Cheaters

We missed the last three weeks of our Flemish class followed immediately by the final test. It consisted of writing, listening, and speaking. The writing part wasn't so difficult. The listening was somewhat difficult because the speaker was speaking too fast. By that I mean, too fast for me.

Our teacher, experienced and apparently anticipating cheating, separated family members and friends before handing out the test. This initially surprised me since we're all adults. Who cheats on something like this?

Answer: the person on either side of me.

Frankly, I couldn't believe it. On the written section, we were to write a short letter in response to an invitation. The older guy to my right actually asked to see mine once I'd finished so he could copy it. Naturally, I said no and furthermore I began to hover over my paper so he couldn't see it. I'm not sure why I did this. I'm really not sure why I cared if he cheated. He's not my responsibility.

Later in the listening section, we were to complete a map after being given driving directions in Dutch. The young girl on my left asked to see mine so she could copy it. Naturally, I said no, but again, she's not my responsibility. Why did I even care?

As Jim says, maybe these people are just survivors trying to get to the next level as an immigrant.

Maybe I should have helped them.

We both finished our test and left before anyone else. Then we returned the following day for the speaking part. The teacher showed us the results of our written test and we both passed. Even did pretty good. The speaking part was awful and I felt like an idiot, but mercifully and generously, she said we passed and could take part in the diploma ceremony - which is tomorrow night.

I do hope the older guy and the young girl are there too. If they aren't and even though they aren't my responsibility, I think I may feel responsible.