McGill: day 1

Wake up and get ready to go to McGill. Pack everything into the car, but before we head for McGill, we look around the area for rooms for my parents for the next 2 nights. The area we are staying in, Laval, like Montreal, is fully booked. So the one of the front desks helps us to call around to find a room. Manage to get 1 in Dorval, which is beside the airport. It is about 25km from downtown Montreal, but it will have to do.

We get some brunch before heading to the university. When we reach, it is almost noon. Get the keys to my room and bring the stuff up. The room is tiny, even smaller than the room I had at home, which wasn't really that big to begin with. Oh well, my home for the next year at least. No wonder my friend tells me to get an apartment in the second year.

The room smells stale, and some of the furnishings are damaged, but it is liveable. Have stayed in worse conditions before, and what is important is that I have a private space, so I'll make do. Do a brief damage assesment, but do not fill out the form yet. It's only due next friday, so there's no real hurry. Head out with the parents to get bedding and pillows, because only a mattress is provided. Walk through the university to get to downtown. Some of the buildings look really old, and with their large wooden doors and stone walls, remind me of the UK.

Wander around downtown, and ask people where a good place to go to shop for bedding is. Come up with the name Linen Closet, so we head there. Spend $200 on bedding and pillows, and also hunt around for handphone (or cellphone, as it is called here) subscription plans. All the people we've met have been extremely helpful and very friendly, even though we don't speak French. I get the impression that these people take great pride in the fact that they are effectively billingual, and am impressed by the way they switch between the 2 languages so effortlessly.

Get back to the room, make the bed with some help from my mum, who has lived in Britain before, so she leaves me some tips and pointers. After that, head out, with the intention of getting dinner with my parents. However, I realise that my hall is having an evening barbeque, so I decide to stay and mingle instead. Say goodbye to my parents, and plan to meet them tomorrow.

Mix around with the crowd, get to know many people, and subsequently forgot a large number of their names. Do not meet anyone else from Singapore in my hall. No sight of anyone majoring in Engineering either. Mingle around for about 2 hours, floating around and talking to people. Nobody in particular that I instantly click with, but it's only the 1st time I'm meeting them. People are nice and friendly, and I'm thinking skipping orientation is not going to hamper my making friends al that much. I bet everyone who knows me is going to ask me, so I might as well say it - yes there are hot girls. Not all that many though, but at least there is eye candy.

Go up to my dorm at around 8pm. There's supposed to be an outing at 930, but I am quite tired, so try to decide whether to go. 920, and I decide, ah, what the hell, just go and take a look. Walk to downtown, and go to a pub. It has 2 levels, and we're supposed to go upstairs, but the owner says it's too crowded, and only allows a limited number of people up. Music is too loud, and like I said, don't really click with anyone, so I just flitter around. Meet a few more new people through people I got to know at the barbeque. Run into Alex and Emma, 2 girls whom I spoke to earlier. Talk to them a bit, find out that Alex plans to join McGill's debate club. Talk a bit about debates with her, then the 3 of us decide to head back to the dorms early because we all are tired, and nothing much is really happening. Partying just really isn't my thing. I go like once in 2 years, and I much prefer going to a pub to just chill and talk or listen to a live band, like at Wala Wala's.

Get back to the dorm at about 11 or so, and try to wash out my wash bag. The shampoo lathers a lot, and go through like 20 rinses before most of the shampoo is gone. Clean up my other toiletires as well, and go back to my dorm. Tomorrow is Discover McGill, a sort of free orientation package that takes up almost the whole day. Have no clue what the schedule is like. At least we're divided into our faculties, so at least I can finally meet some other EE undergraduates. Have a load of admin to sort out, and wonder whether I have the time to do so before heading to Niagra with the parents on Friday. But I guess I could always do it when I come back on Tuesday. I'l just play it by ear. I wonder what tomorrow is going to be like.