Online tutorials, exam preparation, buying food supplies and getting a good night’s sleep. There’s lots of snippets and insights here about the daily life of Nigerian student Adeyemi Ariyo, who is studying Sustainable Energy Engineering at the Waterford institute of Technology. This blog was written around New Year 2020, just a week after Ireland went into a Level 5 Lockdown.
Hello! In this blog I invite you all to get a glimpse into 7 days in my life as a student and a Student Ambassador in Ireland. I hope you can relate and please do enjoy!
31st December 2020
I woke up late today! Is it 1.30p.m.? Wow! Not surprising seeing as I didn’t fall asleep till 7a.m. after trying to complete an assignment. Yippee, it’s the last day of 2020! I had breakfast/brunch by 2.30PM and then, you guessed it, back to my assignment. I hope to complete the first part today (wish me luck!).
On a side note, I am missing my family. But I am glad they are doing well, and I have this great opportunity here in Ireland to upskill, so I have that going as well. It’s not a bad compromise.
I joined the church service back at home by 7.30 and in between singing and reading, I complete the first part of my assignment. I wished my family a Happy New Year even though we have 1 more hour to go here in Ireland. I also joined a zoom meeting hosted by my student union to count down into the New Year. It was a great time with lots of toasts, anecdotes, stories and well wishes.
It is 2021! I am so tired and head to bed by 2 a.m…..
1st January 2021
On one of my evening strolls in the city – it gets dark early in Winter.
A good night’s sleep is so refreshing! Awoke at 9.30a.m. and I am feeling great! I called my family back at home and we chatted for about 30 minutes. I made breakfast and proceeded to read as my examinations are fast approaching. I read for a few hours but gave it a pause as I kept catching up on social media to wish friends and family a Happy New Year. I decided not to cook so instead I ordered takeaway from a local Chinese restaurant. It cost me €10 and when I opened it, it was not what I had expected. I must have had a different meal in mind! I ate it but still felt hungry, so I ordered a chicken burger and that tasted more familiar!
2nd January 2021
I needed to go grocery shopping today. I reminded my flat mate that it was his turn to top up the Pinergy meter (pay as you go electricity) as the units on it were low. Most stores were shut as the new lockdown was in effect, but grocery stores are exempt. I dropped into the local Asian store to pick up some of my local foodstuff, especially our locally made bread called “Agege bread”! I also got some jalapeno pepper which is quite hot and spicy. My next port of call was the Tesco’s grocery store near my house, where I picked up the remaining groceries. In all, I spent just under €25 to restock my pantry and fridge. I normally use the grocery shopping as an opportunity to get in some exercise by ensuring I walk nothing less than 6 miles, but it gets a bit tiring when I am returning, laden with groceries! The past few nights have been quite cold with temperatures below zero degrees centigrade, so I picked up a hot water bottle to help with that.
3rd January 2021
A hot water bottle is a life saver! If you have not used one before, it is the next best thing to sliced bread! I had the best sleep I had had for weeks. I felt so snug and comfortable, I was able to forget that I had an assignment submission deadline, for a few hours.
To complete my assignment, I had to use a psychrometric chart and the school was closed for the New Year break, so I could not print it out there. Luckily, a friend has a printer and he helped me print it out. I completed my assignment and submitted online with a few hours to spare. Welcome to studying in the age of Covid!
4th January 2021
A few classmates had organised a zoom call to help prepare us for an online test that needed to be completed before 6p.m. tomorrow, 5th of January. We all joined in on the call and tried answering the questions in the notes and in the tutorials to get us prepared for the online test. It was a reminder that our exams would begin later this week.
I had to cancel an appointment I had made earlier to have my hair cut. The ongoing lockdown is an excuse to keep my “afro look” for a few weeks more! Can’t imagine what it will look like in a few weeks if this lockdown continues! I took a walk in the evening to get some fresh air and exercise.
Realising I may not get a hair cut for a while!
5th January 2021
I woke up early to prepare for my online test. I spent the first few hours of the day reading and then I attempted the questions in the handouts again. When I felt I was ready, I logged onto the school portal called Moodle, and I proceeded to answer the test which was timed as soon as you opened the questions. I was able to answer most of the questions quite well as I was well prepared. The results came out shortly thereafter and I had an A (above 70%) which was good due to the effort I had put in. Pretty pleased!
I could not celebrate for long though, as we had a tutorial organised for our exam on the 7th. The lecturer took her time to answer all the questions we had and to explain some of the things that were not so clear. All in all, it was a good day when I look back at all I was able to achieve!
Waterford People’s Park – great place to clear your head
6th January 2021
D-day: last day of preparation before exams! I woke up wondering if I was well prepared. I had a little apprehension as it would be my first examination experience here in Ireland. What would the experience be like? I decided to take some time out to get some fresh air and to relax ahead of the exams. In one of the online sessions I had with the WIT international student’s office, I was advised to always take some time off to clear my head and that taking in fresh air is always a good idea.
In my time here, I have grown to appreciate nature, and enjoy taking a walk to the People’s Park in the city. It always helps to clear my head and it allows me to get back to reading with a clear frame of mind. Whatever the future holds, I know that coming to Ireland and to Waterford Institute of Technology was a good idea and I have grown as a student and as a person in general!
Thanks for reading!