After the trauma I went through yesterday, I decided it would be better if I lie low the whole search for accommodation and focus on my academics for the meantime. By lay low, I mean take my search to the digital world; specifically, through WhatsApp. There’s UG on WhatsApp. So, that morning, I started paying rapt attention to the activities going on in the groups I found myself in on WhatsApp.
Friday was the day for rectification. It was the day on which I had a class at the business school. Unfortunately, this was also a 7:30am class. While walking towards the Business School (thank goodness I now know where exactly to go), I couldn’t help but wonder why most of my classes for my first semester in the University were so early in the morning. Was this some test? If it was, then it’s the worst ever. University must be that time when you’re liberated from the shackles of SHS life, right? So why do these early morning classes still remind me so much of life in SHS? I agree there are some vast differences between life in SHS and life in the University.
That morning, I could not help but dwell on the only similarity my mind could access and it was tiring thinking about the fact that I have to wake up very early and sometimes miss breakfast for the next four months. Another thing that reminds me of the fact that it is very early in the morning is that there is almost always close to no one else walking on campus. So whenever I’m walking to class, it looks like I’m the only student on campus. It’s sometimes unnerving.
When I finally got to my lecture theater at the BS, there were just two other students in the room. The arrangement of this lecture theater differed from JQB. Instead of pews, there were desks, and the theater had a lower and upper level. I checked the time and realized it was barely 7:00am. My heart and mind did a quick somersault; I couldn’t hide my smile at the thought of having a few minutes to take a nap before the lecturer arrived. I sat on a desk three rows from the front of the class (the lower level of the class). After settling in comfortably, I put my head on the desk and started my morning nap.
After a few minutes, the lecture theater became noisy. I raised my head and realized that in less than twenty minutes; the theater was full and other students had to stand outside. I was surprised because I had not expected a full theater on a Friday. I was happy I came earlier; I wouldn’t want to stand outside during my first Public Administration lecture.
To be honest, I had some knowledge of how the first day would go from my experiences throughout the week, so I wasn’t expecting anything different. Five minutes to 7:30am, the lecturer arrived, and we went through the same drill. Introductions, appointing course reps and knowing the course outline. The only thing different about this lecturer was that apart from course reps, he wanted reminders (students who would remind him of what the class had learnt the previous week).
After appointing all the needed representatives, the lecture ended and so did my first official lecture-going week in the university.
UGRCs? WHAT ARE THOSE?
Apart from our various elective courses, UG also has courses which are; the University of Ghana Required Courses (UGRCs). So, the system works like Senior High School where you have your electives and your core subjects. The only difference was that in the University of Ghana, you take two UGRCs each semester of your first year in the University and one for each semester of your second year in the University, which makes six UGRCs. If you’re unable to take your UGRCs, you might as well forget about graduation. So two weeks after school had reopened every semester, they release the timetable and link for the registration to take the UGRCs; not simultaneously, though (they release the timetable a few days before the link). After they have released the timetable, you need to know people who know people (in short; you need connections) to get access to it (at least during your first semester on campus). If you are rather unfortunate and you don’t get access to it, get ready to take UGRCs in your third year in the University (something a lot of us avoid because of the stress involved).
So what is the real hype behind this whole UGRC selection process? The number one cause of the hype is the hurdle you have to entertain the University of Ghana Computing Systems (UGCS) releases the link to register for the courses. UGCS usually releases the link at weird times of the day (late at night or too early in the morning or in the middle of the day; they literally had no fixed time for the release) and to stay abreast with the release day and time. You need connections. After the release of the link, the number two problem sets in; the jamming of the website. This happens because each UGRC has a few slots for students every semester. This means they serve students on a first come first served basis and the longer you take to register for a particular UGRC, the slimmer your chances of getting into that class. So immediately the UGCS releases the link, all students jump onto their gadget trying to get access to the site to register for courses they want to take instead of leftover courses. In this process, the site jams. When this happens, anxiety levels rise because only a few people can register before the site is closed. After the closure of the site, you’d have to wait for the next semester to register for another UGRC.
Fortunately for me, my roommates for my first semester in the university were caring enough to take me through the UGRC drill. When they released the link early on Monday morning, I was the second person to register for my UGRCs according to statistics given by the website. Right after that registration, I knew my courses for that semester were more or less written in stone.
I JUST CAN’T FORGET MY LACK OF ACCOMMODATION
Apart from academic headaches, some of us also have to deal with accommodation headaches. Now that I knew what the drill (the day, time and location of my various lectures) was for every week, my only headache was finding accommodation for myself. Apart from that, University becomes monotonous after a few weeks. Same lecture halls, same lecturers, same tutorials, same everything unless you find interesting ways to use your time outside of the lecture hall. The only other interesting (for lack of a better word) thing I could do was remain active on WhatsApp to catch any alerts about hostels.
After a series of disappointing trips to some hostels that were nothing to write home about around Atomic Junction, I met one guy who gave a recommendation that worked for me. A friend of his had visited this hostel (it was previously a Montessori for kindergarteners, which was still under transformation into an all-girls’ hostel) and taken a video of the various rooms.
Though it was still under construction (the place literally had beds that were now being built, there were no electrical connections in the rooms etc), the size of the rooms was appealing. It was very spacious, and that was something I was down for. Another plus was the fact that I could literally walk from the hostel to school in less than thirty minutes. Immediately he told me about the place and showed me the video, I called the owner of the hostel and planned to visit.
After a long period of getting directions that almost got me lost and a taxi driver squeezing money out of my wallet, I made it to the hostel. To my utmost surprise, there were other people who had already paid for the place and had moved in. Some students had already booked most of the rooms. I booked a bed that was not yet complete, made my payment and went back to campus to pack my stuff and move in.
I moved that same Saturday I had paid for the place. Right before I moved in, they built a bed for me and stuffed a mattress into it. Some things I loved about the location of the environment included the fact that it wasn’t far from food vendors and other necessities. Its proximity to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) was also another plus.
After settling in comfortably, I made a mental note to make a trip back home to get my utensils and other necessities so I wouldn’t rely on fast-food joints and waste money. Thinking back to how the day played out, it all seemed surreal. After weeks of getting lost and wasting money on transportation, I finally found a place not so far from campus and a place I liked.
The diversity of the caliber of my roommates was also intriguing. Instead of students from one University, this time I had a mixture. Once settled in, we got along with each other pretty well. It was fun hearing of life in other Universities apart from UG. Sharing experiences, taking long walks to UPSA to buy indomie or ‘kelewele’ (spiced ripe plantain fried until golden brown) or just to visit friends. We bonded over the simplest of things while the semester whisked away.
AND IT’S A WRAP
After our end of semester exams, it was an emotional moment when we all moved out of the hostel to our various homes.
My first semester in the University might not have been the shiniest or fanciest according to any standards of any sort, but it reflects who I am. Not fancy, not shiny according to any standards not set by me. Just a free soul finding happiness in everything and anything.
thank you for joining me on this journey...
PLAYLIST
Easy by Ella Mai
Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran
Category: UG Escapades
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