This is the 15th in a series of interviews that are being conducted with new residents, in order to gauge the effectiveness of the orientation process, and to gauge disparities between the preconceptions and the realities of Second Life. The questions may be tailored slightly for each interview; responses may be edited for purposes of clarity.

I ran into Audrey at the Hanja Welcome Area, on the Southern Continent. The place is a clone of the big Welcome Area at Ahern. Audrey was happy to answer my questions.

When you arrive in SL, having passed through Orientation and Help Island, the first place you are likely to see is one of the welcome areas. There are several of these; Ahern is the most used one, with overflow going to Waterhead when busy and other areas when really busy. 

Arriving at a welcome area, is a bit like being dropped into the alien bar scene in Star Wars, without the aid of Obi Wan Kenobi.  People pass through, but also aliens, devils, vampyres, furries, animals, insects, robots. Dress varies from Linden-Lab highschool, to sim-crashing prim robots with hundreds of attachments.