Orientation Activities

Today, I have been on the island for 5 days. Tomorrow is the first day of class!

The school has offered several orientation activities, some optional and some mandatory, to help first semester students make friends and become acclimated to the university.

There was a bus shuttle available to take students to the grocery store during the first two move-in days. I did not go on the shuttle, but thankfully there is a nice Asian market down the street that sells basic groceries and other "get your apartment going" items, which I visited. A tour of campus was also offered on my first day, and I did take avail of that.

On Saturday, the school facilitated a beach volleyball game for incoming students. I went and enjoyed it, though I didn't play. I stood by the water and engaged other students in conversation. We ended up climbing a small cliff by the water, which was exciting. The people I met on the beach have become some of my new friends; they are all awesome people. My entire class actually is made up of awesome people. I haven't met anyone I don't like. :)

Sunday had a "welcome meeting", in which people talked about how to stay safe on the island-there are a lot of places you do not want to be in after dark, but never fear! The school operates a free shuttle that will transport students until 3 AM.

Monday was workshop day. The first workshop, titled "The Top Ten Habits of Successful Med Students" was given by the school's wellness counselor, Dr. Adams. Basically, he reminded us of the dangers of perfectionism and work addiction, while also cautioning against too relaxed of a lifestyle. We also had workshops on study skills (the university offers free tutoring sessions-both group and one-on-one-taught by students who honored the classes in the past), professionalism, and the schools honor code.

Today was "formal orientation". We had short talks from people representing services available to students. We heard about the student government and other organizations, health services, and student health insurance. The health insurance plan I'm under here on the island is incredible! $150 deductible, 100% coverage after that up to $5,000, then 80% coverage.

This afternoon I went on a free, school-sponsered shuttle with some of my new friends. I will post about that (including pictures!) shortly.