First Exam

I just got my first grade back on an exam here in Spain. Talk about learning humility. I've watched TV shows and movies where the characters wring their hands and worry about whether or not they've passed. Passed! And that, when they've given it a good shot, and studied hard. I've never really understood it before.

I was actually shaking a little bit when I signed into ADI. I only have to pass, but I have to pass. No buffer zone. The scale goes from 1-10, but it's not exactly like our percentages. 5 or above is a passing grade. 5 or below is a failing grade. I knew the material. I studied. I did the work. The test swam in front of my eyes and both of the two choices always seemed right. Later, one of the students told me that they /were/ both right, half the time, you had to pick the better one, and sometimes the difference hung on some minor point, some subtle linguistic shading. Lovely.

But it doesn't really matter. Either I passed, or I didn't pass. Above 5, or under 5.

I got a 6,87. By secondary school standards, I think that would be about a high C, maybe a low B. By University Standards, it's at the high end of the "you passed, but don't expect any praise" category.

But I passed. And I did it in Spanish. :) And some of the Spanish students didn't, I know because we all got an email informing us of the consequences for those students. I passed. :) One down...