#orientation weekend

From the 16th to the 18th of September, all of the exchange students here at the moment were invited to Tauplitz for a weekend for our Orientation and for a lot of us to meet one another for the first time. 

               Everyone met at the tiny trainstation in Bad Mittendorf at around 3pm on the Friday, said hello to those they hadn’t met, then jumped on a bus to be taken up to the hut we would be staying in for the next two days. This was the first time a lot of the newbies (August group) and the oldies (January group – me) met so it was a very full on few days as we tried to find our newbies and get acquainted with everyone.                It was also the first time the oldies (now me?) had been together since our last weekend with our oldies in Kitzbühel so there was a lot of screaming and hugging and running up to one another in trains and train stations. We may have severely worried or scared some of the public in a place called Attnang-Punchheim where most of the trains stopped for a transfer. Like we just completely took over this platform. It was intense to say the least.

(The view from a little bench we found during free time)

Once everyone had been assigned rooms, we were given free time until dinner, so myself, Sarah, Natalie, Laura, and a newbie, Amaris, went for a walk and had story time where we told each other about some of the things we’ve done this year and what the trips are like. We mostly just tried to get a feel for what the other people were like. 

After dinner and notices, we had free time again, so we started getting to know other people more. We played cards in the dining hall and sat in the corridors talking. It was nice. We also finally got our hoodies we have been organising for the last few months so everyone was pretty happy with that.

The weather wasn’t all that great so we couldn’t do the big hike like we wanted to. I think it was going to be around three hours there, three hours back, but because of the rain and clouds, we all ended up just walking together out to two little lakes in between some of the hills (I guess you could call them that?). We walked along the edge of a cliff most of the time. It wasn’t too muddy and there were times where it was rocky so it wasn’t awful. It was pretty chill. It was mostly pretty flat but there were a few solid hills that made it more entertaining. 

(We walked all the way down to that lake)

               It was a really chill walk, despite my jacket soaking through. I walked with Natalie and Kenna for most of it. We exchanged weird stories and facts about each of our countries (Australia and Canada) and the wildlife that lives there.                The lakes were both really pretty, especially with the fog/clouds. We walked along the shore of the second lake and put our hands in, despite it being really cold due to wind and rain. The water was warm. I could have happily swum in it.                After the second lake, the rest of the walk back to the hut was uphill and about half was over a cliff face or loose rocks, which was fun.

We completed the walk in around two, maybe two ad a half, hours so had literally the entire afternoon free.                It was very similar to the evening before, we just hung out in various places around the hut. Some people went exploring and possibly walked up to a cave. A lot of people just tried to shower in the very few showers available. Some rooms had them (but they were see through) so we didn’t have to use the shower rooms in the basement.

At dinner, I sat with mostly girls from the January group, but also two newbies, Alexa and Casper. It was actually really funny. We had almost no room to eat due to having eight people at a table for six but we managed. Natalie showed us this game called ‘how many’ where she would stack glasses in front of her and have us guess how many. I got it straight away since I’d seen a similar concept before but the other took a bit longer. Grace didn’t understand for ages which was really funny because she was getting really stressed and confused (she got it in the end). Then Casper found some cards and did a few really great tricks. I was sitting next to him so I could see it more clearly than others but the table went nuts with one when he placed what was my card facedown next to a few others and picked up a different one.                We also had a few everlasting games of Uno where a new rule was introduced: every time a six is placed down, the last person to put their hand on the card needs to pick up two extra cards. If it’s a nine, not a six, and you put your hand on it, you also need to pick up. It was great! People were getting really into it and arguing over who was last to touch the pile so cards were discounted or split. People picked on one another for no reason other than something that had happened earlier in the day that they were still salty about. It was hilarious.

On the Sunday, we had our orientation which was just us sitting down with the people in charge of our countries (Doris for New Zealand, Walter for South America etc) and talked about our experiences so far. We also discovered who is fluent, or close enough it doesn’t matter, in German and have all stepped up our game. It was a good chat though. We were able to catch up with each other without really having to do anything since Doris was asking everyone questions.

