Ciao tutti,
Again, I must apologize for my extreme delay in updating my
blog. But as you’ll soon read, I have a very legitimate excuse. I’m talking
about esami (exams)! That’s right. During the first week in April, within 3
days, I had 5 tests in 4 different classes (4 of those tests being either oral
or written final exams). Therefore, the 10 days post-Amsterdam/pre-exams were
spent going to class and studying hard.
As I think I’ve mentioned before, I am taking two types of
classes here in Bologna: BCSP classes and UniBo classes.
Before I delve into the differences between these two types
of courses, let me point out a couple similarities: 1) both types of courses
are taught by professors who work at the University of Bologna, and 2) both
types of courses are taught entirely in Italian.
BCSP classes are organized through my study abroad program –
they are “American” in structure, meaning there is regular homework and reading
assigned throughout the course, there is typically a midterm exam, and the
final exam occurs on the last day of scheduled class.
UniBo classes, on the other hand, are taken directly through
the University of Bologna, meaning that they are completely Italian in
structure. This means that the class is completely lecture-based (no
discussions), the professor typically shows up 15 minutes late and it is not
considered rude, there is no homework throughout the course, the only grade received
for the course is determined by an oral exam one-on-one with the professor at the end
of the semester, and the final exam is often several weeks or months after the
end of the regularly scheduled classes.
Therefore, these are two very different systems, and the UniBo
system has been especially hard getting used to. But that is what I’m here for
– to open my eyes up to a new way of life, and to (hopefully) find value and
appreciation in the Italian university system.
Anyway, all of the tests I had the first week of April were
for BCSP classes. Most were written final exams, one was an oral final exam,
and one was a midterm exam for a class that ends in May.
Luckily, all the tests went well (I was able to study a lot the
week and weekend before, as I did not travel).
The day my last BCSP exam was over, my parents arrived here
in Bologna. Yay! I was so excited to see them. They were here to spend a few
days in Bologna with me before we all went together for a week-long family
vacation in the South of Italy.
I couldn’t wait for this vacation – it was honestly what was
getting me through these BCSP exams. It was such a relief to be done
with the majority of my courses and just be able to relax with my family for a week.
HOWEVER… there was just one tiny flaw to this plan. My one
UniBo class had rescheduled its final exam to the day after I was scheduled to
return to Bologna after my vacation.
Ugh. It would have been one thing if the test were BCSP in
nature (meaning it would be written, I would know the format ahead of time, and
there wouldn’t be any surprises). But the fact of the matter was that this was
my UniBo exam, meaning it was a one-on-one chat with my professor (with whom I
had very little interaction during the semester) where he could ask me
anything he wanted about the books assigned throughout the
semester.
So needless to say, I was pretty terrified thinking about
this dreaded oral exam. But I didn’t want to let it ruin my vacation with my
family. I reminded myself that I did well in my other exams, and that I went to
class every day and took good notes… I’ll be fine.
And for the most part, I was able to enjoy the vacation down
South. However, the last couple days I finally gave into my stress and started
to panic a little bit.
When I got back to Bologna, full panic mode set it. I slept
very little that night, trying to review as much as I could and trying not to
psych myself out.
The next morning, waiting outside the UniBo professor’s
office for my name to be called the day of the exam was pretty nerve-racking. Luckily, I had a couple American friends with me in the class so we were
able to (sort of) calm each other down.
My name was eventually called, and I walked in to face my
fate. The exams were administered by the professor and two TAs, meaning that
three conversations were taking place simultaneously in one room. My exam was
with one of the TAs. She started out asking me a simple question about one of the
authors we had read. Right of the bat, I struggled to answer. I couldn’t zone
out the other voices in the room, and my mind was beginning to blank. I’m sure
I severely stumbled over my words, because the TA smiled and helped me through
the question. The next few questions became a little easier to answer, but I still couldn't seem to shake my nerves completely.
After about 15 minutes of me speaking very nervously and trying desperately to remember all that I could from
the course, the TA eventually stopped me. She told me that my language skills
were very good and I displayed a solid understanding of the major themes in the
books. B+.
I was shocked! (in the best way possible). Maybe I'm just my worst critic, but I felt like I really fumbled my Italian and did not articulate myself well. Luckily, the TA appreciated the fact that I could speak Italian and was trying to convey my ideas, despite obviously
being a foreigner. She also could tell that I had clearly read the books (even if I didn’t fully
understand all of the concepts).
Whew! I was more than relieved. I went home, let it sink in, and
slept for almost the whole day.
 |
| Some positive graffiti. (va bene = "it's all good!") |
This all happened last week, so that’s what I’ve been up to
for most of April instead of updating my blog. I hope you can forgive me!
In the coming weeks, I have some big weekend trips planed,
so I will do my best to keep my blog updated on all of these adventures. Last
weekend, I went to Munich, today I leave for Greece, and the weekend after I
will be heading to Barcelona! I am very excited about all of these trips, and I
will be sure to post about them eventually!
Ciao for now,
Augusto
ps – I will also post (soon, hopefully!) about my trip to
southern Italy with my family.
