Chapter 122

Now, I know the chapters for which I just describe how I was studying for a test can be very dry. I promise you that last chapter was the last chapter of just me ranting about a test. As a matter of fact, we won’t be talking about many more tests in length at all from here on end. There was a reason why I spent so much time on the NBEO part 1, that was already the climax to all of my testing. Everything afterwards is less important, as you’ll come to see. 

It was on April 22, 2021 when the Canadian written exams took place. Right after that test, I registered and planned out my North Carolina trip over the course of the following week. After that, it was preparations and the saving up of funds. Then? May 16th, 2021, the day I headed for the states.

I departed from my residence around Finch station in North York at around 9am in the morning. From there, I drove South heading for Niagara Falls, arriving around lunch. When I got to the border, I hoped that all my research about crossing would be true and luckily, it was. 

The border patrol guard asked me why I was going to America. I showed him a piece of paper issued by NBEO saying that I had a test to do in North Carolina and he let me in. Just like that. From there, I drove around 7 hours to my first hotel between Toronto and North Carolina in the middle of West Virginia. The drive itself was pretty uneventful. I had made plans to initially just listen to a recording of my script to really drill it into my head but after the first 3 hours or so, I came to realize that I didn’t need much more review. The script wasn’t that long. It was then that I pulled upon my audiobooks to keep me company. We’ll get back to this later. 

Aside from the audiobooks, there was just the road. The asphalt of the USA was very different from my home in Toronto. Our roads were tarnished from winter storms and icy weather. The USA roads? Smooth and calming. The traffic was non-existent due to COVID and that meant travelling around was a breeze. 

It’s hard to express what driving on smooth roads for an extended period of time feels like. It’s like you go into a trance of sorts. Every now and then, I would stop the audiobooks and just let my eyes wander and my mind drift. I was awake and driving, but I was also mindless. A strange yet really relaxing phenomenon that I frequented while driving during the entire trip. 

Around the second day, I realized that I was a lot less tired from driving than I initially thought. I had made plans to drive around 6 hours a day so as to not mentally exhaust myself but quickly found that I could have (probably) easily drove at least double the distance in one go. Regardless, since I booked all the hotels already in advance, I did stop whenever I had previously planned and did some reviewing of my physical notes in the hotel. Between the nice drives and the chill vibes, I got to North Carolina pretty much in the blink of an eye.

Upon arriving at the hotel for my NBEO part 3, I parked my car at the lot and checked in. The hotel at the North Carolina testing site area was the most expensive one on the entire trip and it was more fancy than the previous motels I’ve been staying in. I did treat myself a bit on this last stretch before the test. Not only did I want comfort a day before my exam, it was also a deal. The hotel was also offered a discount for optometry students, another extra feature of the NBEO that the Canadians board exams did not do. 

As nice as the hotel was, I didn’t really get to enjoy it all that much. I was staying for a very brief period of time. I got there, I got food, I reviewed and I slept. The next day, I got up, got food and went to do the test. Afterwards, I would pack and leave. It was just a one night stay there. 

As for the actual exam, it felt like I was performing on stage for my cello recital. I was playing a piece that I practiced for the past 5 years. This meant that I was pretty much on autopilot for most of it. The only thing I had to consciously think about was the script and that wasn’t very mentally demanding. This and the fact that I got to test all the equipment before the actual exam meant that I was done in no time. After finishing the test, I made my way back to the hotel, packed my things and left. 

Then? Nothing, that was it.

I came, I did my test, and now I am outta here. 

That’s right. For all the chapters I had made to criticize the Canadian OSCEs, I only had a paragraph to say for the NBEO part 3. This is how easy the process was. In my mind, this is how the process should have been.

With this out of the way, now it was just me and the road again. The drive back was harsher and longer. I planned it thinking that since I had done away with the exam, I could now tire myself out from mindless roaring on asphalt. 

It was on this drive when I had some thoughts…