Uh-oh. Backwards posts. AH well.
Then college orientation had just started as I got back. I informed admin I wouldn't be around past tuesday afternoon, then joined in the activities. Basically running around, cheering, playing games (some fun, some just dumb, some intended to cause embarrassment- I will not divulge details unless sufficiently bribed), tour around the college in the afternoon, a short chapel service in the evening. I had just enough time to change into a suit and rush down to chapel- which is located on the second floor of the main building, overlooking the quadrangle near the entrance. Amazingly, a number of the girls had enough time to change into gowns And put some make-up- eyeshadow, lipstick, mascara. No rouge. The choral scholars filed in (ooh! asians amongst them! I might have a chance!) and sang some lovely renditions- all pretty modern arrangements- late 1850s to 1900s, including benjamin britten. A short sermon; the deacon mentioned the wide range of religions amongst the student body and read from John 3 and (gulp) somewhere in the old testament. It's a uniting church (i think it's a union of anglican/presbytarian doctrine and tradition); the uniting churches form a big portion of the churches around. Services are sundays 7pm, I definitely will be popping by some of them. Chaowan went for the last one and was uncomfortable with the preacher's somewhat irreverent attitude to the bible.

After the service were pre-dinner drinks outside (cold wind blowing, no idea how backless-gown-wearers survived without their oh-so-out-of-fashion pashminas)- suspicious looking non-alcoholic fruit punches with bits of canned fruit in them, and waiters serving sushi/suspicious samosas/sandwiches. (andrew: Alliteration! Ed: No you don't!!! [Real ed: He's framing me]) A student jazz band was also playing- not bad standard. Then a formal dinner (i.e. i didn't have to queue up behind the dining hall to get my plates of food) with candlelight, tablecloths, napkins, the works. Lovely atmosphere! Before the main course, the college choir got up to some a cappella jamming.Some of them were rather unconventional, i heard a lot of pretty rude words in the lyrics and there was a lot of raucous laughter in between the parts I didn't hear. Ended with "wade in the water"- an afro-american spiritual.

Dinner followed by a "mad hat party"- don unusual headwear and turn up for more suspicious drinks at the junior common room. I pulled on my dark blue beanie (i can just hear my brother go "Not beanie! Woolly cap! beanie's the cap with the helicopter top!") and went down; seniors were serving cordials with a little alcohol in them. All drinks came in gaudy colours- BRIGHT green, red, orange, yellow. Thankfully no blue.

Had a stupendously great time on the dancefloor- a mix of techno, rap, good old-fashioned rock. Dead beat, retired at 11 something