Blah. Studying for exams isn't fun. Studying for exams in Africa is actually worse. I don't think homework should be legal in Africa. Or at least legal for SFS students.
We had our first exam today for Wildlife Ecology. I definitely thought the broader concepts were going to be tested and not the little details, however I found that to be false. I had to guess on a few questions and am fairly sure I got one four-part question about vegetation survey methods wrong. Blah. That's frustrating.
We have Wildlife Management and Environmental Policy tomorrow at 8:00 am and 1:00 pm respectively (my time). So if you're up at midnight or 5:00 am and want something to pray for, you can pray for my tests! We had all day yesterday to study and the half of the day before as well, then the rest of this day after our exam. Unfortunately for myself, I keep losing focus. I did well for about six or seven hours yesterday, then 4:00 pm came and I couldn't do anything else. I've hit that point right now as well, which is why I'm writing a blog post instead of studying.... I just can't do it. I can only go over animal count methods and policies for so long. On top of it all, I'm pretty homesick today. And my mouse tracker pad on my computer went awol today. I haven't been able to use it all today. SUPER frustrating. I'm just blessed that the mouse pad started going crazy the day before I left so I was able to buy a bluetooth mouse just in case.
I'm trying to have an attitude shift. I'm trying really hard. I was told the other day a quote that goes something like "Life is great, it's just my perspective that's off". Grumble grumble...thats totally true. I kinda want to sit and be sorry for myself a little bit longer but that's not going to help anything. My God is so great. I am so blessed to be here. My family is great. My friends are great. Africa is great. I have the opportunity to learn. I have the opportunity to study abroad in Tanzania. This is only for a season. I get to go to bed soon. Oh and probably some super exciting news: the day after tomorrow (I have no concept of days of the week here, I think today is Thursday so on Saturday) we are packing everyone from the camp up and going on a little camping trip to Serengeti National Park. No big deal or anything. We just get to sleep for four nights in Serengeti National Park. We get to explore probably the coolest national park in the world for five days. Yeah after thinking about that, I really have no reason to feel sorry for myself. I really didn't have any reason to feel sorry for myself before though either.
I won't be posting until after the Serengeti expedition. Expect a super long post. Pray that I get to see a rhino and leopard and cheetah and lion. That's a pretty ambitious list of animals to see, three of them are some of the most elusive mammals in Africa. But, hey, you have to have a goal! Pray that I get through these two next exams unscathed. Pray for my attitude. Thank you all! Have a great next few days!
Hi Sweetie,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear you are homesick. "This too shall pass!" Hopefully, once you are past the exams and on to the Serengeti, your attitude will take an up-swing. We miss you as well, but know that you are having a once-in-a-lifetime experience and will be home before we know it.
It is raining here and Sonja is worried about how you are doing with all the rain. She still doesn't quite have the concept of how far away you are.
Praying for you and looking forward to hearing about your fabulous experience in the Serengeti!!
Love you lots!!
Mom