Irish Orals - Conas ata tú?
Ta me go hiontach. Why? I have finally finished the first step towards completing the leaving cert. I had been awaiting this day for weeks now. I’m not exactly one for preparing for exams but I think I am finally getting geared up and motivated. I didn’t realize it was possible to drink 18 cups of tea and 12 cups of coffee in the space of 3 days. And one heck of a caffeine fuelled study session it was.
Cramming. I didn’t think it would was effective until I was proven wrong. Some might argue that’s because its the first time I have tried to prove myself wrong.
11 hours sleep, excessive amounts of caffeine and a session at the local and I was ready. Although I certainly did not feel prepared, I felt a little more at ease knowing I had put in some effort. Sitting outside a in the sun, i sipped my tea. Before I could put the cup down my phone began to ring. I answered and was greeted with : “Kevin.. where the hell are you? You’re up next”. So I began to panic a little and headed towards the school.
I arrived shortly after, out of breath and frozen. Signing in late wasn’t an option at this stage so I made my way towards the prefabs where I was greeted by my teacher and the other students. So I grabbed a chair and joined my friends. I have never felt time going so slow in my life. We were practically counting down the seconds. A combination of bitter cold and my nerves caused the blood flow in my hands to divert and head elsewhere.
You could hear every footstep in the prefab. And then it began.. The examiner entered the room and called me in. I said goodbye to my friends as if I were going to war. Why was I so nervous? And so the fifteen minutes began. Sliocht a dó! And suddenly, the nerves disappeared. I was confident in what I was doing and so I began.
Walking out of there gave me a boost of motivation and satisfactory reward that I haven’t felt in a long time. Having spent the past few days cramming for this day, I was now a happy to know the bit I had learned. I enjoyed it and was proud of it. Irish. Our native language.
As all of you are probably (should be) aware that the Leaving cert Oral exams begin soon. Very soon as a matter of fact. So the majority of us should be trying to only speak in these languages for the weekend.
Who can really say that Irish is a farce. One week ago, in the midst of my glorius midterm break I imagined myself in the Irish oral examination.
I guess I found it nice to be able to speak the native tongue. I have come across students who have learned off full extracts on “Dustin the turkey goes to the Eurovision” and “Bertie: the no longer Taoiseach”. But I much prefer to be laid back about it and talk about what I actually am familiar with in a way I am familiar with, It keeps me sane in the exam. And I do not actually hate the language even after the strenuous exam I’m about to go horribly bad in. I am ranting!
I have not done a thing this week in terms of study. My mocks were a disgrace. I am a study virgin. I can’t do it, I detest the whole school thing. Now I find in looking back over my past six years of secondary level education there has been good times. The whole school thing becomes sentimental when it’s all over… despite the fair grades. The cliché comes to mind - “school days are the best days of your life”. Memories of me laughing that one off last year!
