Wrapping up Wollongong

Finals

The week we had off where we went to Bali was technically our study break. Apparently people study during that week…

Anyway, there are two weeks of finals. Most of the finals are three hours and 15 minutes long. The biggest shock about finals though is the actual test-taking environment that you’re put in. First, you’re directed to a separate building to drop you bag off. Then, you have to look a huge sheet (over 10 pages long) to find your class, your name and your seat. From there you enter the testing room (like a field house) where there are 1,000 desks and chairs. Once you find your chair and sit down, you have to sign a slip of paper confirming that you are who you say you are and prove it with your photo student ID.

They are extremely strict with what you bring into the testing rooms. You are only allowed a clear, white water bottle – it doesn’t matter if it’s clear but a different colour, you have to leave it outside. There’s a long list of prohibited items; umbrellas (it was pouring with rain), calculator covers, notes, etc. You are allowed to bring your cell phone and keys but they have to be placed in a clear zip-lock bag under your desk.

Everyone is distributed their exams and told to start at the exact same time. If there are any mistakes made in a class’s exam, an announcement is made over the loudspeaker. None of the lecturers or tutors are present during exams, they are all run by volunteers. If you have a question about the test, you’re on your own.

I can honestly say that I’m excited to get back to CU to the way they do exams.

I think it was a sign. After I had finished all my finals it was a beautiful sunny day and we decided to celebrate by just lazing around on the beach. It was perfect. Everyone was there, it was so relaxing and then we saw dolphins! They were riding the waves and playing around. But it get better, we then saw a whale! It was a fairly small whale and it was strange that it was so close to the beach but it was amazing!! It kept jumping up and falling back on the water – it looked like a Pacific Life commercial!

Leaving

It was weird once people started leaving Wollongong. So many familiar faces were all of a sudden gone, many people on long plane rides back to their home countries. Since I was staying to travel after, campus got very quiet very fast. We spent a lot of time packing, sorting through all the junk that we had accumulated and watching movies. My session at Wollongong ended much like it began.

We ate a last dinner at the beach and then it was time for us to leave!

What I'll miss the most: all the people I've met.

What I'll miss the least: those stupid birds!