Week 40 was the week where we could finally say, “We’re moving to Burma next month.”
And also, “Less than five weeks left of language class.”
Psychologically, each time we’ve advanced to a new stage in the program—moving from single-digit to double-digit weeks, hitting week 20, week 30, and so on—has felt like a milestone. And none more so yet than week 40.
During the past couple of weeks, I hit some exciting milestones in our PCS move preparations, while simultaneously seeming to backslide in my acquisition of Burmese.
Last week and the week before, I was struggling with burnout in Burmese class while also trying to focus on preparing for our upcoming move overseas. Now that we’ve entered the final stretch—with only single-digit weeks remaining in the program—two acronyms have begun to loom larger: the EOT (End of Training) test and our PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move.
This post is the second half of a story from 2023 that I began to write last week. If you haven’t read the first half, I recommend you do so first so this post will make sense.
I want to take a break from the intensity of Burmese study-related posts and tell a story I’ve been meaning to share since 2023. It’s an emotional story, sad, and long, but I think important, so I will tell it in two parts. This is the first part.
It’s fair to say I am the type of person who relies more on science than I do faith to explain what I experience in life. Most people who know me would probably describe me with words like serious, rational, skeptical, judicious, and methodical.
However, I have also long believed there are things we don’t understand about the human experience. In my opinion, sometimes things happen that we cannot simply explain (or explain away) with facts. Some things we simply feel, and intuitively believe to be true, even if we cannot prove it. This is a story about something like that. It’s a story about a message from beyond.
We’ve now completed 75 percent of our Burmese training, and times they are a‑changin’. Half of our classmates have tested out with their scores and moved on, leaving only the two of us—as it was in the beginning. The seasons have shifted from summer to fall, then winter, and now spring. With about three months left before we depart for Post, the sense that we’re coming full circle grows ever stronger.
Burmese is the third language I’ve studied at FSI, and it’s also the longest formal language program I’ve undertaken. Last week, I completed week 29 of Burmese, surpassing the time I’d previously spent in Spanish (24 weeks)* and Russian (28 weeks).
As I ventured into the great beyond, spring arrived on campus—fittingly—and offered clear proof that we’ve endured the long winter and a new season is just ahead.
*(Note: Since I completed Spanish in 2020, FSI has extended its Spanish program from 24 to 30 weeks. This is partly due to the high no-pass rate on the Spanish End of Training test and a desire to help students avoid language training extensions that delay arrival to Post.)
Two weeks ago in my Burmese class, I hit a couple of exciting milestones. First, I had a breakthrough in how I generate speech, especially when tackling longer discussions—finally, a strategy that clicks!
Second, I not only survived my third progress evaluation but even enjoyed parts of it. The results were a confidence boost, reinforcing my daily experience in the program, and keeping my hopes high for passing the End of Training test (EOT) in four months. Momentum is on my side!
As we reached the halfway point of our 44-week Burmese course recently, I felt an increasing awareness that significant changes lie ahead. I’ve also felt a renewed determination to meet the challenges of our important work. [Author’s note: I wrote and edited this post two weeks ago, before the State Department news of a personnel Reduction-in-Force was reported by the press.]
The past two weeks have been some of the most challenging since I began studying Burmese, largely due to feeling stuck in a prolonged rut. Struggling to recall vocabulary or make sense of syntax. Dreading the thought of leaving my warm bed to face the winter blues and drive to FSI. Feeling so drained that I fall asleep the moment I lie down, before forming a single memory.
Unexpected breaks from the routine—due to snow and illness—provided some relief, even though I was eager to get back to business as usual after the holidays. Yet, language learning continued to be a roller coaster of highs and lows for me.
Nearing the halfway point of this 44-week journey, I’ve solidified my determination to see it through, regardless of how much I think I suck at Burmese or even whether I ultimately pass. Looking back, I’ll likely view this stage as a pivotal point.
The Friday of week 16 in our 44-week Burmese course fell just before Christmas and brought our second progress evaluation. For me, the evaluation was a frustrating experience, the culmination of weeks of discouragement with my slowed progress since our class expanded from two students to four at varying levels.
I pretty much bombed my evaluation, despite intensively studying grammar, reviewing my thematic texts, and dedicating five hours before the evaluation to quiet practice and protecting my energy. By contrast, the effort I put into creating a memorable holiday for my family paid off, which is generally what I expect when I’ve worked tirelessly to achieve something.
The cadence of the past two weeks has been unusually choppy, with several language classes disrupted by the Thanksgiving federal holiday, Area Studies, and an untimely bout of illness. These interruptions have contributed to my feeling lately that I can’t think of much to say in Burmese.
Last month, I attended a seminar on study tips offered to current language students by the Foreign Service Institute’s (FSI) School of Language Studies (SLS). At any given point, hundreds of Foreign Service Officers are engaged in long-term language training at FSI. Successfully reaching the required scores for our overseas language-designated onward assignments is “the why.”
I’ve aggregated here some of my favorite language study tips from SLS consultants, fellow students, and my own experience. I’ve categorized them into two groups: strategy (what you do) and mindset (how you approach what you do), though the division is probably subjective. If you have a favorite tip for succeeding in FSI language study, feel free to add it in the comments!
Last week, we finished week four of the Burmese language course. We’re just one-eleventh of the way through (ha!), but I’m already acutely aware of the hamster wheel I’m running on.
Week three of my 44-week Burmese class is drawing to a close. In this short time, we’ve progressed from hand-drawing consonants to reading strings of script, sounding out words we don’t know like kindergarteners. We’ve even written some little paragraphs on easy topics.
foreign in my own country
World Traveler and Consular Officer
A record of worldwide travel
My personal blog
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!
A Millennial's Musings of the World.
A senior project travel blog
Stories from a mid-west girl in Macedonia
This blog does not represent the US government, Peace Corps, or people of North Macedonia.
Live well & Enjoy.
Exploring the World Diplomatically
some stories from a life in the foreign service
My rocks are the memories from different adventures. I thought I would just leave this bag here.
A soulful explorer living an inspired life
Time for adventure
My Life As An Expat Abroad
My thoughts.
Tales from a Serial Expat
Detroit --> Angola --> Chile --> Cambodia--> India
the doings of the familia Calderón
my travels, my way. currently exploring eswatini and the rest of southern africa as a peace corps volunteer
Foreign Service Officer and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
Short Fiction by Nicola Humphreys
We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls. – Anais Nin
Foreign Service Blog
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - Helen Keller
just another story
Experiences of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Macedonia
My Journey to the Foreign Service
A Diplomat's Life Abroad
A little ditty about our adventures in the Foreign Service
a peace corps memoir
Our Expat Adventures
We are a foreign service family currently posted in Windhoek, Namibia!!
Perspectives of a Trailing Spouse, etc.
Staying in the Honeymoon Phase
A trailing husband's vain search for cookies in an unjust world
CLS Korea, Fulbright Uzbekistan, TAPIF in Ceret, and everywhere in between
My life as a trailing husband of a Foreign Service Officer
Our Adventures in the Foreign Service
“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” -Cloud Atlas
Defining Global Citizenship
Our family's adventures in the Foreign Service, currently the USA
Tales from My Foreign Service Life
Chasing two kids around the globe
Collecting Postcards 