high

exams have started and hence why my silence in the blogosphere, but that couldn’t stop me (for too long) from posting an update…

on monday i wrote ‘english in perspective’ which is english for teachers, or at least that is what the subtitle to the subject implies (english teacher education). i must say that for a 2-hour cram session prior to the exam that it was far too easy and so now i just wait and see how i actually do given that experience. i may be completely off the mark about how i think i may have done in that exam but seeing as most of it was pretty intuitive i am going with a good outcome. let’s hope they don’t adjust the marks as it seemed many people seemed to over estimate the difficulty of that exam, given the comments on the discussion group for that subject. i am starting to suspect that the current level of education in sa is dropping to such a degree that it is now filtering into the university levels. i have heard stories of what matriculants are expected to know with regards to subjects like english and my stomach lurches at the thought that the levels are dropping so low. on the plus side this could be to my advantage but how getting a degree of an inferior standard is a good thing i am still trying to surmise. hmmm…

the big news of this week (so far) has been the fact that i attended my first ever ballet exam! i must say that the build up to the exam was really huge and i had a pit in my stomach before going in. the build up has been going on for a while and sunday was really the start of it (the nerves that is) with my parents coming to see me dance an exam class with vix. my parents were blown away and the experience of that was really worth it. i was nervous going into that as i also had vix’s mom, sister and niece watching but given that the pre-exam course had a larger audience, and that i survived it, really was no cause for concern. the gasps and applause i received during that class was really ego boosting and watching my mom and dad all smiles while watching me dance was also a sight to behold. my mom said that she saw my dad shed a tear or two in pride for my dancing ability which is something that makes me really happy. the exam on tuesday (yesterday) was such an amazing experience, i had no idea what to expect as it was my first ever exam and dancing with another boy was also a new experience. i have been in open classes with other boys in it before but this time it was different having a boy dancing the intermediate syllabus with me. the boy in the exam is 17 and so seeing this skinny boy compared to my bulkier frame was a bit different. apparently vix said that he was happy to be dancing with someone else but i think he was expecting me and i may have intimidated him a little, seeing as i am older than him and a little bit more muscular. there was an old lady there outside the venue assisting with the examinations who was really cute, she gave us our numbers (i was number 13, which is fortunately a lucky number for me) and also helped us with a warm-up. she was quite animated and did quite well in distracting me from my nerves but once i got in to face the examiner and start on my pliés my nerves melted away and was replaced by sheer force of will. i performed the sh*t out of it and i had so much fun doing it. it really was such an awesome experience. there were portions in the exam when my partner (number 12) and i were to dance together, where normally we would dance alone, which had me dancing him out of space as i just took over the room. i do feel bad for dancing him into the corner but i couldn’t hold back, every part of me was just ready to explode from the excitement and energy in that room. number 12 did start off prior to the exam talking about his apparent advanced level in ballet but when we got into the room it wasn’t in the room, he wasn’t expecting that a 28 year old with 2 years of dance experience had that in him. in my own self gratifying braggard way, i owned that exam! i am still floating on the high from that exam which has distracted me from studying for tomorrow and friday but it was really a memorable experience which has motivated me to want the next exam to come sooner! hehe. speaking of which i am starting advanced foundation training from next week and also in there i am going to be squeezing in advanced 1 (the girl’s syllabus) and rehearsals for the production in november. so much to happen in the coming months but seeing as i get to do what i love i am not complaining.

it’s time to cut this post off here as it is starting to get into the ‘too long’ category for a post. besides i still have to start studying french for the exam tomorrow. i hope it isn’t too difficult. i can always try to fake it until i make it!

light and love to you all…

(‘high’ is sung by lighthouse family and is taken from the album ‘postcards from heaven’)

~ by freddy on 13 May, 2009.