Am I ready to be a student again?

I’ve finally had word that the course I’ve enrolled on – An Cùrsa Inntrigidh – is about to start.  In fact, I’ve already completed induction task one.  It was challenging but I managed to get through it.  The task?  To log into the university email system and send them a message.  I’m now awaiting my next few tasks.  I get the feeling they’re going to get tougher.

I honestly never thought I’d be enrolled in a university again.  I spent six years studying in my twenties and that was plenty loads, thank you very much.  And yet I’m really excited about this (though in fairness, I haven’t started yet so maybe I’m being a bit premature).  I’m looking forward to learning a new language, to adding to the tiny bit of vocabulary I’ve already picked up, to sharing this education with my children.

But I have to admit to being a little nervous, too.  Not helped by the UHI Student News title: Event to explore why Scots love sex and the supernatural.  Am I going to be just a touch too old (and clearly prudish) for this?  Thank goodness it’s all done over the telephone – I can pretend to be young, hip and glamorous.  Who’s going to know!?

It’s not just the student life though.  I worry about being able to cope with the coursework.  I love languages and have enjoyed the little bit I’ve learned to date, but I have been able to plod along at my own pace.  What if I can’t pronounce the new vocabulary?  What if the other students have more time to prepare than me?  What if the other students are all better than me?

I’ve also got to get over my two big fears – fear of actually speaking Gaelic in public, and fear of using a telephone.  Yes, I have a crippling phone fear yet I’ve signed up to do a course which involves an hour a week on the telephone.  Maybe not the smartest move but what doesn’t kill you and all that…

In the meantime I await my next induction tasks, I cross my fingers that the other students in my tutorial group/phone call are lovely and that my tutor is friendly & supportive, and I keep plugging away with a wee bit of new vocab each week.  This week my son has learned two new phrases:

Gabh mo leisgeul (gav mo layskal) = excuse me

Tha mi duilich (ha me doolich) = I’m sorry.  (An important one to learn after a cheeky day at nursery.)

Now I just need to learn to say, “I don’t understand,” in Gaelic and I’m all set for An Cùrsa Inntrigidh starting in a week.