I then ran around the hut telling people to get flags for a photo since we hadn’t had one yet. It was chaos. There almost wasn’t a Canadian flag, I don’t even know if the one or two American flags there made it into the photo. People were in socks and sandals, a large part of the January group had matching jumpers on, one of the phones had a timer on. It all worked out in the end though.

               The South Americans were getting a group photo so naturally we photo bombed and created one of my favourite series of photos in existence. We all spent a solid 10 or 15 minutes outside taking photos with the mountains behind us.

Once photos had been taken, we had to start saying goodbye to a group that would be leaving a few hours earlier than everyone else. It was less than 20 people who left but it made a big difference to the atmosphere. I ended up sitting on some rocks in a bushy area with Elley for a while just talking and catching up before we had to get on the bus ourselves and get to the train station.

The train station didn’t have a ticket machine or anyone we could get tickets from so we had to buy them from the ticket checker on the train. It was a very painful process and the poor man quickly started to run out of change, since most tickets needed about €1,10 change. I think everyone managed though so it was okay.

(The main feature in most of the photos taken over the weekend)

We split off again in Attnang-Punchheim and all headed back to our respective towns. I ended up stuck in Melk for a few hours due to a marathon through the Wachau which stopped the buses. I got home eventually though and that’s all the matters.

It was a pretty good weekend. I had a lot of fun getting to know the newbies and seeing everyone again. I’m really excited to spend more time with the newbies over the next couple of months. They all seem like really cool people. The weather wasn’t great but there isn’t anything you can do about that. And the walk was really nice.

Until something else exciting happens, ciao!

When I was 10 years old, I was told by a teachers actions that I was stupid. On top of that, she also made it known to my fellow students that I had failed to complete a test in time. Now that I think back on it, I believe I have dyscalculia. Not only that, but after being gone nearly a week due to sickness I was denied access to the nurse. When I was riding home on the bus I vomited on myself. We had to change busses, and I was covered in vomit the entire time. This woman made my life hell, and I was only 10 years old. 

So why do I want to become a teacher? Because I don't want another kid to go through what I did. Because honestly, that turned me off school. I don't want a child with disabilities to be alienated and treated like dirt like I was. That ruined my self-esteem. I was different, and I learned different and she poked fun at it. I want to inspire kids to get into science. I want them to enjoy learning, and crave knowledge. 

I want to get the teachers who don't deserve to teach out of the classroom. I want to make sure students with disabilities don't get pushed to the side and forgotten about. I want to be that teacher that students come back to and say "Hey, I'm getting married!" or "I'm a mom/dad!" 

Day one of orientation was interesting. Got here at like 12:30, checked in and had to rush unpack the car. Also had to rush and eat lunch. Took a quick shower because I was gross and then went to meet with my orientation group. Had some presentation in Dibden and then we went with our orientation groups to do ice breakers. After that we went on a campus quest just to see where the important buildings are and when we went to the field at the end we had to sing the badger (our mascot) a song and my suitemate who's in my group led us in singing this fantastic moose song. It was interesting. Then we got T-shirts and got to go back to our dorms for a bit before dinner and floor meetings. Dinner was odd, I ended up sitting with two girls from my floor (or one of them was) and like they didn't talk to me and they talked lots of personal stuff and then left. Then I joined the rest of the group which also were not very talkative. Then back to the rooms before meeting up with the orientation group again...

Then we listened to the dean of students and watched a video on top ten tips for JSC freshman before this guy went on to do a fun presentation about alcohol awareness. He was cool, juggling and stuff and telling his story and then he told another story about him again and how when he was young his friend and himself got drunk in the morning and he put his hand through a glass door. He wasnt juggling or anything and long story short I almost passed the fuck out because it was so graphic and asjhdskjahdjaskhdjkasdh just thinking about it makes me feel sick. So I left early and I had planned on going back in but I couldnt so I went back and finished unpacking my room like the anti-social person I have become. I did go downstairs and hang outside the RA office for a bit while people were playing games but it was so loud... Blah

Now I'm waiting until 9 to go get breakfast even though I could go now. I'm just having major social anxiety and I do not approve of it one bit. I guess it's because I haven't made any friends really yet so I'm just like blah and my roommate moves in tomorrow so I cannot decorate or anything until we figure out how we are going to situate our tiny room.