Out of sight?

Things have been really hectic and crazy busy ever since I arrived at UMaine on the evening of August 24. Sorry for the false promise about frequent updates. But I’ll TRY to improve.

The first couple of days at UMaine (in Orono) were filled with orientation for international students. Fun. No, seriously, partly it was interesting and helpful, but about half of it was redundant and I could have spent that time sleeping in. One advantage of all those forced mixers (starting with a mixer upon arrival) was that I got to meet all new international students at once. And since we all didn’t know anybody here, and especially us Europeans felt an instant connection, we decided to all become friends and hang out for the rest of the year.

Bear with me if this post does not follow a chronological order, but I am just trying to put as much information in it as possible and as I am writing I remember things or stumble upon things that I would like to share.

The river

Favorite place in Orono: Pat’s Pizza. I discovered this jewel on my second night here when a group of international students headed there to get dinner (we were too late for the cafeteria). I had a veggie burger which was quite alright but at later occasions I should discover that they had, in fact, delicious pizza and calzones. Another advantage is that underage people are allowed to go there, which is not necessarily the case in every establishment here. And they have good, cheap beer, and the staff knows me and some friends by now.

At Pat's Pizza

Enjoying calzones

Apart from Pat’s Pizza, there is not much going on in Orono, which is the town bordering on UMaine. There’s a couple of pubs and restaurants but nothing major. However, I am happy that I always have the possibility to go to Orono when I’m sick of campus. 

The campus is gorgeous and huge. Luckily I got a free bike about a week ago so it’s much faster to go to the other end of campus, where for example the rec center (the university gym) is located. One thing that I am really looking forward to, and it has already begun, is the changing of the leaves. The first trees already glow in bright red and yellow but in about two weeks time it is going to be magnificent.

The Black Bear - UMaine Logo