With the final week of class, a deadline craze has hit Singapore. So instead of the usual running around the city, I took it down a notch and find myself ‘mit die nase in den buchen’ as I described to my German friend Alex. Still, there are worse things than sipping on the latest Starbucks chocolate-cappuccino blend (yum) and munching on their granola for breakfast, while researching and writing passionately on the presence of gender inequality in Western society. If I do need a study-break, the shops are next door; a perfect study setting for me.
Truth be told, I did have the option to write about Asian society and as learning about Asia was (and still is) one of my exchange goals, I was greatly tempted. However, the prof advised us to choose a subject we were most familiar with. This advice in combination with the crazy competitiveness of my classmates, I decided to stick with what I knew best.
To illustrate how on top of their work they truly are: a week before the deadline I was asked whether I had finished the final term paper. Blurting out a “pff no”, I quickly made a mental note that I should be deciding on a topic soon. My reply was met with giggles and the confession that she had been working on it for two weeks already. Trying to beat them on their own turf was pointless, clearly.
A different approach to academics and the exam period as compared to what I’m used to became clear early on. The university’s sports committee that I joined for a yoga class, already finished mid-March because exams were approaching. With my first exam on May 11th, this left me very confused. A few weeks ago posters were hung up around campus wishing us luck with the upcoming exams and goodie bags were given out to comfort us during these stressful times. Apparently, I am right in the midst of the official exam period. Yet, I still have a full week of no class and no exams, as far as I know this is commonly referred to as vacation.
With no means am I trying to downplay my own nerdyness – I cram, study, plan and highlight my notes like the best of them (and enjoy it at the same time). When Rory Gilmore describes her passion for making to-do list, I whole-heartedly agree with everything she says. Frankly, I even write lists of things I have already done – just so that I can cross them off. How’s that for geeky? But with exams weeks away and a trip to Bali planned in between, I honestly don’t see the need to lock myself up in a library just yet.
And so I spend more time preparing my trips and meeting all the final deadlines than cramming for exams that are so far away. Comparing myself to local students I can’t help but feel like a bit of a slacker. I run off to Bali while others are facing the pressure of the upcoming exams. Perhaps now I finally know how the cool kids feel back home.
