Finals or purgatory?

Finals:
I can't decided if taking finals here at UCD is like the military or cattle herding with Hitler. Maybe that's too harsh. Either way, finals here are ridiculous and deserve a post of their own to describe what maddness it is.

First, my classes all ended the last week of November and finals didn't start until the 13th of December. UCD students get a week off to study for finals, U of M students get 2 days, maybe. And those are usually Saturday and Sunday. So I spent a week and a half in the library trying to learn everything I didn't during the semester. Turns out that was the same thought of about half the student popluation of UCD. And with only one library on campus, space was tight, especially if you wanted a plug for your laptop. Which I need because all my notes are on my computer since that's just where I take notes (have I told you how cool my laptop is?). To get a decent space I had to turn up early everyday and claim my spot. The cool thing about the UCD library (otherwise known as the James Joyce Library) is that only students can get because we have to scan our student cards. So no creepos can get in and steal stuff, meaning people just leave their stuff, including laptops, and leave the library for breaks. It's awesome.

Enough of the library. Finals themselves are an experience to be reckoned with. I had four finals after classes got done with since I had already taken my Irish History exam. That was an introduction to what two and a half hours of writing can do to your hand. My exams were (in this order) HRD, marketing, finance, international business. Two were 2 hour exams and two were 3 hour exams, all written, all scary, all of them in places I had never been. So the Monday before I went with my friend Pete to Blackrock, which is where 2 of my exams were (though in different buildings), to find out how to get there and where these buildings were. This is a move that many study abroad students did not do, and I'm not quite sure why. They were rather lost when their finals came around.

The other two exams were in this place called RDS, which is basically a convention center. This was the most interesting experience, Bill and I wanted to take pictures. So basically they get 2,000 students together, in the same gigantic room, each person in their own little chair and desk for 2 hours. I've never heard such silence from so many people for so long. The room we examed in reminded me of the pig barn at the State Fair, with a balcony and without the pigs or smell. It was just one gigantic room, and rather intimidating for those used to taking exams in Carlson. For some reason this is just an accepted part of life for Irish students and they don't really mind being herded like cattle, yelled at to be quiet, and forced to write for hours (and most do take up the full time).

My final exam schedule was brutal but quite nice, I had two exams on the 13th, one on the 14th and one on the 15th and I was done. It was strange to hear people say at my last final that they were taking their first. I did get lucky though and I was able to get them out of the way and enjoy my last week in Ireland. So then Saturday I went to Belfast, and I'll post on that sometime soon.