- We were 2 of only 6 Americans
- We were now known as “freshas” (freshers)
- We were about to begin what the older collegians called O-week, a week of pandemonium and “initiation” into St. Mary’s
We were given a shopping list of things to get to prepare for O-week. This list included an outfit that we didn’t mind destroying, a completely “flouro” (neon) yellow costume, and a Tropical costume due to the week’s theme of Tropican-O-week—very clever. Also we were instructed to bring either a potato peeler or an ice tray… and they urged us to choose wisely!! So stressful!
Defreshing
So after gathering the various costumes and items, Tropican-O-Week really got started when the other freshers arrived at St. Mary’s. The first activity was a curious one… defreshing. The older collegians refused to tell us anything concerning this event, and soon told us to run upstairs and put on the destroyable outfit we had brought. It was quite mysterious, and soon they had us lined up and BLINDFOLDED in the courtyard. Somehow I managed to find a spot right in front of the line. With my fists clenched and teeth gritted, I cautiously followed the mysterious voices and guiding hands that led me through the courtyard. 
As I nervously followed, the aura of anticipation was shattered as soon I heard something flying through the air, and even sooner felt a water balloon pop right on my face. The shriek I let out directly after this attack started a commotion as the rest of my fellow freshers were targeted as well. Things really picked up after that. Water balloons monsooned over us, we were treated to tomato sauce (ketchup) and goon (boxed wine) facials, we military crawled over tarps splattered with spaghetti and feathered in Nutrigrain—it was ridiculous, terrifying and awesome all at once! When the second years finally told us we could remove our blindfolds, we realized that they had led us to the front of St. Mary’s for all of the community to gaze upon our happening tarred and feathered attire.
They broke down the dance by teaching various dance moves that were St. Mary’s originals. The dance incorporated moves that were inspired by various iconic cultural moves, taking inspiration from old Hollywood theatre, Thai Chi, and even Bollywood. They finished off by teaching us the grand finale of all moves—the Dirty Quarterback. This moved basically throws a sensual spin on the typical hikers stance from American football (which the Aussies refer to as Gridiron). It was hysterical! The older students told us that whenever we hear our song, we must perform it, no matter where we are. We have since done it in pubs, bowling alleys and even in the streets of shopping districts! They also mentioned that this is awesome because our fresha dance will be meaningful as we will perform it at birthday parties, each other’s weddings, and other events in the future. The dance was such a blast, and I later learned that there is a Fresher Dance Off in which the colleges compete for the title of Fresher Dance Champs! I tried out for the dance team, and I am proud to announce to the blogosphere that I will be competing as a member of the St. Mary’s Fresher Dance Team! Get some!
The next morning, our TropicanO-week timetable specifically read, “Sleep in” until about 10 am. Little did we “stupid freshas” know, that this was a dirty trick that the second years play annually on the freshas. Because we thought we could sleep in, most of us freshas celebrated pretty energetically in the Australian fashion until late the night before. Our worlds were rocked the next morning as the second years came banging and screaming down the corridors at an ungodly 7 am! They shouted for us all to be downstairs in 10 minutes with out running shoes on. They then took us one of the most brutal runs I have been on in years! I would say that I got my best tour of the campus yet from this run. The chaotic workout continued as they had us doing wheelbarrow races, a partnered game similar to Duck Duck Goose (but worse), and it all culminated in the most ruthless and sinister thing they could do to us yet…wait for it….wait for it… they made us sprint 400 meters!! EVIL! After a late night out at the pub, many of the young freshas were spewing and panting for life. It was a pal of mine’s 18th birthday the night before, and he just looked awfully affected from the night before. I have honestly never seen anyone look so green before in my life! All in all, this was certainly a memorable experience, but I don’t know if I will regard it as one of my favorites. Would you? I didn’t think so. Haha
Fresha Dance
So another wild part of my TropicanO-week experience was to learn the annual Fresha Dance. The second year students gave us about 10 minutes to shower off. After scrubbing off pancake batter and tossing out my “defreshed” slop-ridden outfit, I ran back downstairs where they had everyone spread out in the courtyard. This year’s dance was to the recently popular “Bulletproof” by LaRoux an electropop song with bumping beats and technological sounds. If you would like to hear what it sounds like, please follow the link below:
They broke down the dance by teaching various dance moves that were St. Mary’s originals. The dance incorporated moves that were inspired by various iconic cultural moves, taking inspiration from old Hollywood theatre, Thai Chi, and even Bollywood. They finished off by teaching us the grand finale of all moves—the Dirty Quarterback. This moved basically throws a sensual spin on the typical hikers stance from American football (which the Aussies refer to as Gridiron). It was hysterical! The older students told us that whenever we hear our song, we must perform it, no matter where we are. We have since done it in pubs, bowling alleys and even in the streets of shopping districts! They also mentioned that this is awesome because our fresha dance will be meaningful as we will perform it at birthday parties, each other’s weddings, and other events in the future. The dance was such a blast, and I later learned that there is a Fresher Dance Off in which the colleges compete for the title of Fresher Dance Champs! I tried out for the dance team, and I am proud to announce to the blogosphere that I will be competing as a member of the St. Mary’s Fresher Dance Team! Get some!Sleeping In?
The next morning, our TropicanO-week timetable specifically read, “Sleep in” until about 10 am. Little did we “stupid freshas” know, that this was a dirty trick that the second years play annually on the freshas. Because we thought we could sleep in, most of us freshas celebrated pretty energetically in the Australian fashion until late the night before. Our worlds were rocked the next morning as the second years came banging and screaming down the corridors at an ungodly 7 am! They shouted for us all to be downstairs in 10 minutes with out running shoes on. They then took us one of the most brutal runs I have been on in years! I would say that I got my best tour of the campus yet from this run. The chaotic workout continued as they had us doing wheelbarrow races, a partnered game similar to Duck Duck Goose (but worse), and it all culminated in the most ruthless and sinister thing they could do to us yet…wait for it….wait for it… they made us sprint 400 meters!! EVIL! After a late night out at the pub, many of the young freshas were spewing and panting for life. It was a pal of mine’s 18th birthday the night before, and he just looked awfully affected from the night before. I have honestly never seen anyone look so green before in my life! All in all, this was certainly a memorable experience, but I don’t know if I will regard it as one of my favorites. Would you? I didn’t think so. Haha
