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1n now ou • • • Moving into halls? Rosie Hayward offers you three ways to break down the barriers in the first few days of student living lcook a meal I IPub Crawll Can't cook, won't cook? Place such thoughts far from your mind, and volunteer to be the head chef of the corridor for the night. Students are always hungry, and instead of the typical diet of economy food, you can be everyone's favourite corridormate by developing your latent talel}t for all things culinary: In truth you don't need to be Ainsley Harriot for your meal to be a success; the food is only a small part of the getting to know you process. Gathering your new found friends together for a meal will hopefully encourage good conversation as you sit.down to your cordon bleu meal. Well, a la carte might be taking it a bit too far - your best bet is to go for something simple that can be enjoyed by all. Stir fry always work well, just put a little oil into a wok, find some veggies, and cook for 10 minutes or so. The vegetarians can savour this option and you can add meat (try pork or chicken, but make sure you brown them in the pan before adding the vegetables) for the carnivores. Boil some noodles up and voila, you have a meal fit for a king. Well a hungry student anyway! By cooking, you will remain in the good books of everyone and hopefully avoid the task of washing up! Equally if the cooking all goes horribly wrong then you will have fond memories of evacuating the entire block of your building as the fire brigade come to extinguish your slight kitchen mishap But above all be adventurous: if nothing else it gives you the chance to use that newly acquired student cookery book that sells so well this time of year. Believe me, you will never use it again.
The first few weeks at university will no doubt be filled with offers to go on the ubiquitous pub crawl. But before you join every society in the hope of a liquid breakfast, lunch and dinner, consider checking out the pubs of the city with your flatmates. There is no better way to break the ice than getting plastered together. Okay, so the next morning you will wake up with a hangover that even George Best would find unusual, but at least you will have lots of funny memories (hopefully!). If not you can have the fun of suffering everybody constantly ribbing you about your indiscretions for the next year. Uving on campus means you can start at the Union bar, and sup a few beers while taking
"While copius amounts of alcohol could lead to evening of revelry, snogging any of your corridormates could lead to a year embarassment" advantage of the cheap price on your ale. After that take a quick walk along to Earl ham or Unthank Road and you will come across a multitude pubs all waiting to cater for your inebriation requirements (The Mitre, The York Tavern, The Rose Tavern, The Unthank Arms or the Mad Moose, to name but a few). And of course you can argue that this is all highly educational as you are learning about the surrounding area while you stagger from pllb to
pub increasingly unsteadily as the night progresses. Just remember that while copious amounts of alcohol can lead to an evening of revelry, snogging any of your flatmates in the early weeks of term could lead to a year of embarrassment to follow. You have been warned!
IDrinking gamesl Okay, board games were never that entertaining. As a child, you invariably lost half the pieces and the board would normally go flying half way through the match when someone got just a bit too carried away on discovering they were the last one to pass 'Go' and collect £200. But for a night in with a difference the drinking game becomes legendary. After a few innocent games of Twister with the added attraction of a shot of your favourite alcoholic beverage with every spin of the
wheel, you will be fully prepared for a night of getting to know you debauchery. To add to the cosiness factor you can all pack in to one bedroom along the corridor, and let the games beginI Admittedly, everyone is bound to be a bit nervous of revealing their most intimate secrets in a alcohol heavy game of truth or dare at first. But if you want to avoid this route to scandal and intrigue and just get blind drunk then there are plenty of games to keep you occupied. Good choices include, 21s, Drink While You Think, or Pub Golf - if you get round an 18 hole course you either have a stomach of steel or will shortly be heading to the Norwich and Norfolk hospital for some pleasant stomach pumping. At least when the games are over you have the comfort of knowing that your room is only along the corridor and you are guaranteed some sleep before the cleaners come in and wake you from your slumber.