Mmm. Well Beekeeping, it's a bit like life, the more you learn, the more you realise you need to learn.
Kept simple, at its basic level, it does not feel so terribly hard to me. Right now there is nothing for me to do. But lots for you:
An early decision you want to make is "Equipment". There are a number of different hive types available, my own preference is poly, but my wife says they are ugly and should be "WBC" (the fancy ones with "Lifts"), I believe most people in this country are using wooden "National" hives. But it's something to be thinking about, look at suppliers, consider whether you want to make you own and so on.
My point is; You don't want to get Bees without the equipment to keep them.
There are a few more things, Bee suit, smoker, Hive tools, Bee brush and so on.
Then there's "Bee acquisition". I think it is quite likely that when you take the course you will find some nice soul who will give you a nuc or split to get you going.
I can go on and on, it's that much fun, but besides what I have said, your course and the wise words of your association members, there's lots to read and the is a thing called "youtube".
Youtube is like the Mcdonalds of Bee study, fast, easy and can be very nice. BUT (perhaps unlike Mcdonalds) it can be awful. Someone asked in a post the other week "are there any good you tubers" and the replies (in my view) were spot on...
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=41657
I like you tube, I also like "Vino Farm" and his exploits, he was so inexperienced at the start that he is ideal to learn from (especially when he drops the comb in one of his early attempts). But I have also read a lot, starting with Hubert (may remember that name wrong) and then on through Dadant et al.
So there is plenty to do
