Half Dead
Yes, I survived the past week, not by any merits of my own. I thought things were pretty well laid out: I would attend my classes, attempt to get in, and then register. It was only made clear to me recently that my loan funds would not appear until I was registered. This was a problem. So after I attended both my classes, and knew it would be at least a week until I could register for them, if ever, it was time for Plan B.
There was no Plan B, which stressed me out a little. Actually, my Plan B was shot down a while ago and not replaced. So, Plan C.
Ideas and worries ran through my head while I was eating, praying, trying to sleep. What to do, what to do... Aha! If I couldn't register for the classes I needed, the next best thing would be to register for the requisite number of credits, but in classes I didn't want! I scoured the catalog for remotely related courses, and settled on Peoples of the Middle East and an Art History class on Islamic Art. They had open spots, so I registered. Of course now that I was registered, I would have to attend the classes so that I wouldn't fail them if I had to keep them. Argh! The last thing I needed was to be attending four classes instead of two. And naturally, I couldn't buy the books for any of them until I was sure I could use them, so I couldn't do the homework for the language classes. I could feel all the frustration settling into my lungs.
Meanwhile I was getting familiar with the bus route to and from campus, and with the location of the different buildings. I managed to ride my bike to campus, then left it there so I could pick it up at the bus stop. Once, I tried using the bike rack on the bus, but the driver was not happy when he had to show me how to use the rack, then lift the bike onto it, since I was too feeble to do it. Definitely not an experience to repeat.
Then, marvelously, my loan funds had been disbursed! But wait... why was I receiving such a pittance? Oh yes, my residency hadn't come through yet. Never mind that I have hardly left this state, and have struggled through so many winters here. Never mind the hours I put in in Michigan elementary and high schools, and all the different jobs I've had, all of them in Michigan. Not to mention all the rent... Because I went to college in Ohio, lots of paperwork had to be filled out, and it hasn't been processed yet, so the class fees alone ate up almost all of the money.
I was really worried about getting into the French & Arabic classes. So, I went to see the head of the Arabic department to ask what my chances were. The teacher of the section I wanted happened to be meeting with him, and she immediately said, "Oh, that's my section! Yes, you can join." That was great, but my confidence was still lacking. Prof. R., the head of the department, asked whether I had studied Arabic before. "Yes... but just independently." I would have to take a proficiency test. When? On Thursday evening, at the same time as the monthly Carmelite meeting. How much more annoying could this week get? I certainly didn't want to miss the beginning of my new formation year. Was the test offered at any other time? No, it was only offered once a year. I wondered whether I really needed to take it. "This test is for everybody, not just for first year, for fourth year... we want to know what your level of proficiency is. ... Or maybe you don't want to study Arabic??" Oh fine, fine, of *course* I want to study Arabic... I was annoyed, he was annoyed.
Now I had a new set of worries. If I actually did pass out of the first level of Arabic, I would have to keep one of those other classes for sure, because 102 is not offered till next semester. On the other hand, Peoples of the Middle East and Islamic Art were pretty darn interesting. Maybe I should just keep those classes anyway... No! A struggle ensued.
Finally, late Friday afternoon, I found out that I was into both classes. I only got 18% on the proficiency test (the first one I've been thrilled to fail), and there was room for me in French as well. Time to thank and praise the Lord, whom I had been trying to trust all week long. I convinced myself that I would not have time to do the homework for Islamic art (or Islamicate art, as the professor prefers), but compromised by buying the books and coursepack so I could do the reading on my own... Hehe... sneaky. Actually registering was not so simple, since each time I clicked on the link, a blank page appeared, though sometimes if I used the back arrow, what I needed would show up!
After all this, it was annoying to watch myself getting concerned about the formation of each individual letter in my Arabic alphabet workbook. Amazing how a letter can stress you out when you've written it many times before. "Okay, just a hair to the right here... what if she thinks this looks too much like a 'j'?" Just *relax*, would you?
