1. We have assigned seating which means no more filling in endless bubbles on scantron sheets
2. We have less time. My exams are either one or two hours whereas usually they are three hours.
3. They are worth more. My lowest value exam is worth 50% of my mark and my highest is worth 100% of my mark. At home mine usually range from 20%-40%.
I have three exams and an essay. Social Psychology I already took and I think it went OK. Next Monday is Psychology Methodology 1 and I am very nervous about it! On Wednesday is Perception and then I am finished --- apart from a paper worth 100% I must write over the break, boo! Scottish Literature's exam is not until next year. On the topic of courses I have also finalized my schedule for next semester. I am taking Scottish Literature (part 2), Psychology Methodology 2, Social Work (it has lots of guest lecturers talking about their jobs which I'm excited about) and the Psychology Group Project. I'll be doing it on the topic of Space Coding in Touch. I will design an experiment and write up a report with a group of other students. I'm hoping it will help prep me for my thesis next year.
Despite exams it has not been all work and no play for me. I saw my friend Shannon last week to say goodbye to her before she went home for the holidays. We watched Brave New World and shared some snacks and talked about what it would be like going home. I won't be going home until June but I am missing my friends and Kingston now. It would have been nice to see them over Christmas but I'm really looking forward to having my parents and sister visit me in Edinburgh and seeing the extended family in England.
I have also been to the Edinburgh Christmas Market downtown on Princes Street. The stalls are amazing - Dutch pastries, Gluhwein, crepes, mulled cider and lots of homemade crafts. I went once with Erin, Puck and Amelia and we got mulled wine and watched the ice skaters trying to navigate the ice rink (they were not very good and my expert Canadian opinion said that the ice really needed zamboni-ing). There's a big ride that goes really high in the air and then spins you around. I was too chicken to go on it but Amelia and I watched Puck and Erin go on it. I went to the market a second time with Aidan and we had crepes, sampled some German chocolates and went on the "Big Wheel" ferris wheel which was absolutely terrifying. I love the market and definitely want to go again soon. It's open until sometime early January so I'll be able to take my family!
Puck, Erin, Amelia, Aidan, Joe, Tom and I all organized a Christmas Dinner together to help alleviate exam stress. We all contributed to the meal and we ate a splendid array of turkey, ham, bacon wrapped sausages, stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, sprouts, carrots, mashed sweet potatoes, key lime pie and mince pies as well as lots of alcohol. It was delicious and I was so impressed by everyone's cooking. Sadly we were too full to cook the Christmas Pudding as well. Of course we had Christmas crackers with the usual corny jokes and hats. It was interesting to watch Aidan experience British Christmas as I understand they do things differently in the States. My family and I have always celebrated Christmas this way, even when we had it in Canada. It was fun teaching him that crackers are not actually "crackers" and that mince pies do not have meat in them. After the meal we had games and a Christmas Quiz created by Aidan who was in charge of entertainment. We did an egg toss (I dropped the egg AND managed to get it onto the carpet despite us laying down newspaper beforehand) and a game where you had to eat a doughnut off a piece of string. It was so much fun and really got me in the mood for December 25th!
On Monday night, to celebrate my first exam being over Aidan and I went out to have a few drinks. We did a bit of a pub crawl (Greenmantle, The Blind Poet and Southsider) and stumbled upon a Poetry Slam at The Blind Poet. It was actually really awesome and so sad that I discovered it when it was the last one of the year. The guy that went last said there will be a new slam starting in Teviot, the student union, next year once a month so I will definitely be going to that! It was really interesting to hear people reading/performing their poems. There were a lot of Christmas themed ones, some funny poems, some with a political message and some really deep poems. I really enjoyed it!
No exciting plans for the future at the moment, just trying to get through my next two exams!
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