Clarity, or /_(-stress)

The reason I am writing this is that the above has now indeed happened, enabling me to finish my blog on a happier note. After the interview for the job I wrote about, I started feeling bad about my level of spoken Gaelic. I know that I can read and write quite well, but I still haven’t started speaking too well. Because of this, I had decided to use my time, should nothing work out in terms of funding, to do a distance learning course at the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Gaelic college. After two years, this should leave me (if I put in the effort) able to use the language confidently. And I could even get my tuition fees paid for by the government!

And so I started the process of applying. Two days later, shortly after I woke up, the lecturer who told me about the position rings me, saying that the first candidate is no longer available and offering the role to me. I wasn’t sure at the time whether I wasn’t still asleep, but soon the news was confirmed in writing. This means that between August and March I shall be working for my alma mater, cataloguing and evaluating archive materials pertaining to a dialectological survey, making them more accessible to the academic community. I am nervous, but can’t wait to get going.

I will still probably take the Gaelic “evening classes”: after all, part-time distance study is designed for people with jobs. This way, I will be gaining work experience in my area while earning a language qualification. As I predicted, all it took was a little bit of acceptance of that which cannot be changed and a little bit of creativity in approaching that which can, and the horizon is clear once again.