Keeping the excitement going for the week, I thought I’d share a little bit more about The Olmsted Foundation, if you haven’t seen our Good News post, then maybe start there and come back to this one.
The Olmsted Foundation has definitely given us a once in a lifetime opportunity for the both of us. A has known about this foundation for a couple of years and has never stopped bringing it up. And last year, we officially started the application process in hopes to be picked for 2017 class.
What is The Olmsted Foundation?
The Olmsted Foundation founded the scholar program that picks about 20 officers from the entire military to be a part of a two to three year educational experience in a foreign country. They’ll be full-time students working towards their graduate degree and learning the language of the country they’re studying in.
It’s such a unique opportunity to be immersed in a foreign country, which will force you out of your comfort zone and to adapt to new surroundings instantly. Excitement doesn’t even cover what we’ll experience in a new culture. And don’t even get me started on all the travel opportunities we’ll have.
Application Process
The process was actually a long one, but we totally understood why. Just looking at the time, we knew that we’d learn the results during this current deployment. A had to take a GRE exam, which is standard for any graduate program. He also had to take the DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery) exam, which tests someones potential for learning a foreign language. Let me tell you, it’s a very interesting exam, I helped A do a practice test and it’s definitely an exam you haven’t seen before.
After all the scores are accounted for and a history of their military career thus far, candidates are seleted for the interview process. Keep in mind that there’s been a couple of months in between each process. Thankfully, A was in port one day and was able to do an interview via phone.
At last, several weeks after the interview, we learned the results and A got in!
What are we looking forward to?
We’ve both traveled to Slovenia before during a post-college graduation trip and we both loved what we experienced there. With any travel, you only get to experience a small amount of a country, so we’re ecstatic to get the chance to spend about 3 years in this country. With A being in the submarine community, we don’t have a lot of chances to live overseas, so this is the perfect opportunity. It’ll be nice to relax and essentially not live the military life for a while.
- A+M : learning a new language
- A : going back to school to get his masters
- A+M : all the traveling opportunities
- A : relaxation from sea tour
- A+M : starting a family
- M : different foods to fall in love with
- M : hoping to take some graphic design courses
- M : making new friends
- A+M : living in a foreign country
- A+M : hiking adventures, are you surprised?!
Things have been surreal and they haven’t quite sunk in yet. And everything is happening so fast. Once A returns from deployment we’ll be on a fast track to get things going and moving to our new home. We might be in the states for a several months before we head off to our new home in Slovenia, but things are still up in the air.
Do you have any questions about The Olmsted Foundation? Have you lived overseas, what was your experience like?
This sounds so exciting!!
Gosh it really is, so much excitement going on haha
So excited for you! Your first post had me googling what the foundation was and it’s so interesting! Yay for him getting accepted and for the amazing adventure that’s sure to come!
Thanks so much, Kamariah!
I’d forgotten until I looked at the information again, but a while ago we’d talked about applying. My husband decided he didn’t want to sign a department head contract, though, so we’re trying to go the live abroad through FAO route! I hope you have a great time exploring Europe and unwinding after sea tour. In just the three and a half month’s he’s been on shore tour I’ve already gotten so used to him being home. He’s about to be gone for two weeks of training and I’m way more sad about it than I expected.
Good luck with the FAO route, I really hope it works out for you guys! I was a bit surprised that A wanted to do a DH tour, but he decided that quite some time ago. And after that we’ll see what happens. We’ll have to find a new routine since we’ll finally have more time with each other.
Yeah…it took us a couple weeks to get used to him being home! I’m sure you know how it goes. Thank you and best of luck as your move grows closer. =)
Thank you and definitely appreciate it! From the way it’s looking we’ll have a short period between his homecoming and moving, but who knows really.
I’m so excited for you, this sounds like such an amazing opportunity and one i wish I could do too! Hehehe
Wooohooo! I missed the last post, so I’m so excited for you guys! I’ve heard Slovenia is amazing and the photos I’ve seen are gorgeous. It sounds like such a great opportunity for you both!
What an amazing opportunity! I feel like John has possibly mentioned something like this, but I’ll have to ask. We’ve got something similar on our radar, but it’s not overseas!