The Harrowing Experience That Was The FSO Exams

It's been more than three weeks since I took the panel interview and written exam portions of the FSO exam in Manila. Just goes to show how nerve-wracking and stressful the whole experience was, that I needed lots of time to rest and recuperate. I also needed time to look for my brain and regain the IQ points I lost in a span of one week, so I can come up with coherent sentences to tell you all about it. (That, and I was also busy preparing for my move to Manila.)

Since I passed the preliminary exam I took on my birthday, I was qualified to move on to the next stage, which was the panel interview. I was really anxious about this given that my last interview was for the UP LAE, which was very traumatic (not an exaggeration, but that's another story). Although, I was kinda hoping it's just for formalities' sake where they would only ask questions about what I do and why I wanted to become a foreign service officer. But what I was about to face was nothing short of paralyzing (yes, still not an exaggeration).

I was called in to a room (looked like a classroom) and was asked to sit in front of the panel- composed of an ambassador and two foreign service officers. I was like the new teacher facing my bad-ass students. For my work, I was asked these questions:

- What are the good ROP bonds right now?
- How about corporate bonds? (I was made to enumerate specific bonds for the first 2 questions)
- What's the difference between a UITF and a Common Trust Fund?
- If you were to invest the funds of the Foreign Service, will you invest them here in the Phils. or abroad?

Intense questions, but manageable. I mean, I'm supposed to know these things because they're part of my job. But the next phase of the interview was the piece de resistance of that wonderful day. I can't even remember how we got to this type of questioning:

- Do you think the presence of American troops in Iraq is justified? Do you think the war is justified?
- Do you think the war in Afghanistan is justified?
- How about the Ampatuans? Can the Americans just come in our country and fight them?
- In Saudi Arabia, you can go to mosques. In Abu Dhabi (Pardon me, but I can't recall if I'm naming the correct country) you can't go to church. Is that fair?

Sheeesh. I mean I expected the interview to be hard. But not this hard! Here's some of our memorable exchanges:

Amb: "If you file a complaint to the UN against Saudi Arabia, what do you think will happen?"
Me: "Sir, me personally?" (Hahaha! Dumb blonde moment happens to me when I'm stressed out)
Amb: "I mean the Philippines. What will happen if the Phils. files a complaint?"
Me: "Sir, there would be a strained relationship between the 2 countries"
Amb: "What do you think will be the immediate effect?"
Me: "Armed conflict?" (Hahaha, you gotta laugh at yourself sometimes!)
Amb: "Not yet. What do you think will be the effect?"
Me: "Safety of our OFWs in Saudi..."
Amb: "Correct. A Foreign Service officer must always think about his fellow Filipinos first and foremost. That's what you call prudence. What is prudence?"
Me: (jaw drops) "Um, right judgment?"
Amb: "Foresight, blah blah blah" (He was rattling off the synonyms of Prudence.)

Amb: "Compare the reign of Charlemagne with the current European Union."
Me: (I'm thinking Can I just die now?) "I'm sorry Sir, I'm not that familiar with Charlemagne."
Amb: "You mean you don't know who Charlemagne is?? Where'd you go to high school?"
Me: "At the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion, Sir."
Amb: "CIC. You mean the Daughters of Charity didn't teach you about Charlemagne?"
Me: "I'm sure they did, Sir. But I just can't recall right now."

FSO: "How much do you earn?"
Me: "Gross?" (Hahaha! I'm such a comedian.)
FSO: "Sure."
Me: "Blah blah a month, Sir." (To this they all looked at one another and sort of gestured that it's a good figure. I totally disagree, BTW.
FSO: "Are you aware that you'll be earning less than that if you become an FSO? Are you ok with that?"
Me: "I believe, Sir, that if you really like what you do then the monetary benefits are not that important."
To this, they all gave me a standing ovation and presented me with the Hero of the Year award. Joke.
Amb: "I'm touched by what you said..." (Char!)

Anyway, that's basically the 'highlights' of the interview. I'm really not sure how I survived, or even passed. It was such an out-of-body experience, and I remember I just kept smiling the whole time but in my mind I was praying for the ability to Apparate. Even my co-examinees told me that my questions were really harder than theirs.

For the written exams, let's just say it was the most stressful 3 days I've had in a long time. My mind turned to mush after all that essay-writing. Every time I read my test paper, I mentally kick myself and bang my head for subjecting myself to this kind of torture. I won't be writing the questions here because this entry's getting really long. But if any one out there plans to take the FSO exams soon, let me know and I'll share them with you.

Alright, so that's about it. The results for the written exams are supposed to be out by October or November, but I'm really not banking on passing. However, miracles do happen and they might happen to me again :) By the way, this is my First Thing #14- Taking the FSO exams.