Life is What Happens While We're Making Plans

She Said: So much to be thankful for part 2...

2012-01-08T20:40:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe it has been over a year since either of us posted, which tells you what kind of a year it has been. With the dust settling a bit in our lives I am once again back at blogging and am really looking forward to it. Brian and I had really hoped to do a Christmas letter this year, but it just didn't happen. We still have hopes of getting a Valentine's day letter out...time will tell.

I decided to title this post the same as the last post I wrote because that really is the theme in our lives right now. Blog entries are meant to be short, so I won't go through the list of things I'm thankful for right now, but I will tell you that our life has changed in a big way over the last year. Since I last wrote we are back stateside (in DC for a tour), have purchased a house and welcomed our bundle of joy Colin Richard into this world. While there are so many things I could write about in this post, there is one timely story that I feel compelled to share and seems to be a good one to kick off the blogging on the theme "So much to be thankful for".

On the night of December 3rd Brian and I put Colin to sleep as usual around 8:00 pm. We were excited to be in our new house that we had just moved into before Thanksgiving. Around 1:00 am, Colin woke up and was very fussy. He was crying and crying which is very unlike him. Being the weekend (and that Brian is such a wonderful husband) Brian was up with him rocking him and walking with him to calm him off and on. At about 2:15 we made the decision to bring Colin in bed with us because he had been so upset. It's just so unlike him that we were worried about him and thought it would help us all get some sleep.

At 3:30 I decided I was going to feed Colin. He usually gets up to eat around 4:00 anyway and since he had been so upset I decided feeding him a little early might help him. He had switched from all out crying to more of a lethargic moan, but still seemed irritable. When I sat up to feed him I nearly fell over and felt very faint. "What's wrong?", Brian asked. "Did you sit up too fast?" "I don't know" I told him. "I feel really dizzy...you take Colin and let me just lay back down for a minute while I pull myself together to feed him". Brian walked with Colin while he cried for a few minutes and then I tried to take him again. I sat up and again was immediately dizzy. This time I also felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to try and feed Colin, so I took him and Brian walked around the bed to lay down. "I feel dizzy too" he said. Within 30 seconds of him telling me he was dizzy his knees gave out and he hit the bed. I couldn't believe it. What was happening? It's so unlike Brian to be sick. "We're tired" Brian said. "Maybe we have food poisoning" we said to each other. Brian laid down and tried to get comfortable while I attempted to feed Colin, but Colin wouldn't eat and that's what prompted me to realize there was something much bigger going on...that all three of us were affected.

By some miracle of God I was reminded of a story my dad told me about a woman that works at his office, Lori. Her family was affected by carbon monoxide poisoning a couple of years ago and I remember my dad saying how they had passed out, had headaches, were throwing up. "Could this be carbon monoxide?" I said to Brian. So, Brian ran downstairs to do a quick google search and within moments hollered up to me that he thought it could very well be carbon monoxide. The webpage said to get any air possible, so Brian opened a couple of windows and took a few deep breaths before heading back upstairs for us. As Brian came back in the bedroom I panicked. I was worried about Colin. I remember thinking that if Brian and I were as sick as we were that Colin must have been much worse. I took him in my arms and left the bedroom and that's the last thing I remember. Somewhere between there and the bottom of the stairs I lost consciousness. Brian heard me fall and came out to find me at the bottom of the steps. Colin was beside me, face up in his swaddle looking stunned. Brian says that I was still responding, that I said I was ok and to take Colin. He took Colin and went to the entry of our house where he propped open the door and sat with Colin to recover. I regained consciousness at the bottom of the steps. I remember waking up wondering why I was where I was, but remembering that I needed to get out. I got up and headed for the door, but I lost consciousness again in the entryway. At that point Brian decided it was too risky to leave me. He came in with Colin in one arm, grabbed me with his other and used all his strength to pull me out of the house. Once we were out and getting fresh air we began to talk about what to do. Because the CO made us so stupid, we considered driving to the emergency room and finally settled on calling 911. I had been able to grab a jacket and Brian's cell phone just after I gained consciousness on the steps. We called 911 and then we waited...for what seemed like an eternity, but was only 3 minutes. I am ever grateful to the firemen and ems teams that responded to our call that cold winter night. We were huddled together on the boulevard with my fleece wrapped around the 3 of us and I've never been so happy to hear sirens. I had made a phone call to each of our families during the time we were waiting to touch base. I really didn't know what was going to happen. When the firemen arrived I asked one of them to take Colin and get him warm and as soon as they lifted him out of Brian's arms, Brian collapsed.

