Journal Entry

Journal Entry #16

15/03/02

This should be the last entry for March. This is due to the upcoming Spring Break, lasting from March 16th through April 14th. I will be at home for this break and will not be able to FTP my web page files.

This week has been crazy! This was a big "test" for us all -- to see if we could really do it...take four big exams in one week. I know, I know...it sounds like a normal "final exam week" to Americans. BUT, this is not America and you only get your marks ("grades") through single exams each term, sometimes every other term. There usually aren't many assignments you can get credit from and there are no "midterms".

We had the dreaded Physiology exam on Monday. It was the first physiology exam of the whole school year! That means we had to really KNOW the stuff lectured on last term plus the stuff from this term. It was a ton of material. Not only that, but the multiple choice and true/false questions are worded very tricky. It's like they are trying to make you do bad. You also get marked off points for answering the wrong answer! A horrid system. You're doomed right from the start. We had 20 multiple choice, 80 true/false, one essay, and one problem-solving question. I think I did OK, but am not sure due to the "marking off for incorrect answers" thing and also the essay grading. Subjects covered on this exam were neuromuscular system, metabolic rate, and the central nervous system.

Tuesday we had the Animal Husbandry exam. I didn't think it was too bad, but a lot of people were upset over the last questions (they were vague about what they wanted). The format was short answer questions. Topics covered were animal housing and environment, lambing procedures, companion animals (cats/dogs), and horses.

Wednesday was a day off, a good thing! Thursday (yesterday) was the Biomolecular Sciences exam. Another dreaded one! However, it ended up being one of my favourite exams. The format was 2 essay questions (to choose out of 4) and 20 multiple choice questions. I thought the essay topics were great and the multiple choice questions I was well-prepared for. I wrote one essay about fatty acid beta-oxidation and ketone synthesis, another essay about familial disease inheritance. Can you guess what topics we covered this term? Lipid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, genetics, and blood.

Today was the last exam! But it had two parts, a practical and a written part. The written part was very early at 9:30am. It consisted of one essay question (to choose from 3) and 30 short answer questions (grueling!). I answered the essay question asking you to describe the shoulder joint of the dog, including all relevant structures, and what the joint does in terms of movement. The 30 short answer questions were sometimes challenging, asking you to use diagrams to show this or that, and requiring a complete mastery of the material <g>. We covered the thoracic limb this term, and it certainly was a lot to know (we had to know multiple species). The practical session was at 1:30pm for me. It consisted of 30 tables containing 2 questions each. Bones, soft tissue, and radiographs made up the bulk of the practical. I thought the practical exam was much better than the previous anatomy practical exam (which was Feb. 1).

I'm DONE, I'm DONE! Hallelujah! It's such a nice feeling to have absolutely NO studying required for a whole entire month. However, I will learn practical stuff over this break because I will be lambing for 2 weeks at my old university. The other 2 weeks will be pure relaxation. I hope to also buy a backpack for our backpacking trip of the West Highland Way in June. This should be fun -- except for the expense part.

We had to pack up our rooms entirely for this break. It has been a HUGE pain, with not enough boxes and tiny storage areas. Tomorrow I fly home to California. I think I might bring the rain with me -- I did last break! :) Only, today it was sleet/snow. I doubt that will come to California. My flight from Glasgow to Heathrow is at 11:30am and I leave Heathrow (London) at 3pm to arrive home at 6:20pm. I can't wait! So what am I doing still awake?! Good question.

Tonight after dinner we went to city centre and shopped at Borders for a while, finally ending up at the Odeon to watch "Shipping News". I thought it was a very good movie, I recommend anyone to see it. That was the "relaxing session" of the night/week. OK...off I go! It's after midnight and I have much to do still. Oh....and I do have some fun plans for the weekend. I'm going to "Everybody's Bird Mart" on Sunday. Yippee!