OA in D.C.

While working in Vietnam last year, some dear friends of ours (Christian and Jennie Marchant) suggested we think about joining the foreign service. Elijah, who has always been a little slow, quickly dismissed this idea and told Duong he was going to pursue a career in the law. After returning to the states both Elijah and Duong got the urge to travel, and started to consider the possibility of joining the foreign service. By June Elijah was taking the FSOT (the written exam). They say of the 5,000 people that take this test each time it is offered (usually 3 to 4 times a year), only about 20% pass. To our pleasant surprise, he passed. The next step was the QEP, which is a short series of mini essays used to further sift the wheat from the tares. Again, we were humbled and excited to find out he passed. The next step is the oral assessment "OA" which is an all-day, very intense, interview. Elijah is exhausted from the experience, but he will post a detailed account of what happened tomorrow.