Thursday, August 5, 2010

8 minutes

My husband was a wrestler in high school. He said that a wrestling match could easily be decided in 6 minutes. The quicker the match, the more dramatic the defeat (or the victory, depending on how you look at it).

So today, his German phone test took just 8 minutes. That should be plenty of time to determine he's a level 3, right?

He's not optimistic though. Eight minutes felt too quick. And when you compare it to the hours and hours and hours he studied, it seems even shorter.

We'll find out in a week or two how he did. If he passes, he'll be within range for an offer, but just barely. Either way, as of 9:08 this morning, the German study is over, at least for now. We're happy to have him back, and so is he.

Time to move on (we hope) to the next landmark in our journey of worry and waiting: the Oral Assessment. We should find out in September if his FSOT and essays were enough to get him an invite to another OA. He scored his 5.4 on Nov. 12, so we're hoping he'll get a chance to score higher this November.

Here's a happy photo to leave you with from our anniversary:

7 comments:

FSO Hopeful said...

I think that is a good sign. Mine was only 11 min and it was a pass

Daniela Swider said...

Glad it's over and you can relax now. At least for a little bit. I agree with FSO hopeful - the fact that it was only 8 minutes doesn't mean he didn't pass. Those tests are strange. My husband's was short too (although, I don't remember exactly how many minutes) and he passed and got his extra points. I have to say though, when he went to the language test during A-100 to remove the language requirement for tenure, he didn't pass. It was the same language (Bulgarian) but it turns out the second test is more involved. So you never know with those languages...

Bfiles said...

Oh, I didn't realize it was today!!
So glad it's over. Don't read too much into it, as so many have said. Just hang on. This will be a long week, I know. crossing fingers for you!
ps adorable pic of an adorable family!

Just an FSO said...

Good luck! What I have heard is that they tend to be short when you are clearly good or clearly bad. They give you more time if they are not sure. I hope this clears his way for the next round of offers.

Unknown said...

Good luck!!

= )

Sara said...

You made it to the State Blog Roundup. If you don't want to be on it, then please let me know! Follow this link to reach the roundup:

http://wifemommywoman.blogspot.com/2010/08/state-dept-blog-roundup.html

Enjoy!

Donna said...

My Russian test was super-fast and I did fine. No worries about that. I'll keep my fingers crossed nonetheless. And by the way: Crabby Wife. Love it. This past weekend, I finally achieved a 4/4 in Crabby Wife, I'm pretty sure.