Study Abroad, Honors Program & Other Student Experiences

What a week, what a week! I can’t say that I haven’t been outside enjoying the nice weather, but I haven’t been outside as much as I’d like. This past week, I forgot to post because I was engrossed in prepping for my end-of-term projects and exams. I had a presentation and a paper due on Monday, a project due on Tuesday, an exam on Thursday, and a paper due on Friday. I had another exam this Monday and I had my final test this morning. I still have another presentation on Thursday, and a presentation and a paper due for my internship. Thankfully, my internship paper has no “hard” deadline, so I’ve been doing it slowly over time, taking care of more pressing assignments as necessary.

Exams abroad are always doubly stressful. You realize that you need to suddenly prove that you’ve been paying attention all semester, while simultaneously realizing that you have to pack to ship out a few days after you drag yourself out of the exam room. All of a sudden, the list of things you need to do or see before leaving for home triples in size, and you wonder how you didn’t get it done before now. How on earth is one to study when there remains another church with another famous painting to be visited? The weather is finally perfect, all the big festivals have rolled into town, and your absolute favorite artist is having a concert the night before your Marketing final. What to do, what to do?

Pretty much, buckle down and study. Pray for terrible weather and transport strikes so events get canceled and you feel like you should be staying inside. (Not that you need to pray for a strike in Italy). As my non-Arcadian friends on this program are discovering, Arcadia doesn’t take finals lightly. Our professors are nice, understanding people. Still, they don’t want to hear why you failed your exam—after all, you should have been paying attention all semester, no? Find a study buddy if that’s what makes you happy, turn off Facebook and start quizzing each other. Or find a quiet part of the apartment where you can tune out the terrible five year old learning to play the piano below you.

Now that exams are done, a weight has been lifted off of my mind. Sure, I still have a paper and two presentations to finish, but that’s much less time consuming than studying. You at least know when you’re done with a paper or a presentation. Studying doesn’t stop until you sit down in front of the exam, really.  I’m going to go sit out on my bench, read a book, buy a birthday cake for my roommate, and then hammer out this paper. Wish me luck!