Saturday, July 21, 2012

Wrapping Up

It was the last week of school, and everything was hitting us. There was so much in Vilnius we hadn't done yet. We had put some things off like we'd be here forever. But we wouldn't have time now. As projects and exams waited for us at the end of the week, we had a lot of preparation to do.

Thurday would be our last day, and we would have a group presentation and an exam for both International Marketing and International Project Management. Every night we were meeting with one group or the other, trying to get everything ready, plus cramming in some studying when we could. And I was still at the church almost every night, what with camp starting next week, and final preparations in full swing there too. I told one of my best friends that I just can't seem to get away from everything happening at the same time, no matter where I go. Always being fully involved in church and school, things tend to all come to fruition at the same time, requiring a lot of work from me in all places, all at the same time. But as crazy as it may sound, I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.

Tuesday evening I didn't have to go to the church, but we got quite the surprise. Behind the cathedral in old town, there is a building that is fenced off and under construction. While I've heard it called "the palace," I had no idea what it was. Turns out it's a reproduction of a palace that once stood there and will serve to be a sort of national museum, displaying the history of old town Vilnius as well as several artifacts found on the site. Rimas, a student from Tulane who took part in ISM Summer University, arranged for us to have a tour through his uncle, who is on the committee for the reconstruction of the palace.

Although much of the building was incomplete, and there were many places we couldn't go into yet, what we did see was amazing, and I think we all learned a lot. The tour culminated with climbing up into the tower where we got a great panaramic view of the city.

The next night was spent frantically completing power point presentations and reading and re-reading class notes. When students went out, they didn't go out to bars or clubs, but rather to ISM to study hard. Seeing as how we'd have open ended questions, I personally was a bit worried.

On Thursday, the tension was pretty high, but project after project was presented successfully, and the test in International Project Management went perfectly fine for most everyone. By lunch, we were all a bit more relaxed. That didn't last long though, as we all had to basically do it again in International Marketing... except this time, the test was harder.

At the end of the day, we were all glad to be done.

That night, they gathered at a bar to receive certificates and say good-byes, while I was at the church. They were told the lowest grade was an 8, so we all passed!

With school complete, I realize the majority of my trip is over. Camp starts in just a couple days. I leave Lithuania in less than a week. A week from today I'll arrive in St. Louis for Bible Quizzing nationals. It really has gone by fast.

2 comments:

  1. I'm proud of you! You sure take your challenges in stride. Love love you sweetie. See you soon

    Crystal (TPOL)

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  2. @Crystal:
    Love you! See you when I get back! Thanks for reading! :)

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