"One of the few"

"I have also to announce to the House that during the night and the early hours of this morning the first of the series of landings in force upon the European Continent has taken place. In this case the liberating assault fell upon the coast of France. An immense armada of upwards of 4,000 ships, together with several thousand smaller craft, crossed the Channel. Massed airborne landings have been successfully effected behind the enemy lines, and landings on the beaches are proceeding at various points at the present time. The fire of the shore batteries has been largely quelled. The obstacles that were constructed in the sea have not proved so difficult as was apprehended. The Anglo-American Allies are sustained by about 11,000 firstline aircraft, which can be drawn upon as may be needed for the purposes of the battle. I cannot, of course, commit myself to any particular details. Reports are coming in in rapid succession. So far the Commanders who are engaged report that everything is proceeding according to plan. And what a plan! This vast operation is undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place. It involves tides, wind, waves, visibility, both from the air and the sea standpoint, and the combined employment of land, air and sea forces in the highest degree of intimacy and in contact with conditions which could not and cannot be fully foreseen."

With these words, Winston Churchill informed the House of the initial success of D-Day, on June 6th 1944. Not only is the Second World War one of my other big interests, though mainly because of its aviation-related history, this quote and the one in the title (also by Winston Churcill) both reflect my past two days in some ways. Though I didn't experience combat on a foreign beach, I did have to put up some fight to get to where I am now. With my first big obstacle in the actual training behind me now, I'm proud to say I've reached initial success, much like the men landing on the French coastline more than 66 years ago.

Lots of words to tell I passed and I'm guessing that by now, you already got that message, but as you can imagine, I'm really thrilled to have overcome the first exam. It's been almost 18 months since my last exam, so studying, making an exam and everything that came with it ... It all felt new again to me. As if I had never experienced it before. But now I've tasted it again, and I want more.

Skyguide must have heard my wish, but somehow I can not shake the feeling they've overdone it with giving us 3 exams in a row (4 actually, if you don't take the weekend into account) ... But I'm eager enough to do my best and make it to the end. Not that I wasn't before, I only have more will to actually do it now.

And actually, my exam yesterday was the only real interesting thing I could write about today, as it has also filled my thoughts constantly for the past days. Therefore, I'm ending this blog here now.

I might, however, still write another blog this weekend, about how the rest of these last two days went. Depends a bit on how I'll be able to fill my weekend.

See you around.