Today I had to sit my first real exam since I finished university in 1999. After two years of hard work (and to be honest I should have done a lot more than I did) I have finally finished my Graduate Diploma in Spanish! Of course I still need to wait for the results but there are no grades for this course, it’s simply pass or fail, and I’m quietly confident that I haven’t failed at least.

The main thing that I found out today is that if you don’t usually hand-write more than the weekly shopping list then having to write solidly for two and a half hours really hurts your hand! And that four hours is a long time to wait for an oral exam that you really should have learnt off by heart but haven’t quite managed to.

It’s been a really hard two years of work. The pace was relentless with new tasks to complete and a tutorial on Skype every week. We had a few breaks but there was always an assignment due at the end of it so it was never really a break. Since Toby was born I’ve found it really hard to find the time and the motivation to get the work done. It was actually easier when I was working full time because I usually managed to find some time to get the work done during the school day, or I would stay after school to get it done where there were fewer distractions than at home. I take my hat off to anyone who is a student and a parent because it really is difficult to do both.

Anyway, it’s all done now. I can speak Spanish to some extent and quite scarily I am now qualified to teach it myself! Hopefully this will all have been worth it and will make it easier for me to get a job in future now I can teach two languages rather than just one. And best of all (assuming I pass of course) I never again have to sit at home watching TV and blogging, while thinking ‘I really should be doing my Spanish homework’!