The details of what ensued after are not really important. What is important is that we are all ok and we all made it out alive. Colin having an ear infection that night saved our lives and I really have to believe that there was someone much greater than us running the show that night. Colin came out the best of the three of us with no bumps or bruises from the fall. I have never been more aware of what it means to have life, have each other and appreciate one another.

So, this post is about saying thanks to each and every one of you that has been a part of our lives and that is so special to us. We can't tell you how much we appreciate you. If you don't have carbon monoxide detectors in your house/apartment/rental property/fs housing, please please go out and buy a couple and tell our story to others so that this doesn't have to happen again. The source of the CO turned out to be a gas boiler next door to us and because we share a wall the gas was able to seep through the walls, so please don't say "we don't need those because we have nothing that could give off CO."

As I'm finishing this post I am sitting here literally laughing out loud at the giggles my 5 month old is putting out. The company of his soft cookie monster toy brings him so much joy and he has brought so much joy to our lives. I hope you take a moment today to remember the important things and take a step back from the small things in life to enjoy each moment that you can.

More blogs to follow soon and I promise they won't all be this serious!

Hugs to all,
Steph

She Said: So much to be thankful for!

2010-12-02T19:51:00.004-06:00

Well, as Brian said in his post, we've had a wonderful last few months (Yes Mr. Flynn I know that it has been a ridiculously long time since I last posted...thanks for keeping me honest). I did start working in July and I have to say I have really enjoyed the consular section. Aside from gaining a deep understanding and appreciation for what Brian is doing, I have learned a lot of new things, gotten to know people at the embassy on a much more personal level and had a great time over the past few months. In addition, it has helped me take my focus off of how difficult things can sometimes be in this country. While I have really learned a lot in the section and enjoyed my colleagues, I've decided that the actual job that I'm doing at the embassy is simply not a good fit for me. I have made a decision to leave the consular section at the end of the year and will be starting a new position at the embassy in January.

With all that's been going on, here we are with just under a year left in Venezuela. The first few months really seemed to creep by, but now we find the time flying and asking ourselves where it has gone. As we chatted the other day, Brian and I both realized that most of the places we wanted to see while we were here have since been checked off our list (Angle Falls, Panama, the beaches here, Chile) and we only have a few "must dos in Venezuela" left. I used Shutterfly to create a volume of pictures from our first year here and as we looked back we were astonished at all we've been able to do. Despite some of the difficulties we've faced, we wouldn't change it for the world!

While we love foreign service life and the privileges it brings, you all know how hard some of our days in Venezuela have been. As we approach the new year, I think Brian and I are both thinking about the new year and our onward assignment to DC. It's funny in the foreign service....often times people look at you like you're crazy when you say you're going back to DC or they say "I'm sorry" when you tell them where you're going. They see it as a disappointment, perhaps because we're all so used to the privilege of traveling and living overseas. For us, that is not the case at all. We are both EXTREMELY EXCITED to be going back to DC for a post and think the timing is right for us. For Brian's career, the job is an excellent fit and now that I've been out for a tour I have a better idea of what experiences and contacts will be good for me to get in DC before heading overseas again. There are a lot of things we missed about the states being here and we plan to take full advantage of them while we're home (watch out Starbucks, Trader Joe's, Target...here we come!)

I don't have much to add beyond that at this point. I feel like I could write so many blog posts right now to share with you all the great travel adventures we've had since I last wrote. I guess working really did consume me. For now, I'll keep it simple and say happy holidays to you and loved ones around the world. As we are surrounded by so many wonderful friends here, our wonderful friends at home who are so patient with us and so committed to our friendship and our loving family who is always there for us no matter what, I am constantly reminded of how lucky we are to be where we are and to have what we have. Wishing you all exciting adventures in the new year to come. Merry Christmas!

He Said: Catching Up

2010-11-16T19:17:00.006-06:00

I'm making a promise that I no longer am going to start posts with, "I know this has been a long time coming..." In a conversation with my mom the other night she asked about the blog and posting and she made a good comment. She said that the lack of posts simply show that we've settled into life here in Caracas and that things now are fairly normal. I'm happy to report that Steph and I continue with our positive attitude efforts and feeling as though we've made a life for ourselves here.

