Beware: Assessments Ahead!

It's assessment time.  Boo!  For each of my modules--Primary Health Care and Design & Analysis of Epidemiological Studies--I have an "essay" that requires me to interpret, make recommendations on and identify problems with an approach to applying principles in public health and health care.  The tasks are interesting--I feel like I'm in MUN again, where you need to do research and identify ways to fix problems in international health.  Despite the writing part, it is actually quite fun.  I truly enjoy thinking about and trying to address ways to improve health care infrastructures and health service delivery.  

The upcoming week is the final week of the module (one [almost] down, two to go before my summer project!).  Everyone's becoming quite stressed.  However, I've finished my PHC assessment (due on Wed.), and am over the word limit, so I have more work to do on it before it's due on Wed.!  I have yet to start writing for DAnES.  This assessment is due on Friday afternoon.  I spent all day re-reading the paper that needs to be critiqued and planning how to attack it.  Yeah--I'm actually making outlines now!  Who would have thought?  There's plenty of time to finish, though; classes occupy only half of the next week and I just have one meeting with my tutor and possible project supervisor!  I'm actually looking forward to it!  Plus, Reading Week is the week after that!

The pressure from my impending deadlines hasn't been unbearable.  I've been trying to balance better my academic and social life.  It's actually been quite successful.  Several of my hall mates have started to invite me to watch movies, go to the pub, explore London (i.e. last week we roamed around Hampstead Heath, a posh neighbourhood in NW London with a gigantic park).  They are really great; not only are they fun to be around, but we are able to have intelligent conversations about politics, life as foreigners, our studies, general interests, etc.  Wanting to go out  forces me to get my school work done in a timely manner.  I guess being with friends has taken over some of the extra time that's leftover from participating in seemingly 100's of after-class extracurricular activities.  It feels like I'm having an enjoyable time, without the expense of being unproductive, for the first time in a looooooooong time!