Hey there, Mal!
I'm a second year arts student attending MUN and maybe I can give you a bit of information about the university. I live off-campus so I can't really shed a great deal of light on the the residences are like although I know that they've been working on renovations. Not too sure about Burton's Pond at all though, sorry.
If you're looking for an adventure then I'd say you picked the right location for that. I'm not from here myself, having come across Canada from BC in July 2007 so I could attend MUN, and I had never been here before either. Yet I feel right at home here and I've decided that I'm likely never going back to BC. The people are friendly and more open than most others, and there all sorts of wonderful people here. Don't get me wrong, there are the arses too but they don't seem to quite as out in the open as you might see in a place like Vancouver, Edmonton, or Toronto.
The food here is pretty damn good. I'm a huge fan of toutons and lassie (fried bread dough and molasses) from Velma's on Water Street, although Vanelli's in the MUN UC food court makes pretty passable ones during their breakfast hours. Fried bologna, brown beans, and fried potatoes are a staple in my house because both my son and I love 'em. I haven't tried cod tongues yet but that's because I just haven't thought about it. I've had fish & brewis...absolutely love it but can't make it to save my life! Jigg's Dinner is one of those things that I recommend everybody try once but it's not for everybody. Fish and chips seem to be a thing here and I recommend trying a few different places for that. Oh, and if they ask if you want dressing with the gravy for your chips definitely try it. And I can't say enough about Purity Jam Jam's, absolutely love those too and I tend to stock up on them whenever I find them for sale. I've had flipper pie a grand total of once and I wasn't a fan, but I still recommend trying it if you aren't against eating seal. Pretty much anything else I've grown up with so I don't what else to tell you about the food.
The MUN campus is a fair size, in my opinion, and we have the MUNnels to use when the weather is horrible or you just don't want to walk outside. These are tunnels that run underground between most of the class buildings and the library, and it's also where lockers are available. I wouldn't recommend one of these lockers, personally, because they are incredibly narrow and don't look capable of holding much. And it would be a good idea to wear layers because one building can be boiling hot and the next could be freezing cold, or it could fluctuate like that simply from one classroom in the same building. I would strongly recommend, if you can get here before the start of classes, to explore the school grounds and figure out where everything is. It will definitely help a lot!
The QEII Library is haunted on the third or fourth floor, if I'm not mistaken. I can't quite remember the story about that though, but I recall something about security guards seeing movement in the library.
I also recommend walking the North Head Trail for some breath-taking views. I've done it from the Battery up to Cabot Tower, as well as from Cabot Tower down to the Battery....if you have buggered knees I recommend going from Cabot Tower down. It's absolutely gorgeous and it looks over the Narrows.
Before I moved here I made the mistake of thinking that St. John's was much smaller than it actually is. It's a big city that moves at a small town pace for the most part.
We have a bus service (Metrobus) that can get you to most places in St. John's and over to Mt. Pearl but be prepared for the buses to run late on a fairly regular basis. If you absolutely have to be somewhere at a specific time plan to catch the bus one run early if you don't have at least 20 minutes of leeway from the time the bus is supposed to arrive at your destination. Speaking from experience here.
Hopefully this helps!
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"Age is no guarantee of maturity." ~ L. Blackwell
"A word to the wise isn't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need advice." ~ B. Cosby
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