Fresher's week

International Contacts Team

 Hello darlings!
It' been a long time! A lot has happened during the past few weeks but let's start from the begging.

  As you might know I was volunteering on fresher's week as an international contact. It was amazing! I got to meet so many people attend and organize fun activities and help new students to settle in.

   From the training till the last day of fresher's week I was running on full energy mode. I stayed on campus almost every day from 11 am till 3 am. :D I just couldn't get enough of it!

 So you probably want to know what happened on campus on fresher's week. I can honestly say it is one of the best weeks of the year, especially in Brunel.

Day 1: On Sunday we helped new students to move in to their halls. Even though it was raining it was really rewarding to help people settle in and feel welcome. I know what it felt like when I first came here so it was really nice to do it to someone else.
 In the academy we had a welcome party which I didn't go to cause I was saving my energy!

Day 2: Monday the real activities started. Everyone was so full of energy and ready to give their all. We had a fairtrade breakfast, loads of stalls, BBQ, campus tour, scavenger hunt and Secret garden party. I went to get my face painted for the secret garden party. Also got my palm read. Scary! :)
  The Academy event of the night was Freshbook party. In this party everyone was given a white t-shirt where you can write a ''Facebook'' status and then write your name on other people's shirts so they can add you as a friend in Facebook. Good fun!

Day 3: Tuesday, the Fresher's fair day! Everything was concentrated in the indoor athletics center where all the clubs and societies promote their selves for new students. You got a lot of free stuff and some clubs had taster session.
  We also arraigned a language café where people representing different countries would offer food and drinks from their country. It was a success!

  We found some new friends with Gaya and Olga that were more of our maturity group (ages 3 and 4). While others were having civilized conversations
  with students we'd be playing with an inflatable banana with these adorable kids! :D Ha ha!


In Academy we had headphones disco which is one of my favorite things on Fresher's week. You go in and there is no music but when you put your headphones on you get the hang of it. Met some real cool people in a dancing circle this night! :)


Day 4: Wednesday, only half of the week done and I was already exhausted but not ready to give up! It was raining again and some activities had to be cancelled which was a shame but no can do.
  In Isambard we had a wine tasting event which happened to win the best event on Fresher's week prize. Way to go us! :D
  For me this day was the day I had been waiting for because there was a PENDULUM dj set in Academy. I've seen them once live and been once in a dj set. They are always awesome!!!
   This was my night off so I got to jump in the pit as much as I wanted! And as always I was the only girl in the pit! It great fun if people know how to behave themselves and help others if they fall down. I was in the pit for the whole evening and I was barely able to walk home since my legs were barely working! :D


Like any week this week didn't go without drama. Some of us, including me, left our valuable stuff in a place where they shouldn't be left. The next day they were gone and we all panicked because among them there was a laptop, speakers, mp3, money and a camera. For this I want to applaud our security because they took the stuff for safe keeping! Otherwise it probably would have been stolen, but gosh we got scared!

Day 5: On Thursday some of the International contacts made a trip to central London with those who wanted to come along. I didn't sign up for this because I knew what Wednesday evening was going to be like!
  On campus we had a roller disco (so cool), bike recycling, loads of taster sessions, movies screenings and rock and roll bingo. I was running out of energy at this point but I still stayed on campus till 3am dancing all night long!

Day 6: Friday, the last day. It started to feel bittersweet to leave all this, the atmosphere and the great people I had been working with so we had to take everything out of the last day. We took part in off campus court. Every complex had their own court where student could bring forward their friends who had done embarrassing stuff and their ''punishment'' would be decided. The court was a lot of fun. I got accused for going crazy in the Pendulum dj set, which was true but I am actually proud of the fact that I am always the only girl in pits. After that we went to crash Mill and Fleming court. Met a lot of new people and just had a great time!

 

I really loved fresher's week and I hope that next year I'll volunteer again! I am happy that I met so many great people and made a lot of good memories! Thanks to everyone who made it so special! :)

Moving and contact training

 I'm back! I'm done working and ready for a new academic year!!!

My room

I've been back for a week but it's been hectic. Trying to decorate my room and get things done (bureaucracy <3)! I'm getting there. My room is starting to look nice just waiting for my desk to be delivered! 

 This is my room! I love it! I'm gonna set a canopy over the bed. My desk is really small and I need more space for working so me and my flatmate bought desks from Argos for £37. Student budgets <3.

Our backyard 

We had our house warming party yesterday and it was great fun! Was nice to see everyone after the long summer! Unfortunately many of our friends who are postgraduate students will be leaving soon so this was the only time to get the group together! Thanks to everyone! 

