After we turned in our bid lists, the next week and a half was spent honing a variety of skills needed to be a successful FSO. We had an overnight retreat out in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia that consisted of a plethora of team building exercises. I was very disappointed not to spend two days doing trust falls and ropes courses, we had a lot of fun getting to know one another and hanging out outside of the office setting!
The following week we worked on "core skills": public speaking, speech writing, and fielding questions in a variety of settings. I wish I could say I handled all of this with grace, but man public speaking makes me nervous! I did my best to be confident, and I definitely think I did better answering questions from the public, but I really need to work on delivering speeches. If I do say so myself, I think I wrote a decent speech. However standing behind that lectern, all confidence, eye contact, and a steady voice went out the window. Not really sure how long it will take, but I see plenty of sessions in front of the mirror in my future....
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Three Weeks Later
Well, I thought I would be much better about updating this blog. So much has transpired since my last entry that instead of writing one long posting, I'm going to break it up into topics. Flag Day, Swearing-In, getting ready for my first post...but let's back up to The Woods.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Calling All Box Checkers!
Hi, my name is Laila, and I am a Box Checker. Hi Laila.
Like many people in the Foreign Service, I am a Type A overachiever. I'm always been a compulsive list maker, but apparently now I'm a box checker as well. For this to make sense, I guess I need to back up a bit. In order to make tenure, every FSO must be off language probation, serve one year in a Consular position, and for those of us with Critical Needs Language (CNL) points, must serve one of the first two tours in a country that uses the CNL.
Last week I had a meeting with my advisor to discuss my preferences and how I ranked the bid list. One of the first things he said to me after I sat down was that I was quite the Box Checker. I didn't know how to take that at first, especially since I've been trying to internalize the unofficial Foreign Service mantra "It Depends" and am making an honest attempt to be flexible. The last thing I wanted to do was appear rigid to the person who holds the direction of the next two years of my life in his hands. My most important preference showed my true nature though: use CNL points and/or take a Consular position. I'm lucky enough to already be off language probation, so I figured if I could get the other two requirements out of the way in the first tour then I would be free to choose what I wanted for the second tour. I guess that doesn't sound quite as flexible as I had hoped....
After our meeting, I considered my advisor's suggestions and spent a good portion of the weekend researching countries and ranking, rearranging, then re-ranking the bid list. Last night I submitted my final list of preferences and the ranked bid list, so now it's out of my hands and the chips will fall where they may. I plan on spending the next 13 days trying to be flexible, but for now I'll be answering most questions with "It Depends".
Like many people in the Foreign Service, I am a Type A overachiever. I'm always been a compulsive list maker, but apparently now I'm a box checker as well. For this to make sense, I guess I need to back up a bit. In order to make tenure, every FSO must be off language probation, serve one year in a Consular position, and for those of us with Critical Needs Language (CNL) points, must serve one of the first two tours in a country that uses the CNL.
Last week I had a meeting with my advisor to discuss my preferences and how I ranked the bid list. One of the first things he said to me after I sat down was that I was quite the Box Checker. I didn't know how to take that at first, especially since I've been trying to internalize the unofficial Foreign Service mantra "It Depends" and am making an honest attempt to be flexible. The last thing I wanted to do was appear rigid to the person who holds the direction of the next two years of my life in his hands. My most important preference showed my true nature though: use CNL points and/or take a Consular position. I'm lucky enough to already be off language probation, so I figured if I could get the other two requirements out of the way in the first tour then I would be free to choose what I wanted for the second tour. I guess that doesn't sound quite as flexible as I had hoped....
After our meeting, I considered my advisor's suggestions and spent a good portion of the weekend researching countries and ranking, rearranging, then re-ranking the bid list. Last night I submitted my final list of preferences and the ranked bid list, so now it's out of my hands and the chips will fall where they may. I plan on spending the next 13 days trying to be flexible, but for now I'll be answering most questions with "It Depends".
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