The 13 offices of registration

Step off plane. Meet guy holding AUC sign. He takes you to dorm. Stand in line at dorm for two hours (awkward orientation conversations begin).
"Hi, I'm Georgia."
"Isaac."
"Where you from?"
"Minnesota, but I go to school in Wisconsin."
"Oh. Well, I've been in the St. Paul airport of bunch of times. Do you go to the University of Wisconsin?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Do you know Julia Randall?"
"Nah."
"I guess it's a big school."
"Yup."
"Where you from?"
"Boston."
"You here for Arabic?"
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah."
Then I move on to the next person.

Fill out welcome card. Go to bed. Get up. Take shuttle to main campus. Wait in line. Fill out emergency card. Go back to hotel because they forgot to register my passport (your passport must be registered with the government whenever you stay more than 48 hours in a new place. so not cool). Go back to school. Go to accounting office to settle bill. Office mislabled. They direct me to the correct office. Take slip to bank. Go to International Student Services Office. Bring passport to housing guy. Talk to him about moving. Bring passport to Registrar. Go back to accounting office to get proof of payment. Bring proof of payment to registrar. Give them passport. Return in one week and bring passport to Visa office. Go wait in line to register for classes. Register. Get paperwork from gym. Bring paperwork to clinic. Get bloodpressure checked. They sign paper. Bring paperwork back to gym. They issue ID. Go to identification office. They take photo. Return in one week to pick up identification. Bring laptop to computer services office. They give me special password. Take special password to computer lab. They get my computer on the network. Return to that office if you want an email address. Return to ISSO office to drop/add classes. Unsuccessful. Return on Sunday. Meanwhile, go to History dept. to figure out the problem. Return to housing office to arrange bed delivery. Deliveryman a no-show. Return to housing office (x10).

*awkward conversations continue. Note: each office is accompanied by line-waiting. Usually more hectic than but not as long as the ISSO class registration line.