The weather may not have been the best — albeit a bit typically Nova Scotian — but nothing could dampen the spirits of Dal’s newest students and everyone welcoming them over the long weekend.
Staff and volunteers from the International Centre spent three days last week at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, greeting new international students to Dal, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Canada. The newcomers are part of the 2,500-strong international contingent at Dal, representing 110 countries.
The new international students started their two-day orientation on Friday, although thanks to the weather, the annual barbecue was moved indoors to the lobby of the Marion McCain Building.
While Dal has many international students enrolled full time, a large number is also taking advantage of Dal’s partnerships with foreign universities and coming here as exchange students — either for one term or a full year. A group of hardy students from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Argentina, and Sweden braved the damp chill to hang out on the Adirondack chairs in the McCain’s courtyard. And judging by the way they were acting like old friends, the weather wasn’t a factor in settling into life at Dal.
Some of Dal's new international and exchange students getting to know one another. (Natalie Mike photo)
It was partly thanks to the power of social media that the group felt so at ease with one another. They all met online on the International Centre’s Facebook page, so by the time they met in person there was already a sense of familiarity among them. In fact, two Australian exchange students, Mikki Price and Courtney Thomas, met on Facebook and then decided to find a place to live together in Halifax through Kijiji.
Kicking off O-Week in Halifax and Truro
The main O-Week 2013 events officially kicked off on Sunday with the first day of new students moving into residence. That afternoon was annual Field Party on the Studley Campus Quad, part of the DSU's O-Week activities.
The skies may have been grey, wet and dismal, but that didn’t stop hundreds of new Dal students from celebrating the start of their university lives with some fun and games.
If anything, the rain only added to the entertainment factor of taking on the mechanical bull, riding in LiveWell@Dal’s beer-goggle tricycle races (the thick goggles give you an idea of how your senses are impaired a few too many drinks), shooting down the bouncy slides and playing bouncy Twister.
Some of the sights of O-Week, Halifax edition. (Nick Pearce photos)
Up in Truro on the Agricultural Campus, Sunday was “a day for the ducks,” according to Robyn McCallum, president of the Dalhousie Agricultural Students’ Association.
“It poured rain, but we had a lot of school spirit,” she says. “It was a really fun time. We have a large number of students from outside the Maritimes this year, so that’s really exciting for us. Our O-Leader team has lots of energy, so everything went well."
Ready to greet new students in Truro. (Keltie Jones photo)
While move-in was a bit damp and the evening’s woodlot bonfire had to be cancelled, Dal AC students still had a blast with games and welcome sessions all day.
“It seems like everyone’s mixing together,” says McCallum. “It’s a really great group.”
Slip sliding away on the Agricultural Campus, making the most of the rainy conditions. (Keltie Jones photo)