classical element of physical comedy

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This is the best term of school. So far. Four days into it. Ha. And the reason is because of ridiculousness. I'm in a First Aid and CPR class. It's probably the most hilarious class anyone has ever taken. All the students in my class have been certified before. Including me. I had to get certified before I could teach swimming lessons. So it's literally a review class for everyone. And my teacher is a massage therapist, so we would all rather be doing something else, but it's required to graduate, so we make the most of it. 

We sit down at the beginning of class, and pull out our "books." They're like workbooks that are made of magazine paper and you answer questions throughout. It feels pretty elementary. My teacher proceeds to tell us that we get to watch classic movies from the 80s, and I'm hoping for something like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," but what really pops up on the screen is some sweet sweet 80s hair on the lady working her first aid skills on a coworker. The acting was superb. I couldn't have laughed harder. My teacher wasn't even scolding us when we were making fun, because he knew that if the situation arose, we would know what to do, and clearly, the videos needed redoing anyway. 

Because he has to make the material stretch for 5 class sessions, my teacher also let us tell gruesome/awesome stories of first aid/CPR/Heimlich Maneuver rescues. So we watched videos, read from the workbook, told stories, and role-played. The heavens rejoiced. I have been gifted a class that is a no-brainer, and a chance to let off some steam with lots and lots of laughter. While practicing the Heimlich last night, my partner and I may have collapsed on the ground in laughter. I immediately re-assessed the emergency, and decided that CPR was the next step. Apparently, we weren't supposed to be practicing CPR, so while I was doing fake chest pumps, my teacher looks directly at me and says, "You all should only be practicing your choking scenarios, not CPR please." "I'm not doing CPR. Why would you think I'm doing CPR? Clearly, my victim is choking..." And the class erupted in laughter. You probably had to be there, because my partner couldn't stop laughing, and she wouldn't even switch with me so I could be the victim. Rude.

For those of you thinking that we completely missed the levity of the situation, don't worry. We know. We all know how important the class truly is, and that's why the written and practical finals are worth so much. My teacher even mentioned that as easy as the material is, if people don't take it seriously and study, this class can be a GPA breaker. When the time comes, we'll all be able to assess the situation, make sure no further injury is possible, make a quick examination, call for help/9-1-1, keep you alive until help arrives, and give critical and valuable information to the EMTs when they arrive. If it just so happens that we channel Charlie from the videos we watched, so be it. You'll be amazed at our over-the-top facial expressions.

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