blogging it real

Well, oral exams are over for the semester and it appears my little rant a few days previous was a little premature: I was surprised just how many of the students actually put some effort in this time around. It took me about 16 hours to get through the four classes (about 96 students) and I still retain some rational thought and the will to live, so that's a bonus. It's amazing quite how different giving a test can be when you are facing off with a student who is prepared, smart and friendly and one who is unprepared, dumb and, well, they are all pretty friendly. One is like a short conversation in a coffee shop (albeit with more creative grammar usage) and the other like suffering through all 10 hours of THE POSTMAN again, though with more narrative structure and less Kevin Costner in leather.

So for the next three weeks, it's a matter of catching up on drinking, watching Euro 2004 and then hopping off on an adventure that will take me to The Philippines, The Netherlands and Canada. Oh, and a week in New Zealand, which will give me ample time to read the letters page of The Herald and wonder what the hell they are putting in the drinking water in Auckland.