Riga - It's Over

Final exam day.  I went to Aiga Čikste’s office and waited while she ran off copies of the test.  Made my final thanks.  Sent a “goodbye” email to Prof. Šavriņa.  Made a mental “goodbye” to the equipment office; no more lugging PowerPoint projectors in and out.

I spent the rest of the day wandering restlessly until the room was cleaned, then packing and then killing time in the hotel room until class.

I felt a little guilty sitting at the desk writing my diary while the students plodded through the exam, but I had no reading material.  Every once in a while I scanned the faces, imagining seeing desperation … once I saw a smile; that was encouraging … Did I use simple enough English?  After about ½ hour, Ineta and Jānis (Širs) turned in their papers.  Oy!  Was the exam too easy?  Maybe for them; the rest are still pondering.  Was the exam too short?  Aleksandr is having language problems—but is he asking for translation help only in hopes of my giving him a hint?  Pekka and Joanna are sharing an eraser, tossing it back and forth between them across the aisle…Svetlana looks lost…Ineta looks smug.  Every word I used to write the questions is suspect—did I pick the right words, words that accurately convey the question?  Ineta comes up to the desk; she wants to contact me, to move to the US; I give her my card.  Marija looks lost, so does Mārcis.  Agris turns in his paper and leaves at 6:55.  Joanna turns in her paper at 6:56.  She brought cupcakes; she stays.  Aleksandr has another “language” question—caught on the word “judiciary,” forgot what it sounds like.  I tell him to write whatever word he thinks it is as best he can; spelling won’t count.

Within an hour, all had handed in their exams.  Those who stayed were happy to pose for a class photo.  Before they all got up to go, I made a short speech about how impressed I was that they could manage to take a highly technical course in a foreign language.  I haven't begun to grade the papers.  I can send the grades in via email.

And that was that.  Back to the hotel to complete my packing and prepare for an early rising.

Final thoughts: enjoying a daily routine that's a mix of familiar and different...learning how to teach, learning how to adjust the course material as necessary, to be attuned to what interests the class, to note when you've reached the edge of their attention span and move on to another topic...to learn how to draw out class discussion...I learned as much as they did, perhaps a bit more.