(In which weird situations came in a row.)
***
I woke up at about 4:30. It was earlier than my usual wake up time which is 9 or 10 in the morning. But I needed to wake up earlier than usual because I have to get to the University of the Red Warriors before my scheduled time for taking the entrance examination for Graduate School which is 8:30. I took the bus and leaned my head against the window, hoping to get some sleep. But thanks to the television, I could hardly keep my eyes closed for two minutes.
So I took the exam. I was actually surprised that the math part wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be. For the first time, I considered it the easiest. We were just made to solve numerical problems using three of the fundamental operations (addition, subtraction and multiplication). But the thing is, you only have eight minutes to answer all those. The English part and the General Reasoning part were especially difficult. I wonder what score I got.
The examiner didn’t tell us that there would be another exam after that. Just as I thought I could head for the office, he told me to go the Graduate School building to have my official receipt stamped or something as a proof that I have finished taking the exam.
As soon as I found the person the examiner told me to look for, I handed her my receipt and she said, “It’s yours.”
“Ugh! Yes, I know,” I thought.
“You won’t be stamping or signing it?” I asked.
“No.”
Okay, then why did that guy tell me to come here?
“You were finished taking the exam, right?” she asked; to which I relied with a plain “yes”. She handed me a paper and said “Answer this in the next room.”
I scanned the paper. It’s an essay test. Bu this wasn’t what that guy told me to come here for! Anyway, I went to the next room and started answering. The questions were the type that I expected. You know, your purpose for studying and why you chose their university. But question number two had me dumbfounded.
What do you see is the difference between a graduate education and an undergraduate education when pursuing a Master’s degree?
Say what?! I didn’t get it. Seriously. So I just answered why it is important to have a Master’s degree. Hey, how am I supposed to answer that?
After I finished the essay I felt so tired and sleepy that I walked very slowly in fear of slipping or tripping. The school’s got very slippery tiles. Walking slowly, I took my time to notice signs all over the campus that says “Speak in English only” and “Speak English and talk to the world” which reminds me of “Speak English Get a job.” and “Speak English. Go global.” signs in my previous university.
I was walking slowly and a couple of pretty girls walked from behind me. They are speaking in English. Hmmm. They are obviously reading. (I wonder now why they didn’t use English for essay question number 2.) My heart swelled with admiration to know that students are actually supporting their school’s campaign. “I wish all collegiate students are like them.” I thought as I hear them doing their best to sound American. I wasn’t able to understand what they are talking about but I was able to hear what one of them said before they can completely walk past me.
“What? He don’t hire?” [sic]
