I was really lucky to live in Totem Park this term. I applied for first year housing pretty late (I think it was in March or something) and was offered a place in q’elexen one of the two newest residences at UBC. It was absolutely amazing living there. My floormates were all really nice and my RA (residence advisor) was amazing. The whole building was really clean and was kept up really well during the year. Despite Totem’s reputation for being a rowdy place, our floor was pretty quiet, and you were more likely to find people studying in the floor lounge than partying on any given night.
If you are moving into either q’elexen (pronounced Kullahun) or humelsum (I don’t know how to spell this one properly), the two brand new sister houses you are probably curious to what a room looks like, how much storage you will have e.t.c. These rooms are much bigger than the ones in the older Totem residences (and a lot nicer), but most of the residneces have the same furniture. Here we go:
So here is my room from the entrance, the bed’s height is adjustable which is nice because you can keep things underneath it if you wish. My room was nice and bright with adequate storage (however I did bring that little chest of drawer with me). I also brough the mirror on the left at the dollar store in the village for $10. Not the best mirror but useful for days when my roommate was in the bathroom and I needed to get ready.
This is a view of my room from the window, I bought the door hanger at the UBC bookstore and was very happy with it (you don’t want to be hanging up your wet jacket or lab coat with all of your nice clothes).
Storage, yes that is a bike hanging up on the right. All rooms in q’elexen have a bike hook. I would really recommend bringing a bike to residence or buying one here as they are very handy for going to and from back to back classes, getting home from the library late at night and getting groceries. Also bought the hanging organizer from IKEA, years ago (I am sure they still sell them now). At the beginning of the year in residence, there is an IKEA trip, so you can buy room decorations, extra hangers, baskets e.t.c there if you need to.
Dest area, wow, it looks pretty messy. Enough space to store most of your textbooks. I brought two desk lamps because the provided lights were kindof dim and I fell sleepy without enough light. Also brought a printer/scanner which was very handy, they are extremely cheap ($30-$50) and a far better option than going to the library everytime you need to print something.
A view of the chest of drawers. Make sure that most of your clothing can fit into 3 big drawers!
The end! You can find more information about Totem Park at the UBC housing website. If you have any questions about what you need to pack/ what will fit into a residence room you are welcome to ask me.
omfg. The bookstore sells over the door hangers?!?! I need to get one of those. And a hanging shoe organizer from IKEA.
When did you find out the specifics of housing first year, i.e when did they tell you your house and room number? Late July? Early August? Because I’m dying waiting over here!
I’m assigned to q’elexen, wondering if the floor is carpeted? Hard to tell from the photos. Also, the sotrage beside the closet looks really large, would a mini fridge fit in there do you think, and is there somewhere to plug it in from? Actually, how many outlets did you have in your room?
Thanks, sorry bout all the questions!
The floor is carpeted, it is kind of coarse carpeting. A mini fridge would probably fit in the storage, but there is no electrical outlet in that part. Most people put their minifridges under the bed or beside their desks. There are probably 5 outlets, I found bringing a power bar very useful! Hope that helps,
Jannicke
Is the wall the desk is against painted pale green or is it just the lighting?
it is painted green. I thought at first I would hate it, but it is ok =) Other dorms have yellow and tiling which is a million times worse!
are the two walls that the desk and bed are against both green? or is it just the one behind the desk
Do all Rooms in q’elexen look like your first 2 pictures? and are we allowed to add wallpapers or paint the wwalls or add anything else? what can wedo and what CANT we do?
I think all of the rooms look more or less like my pictures. Some rooms might be a little bigger and some rooms are a little more square. You can’t paint the walls or add wall paper, but you are allowed to hang up posters, art, mirrors e.t.c. using double sided tape. They give you the tape to use for free =).