Hello everyone!
Exams are finally over, and I'm now officially done with uni
until the start of April!!
I still can't really get over the fact that my first
semester is over and done with. It seems like only yesterday I have moved to
Germany and started my first lecture (the one that actually made me cry) but
what can I say, I'm not really complaining about the fact that I've got nearly
2 months off from uni. I've never had so much time off, except maybe summer
school holidays. So, I'm looking forward to having a little break, and going
back home for a bit :) and I've made it! I'm half way done and kind of proud of
myself, for not having a little mental breakdown.
The exams here have been so stressful and confusing. I'm
almost certain that I've failed most of them, despite the fact that I've been
revising so much every day for like 3 weeks. You would be surprised. The worst
exam that I've had this semester was definitely the linguistics exam. Oh my
god, it was awful. I've spent hours revising, went to the exam and just felt
like crying. Literally none of it made any sense to me. But I still tried. I
suppose it's not really about the grade, it's the effort that counts. But
still, the one thing that bothers me the most is the fact that someone is going
to have to read this work and actually grade me. And I know I'm capable of
doing well, the only problem was the language barrier, so that was really
annoying. I think I'm just a bit embarrassed. On the other side, I think that
the History exam and one of the Politics exam was quite decent. Not really
expecting to get a top grade, but they were simple and straight forward. It was
more about memorising stuff, rather than remembering how to draw diagrams. When
I opened my paper for the History exam, I thought the questions were an
absolute joke at first. One of the questions was, 'who was Winston Churchill'
and the answers were underneath. You literally had to pick the right answer and
connect them with the ones above. I was just so shocked that a university
student would be asked such an easy question. After I've spent 5 days revising
about more complicated stuff. I was just stunned. Couldn't believe it. But I
can't really complain about having easy questions in the exam. It's better than
trying to explain things/events/facts in another language, and at the same time
lacking so much vocabulary.
The whole exam system here in Germany is so much different
than in UK. Firstly, the one thing that really amazed me, was that in some
exams we could have our bags& coats right next to us, even though the exam
was taking place in the hall, with examiners in it. That would literally never
happen in England. I mean the examiners were paying a lot of attention to the
students, and they kept walking around checking if anyone was cheating, but it
was still a bit strange. Being able to have your stuff right next to you or
sitting next to someone. In that sense, I do think that exams are taken more
seriously in England rather than here in Germany. They're more relaxed about
the whole examination process, and in a way, they sort of trust their students
a lot more, not to be cheating or doing anything wrong. If you were to finish
the exam before, you didn't have to wait until the end (including the last half
an hour of the exam). You could literally walk out whenever you wanted to. Most
students didn't even put their hand up, they just gave their paper to the
examiner and walked out. It was so weird. The same thing applied to when the
student wanted to go to the toilet. The only exam which I believe was very
similar to how exams are in UK, was the International Politics exam. Other than
that, everything was just so simple and easy going. In England, there was so
many times when I've seen students crying, getting emotional and upset that
they're not fully prepared. Whereas the German student, in my eyes just didn't
seem to care that much. I overheard some of the conversations before the exam,
and so far, I believe that the attitude of German students is 'if I don't pass
this exam, then I can always retake it on the second date'. (Most exams here
have 2 dates-rather than just one like in UK). Obviously not everyone is the
same, but my judgement is simply based on the conversations I overheard. To be
fair though, there was a couple of students that actually were revising before
the exam and kept looking through their notes. But I have not seen a single
student crying. Which does make me think that it's less stressful here.
One thing that really annoyed me in one of the exams was the
fact that the examiners just didn't seem to care enough to explain to the
Erasmus students how the examination process applies to them. There was only
one exam that I've had an issue with, which was the last Politics exam.
Normally before you can enter the exam hall, you must show your student card to
the examiner and they give you an answering book. I've not had any problems
before that. My name was always on the list and the only thing that was
expected of me was to sit down and wait for the questions. However, on my last
exam the method of the examination was completely different. As I walked up to
the examiner, she basically asked me if I was Erasmus, then said I need to wait
until everyone else is registered. I was so confused by this point. After
waiting and being ignored for ages, I asked the examiner again if I can sit the
exam. He started going on about something and I had no clue what he was saying.
In the end, I realised that I was able to sit the exam, but I had to answer the
questions in a different way to the German students, which was so irritating
that they couldn't explain it more clearly at the start. Half way through the
exam I needed some paper, to answer the essay question and literally I've sat
there for about 10 minutes with my hand up, waiting for them to give me some
paper and none of the examiners even bothered to see what the issue was. I was
so angry with the whole situation, because they clearly saw me waiting there,
but didn't even bother as they knew I was an Erasmus student. That literally
would never happen in England, and on top of that I've wasted time, waiting
around for a piece of paper when I could of wrote more for this essay question.
