Jayhawker Towers! Getting Settled...

It was our first weekend, we had moved into Jayhawker Towers and started getting settled...

On  Saturday an event had been organised where families were donating old furniture and homely items to us international kids. We tried to get there as early as possible. My roommate emphasised that we grab one essential item - a television set. 

It was really funny when I look back - she had us all organised and divised a plan for us to go for separate types of stuff. It was pretty effective because it meant we didn't duplicate items. 

Some amazing people donated couches which was great as it would save us buying them. Of course, this made them a popular choice and they weren't light enough to just grab and run with like everything else. So for these, we had to put down our name and then they would be drawn from a hat. All of us put down our name and hoped for the best. Luckily, my name got called out for one of them! (Although it was part of a weird corner sofa)...My flatmate got another one! Hers was a pretty half-decent 3-seater...

We came back with a couch, an armchair (kinda), tv set, a table to put it on, some glasses and some other stuff.

Also that morning while this was going on, families were taking some of the students for a tour of Lawrence. I didn't bother going because Cheryl had already shown me around, although I think a couple of my roommates went.

I can't remember what else happened that day - although we ordered our first Indian that night. It was nice but not as good as it is in the UK.

I think the day seemed to go slowly and drag because we went to our very first frat party the night before! To find out how it went check out the blog on Monday!

Hello Kansas! International Orientation Week (Day 4)

Today was the last day of the orientation week (not really a week if its only four days though, eh?)...

However, today was our last day and Hashinger Halls and the night we moved to Jayhawker Towers!

The day before we found out who our roommates would be. To our mutual surprise, me and the Scottish girls found out that we would be roommates together! I wasn't sure whether to be glad or dissappointed by this and I think they felt the same way. To be honest - I felt both! I was dissappointed that my roommates weren't American or from somewhere else because it meant I wouldn't meet new people (by living with them) but then I was glad to be with the Scottish girls because we were from a similar cultural background and I had already met them and knew they were nice! Although we all agreed that this meant we should make an extra effort to make other friends.

Nothing particularly memorable happened earlier that day. Although I did go to a meeting about staying legal on my visa as I had a J-1 type. I had to ensure that I had taken over 12 units, not to take paid employment unless it was for KU and ensure that I follow the law generally I think. Also, if we wanted to leave the US to take a trip somewhere, then we had to make sure that our visa stated that we could enter the US multiple times within the time period and that we got our DS 2019 form signed by the International Office at KU.

After meeting some new people from places including France, Germany, Canada, Sweden, England and Australia - a group of us went down to Mass St for dinner together. I think we went to a place called Joe Schmoes...after about an hour trying to decide.

The interesting part was when the waiter came and asked us what drinks we wanted. We were silent, wondering whether one of us would risk ordering an alcoholic drink - until one of the English guys turned round and ordered a Sprite. After that we all ordered soft drinks to be on the safe side.

The dinner was good and the chat was friendly. But we knew as soon as we got back we would have to finally move out of Hashinger.

I can't remember if it was because I hadn't prepared earlier in the day, but I remember moving out was stressful. Especially as over 100 students were doing it at once and none of our suitcases were small. I remember struggling to get it all downstairs at first, because they were heavy. Then when they were finally down, I had to leave them all in the foyer to sign out and check in to Jayhawker Towers.

It was so frustrating, it was late and I just wanted to move in already! Two of my roommates (who hadn't came for dinner) already had moved in and seen the apartment. They said it was pretty basic but looked nice. They also mentioned that it was completely empty! 

Finally, I got checked in and our cases got driven down to the apartment for us. They were right, there was absolutely nothing in the apartment except from two beds and two desks in each bedroom. When we had finally all moved in and were ready we sat on the living room floor together. Now we had to decide who became roommates with whom.

I can't remember how exactly we managed to decide who shared with whom, although I remember flipping coins and then doing numbers several times. I think the numbers decided. Although I wouldn't have minded sharing with any of them, I was quite pleased with my roommate chosen because she seemed pretty neat and tidy, like me! Also we were both film students so we had that in common which was cool.

