Have you read Part 2 – Integration Shockers?
By December 2016, we had covered three modules and seen results for the first module. When I had seen a score of 65% for Dynamics of Fluidic Energy Devices, I told myself that it would be my least score at Cranfield. We were now to write exams for Power Electronics and Machines. Scoring 87% in that module would have been impossible if not for the classmates I repeatedly disturbed to explain certain concepts that had hitherto seemed like Chinese shorthand. How I managed to score higher than my “tutors” remains a little mystery. Repeating this score for Risk and Reliability Engineering, then scoring 76% and 78% in two simulation-based modules gave me some comfort say I no come England to carry last!
That Christmas saw me jetting out to the Netherlands despite having two assignments due for submission and an exam in the first week of January. My escapades in the Netherlands are already chronicled in a series of articles covering my arrival at Delft, trip to Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, and a finale at Antwerp in Belgium. With two amiable hosts who were alumni of Obafemi Awolowo University, there was enough sensible fun to fill up the Christmas holiday until I was to fly back to England on 4 January 2017; two days before I was to submit two assignments worth an entire module’s score each and write my first exam of 2017.
By now, my eyes had started to shift towards life after Cranfield. In addition to my academic work, I attended online classes prequel to writing exams for the PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Certification in Project Management. By the end of January, I had the certifications under my belt. While heading to the UK, I had argued that I would surely return to Nigeria after my programme, despite strong admonitions from several persons asserting that I should not return. Barely a month after arriving in England, as I saw a system that worked in contrast to the systemic dysfunction back home, I began to rethink my desire to return to Nigeria. Between that time and when I finally left the UK (without exhausting my visa), I had done over 80 job applications. While a few persons got job offers, the “hostile environment policy” of the UK’s Conservative Party contributed to the series of rejections I received. There were firms that made it clear they would have considered my candidacy if I did not require a work visa to remain in the UK. The most painful part was passing through initial stages and receiving encouraging feedback ahead of a potential interview, only to get an email stating the company just realised I needed a work visa, hence, were unable to continue assessing my suitability. I always wondered whether I was a subpar candidate for no company to want to take a bet on me, but I held on to my faith that all things would work out for my good. That faith ensured my self-esteem was not shattered.
An assessment of my financial state opened my eyes to potential ruin if I were to continue spending my scholarship funds at the current rate. During my first couple of trips from Cranfield to London, I would take a train from Milton Keynes to Euston Station and hop into a black cab to anywhere I was heading to in London. There was one day I was sitting in a black cab trapped in traffic and my eyes kept returning to the price meter in front, as it judiciously counted up in pounds and pence. Realising my cash burn rate, I had to ask a simple question: “How do ‘normal’ people move around London?” This question opened my eyes to the London tube system, the massive labyrinth of tunnels sprawling under London’s busy roads. What shall it profit a student to blow his money on cabs when underground trains cheaply lead to almost any location in London? I also leveraged on my studentship to acquire a NUS Extra card for £12 and a Coach card (Student Rail Card) for £30 to become eligible for discounts on certain bus and train trips. In addition, my accommodation expenses were almost cut in half when I moved from a shared house in Cranfield Village to a shared flat in Kempston, just a few kilometres between Cranfield and Bedford.
Continue reading: Part 4 – Schooling and Working
Jilomes 