FSWE building

Like I said in the previous post, I took the FSWE yesterday. In April 2004, I took the test at the embassy in Seoul, and things were fairly nice -- they had rooms large enough to accomodate everyone, the rooms were heated, etc.

This year, however, things were different. Instead of meeting at the embassy, we met at the Public Affairs Office (the old USIS building), which did *not* have the proper facilities to hold us all.

Some folks were in one building, which was decent enough...

...while others (including me) had to take the test in a garage. Yes, a garage -- complete with racks of tires along the back wall, no heating (at the beginning), and harsh concrete floors with vehicle related stuff sticking out of it. A regular garage. I'm not even exaggerating.


Though I didn't have any problem taking the test, I'm surprised that things were organized this way. When one person asked about turning the heat, we were told there wasn't any.

I can't guess how many people (especially the ones in suits) were thinking "Oh great! We gotta to take this test (that's only given once a year) in a garage in April!" Though they later found out there was heating and turned it on, I don't think the environment made the State Department look good. It's a good thing the test wasn't given in December....

Click on these thumbs for the 800x600 resolution pictures.


[I'm so glad I invested in a mobile phone with a camera....]