Itâs par for the course that the orientation week experience will include some tiring days, but many of Dalâs first-year students were surprisingly keen to make the most of their early mornings, too.
At 9:30 AM last Tuesday, September 6, the Sexton Gym was flooded with first-year attendees of âhfXploreâ â a new orientation week event which allowed students to discover some of Halifaxâs hidden local gems while accompanied by seasoned (Haligonian) leaders.
I tagged along with a group of first year students, many of whom had come a long way to poke around Halifaxâs nooks and crannies: from across the country, the States, and (in one case) Zimbabwe. Even before hfXplore kicked off the morning, there was plenty of early enthusiasm regarding the little municipality that could.
Where the cool people come to
âThe houses here are really cute,â said first-year student Kelsey, from Montana. âEverythingâs really compact.â
Fellow student and hfXplorer Kelly, from Ottawa, agrees. âI thought it was so quaint and pretty,â she said of the local scenery. âEvery house is different from the next.â
Hereâs how one orientation week leader summed up the adventure: âThis event is designed to expose you guys to the total diversity of our city⊠thereâs something about this city that draws the coolest people in the world...this seems to be where the cool people from Toronto come to meet.â
Organized chaos ensued after the eventâs introduction, as two dozen or so groups of first years departed en masse to explore their corner of the city.
Where the monkeys are wooden
The first location our group visited was the Wooden Monkey restaurant (organic, local and cooler-than-cool). On the way, group leaders pointed out local landmarks like the ultra-hip Black Market and the infamous Pizza Corner.
At the Wooden Monkey, owner Lil MacPherson waxed jubilantly idealistic to her ±«Óătv guests.
âI waitressed for 25 years. Very proud to say that,â she said, relating the tale of her eateryâs origins, best summed up as a sort of gastronomical Cinderella story. When she decided to open a restaurant, âpeople thought I was crazy. I had no money, noneâŠbut my fear and my loveâŠjust drove me.â
Of the feat of opening the restaurant herself, Ms. MacPherson said, âIt was the easiest hardest thing Iâve ever doneâ â maybe not far divorced from the emotions of first-year students experiencing total freedom after travelling hundreds (or thousands) of miles from home. Ms. MacPherson continually emphasized the impact and influence she believed those students would have on food politics: âThe whole world has to shift, and you guys are right there. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.â
For some students, the forward-thinking Wooden Monkey represents a culinary trend that has only brushed their hometowns. âIn Ottawa,â said Kelly, âWe have a few places downtown that are very green, but theyâre very small and hard to get to.â
For others, Ms. MacPhersonâs passionate interest in local and organic foods was a welcome reminder of home. Another student, Rachel, said that the mindful food trend is âall over the placeâ in her hometown, Vancouver. âItâs nice to see things like that in Halifax.â
Where history lives on
Our groupâs next stop was Citadel Hill, Parks Canadaâs second most visited national treasure. A tour guide told us that the fort on top of the hill was built to defend against the Americans, but in fact never saw a battle or an âangry shotâ (although many POWs were held within its confines, including such noteworthies as Trotsky).
Students marched through the front gate, encountering guards in kilts and the sound of bagpipes, as our guide related choice tidbits of Halifax trivia: he informed us that George Washington wanted to attack Halifax but expressed trepidation at the thought of the Citadelâs lethal defenses, that the Hindenburg âaccidentallyâ drifted over the Citadel during World War II, and that the Commons â now the site of a playground and a skate park â were originally built as a sort of disguised battlefield. The tour is quick, wrapping up in plenty of time for students to escape being deafened by the daily noontime cannon.
First-year student Kuda from Zimbabwe found the Citadel âbeautifulâ, telling me that her hometown has plenty of historic sites, but not many military ones: âWe never got attacked that much.â
âIâve never been here,â group leader Jess admitted, but shared that, "It was awesome.â As they leave, many students are already expressing interest in going on the Citadelâs lantern-lit ghost tour.
At this rate, they may manage to keep their fondness for the city even when winter rolls around.