A Job Interview

I went to the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) this morning to interview for a job as a research assistant. I will be working directly under two professors, and this job might well give me the stepping stone towards doing a Phd and an academic career.

Things were going pretty well (I think) until the following exchange:

Professor One: "One question, if I may, and please answer honestly - how is your mandarin chinese?"

Me: "Well honestly speaking it is pretty dire."

Professor Two: "Spoken like a true ACS boy!"

Professor One: "What do you mean by dire? Can you read chinese? Say would you be able to read a short newspaper article in chinese?"

Me: *shakes head vigorously from side to side*

Professor One: "Ah I am glad you are honest, it is just a minor issue but it would have been better for you to be honest now than for us to find that Chinese is incomprehensible to you later."

Me: "Well I actually failed Chinese at my 'A' levels despite having a Chinese teacher won had won the most inspiring Chinese teacher award."

I am still naive to be hopeful about getting the job?