Yesterday was Registration for First years of the Humanities Department. What a day it was!
I arrived at the University at about 6:45 in the morning (please bear in mind that the doors for registration were only due to open at 9am) to a line of exactly 78 other people...making me the 79th person, for those of you whose maths isn't so sharp :)
Sitting at a table with a group of very nice Northland's girls, we managed to make the 2 hour wait bearable. I realised that I am not the only first year who is wanting to meet new people. Even these girls, a group of school friends, spoke about the opportunity to meet different people and make new friends.
When 9 o' clock came around, we (that is over 300 first years) were ordered into a numerical line, and we filed into the lecture room. That is where the order ceased.
After much indecisiveness about how we should be grouped, the humanities department were eventually able to coordinate enough to start handing out forms. When I progressed to the next level, form in hand, it is needless to say that an atmosphere of impatience and chaos filled the lecture room. I proceeded to the subject advisors, to chose my modules for the year. Luckily for my advisor, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do and when, so that conversation was a short one.
Then on to get my lecture signatures. That is when I was really enlightened as to how my module choices would work. First I had chosen to take the exact same module for first and second semester, resulting in change number 1. Then I tried to get away with Afrikaans for beginners, and again I encountered another mistake. Apparently the status of 'Beginner' is reserved for those with little or no Afrikaans knowledge... meaning that with an A in matric, I do not qualify, giving me change number two. In the end I came up with a package that seems interesting and challenging enough. I was satisfied with my achievement so far (except for the Afrikaans hiccup). I received my Dean's signature in less than 5 minutes and so I was on to the final challenge: Receiving my Student Card
As I followed this seemingly endless queue all the way across the Foyer and down two flights of stairs I noticed that I had been passing faces that were behind me in the very early morning queue. This confirmed that all order began and ended in the line outside TB Davis. Is this just the beginning of a long and unorganised year?
By this time, I had become accustomed to the wait, to the standing, to having to sit too close to my fellow first years, yet all this patience seemed to dissipate with every minute that I waited for a completed student card. The initial student card line moved at a reasonable pace and it seemed likely that my day was almost complete. I sat up on the stool in front of the camera, smiled, tried to look as normal as possible and within a minute I was in the final line of the day. I waited. I waited some more. Then I waited a bit more than that too. Once again, people behind me were getting their student cards and leaving. Yet I still sat and waited. Half an hour later it was discovered that there had been a handlers error with my card. It hadn't been activated. My patience grew thinner still as I watched the assistants get up and leave for their lunch break despite the ever growing line of students and me still waiting int he same chair. Didn't they realise that I had been there all morning with nothing in my stomach except a cup of coffee!?
Finally after several dirty glances and loud sighs, my card was handed to me. What else could go wrong?
The picture on the card that I am supposed to carry with me for the next three years is ORANGE. I look like I bathe in self tan. I look like and umpha-loompha. That's what else could go wrong.
But atleast now that ordeal is over for this year. I will only have to repeat it next year and the year after that.
Now for the good news. I have sort of made a new friend. Although she isn't doing the same course as me, she is nice and very funny. I'm glad that I won't be 100% alone. My majors are English Studies and Media and Culture Studies. Then my electives for First semester are: Afrikaans, Linguistics and Comparative literature. Second semester electives are: Linguistics and Anthropology.
I am hoping that the Afrikaans won't be too hard. The professor seemed to think that I would be able to complete it with ease... yet I don't completely agree with him. I might change one of my majors from Media to Linguistics, but only time will tell.
After a hellish day, and this post full of all my vented frustration, I feel optimistic about first year and I am ready to start. Luckily on Monday I only have two lectures, so I can attempt to familiarise myself my surroundings (it is a very large campus).
All that needs to be done now is find my lecture venues, meet some people in my classes, find the closest toilets and get cracking with the learning!
*wish me luck!*
