Day 283: First Final Exam, Lunch with Christa, and Plenty of Rain

Today, mercifully, was the last day that I had to get up at 5:30 am to catch the 7:15 bus at SISU: usual morning routine of eggs for breakfast, cab, and hop on shuttle bus. But oh was it rainy today! The rain just poured down, and all I had to protect me was a little black umbrella with gold leaves on it that Kerry bought at Chifeng Station. Therefore, it took quite awhile to get to school. I hung out in my office reading Hilary Clinton's book What Happened before it was exam time.

I got to the room a bit early; before I got there, I ran into two of my grad students, Katniss and Charmian, who gave me more presents!  I received a paper cut out, embroidered coasters, a notebook, and some bookmarks. I was very grateful. Carol arrived in the classroom and administered the exam to the students. They also had to sign off on a form. She presented me with lots of paperwork that needs to be filled out along with the exams that need to be handed in; it's more like the Honors College. I didn't have to do this last term in English Studies, so this is new to me. And, of course, extra work, like a "self-assessment" of my Final Exam (???!!). Ashley and Sway stayed after and chatted with me a bit; Ashley also gave me some kitty coasters. "They mean crazy cat," she said. I thanked both of them for spending time with me this term. Then I got ready to go.

The bus, as usual, was quite crowded; I saw Alex and said hi, but we didn't chat. I had stuff next to me; besides, I was hungry and even a bit tired. I ate a ham sandwich and grapes on the bus. The bus ride home was MUCH longer than usual. Initially, I told Christa and Kerry to meet me at Ciao Cafe at 1:30, but I didn't get there until 2:00 pm because the bus was so late. Rain ALWAYS equals a traffic slowdown in Shanghai.

At the cafe, I had a tuna panini, Kerry had pizza, and Christa had a lemon tea and a brownie. (She had eaten lunch.) We chatted about the kitty situation, and the situation I'm considering with my Honors student who earned a low final exam grade; I'm not sure what to do with him, so I asked them for some advice.

Christa and I decided to take a cab home, due to the weather, but the cab driver had a heckuva time finding us...finally, it worked out. And he did take us right to the door, so that was good.

In the evening, I graded the first three exam questions, suprassing my goal to get two done!  Yay! I had some leftover spaghetti after Kerry got home from gaming.

Some pics of the day:

My Short Novel undergrads, right before their final (most of them, anyway....some hadn't arrived yet).

Short Novels, undergrad final.

More gifts from students!  The brown coasters are from Ashley; the others from Katniss and Charmian.