daycare center for children from low-income families and cleaned up around the place. People cleaned the walls, kitchen, shed, windows, etc. Me and three others washed tables and chairs. We had to scrub some of them down because they had paint stuck to them! Five or six of us chilled in the kitchen, eating one doughnut each, relaxing and talking. Then we got to play with the children. We had to give piggy back rides and get put in jail multiple times. Then we sat with the children as they ate (and they picked on me! lol. one ginger kept poking me and blaming it on someone else, and two girls were putting their feet on me and pretending to suffocate me with Jocelyn's beanie). After setting up mats for nap time and washing hands and having a dance party (they played La Bamba and everyone got into a conga line), we had to depart (Justin Bieber was playing...only the guys were dancing lol) and eat lunch back on campus. Then we reflected on what we did and how it helped the workers and the community. Basically we just exchanged funny stories about the children and were amazed at how much time we saved the few workers there (there were 22 of us there and each set of three or four people did 20-40 minutes worth of work at the center). At 1:45 there was a ceremony telling about what all clubs just did and the activity on campus that sponsors that. Next we were supposed to go to an Advising Seminar, but both the OLs (orientation leaders) mistook it for free time. So Garret took five of us girls on a walk to DQ. It was windy and hot out, and my hair blew into my blizzard. Dinner was with our residence hall/floor. Then cabaret. Cabaret was a bunch of upperclassman singing and dancing and showing off musical talents. It was FANTASTIC. And some of the guys were, well, you know, HOT. (One guy sang SO amazingly and I was sitting in my seat just going nuts, and then a group came on and danced and ripped off their shirts, and one guy sang a song he wrote--amazing piano playing--and there were a few bands and the MC's were hilarious. One MC dressed as Sarah Palin and sang a song about Minnesota set to the tone of "A Whole New World.")

Tuesday: Breakfast. Then an orientation seminar on Technology. Lunch (where we went around the circle and told the club our fears, then pet peeves). I ran my labtop down to tech to see how to get wireless, but I needed to buy some wireless adapter thing. Department previews were next. I freakin' got my beanie stolen by some bastard on roller blades. I--being the flippin' nice and polite person I am, though, said "May I have my beanie back, please?" and he was a dick. I am regretful to admit I spent the next hour contemplating ways to make his life heck (cancer, having him paralyzed, shoving needles into him and pushing him off a ten-story building, etc.) (and I only say "regretful" because I shouldn't be thinking of others like that, wishing them harm and all; it's un-Christian-like. But I was pissed beyond belief...though, you know me, I bottle it up and imagine acting out). I sat through the business preview and was bored out of my skull. I ran my labtop back to my dorm, but by the time I was done, I thought I had missed the start of the next preview (and I really wanted to go to the English preview because that was my preference! My favorite! My main major!). I hung out in the bathroom, texting...and still fuming over the snatch. Then, I met with my advisor (Knutson) to discuss classes and the future (there were three other students there as well). She was so awesome! She's a writing professor who loves cats! After the meeting, I talked with her about English (it wasn't a connection type of talk, but it was a start!), and she gave me a booklet and a bag. Then, there was the library tour (where we kept bumping into the student president's group and he kept repeating what Amanda and Garret were saying lol). We glanced around the Farmer's Market (basically people set up booths with food they've grown...not much though, sadly). Then we went to a science building to discuss the summer book read. I didn't say anything about the book because, um, I skimmed the entire thing in two days. What I got from it was what I already knew about staying firm with one's religion except this was about the author's life. I kept my mouth shut during the discussion because I didn't want to start a religious debate.

Wednesday: Breakfast. DS (dining services) meeting--boring and confusing...paperwork. Orientation seminar on being broke (thanks for the reminder :P ). Lunch. Orientation seminar "What's It All About" was so...INTENSE!! There were three scenes. The first was a guy bringing two friends (another guy--who was black--and a girl) to meet. It was a "drama." After the scene ended badly, we--as in the audience--were allowed to talk to the people onstage--who stayed well in character. It turned into a sexism/racism debate and people actually left the auditorium! The next scene was about a drunk guy pushing another drunk guy to drink more. The first drunk guy was having fun and drinking and his girlfriend was the least drunk of them all. The discussion wasn't too bad. The last scene was the most...unsettling. It was about rape. It was only a boy and girl onstage. They actually made-out! The girl just wanted to cuddle and not have sex, but she was sending mixed signals by touching the guy so much, and he just forced himself onto her. They didn't actually have sex onstage (pervert!). I was uncomfortable. The discussion wasn't too bad. "Wanting to watch Glee doesn't end in sex" was something said by an audience member and fellow club member to explain what the girl wanted. After that was the resource fair (booths to look at for help and such). Then we got to attend the President's Reception and Ice Cream social which was basically our club got dressed up and we shook hands with President Dovre and his wife and ate ice cream and cookies in the backyard. Then we had a photo. Supper. And sleep.

Thursday: Super busy! I'll post my schedule in another post. But anyways. First class got let out early for the Opening Convocation and Beanie Toss. More classes. Then Toy Story 3 in the auditorium!! Popcorn was served on Frisbees. I nearly cried this time. Such a great movie.

Friday: Only one class. I got to sleep in 'til nine am! Usually I had been getting up at, like, seven am (I usually stayed up watching Family Guy or something 'til eleven or midnight because I had to rest). The dance! Our floor dressed as little children with each person wearing a letter of the alphabet on our shirt! Four guys actually came to our dorm randomly looking for people to put make-up on them. They were dressed as people from the 80's. Two of them came into my room, and I took a couple pics while other people got them ready lol (they came with the 80's outfits on). Pics to come! The dance was...fun? At least people were dancing. There was no room anywhere because of all the people. You couldn't go anywhere without touching someone. Since it was a theme dance, some of the theme outfits included crayons, Lady Gaga, Jersey Shore, cowboys, togas, boys in bikini tops and jean shorts, shirtless guys, write your phone number down shirts, classy, masquerade, ninja, etc. And people showed up in normal clothes, too. All the grinding towards the end of the dance was disgusting. Seeing it on TV is gross, but seeing it in person...*shudders*. Oh, and some guy randomly tried to kiss another guy!

Funny story: At lunch on one of the first days, I was looking around and doing a whole bunch of double takes because people looked like students from high school. I did so many. So while getting in line for Italian food (that was the country this week), I see someone who looks like Jesse. He was wearing a black and white shirt and had glasses and blondish/whitish hair. His back was to me. So I looked for a bit, then he turned around. Yeah, it was Jesse!!

Random things to note:
I got two packages in the mail: One was from B&N, the other from home (cable cord).
Dorm rooms are quite dim.
I've been kept SUPER busy all week.
I had to make a trip to the library for a book I apparently didn't need, but ending up stopping by there later for a different book.
Lanyards are quite helpful.
I get three meals a day.

Thanks!
God Bless!
Tiff