Silence and 2 #2 pencils

Every peace corps volunteer has a secret.

from the moment we start filling in bubble sheets with our social security numbers to the day we conclude our service and return to the United States, we keep this secret tucked away- only to share it with the closest of volunteer friends.

each of us secretly hopes for a fabulous international career with the foreign service. With a life that promises travel languages culture and movie-like scenes where we advise the Host Country's President on how to save civilization from impending doom, life as a foreign service officer seems our path to happiness.

Today, hundreds of us around the world drug ourselves out of bed at 5am and while wiping the sleep from our eyes, began memorizing the address of the American embassies. Why? Today, April 8th, was the international test date for the Foreign Service Written exam- a test composed of grammatical know-how, essay savvy, political and historical knowledge, and a specific career track exam. This 6 hour test is the first of 3 steps required before a candidate can become a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). The exam is so daunting that more than HALF of those registered to take the test fail to report to the test facility.

1 down, 2 to go!

so there, that's our little peace corps secret.