With the blink of an eye, our rather short semester break is now over and we are now back on campus, in the midst of reacclimating to the rigour that is uni life. To welcome us back, the Monash University Student Association (MUSA) organised a back to school carnival from Tuesday, 24 July 2018 to Wednesday, 25 July 2018.

The scent of fried chicken wafted through the corridors, by the side of the concourse area several food trucks were lined up along with several mini game booths all practically inviting you to check it out. Among the food vendors available at the carnival included a fried carrot cake, lekor, chicken dumplings, nasi lemak and not to mention all the food trucks there like Llaollao, Tealive and Babarittos. The sheer amount of options available conveniently right smack in the middle of campus was just a refreshing change of pace and whole lot of fun trying out so much good food.

In the corner of the concourse area, one can see a popcorn machine making fresh hot buttery popcorn free for anyone to take. At the carnival, you might have seen a brightly dressed individual with a knack for making balloon animals. With bring oversized yellow shoes, the clown’s name was Mr. Tomato. For those of us, who had some time in between classes or a particularly long lunch break, a row of mini games was set up like the ring toss, spinning nerf gun target and angry birds catapult among others. Winners from these games were given candy and sodas.

During the first day of the carnival there was a Daydreaming competition. Essentially students who participated had to remain seated without any distractions like phones, whilst the invigilators measure their heart rates at 10 minute intervals for about hour. The idea is that one would have a steady relatively unchanged heart rate if they daydreaming. The following day there was a Jousting competition. Unlike those medieval ones with horses, this version was more like gladiator jousting where a cushion rink and podiums for opponents to stand on was set up, as they hit each other with paddles in effort to knock the other off the podium. Winners from both competitions received special Monash merchandise.    

Overall, the carnival certainly was a fun experience with so much packed into a relatively small space. It was just what we dead to battle the so called ‘post holidays blues’ and the perfect way to kick off the semester.

Article by Sharifah Azlinah

Photos by Desmond Chin and Nobel