While the first week of university can seem daunting, it’s probably the most relaxed you’ll be all year. With teachers only going through course content, there’s plenty of time to wonder the campus and get ready for the year ahead. Lucky for everyone, the university provides many things to occupy your wondering. The clubs fair, beer gardens, and getting your textbooks are just a few of the major things to do during the first week of university.
Orientation
It might seem scary or lame, but orientation is there to help you. You will meet people in your faculty, take a tour of basically the whole campus, and if there is time get to find your specific classrooms. You’ll walk into the first week feeling better about school because you wont get lost, you might know a person or two, and you’ll have UofA swag.
Clubs Fair
It’s important to get involved in university, if not only for your resume, but to connect with others and feel like you have a place you belong in university. There are so many different clubs it’s impossible to not find something you’ll love. Whether your pre med, a journalist, a music prodigy, or just want to help raise money for a good cause, there’s a club for you. Oh, and did I mention the free pizza and goodies?
Beer Gardens
I’m so sorry if you’re 18 yet, but this one is for the legal kids. Besides great live music, moderately priced beer, and a chance to chill and hang out with your friends, the beer gardens let you soak in the last week of summer before all hell breaks loose. This is a great place to get sloshed at 11 am and have it still be socially acceptable to go about doing daily university things.
Textbook Pickup
There are many options for this and some are extremely tedious. You can go to the bookstore and pick through whatever is left over from the keeners that came the week before. You can see if the library still has textbooks that you can check out. Finally, you can order and pay for all your books online and go into the bookstore to pick them up when they are ready.
SUB Food Court
This is probably the most exciting thing to happen, in my opinion, at the UofA in a while. SUB added three new must try vendors to their food court: Filistix, Hula Poke, and Konz Pizza. Filistix serves a healthy menu inspired by Filipino, Korean, and Thai cuisine. Hula Poke serves poke and tostadas, poke being a hawaiian dish usually consisting of pieces of raw marinated fish served over rice with vegetables and sauces. Konz Pizza serves pizza in cones, mac and cheese, and ice cream. Im super excited to try all these new places!!