Kitchen

Most of us are in the house already. I'm so happy to be back! I've missed my flatmates so much! We're all hyper and happy to be back! The other night we went to get a kitchen table from this nice lady at 10pm. We got it for £20 which is great cause we don't need anything fancy cause we're gonna live in this house for a year. Then it's back to campus. (If you are looking for cheap furniture type to Facebook for sale and the area you are living in. You'll find people who want to get rid of furniture fast and are selling it really cheap!)

So I've been in training to become a contact for fresher's week the past few days. It's been so much fun! I've met amazing people and I am really looking forward to meet the great fresher's tomorrow and next week. I'm an international contact (orange person). We'll be located in Isambard tent arranging lost of fun events and we'll have shisha there for the whole week but best of all great fun and a chance to meet new people. Everyone is welcome! :)  

 I'm so excited for fresher's week! Can't wait to meet you all! :))

 - Joanna

Ps. check out my new tattoo! I got it two weeks ago and I love it! It says memento mori which is latin and means remember your mortality. Means a lot to me to try to remember that I won't be here forever and try to make to mos of the time that I got! :)

1 month to Freshers Fest!!!

I am so exited! More than exited! It was just revealed that there will be a ROLLER DISCO on Fresher's fest! How AWESOME is that?! It's like SUPER-MEGA-FOXY-AWESOME-HOT!!!

   Also, there will be so many other totally awesome stuff going on Fresher's fest! One of them I found out by accident at because it's supposed to be a surprise I can only tell you it's gonna BLOW YOUR MIND!!!

   Last year we had speed meeting, tours, bouncy castleS, competitions, burger grilling, loads of fun events, great night life events and of course partying 24/7... I can't even remember all the awesomeness!

But while we're waiting join this group: Fresher's 2012-2013
and like this page: Brunel students Fresher's

   Most of you international students (and others as well) who haven't been on the open days and don't know what the campus looks like and what you can find there. I'll tell you!
  Firstly, we have the lecture centre. It is located in the middle of the campus next to the main street and the quad where many many fun activities are held during the year!
  There are a lot of other lecture building but it would take ages for me to list them all, so I'll just say that it depends on your course where you'll spend your lectures, group meetings, seminars and other study related activities.

  Then we have the student's union building (or Hamilton centre) located on the main street. Here you can find the Brunel volunteers, Campus shops, The Academy (our night club), Loco's (bar), The Hub (Pub upstairs (I've heard rumours that the Hub will be renamed and refurnished)), More food hall and of course the student's union. Also, last year we had a fast food place called Pronto's but I've also heard rumours that it might be changed into a Subway.
  Word of advice: when you have friends visiting and you want go to Loco's or Academy keep in mind that you can only bring one friend per person and you need to sign them in. It costs 1 pound for them.
  More food hall sells lunch coupons. If you don't like cooking you can eat there all year. Also The Hub and Loco's serve food till noon. In Loco's they have pub quizzes (with prizes), karaoke, ''stock market'' (drink prizes go down crashing) and billiard table (don't know if they'll have the same things this year). One great thing is also this app that you can download to your phone and request a song.
  Academy has themed nights. Last year we had costume parties, indie nights, silent disco, super bowl night, culture themed nights but the mega globals are always the biggest party.
  There is also a fruit market held in the academy every Tuesday. You can get vegetables, fruits, cheese, eggs, bread, candy and sometimes books at a cheap price

  Then we have the Bannerman centre, right across the street to Student's union building. Here you can find the library, student's centre, placement and careers centre, cash office (when you need to pay rent or anything) and Rococo's cafe.
  If you want to study in the library I suggest you go straight to the top floor, because I've noticed the upper you go the more quiet it gets! If you don't want to buy all of your course books I suggest you head to the library as soon as possible! Also it would be wise to ask someone who is doing your course on second year what to expect
   In the student's centre they'll help you with anything! Don't be afraid to ask! When I first came to Brunel I found myself a little lost but I got so much help and people were really nice. I made me feel like home!

  Then we have the sports centre (in the front of the picture) and the indoor athletics centre (on the right of the pic). In the sports centre there are many sports halls, a gym and a restaurant called Bar Zest. They have a lovely terrace. Go check it out on a sunny day! (By the way this picture was taken through the window of my first year room.)
  And as you can guess in the indoor athletics centre there are tracks for the athletes to train. The fresher's fair will be held there! On the fair clubs and societies will tell you about themselves and welcome you to join or come try something new on a taster session. There are dozens of Clubs and Societies and I suggest you take a look.
  I am not sure if this is happening this year but last year Brunel students could buy a Brunel active card which allowed you to use the gym twice a week at certain hours, go to the Hillingdon pool twice a week on certain hours, attend aerobics, jogging, playing, dancing and many other sessions. The card only cost £5 and most of the sessions were free (some of them £2-3).

If you still want to see more I suggest that you take a look at these: An Introduction to Brunel University & Social life, Clubs and Societies at Brunel.