School, school and erm school

Basically, my every waking minute has been put into working for school, so many modules, well 3 of them in fact end in next 2 weeks and one ended 7th February so there has been so much work to do to make sure assignments, essays, presentations and exam preparation was done and is being done. I don't think the one exam I sat will do much good as I didn't have much time to put into it but I passed along with 11 others and 19 failed so I am happy that even those odds are good!

Finnish course is going well and I am becoming more confident though still a little scared of making mistakes and sounding like an idiot. Today someone gave me great advice about making mistakes while speaking is the best way to learn so maybe I will try that now! worst thing that can happen is no one understands and I go back to English. Someone else also gave me some advice as not to let the Finns know you are a native English speaker as they will want to practice English destroying any chance of practising my Finnish... that conference on languages was great... more details in a later post!

I have my 16 page seminar to write, exam Monday, work due Friday and lots of odds and ends I need to sort out and finalise. I know this will all be worth it in the end and I am very grateful for what what life is giving me at the moment.

Last night I had a nasty allergy think it was to the yoghurt I had been eating.

Tuesday was my seminar presentation, I have never given a Research Presentation before so I was a little nervous and hoped that what I had to present was correct and that I knew what I was on about. I was nervous and it showed I couldn't keep still... there were only 7 of us and 2 lecturers. Funny thing is I was not aware then that Wednesday I would be giving a presentation to 150 important people!

I sent mom and dad a 20kg parcel of cakes, biscuits and sweets to distribute among the family as a thank you gift for all the help, support, letters, chocolate and even cat sitting that happens to make my life easier. Nan and Granddad, Paul, Dean, Mom, Dad, uncle Law and aunty Hilda and my "in my eyes" aunt and uncle Roz and Jim... I don't know if she gave anyone else anything!

I called home yesterday and spoke to dad for 25 minutes who appears to have been showing off to mom that he knows things she doesn't about their holiday here later in the summer, my life and other things.

I also went to the dentist last week to make sure this vitamin deficiency has stopped affecting my teeth, it appears to have been caught in time not to have done much damage and I am having a professional clean end of February to remove most of the damage which isn't really visible, xray didn't raise much concern so that's something. However, they are removing my pain in the ass wisdom tooth and the others as a precaution. Bryan if you read this or Dean or Paul, don't tell nan that I am having more than one out as she will worry to much and I don't need to be stressed that they are worrying themselves into an early grave! and its precaution not urgent must something I choose to take. I got a new super duper tooth brush on the way too!

Allergist is Tuesday too, I'm excited and scared at the same time. I am reacting to a lot of things but I am nervous that these things will be hard to find and the problems will continue... I just want to be normal!

1 week of school, semester 2

It begins again and I really don't know where the three weeks off we had went, I don't feel to rested as this vitamin deficiency is on it's last legs but I still feel tired and am struggling to concentrate for long periods of time.

I spent most of my holiday looking at my Finnish notes, trying to remember it all, it's going well I hope! Revising for the Bioenergy production and utilization exam today. I am hoping it went well but I don't like to tempt fate!! I saw Markku (lecturer) in the corridor and he asked me how I was getting and if I was enjoying being at school, impressed with my answer we both left happy...

I obviously looked to Finnish waiting outside the exam room as the next person who came immediately started to speak to me in Finnish, we kept up for a while then he used more complicated language and me being me was like "Hey, what's that mean?". Then we went in the exam... we were early in and started chatting to Prasad and he asked how my Christmas was and I told him, snow chaos and illness but I am getting better now... !hour 45mins into exam I had written all I could remember and deemed worthy to write about and left. Prasad had changed with another lecturer as he had something to do and I saw him while I was putting my coat on. He asked what I thought of the exam and I said well I liked it more than any other exam I have sat yet... I do love bioenergy though, only problem with a subject on it is I don't enjoy all areas and I find ethanol production and biodiesel boring... but there wasn't too much about it in the exam.

This first week has been crazy, my water management course is a little strange but there is no exam just an essay and with a schedule as heavy as mine, I think I am glad I have a break from one exam!

Thursday Eero worked from home, I had 6 hours at school and only had 40mins off all day for lunch. I finished class at 4pm where Eero came to meet me! yay! we brought a snow shovel on the way home and we currently have 52cm!! and needed to dig the car out.

Then I also received the email that English speaking is not allowed in the next Finnish course, Finnish only. Which was scary last night but today it doesn't seem so bad, I mean the point is to give us practise and confidence so I am now looking forward to Monday!

Tomorrow we met Jen... yay!!!! xXx