Yikes... have we been busy! The class had a long list of exams over the past week and a half and everyone is finally able to get a little oxygen after it all. As usual, we've had to bury ourselves in long vocabulary lists, listening passages, and speaking scenarios to prepare for it all. The Unit 5 exam and the end-of-semester exams were intense, and back-to-back, so time in between to study for the next exam equated to a normal school night. The lesson we've all learned is that you...read more

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Well, it's that time again. We have two major exams coming up next week and everyone is in full study mode... or at least we're trying to be. It's extremely difficult to find a balance between normal life activities and studying. One thing I'll say about being in school... any school... is that you never feel like you're done. No matter how much you know, you always get caught not remembering something and you get an overwhelming urge to barricade yourself at home and...read more

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Rather than blogging about things going on this week I thought I would try to spice things up a bit and show you a bit of the area around Monterey. This will be a short post because I am a firm believer that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words... and I've brought several this time. I don't want anyone reading this to get the impression that all I do at language school is sit in front of three computers (sad, I know) and study 24/7. As I stated a few weeks ago, Monterey... and...read more

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What a tremendous week this has been for professional development! As the title says, this week most FAO's at the DLI are participating in the semi-annual Foreign Area Officer Conference (FAOC). The FAOC is an exceptional program designed to prepare FAO's for the years ahead as we continue the training program, and the assignments that follow our training. Many of us who have been at DLI for the past six months or so since the last FAOC have been doing our best to learn our languages while not...read more

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Hello again! Well... everyone in my class is breathing a sigh of relief, and frustration, after this week's Unit 4 test. Relief because the last hard push to cram as much Arabic into our brains as possible (I watched the Super Bowl at a house party with a vocab list in my lap) is at an end and we can now settle back into our more normal study routines. Frustration because, as usual, everyone could have done something better, silly and often careless mistakes cost critical points, and...read more

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Hi! My name is Wayne Wall (go ahead... say it a few times quickly... everyone does!). I'm a Major in the Army and I am currently assigned to the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in sunny Monterey, CA. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to share some of my ongoing story with you and provide you with another view of Army life. I hope that if you are considering joining the Army, or making career decisions from within the Army, that you will find my tale both interesting and...read more

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