Today a cold is creeping up on me. Echinacea tea, immune defense orange juice with grapefruit seed extract, and a hot bath were in order. For once, the bath filled in less than 45 minutes, and the water was actually hot! Hallelujah!!!
There was no Plan B, which stressed me out a little. Actually, my Plan B was shot down a while ago and not replaced. So, Plan C.
Ideas and worries ran through my head while I was eating, praying, trying to sleep. What to do, what to do... Aha! If I couldn't register for the classes I needed, the next best thing would be to register for the requisite number of credits, but in classes I didn't want! I scoured the catalog for remotely related courses, and settled on Peoples of the Middle East and an Art History class on Islamic Art. They had open spots, so I registered. Of course now that I was registered, I would have to attend the classes so that I wouldn't fail them if I had to keep them. Argh! The last thing I needed was to be attending four classes instead of two. And naturally, I couldn't buy the books for any of them until I was sure I could use them, so I couldn't do the homework for the language classes. I could feel all the frustration settling into my lungs.
Meanwhile I was getting familiar with the bus route to and from campus, and with the location of the different buildings. I managed to ride my bike to campus, then left it there so I could pick it up at the bus stop. Once, I tried using the bike rack on the bus, but the driver was not happy when he had to show me how to use the rack, then lift the bike onto it, since I was too feeble to do it. Definitely not an experience to repeat.
Then, marvelously, my loan funds had been disbursed! But wait... why was I receiving such a pittance? Oh yes, my residency hadn't come through yet. Never mind that I have hardly left this state, and have struggled through so many winters here. Never mind the hours I put in in Michigan elementary and high schools, and all the different jobs I've had, all of them in Michigan. Not to mention all the rent... Because I went to college in Ohio, lots of paperwork had to be filled out, and it hasn't been processed yet, so the class fees alone ate up almost all of the money.
I was really worried about getting into the French & Arabic classes. So, I went to see the head of the Arabic department to ask what my chances were. The teacher of the section I wanted happened to be meeting with him, and she immediately said, "Oh, that's my section! Yes, you can join." That was great, but my confidence was still lacking. Prof. R., the head of the department, asked whether I had studied Arabic before. "Yes... but just independently." I would have to take a proficiency test. When? On Thursday evening, at the same time as the monthly Carmelite meeting. How much more annoying could this week get? I certainly didn't want to miss the beginning of my new formation year. Was the test offered at any other time? No, it was only offered once a year. I wondered whether I really needed to take it. "This test is for everybody, not just for first year, for fourth year... we want to know what your level of proficiency is. ... Or maybe you don't want to study Arabic??" Oh fine, fine, of *course* I want to study Arabic... I was annoyed, he was annoyed.
Now I had a new set of worries. If I actually did pass out of the first level of Arabic, I would have to keep one of those other classes for sure, because 102 is not offered till next semester. On the other hand, Peoples of the Middle East and Islamic Art were pretty darn interesting. Maybe I should just keep those classes anyway... No! A struggle ensued.
Finally, late Friday afternoon, I found out that I was into both classes. I only got 18% on the proficiency test (the first one I've been thrilled to fail), and there was room for me in French as well. Time to thank and praise the Lord, whom I had been trying to trust all week long. I convinced myself that I would not have time to do the homework for Islamic art (or Islamicate art, as the professor prefers), but compromised by buying the books and coursepack so I could do the reading on my own... Hehe... sneaky. Actually registering was not so simple, since each time I clicked on the link, a blank page appeared, though sometimes if I used the back arrow, what I needed would show up!
After all this, it was annoying to watch myself getting concerned about the formation of each individual letter in my Arabic alphabet workbook. Amazing how a letter can stress you out when you've written it many times before. "Okay, just a hair to the right here... what if she thinks this looks too much like a 'j'?" Just *relax*, would you?
Today a cold is creeping up on me. Echinacea tea, immune defense orange juice with grapefruit seed extract, and a hot bath were in order. For once, the bath filled in less than 45 minutes, and the water was actually hot! Hallelujah!!!
posted by Goldberry | 10:31 PM
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