Since our last post in July, (ugh!) we've definitely had a lot going on. Steph started work in the Consular section back in July. She's conducting visa interviews, the same as I am. I think it was a big change for her, but we've been able to put the extra income to work. This summer we received our onward assignment. We'll be heading back to Washington, DC around September/October, 2011. I'll be doing a two year tour as the Public Diplomacy Desk Officer for the Baltic and Nordic Regions. Basically, I'll be working with the Embassies in: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Greenland. From DC I'll be advocating on behalf of my region for cultural grant money and support. Additionally, I'll be the person in Washington who sends out press guidance to the region. I'm really looking forward to getting both press and cultural experience, and living in DC should provide some great opportunities for Steph as well. I'll let her comment more on what she may or may not be doing. Since we're heading back to DC we've been thinking more and more about purchasing some sort of property there. With Steph working we've been able to really start working on putting something together for our future, which is extremely exciting for us.

In addition to looking forward, we've had a couple of great moments over the past few months. Over Labor Day, my cousin Renee and her husband came to visit us. We had a lot of fun catching up and showing them around Venezuela. I think they were impressed by the natural beauty of this place, but at the same time understood many of the disappointments we experience because of how badly things are going in this country. Also, in October we met up with our friends Justin and Rebecca in Panama. It was great to get out of Venezuela for a while. We enjoyed having Taco Bell and Dairy Queen all in the same day at the mall. We also had a blast seeing our old friends and sharing a new country with them. After they headed back to the States, we continued on to San Blas, on the Atlantic side of Panama. We spent two days on the islands, relaxing and reading. We've posted pictures of the place we stayed and the natural beauty there.

We're getting ready for the holidays coming up and will be looking forward to spending some time in Minnesota over Christmas. We'll be working on some more posts and hope to hear from you all soon.

He Said: (Well over) 1 Year

2010-07-25T17:13:00.002-05:00

So I have to be honest, I started this post 4 months ago when I had reached my 1 year anniversary of being in the Foreign Service. It's funny to look back and realize that I was in such a different place back then than I am in now. To get things started, I'll include what I originally wrote:

"Well, it has been quite a while since I last posted. I could take up time and space to explain all the reasons why, but instead I'll try to be as concise and honest as possible. There are two reasons why I haven't blogged in a while. First, I've been busy. I know, I know, it's so cliche and isn't everyone in the world busy with something. To be honest I'm still just adjusting to all the things that are new in my life and that take extra time. Additionally, visa demand is so high here in Caracas, that by the end of the day I'm just exhausted from head to toe. The second reason is that lately I have felt like I haven't had many good things to blog about and I really didn't want to share my frustrations with all you readers. Venezuela can be a very frustrating place and people simply live in a bubble where they only worry about themselves.

The post ended there because I had to run and get something else done that evening with Steph. I never came back to it and I'm glad I didn't finish my own little rant/tantrum. It's interesting to look as see where I was only three months ago. Additionally, as hindsight is always 20/20, I find it fascinating and a little funny to reflect on my very own personal culture shock. I commented to Steph just yesterday on how I've been feeling life here in Caracas for us feels so normal. After coming back from our first of two R&Rs in Minnesota in May, it was a really hard adjustment to come back to our life here because it's just so different. Now, it feels as though we have our own life and the things that seemed to consume us are just a part of that life we share. Now, I still don't understand why it's okay to make a left turn on a red light, but not when there's only a green light (where in the US you can yield and turn), but at least now I can laugh about it (most of the time). There are definitely some things that I really don't like about the culture here, and some things I'll never get used to, but as I was explaining to Steph, I feel as though the things we have in our life simply overpower that now.

We really do have wonderful friends and a great community here. More than that, I feel as though Steph and I have found our niches in so many ways. I've already brewed three batches of beer here at home. The beer here is weak and not very tasty, so this is a great thing to share. The latest batch is called "Culture Shock Ale" as a tip of the hat to end my own little pity party. Also, Steph and I have had the chance to get out and see more of Venezuela. We recently returned from a 5 day trip to Canaima
National Park where Angel Falls (the worlds tallest waterfall) is located. I think she's planning to post about that soon. I know she's promised pictures to many people as well. Finally, Steph recently started working in the Consular section with me conducting visa interviews. It's been an adjustment for us to work together in the same office, but more so for her to return to work and have it be such a change from what she did in the past. It will take time, but I think we'll enjoy the extra income, and I think she likes having a little more routine in her day.

