zomgz exams!

Had my first exam last Thursday! Aaaaaand now I have 3 more to go :(

But it was actually an interesting experience... very different from any other exam I have ever taken.
The way sitting for exams works here starts off with a personal timetable that you are sent that has a room number and seat number for each of your subjects. All exams are either at 10am or 2pm from May 16 to July 11.
So when you report to the room where you are taking your exam, you are allowed to go in 10 min before and find your exact seat. Already sitting on the desk is your answer booklet and exam, with a basically see-through piece of paper over it. So you can easily see the questions before the test even begins! I don't know why they don't just flip the test booklets upside down... The other weird thing is that there can be multiple subjects per room, so the person in front of you may be taking a different test for a different class.
Then you have the exam moderator (some random guy) tell you that he will keep the official time and give you 30 minute warnings and that anyone who leaves the exam room must be escorted out, even to the bathroom and that no one may enter or leave during the first or last 30 min.
And then he screams "BEGIN."
And everyone scrambles to grab their pen and not waste a single minute of the 3 hour allotted time period. During the entire test the moderator's assistants (called "Invigilators" HAHAHAHA) paced around the room, and some kids bring snacks or even sandwiches to eat during the test. Kind of hard to focus when the kid behind you is having a picnic.

For my Human Resources exam, we had to answer 4 essay questions and cite specific papers and articles we read during the year to support our answers with evidence. So I had to memorize a bunch of last names and publishing years to use in my answers.Which was annoying.
But the test went well and was pretty easy, the hardest part was literally writing for 3 hours straight. After writing the first of the four essays my hand was already cramping! The process and hype and stress that surrounds the exams is way worse than the actual exams themselves.

So overall it went well, and although I was relieved to be done with it at the end, I can't believe that I have three more to go! UGH!!