I sit here on my sofa with a relatively clear mind; I feel so liberated and free. It's the first time in over a month. Final exams are done and the fall semester comes to a conclusion. Hopefully, it also means that one of the most intense three month passages in my life follows suit. My brain, feels like it's had a lobotomy, or as if somebody has pulled it out of my skull and tried to wrung out all the knowledge.
It will be interesting to see what happens. One paper was so hard, I wouldn't be surprised if I failed that subject. The other, I'm quietly confident. Although, it will be interesting to see how Hong Kong style grading works. I suspect a 50/100 doesn't necessarily equate to a "Pass" mark.
So, what were the highlights? Well, I actually found the course work interesting, however the volume, variety, velocity and veracity were slight overwhelming (that's a data mining joke). It's fascinating being in a predominantly mainland Chinese class. They work incredibly hard and have a ferocious capacity to study. It's also an adjustment to understand where these kids come from.
One of the 22 year old students, describes his ambition, he would love to get a job that pays even 10K HKD a month and stay in Hong Kong. He talks about excitement about a 300 RMB keyboard prize and how he shares a flat with 4 other students. He describes his living conditions, he sleeps in the living room and uses his suitcase as a desk for the purposes of studying.
Another Korean kid lives in an 3 bedroom apartment, for less than 8000 HKD a month, the catch? He has to house sit 5 cats "They shit and piss everywhere, it's a nightmare during exam time".
Then there's me ...
"Almost anything will work again if you unplug it" - Anne Lamott
It will be interesting to see what happens. One paper was so hard, I wouldn't be surprised if I failed that subject. The other, I'm quietly confident. Although, it will be interesting to see how Hong Kong style grading works. I suspect a 50/100 doesn't necessarily equate to a "Pass" mark.
So, what were the highlights? Well, I actually found the course work interesting, however the volume, variety, velocity and veracity were slight overwhelming (that's a data mining joke). It's fascinating being in a predominantly mainland Chinese class. They work incredibly hard and have a ferocious capacity to study. It's also an adjustment to understand where these kids come from.
One of the 22 year old students, describes his ambition, he would love to get a job that pays even 10K HKD a month and stay in Hong Kong. He talks about excitement about a 300 RMB keyboard prize and how he shares a flat with 4 other students. He describes his living conditions, he sleeps in the living room and uses his suitcase as a desk for the purposes of studying.
Another Korean kid lives in an 3 bedroom apartment, for less than 8000 HKD a month, the catch? He has to house sit 5 cats "They shit and piss everywhere, it's a nightmare during exam time".
Then there's me ...
"Almost anything will work again if you unplug it" - Anne Lamott
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