It's things that like that, I definitely won’t miss about Germany.
Overall, the exams are now done, and I suppose I never have
to look back on it and all the mistakes that were made. Now that I've started
my German intensive course, which by the way is so funny as I've actually got
it with my previous teacher that I've mentioned about before (the one with the
good German banter) I've started to actually look back and think about this
whole semester in general, and I feel like I've improved so much and there is
so many things that I'm going to miss. Like the A2 German class. Although it
did feel like A2 was just too easy for me, it was so nice to refresh my mind
and go through all the grammar, that I genuinely forgot about, as I didn't have
to do it in my second year at university. I have enjoyed it so much. In addition to that my teacher and his good
sense of humour. Some students seem to be scared of him, as he seems to
absolutely hate the lazy students that don't do any work at home, for some
reason I just think he's hilarious. He is a proof that German people can have a
laugh and aren't always so serious about everything. Like for example last week he indicated that
'us English people must have a lot of money due to Brexit'. Some people get
offended with his jokes, which I can understand sometimes. But I genuinely
think he’s a nice teacher, with a really positive and a funny way of looking at
life in general. So, it was definitely a lesson that will give me some funny
memories to look back on. Don't think anything has ever made me laugh so much
and learn at the same time. Other things that I loved about this semester, is
all the friends that I've made and the people that have supported me so much!
Like for example my History teacher, which I was scared of at first, because of
that embarrassing first lesson, where he was asking Erasmus students to tell a
bit about themselves, and I got so scared, I started mumbling something, that
to be honest, I don't even know what I said. I'm certain it did not make any
sense. He's always been very supportive and made me reconsider doing History
next semester, as it was so interesting. So yeah these are probably the main things
that I liked in my semester. I could probably go on for ages about everything
that was so great this semester, but I don’t want to bore you, with all the exciting
things that have been happening in my life recently. :)
The only lesson, I will a hundred percent not miss, is the
'Grammatische und Lexikalische Strukturen' linguistic module. That seminar was
just like a blur to me. I've never done linguistics before, so it was really
difficult, and although the teacher was lovely, and never really expected much
of me, I don't think I'm ever going to try doing linguistics again. It was a
nightmare. There are so many other things that I didn't enjoy or specifically
liked in this semester, such as people pushing in the queues (which is a pretty
normal thing around here, but so annoying), the food in the cafeteria, the lack
of support from my tutor or the international office. I feel like in England,
the teachers bombard you with emails, which after being here for one semester,
I must say I will appreciate a lot more when I'm back home. I didn’t like the
fact that they just want you to do everything independently, and there’s no one
you could go to, to ask for help. Other than the students and the professors
(which only speak in German), so it was hard, when sometimes I just had no clue
what was going on or needed to know something specifically. Saying that though,
some professors, did not even feel obligated to respond to some of my emails
throughout the semester, so I wouldn’t even say they have been always there to
help you in an emergency. But overall
this experience has been amazing, and I feel like I've grown so much as a
person and gained so much in such a short amount of time. It hasn't always been
great, and I have been feeling down sometimes, but the way I feel now, looking
back on this semester, I feel like this was so far the best decision I have ever
made- coming here. And I hope my second semester will be even better. Actually,
looking forward to it now :)
The weathers been so strange the last few days. One minute
it’s sunny, then the next minute it’s snowing. But even when there is a bit of
sun shining, it is still so cold at the same time. I forgot what it’s like to
live in such a cold environment. I hope that when I come back, it will start
getting warmer again, as I’m so sick of winter!! Last week was my last night
out in Nil (student club) until April, and this actually gets me so emotional,
thinking about it. I've had so many fun nights there and can't wait to go back!
<3 I also went for a meal with my friends to celebrate the end of exams,
which hopefully we will have a chance to do again, before everyone goes back
home. Today, me, Lou, Kayleigh and Helen went to Brandenburg for the day. And
although it was so pretty and will look so lovely in the summer, especially the
area that has the river next to it. It did in a way feel like the city in general is so abandoned.
It's a Saturday today, and there were hardly any people out. I thought Potsdam
was bad on Saturdays, but Brandenburg just felt like a big village with a
shopping centre, a couple of corner shops and no people. I'm glad I went though, because
it was nice to get out the house and see something new and something so
pretty... For the next few weeks before I go home, my plan is to see the little
towns and villages in the Brandenburger county, as I've only just realised
recently that my student card works within this whole county- not just Berlin
and Potsdam, so for now my priority is to see as much as I can, before uni
starts again :) And hopefully have even better memories/pictures to look back
on!
Thank you for reading my post, MR x
