Finals and Final Weeks

Sorry I haven't written in so long. I didn't want to have a blog post that basically amounted to, "I slept and studied...oh and I had some food in between that," which, up until last week after my last final exam, was pretty much my life.

After I got back from all my travels, I had a lot of work to be done. First I had a final essay for my Business and Tourism class. I turned in the essay a couple of days early, unfortunately I chose the wrong day to print my paper at the student guild. Apparently it was also the day before everyone's dissertations were due, so I spent more than an hour waiting for an eight page paper to print.

My first exam, for my economics class on behavior and decision making in the marketplace, was on May 7th. The exam setup here is incredibly different from my exams back at William & Mary. It was a bit like having another round of SATs or AP testing. Everyone is seated alphabetically, at individual desks, and they aren't allowed to have anything on (or by) their desks except a clear pencil case, their student ID, and a calculator if necessary. Even more intense, if you leave to go to the restroom during the exam (which you can't in the first or last half an hour), they check your pockets...and your forearms. My accounting exam was unfortunately on that Saturday (Why would anyone schedule exams on a Saturday? It's cruel and unusual punishment). The format of this exam, like my earlier one, was solely essay questions. Which was a little weird, considering it was accounting.

In between my second exam and my last (Strategic Operations, also on a Saturday), I had a final dinner with my fellow study-abroaders from William & Mary. It was only three of us this time (Maddy, Liv and I), because everyone else was taking advantage of their further free time to do more traveling. We went to Nandos and caught up on what everyone had been up to over spring break, and what other awesome things everyone had planned for the summer. Maddy actually left for home first, the day after outr last exam. It was sad to see her go, but I will definitely be seeing her back at William & Mary (especially considering that once again we will have nearly identical schedules, unsurprising considering our shared major).

The week following my last exam had been amazing however. That period between school ending and summer employment beginning is always wonderful, when you finally have absolutely no responsibilities remaining. The Sunday immediately after my last exam, after Mass was over, I walked into home with some of the other girls from the Chaplaincy. Audrey, Malorie and I headed down the high street before making a stop at the John Lewis. The view of Exeter from the roof top cafe was gorgeous, though I got a little too much sun (still worth it), and had a fun time chatting about everything from heart transplants to shopping (so a very wide range clearly).

Tuesday night I had my first night out in quite a while. I went out to Arena with a bunch of the girls (Lucy, Jen, Welmoed, Laura, and Lina), we had an awesome time dancing in the club. During the course of the evening I ran into several people, since Arena was crowded with everyone who had finally finished their exams, including Emily from Take Note. To commemorate the night, Lucy and I got our pictures taken in the photobooth. By the time it was over, I was kind of sweaty and disgusting, but I had so much fun that it didn't matter. I pretty much collapsed into bed and immediated fell asleep.

Wednesday was also a busy day. First, I had my final practice for Take Note, it was a bit sad thinking about how it was in fact my final practice. I'll definitely miss everyone from Take Note, it was one of the best parts of my term at Exeter and I made a lot of friends. Later in the day I headed over to the Chaplaincy for a barbeque. I had a lot of fun, although I had to make a few more goodbyes.

Friday night Jen came home from work and spontaneously decided we were going out to Arena. After throwing on some non-pajama clothing, the downside was the discovery that the line to get in was incredibly long (which I should have known because on the nights that Arena's crowded, I often get waved to by the somewhat drunk strangers queuing past my window). Lucy and I ultimately decided to head back inside, thanfully avoided what turned out to be an hour long wait for Jen and the others.

Today was my last trip out to the Chaplaincy, and my final goodbye to the people there. During lunch Malorie and I spent quite awhile talking (shout out to her, and good luck with her dissertation on how skeletons with fused ankles are more likely to have had arthritis in their hips...I think). Not long after I finally got back, at nearly 4 in the afternoon, I headed out to the Firehouse with my group from Arena (plus their friend Catheleine). Miraculously we found a table outside, where we had amazingly delicious pizza and strawberry cider. Yum.

Tomorrow is my last day in Exeter, with the exception of a quick stop back on June 11th to pick up the rest of my stuff and check out of my room at the Printworks, and I still haven't done any pack. Better get to that.