Hey Scholars!
Meanwhile, I haven’t been tracking the backend analytics of this blog series, so I honestly don’t know how many people are reading it. But every now and then, I get personal feedback from totally unexpected sources, and I’m just like, How? LOL.
You’re following the blog series too?!
Haha. I LOVE it!
Thank you!
And if you’re new here, welcome!
The very first blog post in this series gives a fuller picture of my PhD journey and why I started documenting it.
And this link neatly arranges all the posts so far, so you can easily follow along.
That said, welcome again! And to my OG readers, welcome back.
Today, I’ve got three gists for you. Let’s dive in!
1. How I Became Course Rep for Research Methods
So… I was literally minding my business when lies were told about me and my sisters from the “Jesus Is Lord” study group. And the next thing? The former Class Rep removed us from the WhatsApp group!
Apparently, that’s his style… anyone who disagrees with him, poof! They’re out.
Till tomorrow, I still can’t understand it. I mean, Ordinary Class Rep o!
Anyways, he removed us and then started dropping lies, and we couldn’t defend ourselves. But even the class wasn’t having it.
A few days later (Sunday morning, to be precise), he added us back and announced he was stepping down as Class Rep. LOOOOL.
I stayed silent in the group… until Tuesday, the day of our next lecture. That morning, with class and sass, I told the group we would be addressing the lies in class before he stepped down.
2. A WILD Goose Chase for Medical Sociology
Phew. So on Monday, I was determined to complete an assignment in Medical Sociology. It required data from the Ministry of Health, both at the national and state levels.
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s when I met the full frustration of trying to access official data in Nigeria. OH MY GOSH.
I spent hours chasing it, and in the end, I planned on submitting an inconclusive report because the right info just wasn’t available.
I felt so bad, especially considering the sheer amount of time I spent on it.
When I shared with a colleague, he gave me a workaround, so I made some edits using even inaccurate data and submitted that instead.
I felt a bit better, but straight after, I went into prayer mode.
I legit asked God: “Please never let me be given an assignment like this again that drags me around for nothing.”
I was pained, deeply. Especially knowing the data isn’t even that useful to my final project. Ugh!
3. Chimamanda… or Not?
Hahaha. Soooo I saw this announcement on the UNILAG website from the Department of English
Chimamanda Adichie was coming to my school! I was SO excited.
I’d followed her Nigerian tour in Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu, but couldn’t attend any. So her coming to UNILAG felt like a divine do-over.
I prepped my questions in advance, determined to be the first to raise my hand. I even planned to ask for a photo-op!
So I carried myself to school and headed to the hall.
Guess what? Nothing.
No event. No signs. No one there.
I started checking other nearby halls, still nothing.
Went to the English Department. The admin staff? Clueless.
They sent me to the Dean’s office. From there, to the Sub-Dean, and eventually to a man who had some info.
Apparently, the event didn’t align with Chimamanda’s usual scope, so they were trying to scale it up to a university-level event. He gave me a few numbers to calL, including a Prof, and one of them told me to keep in touch for how it all pans out.
So now that I’ve met some of the organisers, I’ll update you if I hear anything. At least I can now enjoy some backstage access hehe
My sweet husband just kept laughing at me on the goose chase.
I literally navigated six floors in the Faculty of Arts without using the elevator, office to office like a lost intern. LOL
Anyway, when I finally realised it was a no-show for real, I dragged myself to the library and kept working on my dissertation… until my laptop was about to die.
It’s going slower than I thought, but hopefully, this weekend I can wrap up Chapter 2 and send it to my supervisor.
Amen, amen, amen!
Until next time,
God bless you!
Incoming Doctor,
Eziaha