My Campus Life

The time was about December, 1995, I arrived Chauk for my engineering studies. My mother and sister accompanied with me travel to Salay. There is my aunt who is my mother's younger sister at Salay and I am supposed to stay there before I am settled. I have never been Salay before and it was my first time to see my Aunt and my cousins. After discussing my mum and my aunt, my aunt suggested that I could stay in Salay and go Chauk as a day-student. She highlighted also that her eldest son was studying like that during his time. So my mum asked me to stay in Salay and listen my aunt's instruction.
The first day I go to institute, I don't know how to go the correct room because I am alien to that compound. The Chauk GTI campus is build on the different terrain and it is concealed when view from the front. There are several classes and workshop behind the front building. All the buildings are connected by a corridor. By the standard of myanmar's infra-structure, it's quite modernize and I'm amazed to see that. There are 4 double story hostels and dinning hall nearby as well. The famous one is RC water-tank and it is as high as 6 story building. I copied Civil engineering classes time table and I find the right class-room myself. By the time I went to institute, it's a bit early and only few students are coming and attending school. So the teachers are not follow the time-table and it makes me difficult to find them. After understanding myself, I decided to ask some passer who are deemed my senior students. They know this campus well and they surely know where is the first year class-room as well. So I managed to find my class and begin my journey to become an engineer.
At my first day, I got few friends in which one is from Salay, another is from Nyaung-Oo and the rest is from Chauk. We all are from the same faculty and we made friend within half day. Later on we became the closest friends not only during campus day but also in life. We enjoyed lunch together at one cafe-shop that become later our dinning area everday. We all bring our lunch-box usually and we enjoy foods by sharing each other. By this way we are closer day by day and help in other needs. Every monday to friday, I need to go Chauk early morning and come back Salay at evening. Being student, I am granted to deserve a discount transportation fees. At first year, I need to pay for 3Ks for one way for 14 miles journey. At that time, for normal passengers need to pay 10Ks for the same trip. So at the peak hour, the driver and spare-man don't want to carry us and it makes us very disappointed. In some ocassion, we, students, need to ride the hilux car by hanging on stand-up. It's actually dangerous position but no choice. They, driver and spare-man don't want to give us a normal sit. I mean they don't want to see us sitting on the seat. I don't know why they treat us like that. Sometime we signal to stop car and they don't stop and drive away by saying there is no place for anyone. But we could manage to overcome these difficulties. After first year I shifted to internal hostel at GTI compound.
I got stypine for 300Ks per month because I am eligible to be poor enough. I need to fill up the form and also sit interview as well to proof how deep I am poor. All applicant through the same way to grab one. Being internal hostel student, I need to pay hostel and food fees to management team. It charged me 300Ks a month and my stypine is finished by paying that. Hostel gave us 2 times a day.
Lunch : Rice and Bean Soup.
Dinner: Rice + One curry (meat) + One Soup.
Supper: It appear only exam time...mostly management gave us 1 boiled egg and bread.
So we all students need to buy outside foods or store own foods from house so that we can enjoy our meals at lunch and dinner time. At hostel, rooms are needed to share 4, 8 and 12 persons depend on size. I am placed on 8 person room. My first ever time experience to share a room with fellow students who are from different majors. My institute have 4 faculties that is Civil, MP, MT and EP. So by staying at the hostel, we can gain a chance to get new friends from another major. There are playground between hostels and we, students, are playing some particular games by grouping same hobby students. The most difficult time is bathing time at hostel. Since Chauk is mountaineous town, it's always difficult to have water enough. So we students are needed to conscious at early morning and evening. We have to go bath rooms when the water come from pump..The water coming is not timing despite usually come early morning and evening. Anyway we find it happy to shower side by side so many students. Toilet are also not good enough to be used. Management team doesn't seems take care for that sanitary case. I noticed that all cistern are out of service and we need to carry water for our own case when we go toilet. At night time, lighting is also not enough and make us afraid to go alone there although toilet are attached to main building. As usual, the hostel are noisy until middle of night and I tried to used to that at my first days. I don't have the practice to go out for sitting cafe and going to female student hostel for entertaining. So usually I am alone at my room at early night time. All my room-mates go out every night and used to come back around 10pm. At that early hour, I can study peacefully and when I go bed, the hostel started to noise with student returning from outside. I am not a ordinary/typical student I admit. I control myself a bit more and I lose my happy time by studying hard. But it used to my daily life and never feeling boring. To get a good roll in class, I have to study hard. In GTI, it is not problem to pass regularly but cannot get a top ten without studying hard. I have my own ambition and I don't want to sway it for any reason. I didn't have a girl-friend at that time and never tried as well.
I realise one thing when I attend GTI. That is I thought I am unfortunately failed to get flying colours at my matriculation exam. It's seems never cure at first and begin to cure when I am attending GTI. Because I found some classmates who are better than me although they coming to GTI. Basically GTI comer are worse than YIT goer, I believe like that. But in actual life, it shouldn't be right for every person I think. Some of students at GTI are so clever and they are getting well result without trying so much. I get the good marks is because of my industrious manner. Most of the high scorer are female students and I associated mostly with them so that I can discuss my problem with them. I find that the more I am familiar with top students, the more I can gain their assistance. By this way, I automatically avoided the male students as they are not trying enough and spend in different value. I neglected in what they comment on me. As long as I am simple and honest, I don't need to care about others critize. There are many rumours among students and competition is very high among top ten students. This is the one I like most in GTI. We don't have any tuition and we need to rely only normal class teacher. So students need to attend regularly and attendence is important in deciding if one can sit exam or not. I mean is for those who attend less than 75% attendence lose the chance to sit exam. They are not allowed to sit exam for so many abscent. Our institute-teachers are so hard working and very familiar with pupils. We are happy our institute days and we'll never forget the days we spent with our classmates and teachers.