So when the man yelled over the mega-phone that it was time to begin, I was relieved to see I had the right exam. The next problem, the answer sheet. Unlike any kind of answer sheet I had before, the area you filled in were squares instead of circles (looked more like this.... [ A ] ). So while it said to fill the whole square in, all I could think was where are all the boundaries? How do I know that I've filled in the right amount of square? Will the computer read what I've filled in? So I asked a proctor, who asked me if I'd prepared for my exam. I said of course I'd prepared, but unfortunately I've never taken an exam in the UK and want to be sure I understand what "filling in the square" actually means. He said that what I had done looked fine, so I hoped for the best and continued.
I had 80 questions to answer in 60 minutes, and luckily I finished them all. But when the exam was over, we had to sit quietly to wait for all 300 of our papers to be collected. We then were let go to find our belongings along the wall and then were herded out of the room and back out into the open air. Its just really interesting to me how impersonal all of my final projects and exams have been. Unlike at home, we turn our essays in to the departmental office with a generic form during the office hours, and then collect it from the office when its ready to be picked up. One class, I turned in my essay and my professor was sitting right there, but she didn't speak a word to me, only the secretary did to ask if I was turning in all of my material. How's that for personal relationships?
My design project had to be hung up between the hours of 10 am and 12 and then we left our work there to be picked up the following week. We could hang wherever we could find an empty spot, and I only knew 3 other people hanging up their work around me. Everyone else was in a different section of the module, and I had never seen half of them before. Then this exam...let's just say how the conduct their school system is just a very different experience than what I'm used to and I'm wondering how I'll adjust back in to NC State's school system. There will be a lot more "checking in" and weekly assignments and personal contact that I will not have had for 5 months. We'll see how that goes...huh?