Every year brings a fresh batch of people into King Edward VII Hall. Thankfully, they’re not thrusted into Hall-life and Uni-life without first being given a crash course in Hall Spirit, Block unity, the confounding procedure that is CORS, and not to mention, banana swinging. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Orientation week. Our King Edward Welcoming and Orientation Committee (KEWOC for the unenlightened) is here to serve you.
Most of the foreign students were welcomed into the hall one week before Orientation Week. It was also up to the KEWOCs to make this “Welcoming Week” as comfortable as possible for the freshies. The KEWOCs held movie screenings and took us on trips to IKEA and Clementi to ease our transition to living in hall. Even a steamboat dinner at Marina Bay was held to show the foreigners what Singaporean cuisine is all about.
As I was signing my room papers at the front desk, a KEWOC sold me the idea of joining the Night Cycling that Friday. She told me that it’ll be fun, and that it started at 10pm. Little did I know that “It’ll be fun” consisted of an exhausting seven-hour ride from the campus all the way to Orchard Road, then to the Esplanade, and finally, to the East Coast Park. It was loads of fun, for sure. Riding through the empty sidewalks of the normally packed Orchard Road was a surreal experience. Having cycled halfway across Singapore was no small feat for unfit me. Unfortunately I lost the ability to sit down without wincing in pain for the next few days. Now I know why I had to sign those liability forms.
While our butts were recovering, a Barbecue Dinner was held for our enjoyment at the BBQ Pit. The food was delicious, and the residents of PGP could hear our music blasting into the night. The dinner marked the end of Welcoming Week and the beginning of Orientation Week!
O-Week started with Wai Kit, the head of the KEWOC, introducing himself and the rest of KEWOCs. We were then split randomly into eight orientation groups. To break the ice between members, we played a game which required us to literally break through the ice! With that done, our orientation group (OG) names were revealed: Duke Cuttingham, Lady Marmalade, Princess Fairprice, Madame Touché, Count Squareroot, Sir Longbow, Prince Gold-digger, and Duchess Wannabe were all tasked to find the Master of the Hall, King Edward VII! Who would find him first?
