One Week Left

It's hard to believe that there is only a week left until my studies at Lingnan are over! Although I know my mom is counting down the hours until I arrive home this short summer session has flown by. As next Monday is Hong Kong's SAR day we do not have classes and thus our exams are on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you thought exams were stressful in the U.S. they're nothing compared to Lingnan's. For government and politics my grade is broken down into: 20% Participation (attending class and engaging in group discussion), 20% for the reflection paper I wrote on my visit to the Election Information Center, and the last 60% is comprised of a final group presentation (40%) and a final paper (20%) submitted on the last day. My group has not started putting anything together yet, and they seem unconcerned about the fact that 60% of our grade hangs in the balance. They're local students though so I'm just following their lead and waiting to help out as soon as I can. Mandarin, on the other hand, is 50% attendance/homework/quizzes and the other 50% will be determined by my exam on Wednesday. The grading system is definitely much different here and puts a strong emphasis on the end of semester assessments so it's going to be a challenge to balance enjoying my last few days in Hong Kong with making sure that I preform well on my presentation, paper, and exam. My Mandarin exam is also the first time we will be assessed on our pronunciation... as if characters and pinyin wasn't enough. I shouldn't complain though. I'm growing to really enjoy Mandarin and there is not doubt in my mind that I want to continue my education in the language after I leave.

This is not the most exciting post, but there is good news! For the second straight day I can see a blue sky and my new debit card is on its way! Time to go enjoy the sun and prepare for my last Mandarin quiz/start studying for the final!