The Final Countdown

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating you all on my European adventures but finals at UCD started yesterday and I have been trying to study. And, yes, I do mean "trying." After a semester of very little work it has been hard to get in the right mindset to study hard (I accidentally watched Waiting for Guffman last night), but I guess I can't complain.

Finals here are a lot different than at home. First off, the exams are not administered on the UCD campus, but rather at a convention complex about a 30-minute walk away. UCD has the building that looks like a concert venue and smells like a barn. It has 2000 tables and chairs set up and each student gets assigned a seat. They also have a bag check that you must check your bag into for one euro. They don't want to take any chances that you are cheating.

I walked to the exam place but there are also free shuttles that leave campus every 20 minutes. The problem- with a building that holds 2000 students, a bus that carries 40 leaving every 20 minutes is not going to do much. From what I hear, students literally get into fist-fights over who gets on the bus because no one wants to miss their finals.

I had my first final today and it was an essay test, like every other exam I have this semester. Financial Institutions Management was the exam d' jour and I think I did a decent job; at least I hope I did well because it was worth 100% of my grade, which is very nerve-racking.

And the Final Countdown to the US: 3 weeks from today! Who's excited?