Thursday, 1 July 1999

FIRST DAY OF FRESHMEN ORIENTATION!! Zoom-ba-deee-ya-ayyyy!!! (My own version of a Red Indian dance cum chant!)

Needless to say, it was a day of many firsts as well. It was also an extremely interesting time as many emotions were called to play on this very first day! (Hey, it rhymes!)

I wasn't quite sure how long it'd take for me to travel to school so I set the alarm clock at 5:30am, planning to leave my house by 6:15am to catch a bus to Orchard MRT Station then take a train to Yio Chu Kang MRT Station then, it's a 10-15 minute walk to school. I tried to go to bed at 10am the previous night but I was so excited, I ended up falling asleep only past midnight. :P

Thankfully, I slept pretty well although I woke up intermittently during the night to check that my alarm clock is still working. hehehe! I eventually woke up at 5:40am because I was still very sleepy and I know I planned to leave the house at 6:15am but this being the first day of school, I was excited about making sure I didn't forget to bring anything and I took a longer time than usual getting dressed because I just wanted this first day to be as perfect as can be. Oh, and the First Attire - a white T-shirt with mickey mouse in front and my Levi's Silver Tab jeans. I even clipped my hair so I'll look younger and won't stick out like a sore thumb among the young crowd. I don't want to look so obviously O-L-D. hehehe!

I arrived in school at 7:30am and orientation was to start at 9am so I had a McDonald's breakfast (my favourite, Sausage McMuffin with Eggs + OJ) and I still had plenty of time left so I went to check out my locker. Those damn things are so difficult to open and after sweating it out for 15 whole miserable minutes trying to open it (I first tried to open the wrong locker, oops!, then I finally located the right one but couldn't figure out the comination lock). It was embarrassing. I mean, I'd opened safes and all before and I've used combination locks before but this monster of a lock was designed to make sure everybody knows you're a freshie from a distance! *mumble, grumble*

Orientation was hectic. We were divided into our tutorial groups and taken to the huge auditorium for the Principal of the polytechnic and the President of the School of Health Sciences to address us. Apparently, this year sees the largest intake of student nurses in the history of the school. And according to the President, who is an associate professor seconded from the University of Sydney, the facilities in the school are world-class and as good as, if not better than, most of the nursing schools worldwide. Well, it's great to know that our nursing school is in tip-top condition and well-run! :)

Each group had two student mentors in their 2nd Year and a Teacher-Mentor assigned. They proved invaluable in helping us find our way around and settle in the nursing school life faster. From what I've learnt and heard so far, it looks like it's going to be a tough three years ahead. :P

We were treated to a performance by the Chinese Orchestra, the Malay Cultural Dance Group, a modern hip-hop dance item by the Indian cultural group and a really groovy dance by the modern dance group, "Foreign Bodies" jiving to Britney Spear's '... Baby One More Time'. The performance by the group of Indian guys was really cute - they laid spread-eagled on the floor for quite a few sequences in their dance and it evoked giggles from the crowd. I thought they were stealing 'break time' amidst the hectic dance! ;) My favourite item? The dance item by "Foreign Bodies". Gotta love the beat of that Britney Spears' song!

The tour of the school that followed was really invaluable. The School of Health Sciences (SHS) is meant to accommodate the needs of the students from Nursing, Diagnostic Radiography, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, as well as Radiation Therapy. The entire polytechnic also includes a School of Business Management, School of Engineering, School of Information Technology, and a Digital Media Design Centre. Spread over 30.5 hectares (over 60 football fields), this is Singapore's newest campus boasting a modern and computer-intensive environment as well as great facilities. I love the landscaping on campus, luscious plants, huge ponds with koi (carps) happily swimming around, and oh, there are three canteens with a fantastic array of food to choose from and all at really reasonable rates! Yum!

We ooh'd and aah'd when we were shown the facilities in the School of Health Sciences - the simulated wards, the clinical labs, the lecture theatres, etc. Looks like they have really worked out a really extensive curriculum for us nursing students with equal emphasis on theory and practical skills.

I know it'll be tough but I'm such an eager-beaver, raring to go! :)

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