Dance Class? Sure!

First, a quick note: I have found a new apartment and will be moving in on the 31st!  It is infinitely better than my current one.

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I found this neat little booklet from the Des Moines Public Schools.  It’s a community education program.  They have a large selection of programs that anybody can sign up to attend.  They aren’t for any credit at a high school or college.  They are just for your own personal enrichment.

There is a wide variety of categories like Arts & Crafts, Computing, Dance, Food & Nutrition, Music, Photography & Video, Canoeing & Sailing, and more.

These classes remind me a lot about an educational thing between about 3rd and 7th grade where for two weeks over the summer we could attend fun classes like this at the local community college.  I took an introductory Japanese class one time.  That might have been one of the first times I learned about the metric system. 

Here are some of the classes I found appealing and might actually take:

Couples Dance, Beginning

This one is a long one, once a week for eight weeks.  I’d learn Fox Trot, Swing, Cha-Cha, Rumba, Night Club (they are legitimizing that now?!), 2-Step, and Waltz.  Some of you who know only a couple facets of my personality might completely think I would shy away from this one.  Those of you who know me well know that I would completely enjoy doing this.  I may not fare well in situations where I am the only one feeling awkward, but if everyone is in the same boat, that’s when I start to shine.  Another nice part is that after you take the class you can show up at monthly social dance parties.  The bad news about this one is that I don’t have the required partner and don’t know anyone who would want to be.

French, Beginning

I regret that I have let my French skills deteriorate.  My knowledge isn’t completely gone, so I don’t know if this might be too low of a level of me.  I imagine this class will start out with things like bonjour and present tense forms of avoir and etre.  I usually received complements on my pronunciations and conjugations while in French classes.  It was always the sheer memorization of vocabulary that caused trouble for me.

Instant Guitar

This one is happening this Saturday, so I need to act quickly to take advantage of this one.  I’ve always thought about taking up the guitar, but never gave serious thought to it.  All I have to do is show up with an acoustic guitar on Saturday and a little bit of money and I can be taught the basics.  I had an opportunity to learn guitar if I would have taken 8th grade music class, but many of my friends didn’t like the teacher (I didn’t have a problem with her), so I went with the crowd and stayed away.

Kayaking Fundamentals

When I was living in Omaha I joined a kayak polo club for a while.  This was the ultimate cross between kayaking, basketball, and soccer.  Imagine an 8-lane swimming pool with the lane lines removed.  Then put ten people in short 8-foot kayaks on two teams.  Then at each end of the pool place a goal about five feet in the air shaped like a giant basketball rim turned vertically.  Then use an underinflated volleyball and throw it back and forth while paddling at the same time.  I enjoyed it even though I never learned how to roll the kayak.  If I ended up upside down I had to bail out.  That was annoying.  I also could have used a longer kayak even though they are less maneuverable.  My legs were crammed in there and it often led to cramps during the 45 minute non-stop game.

I can’t go to this class because I have plans during the three times this is offered.

Stand-Up Paddling

I don’t know much about this other than seeing some people do it a few times.  It looks interesting but I’m not sure how they keep their balance when a wave comes.  The only class I could take isn’t until September 28th, though.

In the near term, it looks like the choice is between French and guitar.  Or both.