!!! Contact with Other Humans Has Been Established

Last week was orientation for international, study abroad, and exchange students. A couple of the seminars and lectures that we had to attend were entertaining and informative, though most of them were basic first-year policies and procedures that are evidently standard across the globe. Aside from nodding off in the lecture hall, I socialized.

I've been hanging out with a motley crew of people, notably from these countries:

+ America
+ Canada
+ Sweden
+ Germany
+ Mexico
+ New Zealand
+ Malaysia
+ China
+ Vietnam
+ Austria
..and of course Australia.

I've never been exposed to a crowd this diverse, and frankly I think it's something that I needed. I would have never considered myself to be ethnocentric, but spending time with people from across the globe has opened up my thoughts about many nations and the people that inhabit them. Surprisingly, we all share the same sense of humor. I can make the same lame jokes here as I do in the States and I get about the same muffled chuckling here as I do back home. A majority of the week was spent in the commons room in the dorm watching Aussie rules football and music videos with the group.

Anyhow, I learned that people here really get into costume parties. ...This should prove to be a great source of laughter throughout the semester, as there are more than a couple planned. Here are some photos from Saturday night's "All Around the World" party. Guess what country people are representing!









Note the strange and creepy panda bear.