Exams and Socialization Plans

This morning was my final exam for Spoken Japanese. I had been pretty worried about it, but I feel like it went really, really well. There are a few things I know I messed up, but overall it was much easier than I expected. And there were some sections that I know I aced. Yay! Well, I say that now; we'll see what the grade actually looks like. But I'm hopeful. Also today, we got the results of the oral part of the exam, and I got 27.5 out of 30--much better than I had hoped! So things are looking really good.

Tomorrow I have my art history exam, which will be a breeze, assuming I can get it into my skull that the Momoyama period came after the Muromachi period. And that I can remember the difference between Shubun, Sesshu, and Sesson. Really, though, studying for that exam has gone much better than anticipated.

Part of my problem is that when two words begin with the same letter, I often mix them up. I had a terrible time reading some of the Jane Austen books because so many characters have names that begin with the same letter. All this Shubun/Sesshu/Sesson/Sotatsu stuff really confuses me.

Before I go to bed tonight, I plan to finish my take-home essay exam for psychology. That would mean that I could turn it in tomorrow, well before the Thursday due date, and I wouldn't have to go to campus at all on Thursday. Thursday, I think, will be a day of packing and tying up loose ends. I need to sell back my bicycle, for instance. So many little things to do.

This afternoon I got to talk on Skype with Alex and Cara for quite a while! It was a lot of fun. Except we mostly talked about how Navy sonar confuses whales, and the legal and environmental ramifications. Debbie Downer, right? But hey, talking about dying whales with friends is better than talking about chocolate cake with people you don't really like, I guess. ^_^ Anyway, it was nice to talk to them.

I'm so excited to go home and see my friends over the break. I think Nikki is going to come visit me soon after I get home. She's practically family anyway, so I told her she could just come into my room and wake me up whenever she wants to visit, because I expect I'll be sleeping off the jet lag for the first few days. I'm supposed to go on a nice dinner date with Cara, with Derby pie to follow. Erin and I are thinking of getting facials. It'll be good to be home.

And for New Year's Eve, Alex has invited me to her house for a party with crafts included! Her parties are always the best; I can't wait. At past events, we have roasted marshmallows, baked cakes, and whacked the living daylights out of a multicolored piñata shaped like a bull. (That last one was my favorite.) I'm already trying to think of where I have put my leftover acrylic paint from Art 101 so I can contribute to the craft supplies. I'm not sure what we're making--the mystery is part of the fun--but I'm confident that a good time will be had by all.

Okay, now to finish this psych exam. Almost done; almost home!