So, first of all, as you know, this is one of our dormitory buildings, and it’s called West Hall. There are two main dormitory buildings in our complex, and the other one, you can see just next to us, is called Blackwell Hall, that’s black as in the color, and well – w-e-l-l. The reason we don't call it East Hall is because this second hall was built using a donation from one of our alumni, a local businessman named James Blackwell, and because of this we named the hall after him.
Ok, so we are at West Hall, and this road ahead of us is called University Road. There isn’t much car traffic on this road as we don’t allow students living here to have cars. Of course there is a good bus network, and many students find that bicycles are usually adequate for travelling around the area. If you look across University Road, you’ll see three buildings, two in front and one more behind them. The one you see on your left is the laundry building – there are many washing machines and dryers for you to use to wash your clothes. It’s not too expensive, and is open 24 hours a day. To the right of the laundry services building is the student service office. This is an important place for you because this is where you go if you have any problems with anything related to your housing, studies, anything at all really. Finally, behind these two buildings is the study hall. It’s nice and quiet there, and many students like to go there while they wait for their laundry to finish. There’s no library there I’m afraid, but as you know the university campus has many libraries. This study hall is just a quiet place to read or study.
So now we’re going to continue walking down University Road. Follow me please. Ok, let’s stop here for a moment. Now, as I mentioned earlier, this is Blackwell Hall, our second dormitory building. And across the street from Blackwell Hall are our recreation facilities. There are quite a lot of things you can do here. First, you can see that there is a small stadium, nothing too fancy, close to the road. We do hold informal competitions here, maybe a football game or something, and of course you can form your own teams and hold games. Behind this small stadium there is an open area where you can do anything really, it’s just a small park. Oh, and of course, there are also two tennis courts. If you’re interested in using any of these facilities, make sure you book early – they are all very popular.
Student: Sorry, Vanessa, can I just ask a question?
RA: Sure.
Student: Where do we book the tennis courts?
RA: Ah, you can book both the tennis courts and the stadium at the student service offices – inside the building there is a small office for making bookings. Are there any other questions at this point? …. Ok, so let’s keep walking down University Road a bit more. Ok so now we’re at the last part of the dormitory complex. As you can see, University road ends here at this T-junction. This road in front of us is called River Road. Across River Road is the bus stop. Buses come frequently; there are several lines stopping here - and you can easily get to the main campus of the university or to the town from here. There is a schedule you can get from the student service offices. Now, let’s look to our left. The building here right next to the recreation area is the bookstore. It’s just a small one, so you might not be able to find everything you need there, but it’s a great place for buying pens and notebooks and things like that. In front of the bookstore, you’ll notice a circular garden. It’s just at the corner of University Road and River Road. This is what we call our flower garden. It’s maintained by the students living here – everyone does a bit of work on a voluntary basis. Again, if you are interested in helping out, you can go to the student service office building. Just on the opposite side of the flower garden you’ll see a bicycle parking area. As I mentioned earlier, residents here can’t use cars. Most people get around by bus and bike. There is always someone on staff watching the bicycles to make sure they are not stolen, but it’s still a good idea to use a bicycle lock when you park here. Finally behind the bookstore and the bicycle parking area you can find the dining hall. Inside the dining hall you can get many different kinds of food – it’s much more than just a cafeteria. There are a number of outlets offering cheap and healthy food, and you can get a range of different cuisines from all over the world. We have lots of students here with special dietary needs, and most of them have no problem working with the selection in the dining hall. Again, if you do have a problem with the food selection, you can talk to me or go to the student services building. Are there any questions? Yes –
Student: Yes, just a question about bikes – do we have to register our bikes with the office, or...
RA: At the moment no. However, this may change in the future if demand for bike parking increases. At the moment, you just park your bicycle. If you have guests visit you, they can also use the parking area. However, keep in mind that if you park your bike in a non-designated area, security may take it away. If this happens, again, go to the student service offices – they can help you.
Ok. Now, we’re going to walk back to the West Hall, and I’ll give you a look around the dormitory rooms themselves. (fade out)
