JUNE 2009

That’s it; the last day I’ve waken up early in the morning to go to my last lecture. Last notes, last day listening to the professor. Before the lecture ends, he has to make a short note about the exam: ‘The exam will consist of two questions out of the total course of 900 pages. After a written preparation you’ll explain the questions to me in person.’ Suddenly I feel less comfortable with the idea that it’s the last day of lecture... How long do I have until the exam? I haven’t read one page of my reader.

I’m starting to feel sick. I have to ‘relax’ after the shocking news and I decide to calm down by going out. Coming to the Oude Markt and seeing how crowded the place is makes me realise why I’ve chosen Leuven to be my Erasmus city: nothing beats a Stella and the students on a Thursday night! Hopping from one bar to another, the feeling of excitement is the one that could get my mind off of things. No more lectures; just me and my friends! Crawling home after 6 AM, taking a long nap in my warm, cosy bed...

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! My alarmclock shouts me out of bed. What a headache! I shouldn’t have drunk that much... Oh, well, it happens  all the time. However, I know that something is different from the last time I got that drunk and woke up... No! I still have two weeks to study for that bloody exam! Ok, lets go to the library and begin.
Trying to get my ass over there, my head is still bouncing. My first pass in the library, crowded, hardly any place free to sit and people being so concentrated!? Ok, I’ll do my best. Page 1: Introduction. Ok, ’I’m even unable to manage with this. Yes, this is how it feels to study in Leuven: hang-overs and the need to succeed. Two weeks pass by in study. You notice your appearences are becoming less attractive. From the beautiful shiny eyes, smooth skin and silky hair it turns into dark eyes, a strange twitch in your left eyelid, greasy skin and a gain of weight of 5 kilogrammes.

D-day... I have to be at my best. The two questions look pretty hard and there’s no precise description of what you have to tell. I do my best and try to answer them as good as I can. The professor calls me to his desk and  asks me to tell about my questions. I say five sentences and then he interrupts me by asking something totally different. I smile at him and try so damn hard to get the right answer... I just don’t know it! Ok, the examin is over; I can go. Wondering if I have given the right answers, the best thing I can do is just wait. Till the day of the results, I try to relax. I go and take some drinks with  my friends, which I have to miss after I leave. Then the moment of thruth, the results are available. I get the paper with the results in my hands. And yes! I have passed the exam! So glad I made it, I’m telling all my friends and we decide to meet to have the biggest Leuven party ever! Going to drink and enjoy myself like never before, finally everything is over! Then I come to realise: all over? I have to leave back home. All my friends are gone. Perhaps I will see some of them later, perhaps never. But one thing is certain: the time spent in Leuven is one of the best times ever! Leuven, you’re not only going to be my Erasmus, you’ll always have a special place in my heart!