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!
No comments:
Post a Comment