Crossing

Well I didn't want to jinx anything, Peanuts, so I wasn't sure if I should tell. But I think I will, because maybe it will help me obtain more finger crossing. Here's the thing. There is this girl. And she is really and truly the most incredibly amazing girl you can imagine. Like, think of Mulan crossed with Ayaan Hirsi Ali crossed with the-heroine-of-any-lifetime-movie crossed with beautiful. She is even more awesome than that. And she is smart. But not like regular smart; AP chemistry crossed with photographic memory crossed with whats-the-point-of-a-calculator smart. And that's not the half of it.
Then there's this school. It's a boarding school, and it is so fancy-schmancy that it has an indoor swimming pool and horse stables and art studios and science labs and a library. And a waterfall on the potomac. And really, really good teachers. The kind of school that Harvard says, "oooooooooh. look at thaaaaaat."
So I got to thinking. Hmmmm. Hhhmmmmmm, I thought. You know what make a lot of sense, and equals a lot of good things?! Great Girl crossed with Fancyschmancy School, Peanuts. That's what!
And so the last few weeks have been a flurry of me, Great Girl, and the AFC Orphanage director working 'round the clock on things like essays, applications, reccommendation letters, and Ethiopian records. And, because Great Girl just happens to be in the US as a sign-language interpreter for Mekdes, today we were able to have The Interview. The school headmistress herself gave this interview. It lasted two hours. In English. And Great Girl did really, really well (thanks partly to all your crossed appendages, I'm sure). We have all our toes crossed for acceptance and a scholarship, which is asking a lot of anyone's toes, even the Great Girl. But we are hopeful.
There is a big, scary, standardized test which I think it all kind of depends on, and that hasn't happened yet. Half of the test is in the subject of English, which is Great Girl's second language, or maybe third, and though the testing center assures us that most international students are allowed an interpreter to be present, Fancyschmancy school has nixed that option.
So I will ask you, if I may, to keep everything crossed the next couple of weeks while Great Girl attempts the impossible feat of shoring up her English skills and getting competitive results on a test in English, having never taken a standardized test, with American girls who have been in the Kaplan test-prep class since the 5th grade.
We think she can do it. She's that bright. But we will appreciate crossed fingers, all the same. You know, sometimes things in life just happen to be as they should be. And sometimes, to get them quite right, it takes some work. So just now I am nervous crossed with hopeful crossed with really. busy.
I will keep you updated on what happens. Because I think Great Girl is great enough that everyone should care! And because I hope that, until we find out what will happen, all of you will be keeping your fingers (and everything else) crossed for good luck.