Day 1: Since I was part of the off-campus community and not part of any residences, my first day was just getting a feel for the campus and getting to know other students that lived off-campus. We met at DC at 1 o clock, toured the campus and had our Dons talk to us. After dinner, we went to the gym for a Warrior Welcome ceremony. This was personally the highlight of my day: we had the vice-chancellor talk to us about getting used to Waterloo, a student talk about problems he faced in University, and a very inspirational speech by a part-time professional golf player and part-time NHL referee, Garrett Rank. After the assembly we dispersed and that was it for Day 1.
Day 2: The second day involved actually getting into groups with people in the same program. As a result, I was with other double degree kids, in a team called "Sinehenge." The day started off with the "Amazing Race", which involved finding and figuring out hidden questions in hallways, doing puzzles as a group, shooting nerf guns and best of all, memorizing (the rather corny) group chant. After this it was lunch, and that was it for the afternoon. In the evening, there was an event called "Choose Your Own Adventure" which was probably the most enjoyable of the day. We went to a hypnosis show and saw our friends doing things they wouldn't have done normally, got free beaver-tails, solved an inflatable maze and got glow-sticks and smores at a bonfire. The hypnosis show is very enjoyable and is truly recommended.
Day 3: Day 3 had a full day of activities planned, starting off with more orientation games in an event called "Around the World". Things got more competitive after we learned that each team is scored based on their participation, and Sinehenge made it their goal to win the final trophy. After trying to win at every game we played against other teams, we met for a Faculty lunch, where Math professors served us lunch in goofy costumes. After eating, we went to the M3 field to learn the Math dance. Although embarrassing at first, the dance quickly grew on me, and I tried my best to perfect every move. After my first and possibly only dance practice, we were given the opportunity to throw pie on the faces of our orientation leaders, which was also hilarious to watch.
In the evening, we had the pink tie ceremony, where each math student is given a pink tie as recognition for being a math student. Earning the pink tie involved listening to the history of how it came about, making way for the faculty staff to walk with the ties and then performing the previously learned dance in front of the Dean. At night was the University's musical production called "Single and Sexy" and that was the end of events for the day.
Day 4: Day 4 saw the first day of lectures, and hence the first day as a true university student. Luckily I only had 1 lecture today, and so wasn't too overwhelmed with all the assignments and work other students were talking about. My Computer Science lecture was still very enjoyable, and I also received 2 assignments, which just shows how fast paced University really is.
Day 5: Being the first full day of lectures, I had 3 classes back to back on day 5: a Computer Science tutorial, followed by my first lecture in my proofs course and then a lecture in Calculus. I was piled with work already, and so day 5 officially concluded my days of freedom and made me realize that it was time to gear up and get to work.
Day 6: Day 6 was a Saturday, but still had an orientation event. It was called "Monte Carlo", and involved a dance and casino games. I did not go this day because I wasn't feeling too well, but my friends loved it and would definitely recommend it.
Bottom Line: Orientation at Waterloo is what you make of it. I personally met a lot of people and had a lot of fun, and so according to me it is definitely worth it. Make sure you do not miss out on the hypnosis show or Monte Carlo, they are worth your time.
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