Post-exam pancakes

So I had my first real final exam today, for Coastal and Marine Geography. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting and I think I was able to answer the questions pretty well. It was two hours long, and we had to answer three out of six possible essay questions. Exams here are different because they split up your class into rooms based on your last name, and then they might have multiple different exams going on at the same time. In the class where I had my geography exam there was also a business exam going on. Also, exams can be either two hours or three hours. They also have tap water and cups if you’re thirsty and tissues if you get a runny nose in an exam!

We’re all getting sick of the International House food, so today to make up for the not-so-great dinner, we made pancakes, so all of my friends could try homemade syrup. They were pretty much amazed that you can make it, because they had no idea where “real maple syrup” comes from. We only made the first batch of pancake mix, so I’m looking forward to another pancake night after another exam. I have until next Wednesday to study for my International Relations exam (which is going to be quite difficult!).

Aside from studying, I’m still working on planning out my epic trip with my mom and Sharon- looks like we might be hiking a glacier! I absolutely can’t wait, but it’s sinking in that I’m going to have to say bye to all of my New Zealand friends. This entire semester has been wonderful and I’ve loved every second of it. I’ll be sad to leave, but I’ll also be happy to go home. It’s nice to say that I feel like I “fit in” here, and that I could see myself staying longer, but I really can’t do that.