Exams

The students are busy with exams...studying until all hours of the night and reading through their textbooks during any free minutes they have...then falling asleep during the day. :)

In Thailand, passing a university course is all based on one exam at the end of the term. Classes and lectures are held throughout the semester but going is optional. Many students will go to some or most of their classes during the semester (as long as they wake up in time and it's not raining too hard.) They will study now and then over the months, then cram by reading their whole textbook a few days before the exam. Most of the students I live with have between four and eight exams this term.

At first I was thinking exam time would mean I don't see the students as much, but that's only half true. Some I don't see very much, but those who have exams in English, I have been spending hours and hours with. Depending on the exam we may be up until midnight or one in the morning practicing pronunciation on words like significance, contribution, and etymology, or the studying student will write a narrative or descriptive paragraph on a picture then we will correct it together and talk about ways to use more complex or compound sentences.

I have learned and practiced more English over the past few months than I expected, but the time with the students is always good. They are so good about helping me with learning Thai as well. And even though it is exam season, everyone still has to eat, so we take breaks to walk to the market and pick up dinner or grab a bowl of noodles at a street vendor restaurant.