Wednesday 12th May 2010 - Exam Season
I'd like to start off this week by thanking both Yanfei and Qun Braunbeck who both sent me superb emails about classical Chinese after reading my blog about it two weeks ago. It was great to hear about your experiences of learning this subject. Sometimes when you study a subject out of context it can be a little difficult to fully grasp. Your emails really helped and so did the links you sent me. I'll be sure to share them with the rest of my class.
We are truly into exam season now. We have four exams and the first written exam is on Monday. So recently we've all been burning the candle at both ends, or 開夜車. This phrase cropped up in a smaller exam just last week.
Ye Old White Horse pub, London
How is it though that the best events always manage to clash with exams! First of all, last Friday, the pub I work in, Ye Old White Horse, won the Best Neighbourhood Pub award in the Love London awards. Of course, there was a party after the awards ceremony to celebrate. I'm delighted for my boss Damian because a lot of hard work went into the place over the past three years to make it what it is.
Emmet and Nick have worked together in the Ye Old White Horse pub
This week, there is a succession of birthdays. One of my classmates celebrates hers on Thursday. Then on Friday, it is my birthday as well as two of my classmates' birthdays. It looks like it's going to have to be a quiet one for all of us this year. On that same day, we have our listening exam. There are two great gigs coming up this weekend that we'll have to pass on.
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London
In order to get to Beijing in second year we have to pass all four subjects. There are no resits and no second chances so we have to get it right first time. It's worth missing the odd party here and there to get the right results.
I remember missing all of my friends' 18th birthdays when I was in Ireland because I was studying. I would never have got into SOAS without the results I got in my end-of-school exams and, as our teachers and parents constantly reminded us, "there will always be more parties". I think the Chinese proverb Andy sent me in one of the first weeks of this blog sums it up nicely: "If you do not study hard when young, you will end up bewailing your failures when you grow up".
Question of the week
Have you got exams coming up? Do university exams in China take place at this time of year? What else do you do at this time of year?
