Gahhhleeee! And to think leaving the US I had a Whirlwind of emotions, nope..nothing compares to what I'm feeling now. I flew back from New Zealand yesterday and lemme tell you how I'm going to have attachment issues of all the gorgeous scenery. It was honestly breathtaking, and I plan on going back! Three days is just too short to see and do all that's possible. It reminded me so much of Maine as well as Martha's Vineyard with Queenstown being so small, but filled with so much to do. Horseback riding was incredible being able to see the mountains, rolling hills, and scenery featured in The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Hobbit, and the Lovely Bones. It's kind of upsetting to have to be back in the Gold Coast and begin cramming for finals. In a way I'm glad that I chose the courses I did because it has definitely given me a different perspective of things. Although I envy the people that only enrolled in electives and classes not geared toward their majors for more opportunities/time to explore Australia; I was fortunate enough to obtain a richer experience both inside and outside the classroom. With being a business major I have been able to interact with individuals from all over, a chance for me to be able to work with communication barriers and different learning styles. In my eyes though, what I've learned outside the classroom, trumps that of inside the classroom.
This Saturday I have my first final exam in Consumer and Buyer Behavior, followed by international marketing on Monday, Market Research and Analysis on Wednesday, and fundamentals of finance on Thursday. Needless to say my nose is going to be smushed in my books for the next week and a half. Thankfully, because of midterms I know how my professors word their exams, but am still nervous. In the US teachers rarely ever do short answer, actually, they never do. This is why the Australian Learning system is so highly looked upon. Students are required to get a further in depth meaning of the subject, forcing them to take more away from the course. In the US you have the easy way out and can go by memory of what was said in class and play the guessing game. Playing the "BSing" game, however, on an exam isn't something you particularly want to try here in Australia. There are pros and cons to either approach, and I have been fortunate enough to experience both.
My international marketing exam is surprisingly only three questions long. Two questions are essay questions that need to be between 2-3 pages long and then a case study question. This case study question is between 3-4 pages long. So basically 9 or 10 pages of writing over a various number of topics in 2 hours..yikes! As far as my other exams they require all short answer and multiple choice is not offered on this one (where as it was on the midterm). Cram sesh begins....NOW!
