Today was day two of orientation and my new life here at PLU. Yesterday, Mom and I got here at 9, signed in, and started moving in! My room is on the 5th (and top) floor of Harstad, the only all-women’s dorm on campus. It has nice, high ceilings and is quite large for a dorm room. Yay!
There were various unmemorable events planned throughout the day. We got JAM (Just Ask Me) groups, which are groups of freshman led by an upperclassman serving as a guide and helping us feel welcome and more comfortable here on campus. Everyone met with their group and played various ice-breaker/get-to-know-you games. Since that first meeting, we have met with that same group a number of times. Other groups seem to actually be bonding and hanging out… My group… not so much. This morning we were supposed to have breakfast together, but half our gorup was on one end of the cafeteria, the other was on the other end. I’ve met a couple people in my group, but it’s so big and we’ve barely done any bonding things (unlike other groups) that it doesn’t really seem to be fulfilling its purpose.
Last night, I barely got any sleep (If I got any… not sure about that). I’m hoping to sleep better tonight…
This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, when I went to go take a shower, there was one open! There are only two shower stalls and two toilet stalls in the bathroom, and I had expected there to be more girls in there and I’d have to wait in line or something… But no! I walked right in and didn’t have to wait at all!
The first programs they had planned for us today were well-meant, but the speakers all said relatively the same thing, and after very little sleep, it wasn’t a good start to the day. After meeting with my academic advisor (with the 70 or 80 other freshmen she is also advising), I went back to my dorm to meet up with Mom and Dad, who had come bearing decorative stuff for my dorm. From there we went to lunch and then the freshmen went to Playfair, which is a “high-energy group game” to help us meet more new people. I may not have been completely into it, but this definitely helped make my day better.
