That title is a little dramatic. I'm sorry. I'm not actually sad, but this post is a little less upbeat that usual. This is simply because of the E word. Exams.
Cambridge exams are a beast unlike any other really. The entire degree structure is different, and exams occupy the central position. Throughout the year we do receive assessment, but it's all unofficial feedback to prepare us for, you guessed it, exams! What this means is the official academic result I will leave with is the product of five written and one oral exams over the course of a week in June.
I'm sure you can imagine how unpleasant this is. The entire year's material - three hours for each exams, three questions, one number, one result. That's it.
In the last three years I've been here I have pretty much come to terms with this system. It's not great, but that's how it is. So the sad face isn't really accurate. I'm working a lot, but finding it pretty satisfying to get the chance to consolidate everything I've learned. The only issue is we're still being taught new material, for the next three weeks. (This is a complain against my faculty, not the university. Most courses have already stopped teaching. Grr.)
Anyway, the point of this rant is to apologise for my blog absence. To be honest, there is nothing interesting happening in my life. I've decided not to row this term, as it just took up too much of my time at bad times of the day. I'm now in the groove of lectures, library, classes, eating, running, sleeping. That is pretty much all I do, but I don't really mind. I've been pretty much cooking for myself and living in my room, but I'm enjoying being completely independent and not being accountable to anyone except myself for how I spend my time.
So that is the situation. The 'sad face' in the title is not related to my work, but rather the holiday coming up tomorrow in the US, Mother's Day! We already celebrated 'Mothering Sunday' in the UK, and it happened to fall on the day I went home, so I did in theory get to spend a mother's day with my mom. However, that doesn't make me much less sad that I can't spend tomorrow with my most marvelous mummy, who I love very much. (I think she knows this, but just in case: Hi Mummy, I love you!)
And just on the subject of awesome women - I was lucky enough to have the two best grandmothers anyone could ask for.
Cambridge exams are a beast unlike any other really. The entire degree structure is different, and exams occupy the central position. Throughout the year we do receive assessment, but it's all unofficial feedback to prepare us for, you guessed it, exams! What this means is the official academic result I will leave with is the product of five written and one oral exams over the course of a week in June.
I'm sure you can imagine how unpleasant this is. The entire year's material - three hours for each exams, three questions, one number, one result. That's it.
In the last three years I've been here I have pretty much come to terms with this system. It's not great, but that's how it is. So the sad face isn't really accurate. I'm working a lot, but finding it pretty satisfying to get the chance to consolidate everything I've learned. The only issue is we're still being taught new material, for the next three weeks. (This is a complain against my faculty, not the university. Most courses have already stopped teaching. Grr.)
Anyway, the point of this rant is to apologise for my blog absence. To be honest, there is nothing interesting happening in my life. I've decided not to row this term, as it just took up too much of my time at bad times of the day. I'm now in the groove of lectures, library, classes, eating, running, sleeping. That is pretty much all I do, but I don't really mind. I've been pretty much cooking for myself and living in my room, but I'm enjoying being completely independent and not being accountable to anyone except myself for how I spend my time.
So that is the situation. The 'sad face' in the title is not related to my work, but rather the holiday coming up tomorrow in the US, Mother's Day! We already celebrated 'Mothering Sunday' in the UK, and it happened to fall on the day I went home, so I did in theory get to spend a mother's day with my mom. However, that doesn't make me much less sad that I can't spend tomorrow with my most marvelous mummy, who I love very much. (I think she knows this, but just in case: Hi Mummy, I love you!)
And just on the subject of awesome women - I was lucky enough to have the two best grandmothers anyone could ask for.
Happy Mother's Day!
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