(no subject)
Okay, this election business is exciting stuff, but I'm going to talk about me again now.
Last weekend I went to Florence for the Foreign Service Exam. I have absolutely no idea how I did. It's not like your normal standardized test where you can count up the answers you weren't sure about and get an approximate score with some simple arithmetic. The test had five sections: general knowledge, career-track specific questions, an essay, a "biographic information" section and an English usage section. I think I did well on the general knowledge questions. I think I did okay on the political questions. I had studied for those, but it turns out I was studying the wrong stuff. The essay was a disaster. We had three topics to choose from and 50 minutes to write the thing. The problem was that the questions were far too broad to even begin to cover in such little time. The English part was piece of cake, being mostly about commas. I'm good with commas. But the real cause for worry is the biographical information part. This consisted of questions about leadership and organization and talking on the phone. It was really annoying. And of course, I have no way of knowing what exactly they were looking for. Results come out in July. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
In happier news, today was my last day of classes before spring break. I am in vacation mode and loving it already. After some unsuccessful attempts to join up with various group trips, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. So, I'm hanging around here through Easter weekend and then going to Sicily, where I promise not to get kidnapped by the Cosa Nostra, get eaten by a shark or die a firey death in a volcanic explosion. It's not my first choice, but I plan to have a good time. Beaches, ruins, volcanoes, mudbaths and thermal spings, sunshine and cannoli - what more could a girl want? Still, my freedom is not quite complete. There are a number of projects and presentations and homework assignments that will require my attention over the break. The work never ends. However, I must confess that I'm actually looking forward to some of it. I'm reading this book about the South African apartheid negotiations that's absolutely fascinating and I'm eager to begin the novel I need to read for French class. I just hope I have room for my Larousse in my duffel.
Last weekend I went to Florence for the Foreign Service Exam. I have absolutely no idea how I did. It's not like your normal standardized test where you can count up the answers you weren't sure about and get an approximate score with some simple arithmetic. The test had five sections: general knowledge, career-track specific questions, an essay, a "biographic information" section and an English usage section. I think I did well on the general knowledge questions. I think I did okay on the political questions. I had studied for those, but it turns out I was studying the wrong stuff. The essay was a disaster. We had three topics to choose from and 50 minutes to write the thing. The problem was that the questions were far too broad to even begin to cover in such little time. The English part was piece of cake, being mostly about commas. I'm good with commas. But the real cause for worry is the biographical information part. This consisted of questions about leadership and organization and talking on the phone. It was really annoying. And of course, I have no way of knowing what exactly they were looking for. Results come out in July. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
In happier news, today was my last day of classes before spring break. I am in vacation mode and loving it already. After some unsuccessful attempts to join up with various group trips, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. So, I'm hanging around here through Easter weekend and then going to Sicily, where I promise not to get kidnapped by the Cosa Nostra, get eaten by a shark or die a firey death in a volcanic explosion. It's not my first choice, but I plan to have a good time. Beaches, ruins, volcanoes, mudbaths and thermal spings, sunshine and cannoli - what more could a girl want? Still, my freedom is not quite complete. There are a number of projects and presentations and homework assignments that will require my attention over the break. The work never ends. However, I must confess that I'm actually looking forward to some of it. I'm reading this book about the South African apartheid negotiations that's absolutely fascinating and I'm eager to begin the novel I need to read for French class. I just hope I have room for my Larousse in my duffel.