She Said: Relaxation Ends, Class Begins!

Hello,
You thought we had forgotten about you, didn't you? Some of you have written me to let me know that our blog post is way overdue, but the truth is, there hasn't been that much new news to share with you. Things are picking up again, so I wanted to get a post in now and then I promise they will be more frequent from here on out.

Over the past few weeks, I have really enjoyed my time off. I spent time baking bread, baking bars for dinner guests, cold brewing coffee, sleeping in, catching up with old friends, shopping and just generally relaxing. I had a blast! It's true that some days were lonely, but I really was thankful for the time that I had.

Aside from my adventures in being unemployed, Brian and I have also had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people who are sharing a similar adventure, just heading to different locations. It has been really fun to have some of them over for dinner or to go out on the town with them and share our concerns/excitement. I can already see that some of these people will be lifelong friends no matter where our families end up.

Today I started my class at the foreign service institute and it was really interesting. The course I am taking will give me the background I would need to apply for consular assistant positions at the embassy overseas. There's never a guarantee of a job, but for me it's basically just another opportunity. If there were a position open in Caracas, I would be qualified to apply for it. Because I have the Spanish and the work sounds interesting, it seemed like a great opportunity. We will learn all about visas, passports and how consular sections help Americans overseas. It's actually pretty amazing to really stop and think about all they do in a day. The class runs every day from 9:00-5:00 roughly, so Brian and I get to commute together and even have lunch together some days. I'm excited about being busy again and having something to look forward to each day.

On Saturday Brian and I have our first FS cocktail party. I bought a new dress this week and am very excited. I think it should be a good time. Other than that, I've been really just trying to enjoy the moment. We are kind of in a strange limbo right now where we can't do a whole lot to prepare for leaving yet, but feel like we should be doing something.

Alright, I could give you the details of my daily life for the last few weeks, but the post would be much too long, so I'll leave with what I've shared above. I commit to writing at least once a week from here on it so that it's a little more predictable for those of you who are randomly checking in. Don't forget you can subscribe to the updates if you don't want to keep checking our blog every day.