Posted By: mellers on
Friday, September 19th, 2008, 6:52 am
I seem to have been so busy this week....... it makes a nice change. It's nearly lunchtime today already (on my only "free" day of the week now) and I still have shopping, cooking and house work to do as well as all my boards to still catch up on after my holiday. I have started volunteering at a Charity shop but it's not going well, so I may have to reconsider that particular move. More about that on another day I think.
I have also this week enrolled on a college A level course, but unlike previous years when I've gone to evening classes, This year I have decided to take an "infil" place in a day-time class with a bunch of 16 year olds. It offers significantly better value for money (5 hours lesson time per week on 2 different days, rather than one evening of 2.5 hours) and makes use of otherwise dreary, dull, hated and lonely day-times.
I turned up on Monday to enroll - which took an hour and a half of being asked to go from one room/desk/office. person to another through a seemingly never-ending maze of corridors, rooms and crowds and crowds of really thin young people. Got on the course and paid the money, but was saddened to learn that I wasn't going to be able to use the gym as I was only a part-time student.
Arrived on Tuesday (a bit hot and sticky after 30 mins cycling including a HUGE hill) to more crowds and then finally the right room full of 20 16 year old girls, 2 16 year old boys, the tutor and me. Was hoping to melt invisibly in to the background so was slightly taken aback when the tutor asked me if I wanted to explain to the rest of the class what I was doing there after the lesson. He wasn't quite that blunt but it seems that my obvious age, would mean they would wonder what I was doing in the class. Bang goes my anonymity. Mind you, having thought about it subsequently, maybe he's right.
Anyway, swearing was the first discussion point on the curriculum and we have subsequently (yesterday) got on to the topic of what constitutes good and bad English. I am surprised to learn however, that there are no set text books for this year. I've joined the college library and picked up a copy of Bill Bryson's 'Mother Tongue' which the tutor recommended for additional reading. Am actually finding myself ABLE to read a book (that one) at the moment which is a really positive step, and although I do feel really quite old in amongst all the kiddiewinks I do also feel really quite young again and find myself hopelessly trying to blend in with the crowd and dressing in their jeans/clingy-type sweater-top/tiny, flat slipper-type shoes. Who am I kidding?
Also managed to wangle my way in to the gym after speaking to the lovely head of department (amazingly fit of course) who said as long as I didn't make a big thing out if it I would be allowed to use the gym (and running treadmills - most important) free of charge. Have also looked in to the possibilities of joining their running club but am thinking that might indeed be way out of my league.
Am feeling like a real student again for the first time in a long time and am hopeful.
Tags:
college, volunteering, english
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