st. john's

as i have mentioned, at the university i am staying in what is called st.john's college, just john's for short. it's not really a college, it's just our version of a dorm room. but here the colleges all are very close like one community or like a big frat. there's a few americans and other international kids and mostly americans so i'm able to mingle with all the aussies which is a lot of fun. since i'm american, i'm what is known as a fresher, which is our freshman. at john's freshers basically hang out with freshers. at universities in australia, most degrees are only three years so there are freshers, sophomores, and seniors. sophs and seniors hang out together. there are a lot of rules and traditions here sort of like a frat. like the freshers sit on one side of the dining hall while the other upperclassman sit on the other. there's rules for this drink, which is like our koolaid, and if you mess up the rules you could get the whole jug of koolaid poured on your head. so most of the americans stick to water! also other rules are not hats, no cell phones, you must be wearing shoes, no pajamas. so some of the rules are intimidating but i'm just trying to roll with the flow. there are also some chants and songs they sing that i don't quite know yet but i'm sure i'll learn to love it. it's really a great place and i'm meeting so many people. most of the people on my orientation are staying some where different and it's all americans. so i'm happy to be able to experience living with the australians to really soak in their culture. next week is silly season for us which are themed parties every night so i'll definitely be meeting even more people which i'm really looking forward to. i'm trying to post some pictures of john's but it's not working....stay with me though!