Finally I had moved in to Jayhawk Towers, Tower B on the 6th floor. Now we had time to get settled and explore for ourselves. Find out how my first day in Jayhawk Towers went by checking out the blog tommorow!

Hello Kansas! - The Powers Family (Part 2)

Staying at Cheryl's for the first night was a great beginning to my year abroad...

Her house was very comfortable after a long day of travelling. I ended up waking up at 3am with the time difference...so my first full day was a really long one.

When I had been showered and was ready, I found that Cheryl had already made breakfast! Hot freshly baked muffins - they were amazing! (My mum never bakes so it was kind of a big deal lol)

I met Cheryl's husband Dick that morning also. He was also lovely like his wife and daughter. They decided to give Simon and me a tour of Lawrence and of KU!

The sun was splitting the trees and it was roasting hot! It was so exciting to see all of Lawrence and then see KU before we'd even checked in. Mass St looked like a cool, quirky part of town and then there was KU - I could not believe how massive it was!

Stirling Uni is absolutely tiny compared to any university I've seen/studied in America. KU not only has tons of different buildings, but most of them are huge! Don't get me started on the Sorrority and Fraternity houses - man they are big! They look exactly like the ones you see in the films, like old fashioned mansions with the Greek letters. I was so excited when I seen them!

We went past one sorrority house and there were a bunch of girls outside. Cheryl said they were probably doing their initiation. I couldn't believe it - I really felt like I was in Legally Blonde or something (even though that's set in California but oh well).

A Sorrority House, huge eh?

Later in the day we packed up our stuff at Cheryl's and got ready to check in to KU. Cheryl helped us both with it and I'm really glad she did because it was all a bit overwhelming. Basically, there were hundreds of foreign students, like me, who were all trying to register/check in and figure out what we were supposed to be doing. With Cheryl it made the process a whole lot easier.

Then she helped us both move in to our rooms with our bags. Interestingly, a lot of the other exchange students had families with them, helping them move in - which of whom, I assume had signed up for the family transportation program like me. I think it definitely helped having that bit of support with us.

Then I met Tori, who was to be my temporary roommate at Hashinger Hall for the orientation week until I moved in to Jayhawker Towers. She was a graduate student, 24 years old and from China and I think we both had difficulty understanding each other - although she was lovely. She had already met some of the other Chinese students and seeing that I was alone, they invited me to sit with them at dinner which was nice of them. So we went down to dinner and we ate.

I remember seeing a pretty blonde girl and we caught each others eye. She was alone. Seeing an empty seat next to me, she came over and asked if she could sit with us. We were all like, of course! No-one left each other out, everyone was friendly and made an effort. So she sat next to us. I found out she was Swedish, but her English was very good. So we chatted a lot and I was happy to find that she was really friendly.

Then I remember seeing another blonde girl at the salad bar. She looked really familiar although I didn't know her, I wondered if she was a student from Stirling. Later on I found her and asked if she was Scottish - and she was! She was the first Scottish girl I'd met and she was from Glasgow, like me. I also spoke to another guy who was from England, but studied in Edinburgh - so he could tell I was Scottish right away.

Later on, I found out that the blonde girl from Sweden and the Scottish girl were roommates - it was a really weird but cool coincidence as we could all relate to each other in some way. Then later on, I met two other Stirling students from the north of Scotland - which was really cool! One of the girls I knew from my course (although not very well) and the other I hadn't met before - although they knew each other. 

Although the whole point of the experience is to meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds, it was nice to meet other Scottish girls as they were outgoing and friendly. No-one could understand my accent and it was starting to make me feel a bit homesick - until I met them.

The first day was tiring, but had been a great start. I had met people and was ready to meet more and learn about the other stuff I was gonna have to take care of. The International Orientation Week had begun. 

To find out how it went, become a follower of the blog or check it out on Monday! Comments/questions are always welcome!