Moving, mid-term tests and new toys 29/3 2010

Last week I faced my first mid-term test, and the second was on this morning. It sure is a different way of assessing us used here compared to what I have been used to in Denmark. No aids, no nothing but a pencil, a non-programmable calculator and the 16 pages of answer sheets supplied at the test. The tests themselves have not been too hard, with a lot of open ended questions. The challenge is then to try and figure out what the lecturer wants to hear, and how much time it is worth spending answering each question. For the first time ever I failed to answer all questions satisfactory in a test today due to shortage of time; I have of course answered questions wrong or too short previously, but as far as I can remember I have always had the time to come up with a proper (guess of an) answer. Today it was all rushed and with no time for drinking water or try and let everything come together by taking a short break. But I am pretty sure that I did decently well, and it was sure nice to try out this form of tests before the final exam (even though the test results are part of the final grades, the exam counts for a lot more).

Thursday I changed room from my too noisy and dirty five-bedroom to a small two-bedroom apartment with exactly the same facilities as the bigger one. Same lousy kitchen, but at least I have room in the fridge now! And my new flat mate, a Maori guy studying education is nice, tidy and clean, as well as very friendly and in general much nicer to live with than the ones in the five bedroom unit. The catch is that it has become even more ridiculously expensive to stay here; a room in a private flat can easily be found at half the price of what I am paying to stay here, but they have cut me down to a one-semester contract without having to pay the penalty of 8 weeks rent it would cost me to get released from my original one-year contract now. I still have a few issues to solve with the accommodation office, but I feel so much more at home in the new apartment. If it wasn’t for the cost, I might even had considered staying the full year here, but since I can get my own one-bedroom apartment at the same cost I am out of here as soon as possible.

Moving between the rooms was carried out with the aid of a shopping trolley – so now I know what it must be like being a tramp, at least for four times 50 meters.

After having changed room it has started making sense to get stuff for my room again (I was getting a bit apathetic before since I did not feel comfortable in the room), which has resulted in a set of decent computer speakers, a bad-ass Japanese kitchen knife and the biggest set of LEGO I could possibly find. This was partly to celebrate surviving the two mid-term tests, partly to celebrate my tax refund and partly just because I felt like getting this stuff! The LEGO set should keep me busy for a few nights, since it includes four booklets with instructions on how to build the damn thing – I am SO looking forward to it!

Oh, and the last GREAT thing that happened this weekend was that Nic (my aunt’s partner) made me proper Danish rye bread to take home – my stomach and taste buds are absolutely thrilled! That, on top of another wonderful weekend at The Paddock means I am ready for the last week before my three week April break (where I have to do some studying though…)