congen, if I told you, I'd have to kill you...
So I've been taking this training class called "Congen" that is required for all consular officers, on the off chance that I might want to adjudicate visas during our little stint at a consulate. (side note- if you've never learned the word adjudicate before, I won't judge you. Up until 3 weeks ago, I hadn't either.) It's a good opportunity to learn about what will fill R's days, and it is one of the qualifications for one of the jobs spouses can apply for in the consulate. So while I have nothing better to do, I figured I'd take it.
They have been very clear that everything about congen is TOP SECRET, but since I have to write something on this blog over these next 5 weeks and as future students might be interested I can give you a few descriptions of class after week 1:
1-Holy Acronyms, Batman! There are A LOT of acronyms. So much so that I thought I wound up in the language department learning some unheard of tongue. Prepare yourself to absorb the acronyms.
2-"People do really stupid things in foreign countries."- Kathleen Kelly/Meg Ryan's character says this in You've Got Mail to defend a friend, and it echoes in my mind day after day in congen. Mostly because once an American does something stupid in a foreign country people in the consulate end up hearing about it and doing what they can to help.
3-While there's definitely a lot of content to this course, there's plenty of time to work through it. 100% attendance is the main requirement to pass the class. There's detailed reading and case study work but you have decent chunks of time during an 8-5 schedule to work on it and you shouldn't really take any of it home. All the tests are open notes and you can even ask the teachers for help. They really want you to pass. I took my first test today and aced it.
4-Saved the best for last- ROLE PLAY! There are even costumes, although we haven't touched them yet. I think they're trying to keep me engaged for more than the first week or they could just want for everyone to feel comfortable to really ham it up in them when we get to that section.
So that's about all I can tell you of interest about Congen. Hope you're having a great week!
They have been very clear that everything about congen is TOP SECRET, but since I have to write something on this blog over these next 5 weeks and as future students might be interested I can give you a few descriptions of class after week 1:
1-Holy Acronyms, Batman! There are A LOT of acronyms. So much so that I thought I wound up in the language department learning some unheard of tongue. Prepare yourself to absorb the acronyms.
2-"People do really stupid things in foreign countries."- Kathleen Kelly/Meg Ryan's character says this in You've Got Mail to defend a friend, and it echoes in my mind day after day in congen. Mostly because once an American does something stupid in a foreign country people in the consulate end up hearing about it and doing what they can to help.
3-While there's definitely a lot of content to this course, there's plenty of time to work through it. 100% attendance is the main requirement to pass the class. There's detailed reading and case study work but you have decent chunks of time during an 8-5 schedule to work on it and you shouldn't really take any of it home. All the tests are open notes and you can even ask the teachers for help. They really want you to pass. I took my first test today and aced it.
4-Saved the best for last- ROLE PLAY! There are even costumes, although we haven't touched them yet. I think they're trying to keep me engaged for more than the first week or they could just want for everyone to feel comfortable to really ham it up in them when we get to that section.
So that's about all I can tell you of interest about Congen. Hope you're having a great week!
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