Another thing coming down the pipeline is the move we will be doing soon. I know, I know, another move... I think we've become famous for the number of moves we conducted. We'll still be here in Caracas, and still in the neighborhood, but we had been dealing with some major mold and maintenance issues in our current apartment for over 3 months, so we're being moved into a cleaner, healthier apartment down the street. We'll be losing our killer view of Caracas, but it's a small price to pay to have a healthy home. We're excited to get into our new place and are looking forward to getting settled in and making that "normal."

Well, that's about all I have for now. I'm going to try to put more posts up more frequently now that life is what it is. We'll be bidding on our next assignment in late August/early September, so I at least need to post something about that once we're assigned.

Until next time...

The Sweet Taste of Victory...Carmenere, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc

2010-04-07T07:37:00.006-05:00

Well, the first order of business is obviously a final report on the bugs. I seriously doubt this will be the "final" report on bugs, but it's final for now. Here it is:
Steph: 3 Bugs: 1

A solid win for me! I am happy to report that we have not had any moths in our kitchen for probably 3 weeks. The ants have been completely eliminated with my Terro traps (a plug for them) and I have only found 1 roach since my last report and he was dead, meaning the poison is working. Hooray!!! It's much better not to have to greet my little friends each morning.

To celebrate (and also because we have been dreaming about it for a long time), Brian and I took a trip to Chile. Many of you know that I studied there for about 6 months during my undergraduate studies and that Brian came to visit me during that time and saw part of Chile. We both loved it and have wanted to go back ever since, particularly to see my host family and to do wine country. This trip was about a 10 day trip and was centered on seeing the things we saw when I was there as a student but Brian didn't have a chance to experience, visiting my host family, checking out Santiago and seeing the vineyards. It was amazing!!! Here are the highlights:

Santiago-What a wonderful city.....we enjoyed a lot of time just metroing from neighborhood to neighborhood and walking around to enjoy the parks, get a feel for the city and enjoy a pisco sour or cafe here and there. We had some wonderful food and met up with a colleague of Brian's who works there. We had a great time and returned for a day on the back end of our trip before flying out. I think Fuente Alemana was Brian's favorite part (I'm hoping he might have time to write this week and share a bit with you).

Vina del Mar/Valparaiso-Not even sure where to begin. Obviously in Vina we spent time with my host family. We had such a great time catching up and they were blown away by Brian's Spanish, so that was fun. Chilean hospitality always amazes me. Before we left lunch with my host family, they presented us with the hand crocheted table centerpiece that my host mom had made almost 6 years ago when Brian and I were married and she has been saving for us ever since. Along with that came 2 boxes of artisan alfajores and a bottle of pisco (Note: Alfajores are an incredibly indulgent and wonderful Chilean treat. They consist of two pastries sandwiched together with manjar and covered in chocolate. Pisco is the traditional Chilean liquor. They mix it with lemon juice and sugar to make a pisco sour or with coca cola to make Piscola. If you want to see a Chilean get angry, just mention that you heard the Peruvians actually invented Pisco.) So very Chilean and so much hospitality I don't even have words. In Valparaiso we spent time wandering the hills. We walked up to Pablo Neruda's house on the top of one of the highest Valpo. hills and took some pictures and enjoyed the huge murals that are part of the open air museum on our walk down. It was really fun and we got a great day for it.

Wine country-Here again, so many highlights...We tried to see a variety of vineyards and wineries while we were there and really feel like we did that and still had time to relax. We saw an organic, biodynamic winery owned by one of the largest wine producers in Chile (Emiliana), one of the most modern facilities for producing premium wine in the region (Lapostolle), a smaller boutique vineyard where we talked with an 86 year old man who was the owner and founder of the brand (Laura Hartwig), enjoyed a four course tasting lunch with wine pairings at House of Morande and stayed at a luxury hotel at one of the vineyards that was absolutely beautiful (Matetic). We are looking forward to hopefully being able to find some of our favorites from these wineries when we're home and sharing our enjoyment of them with you.

So, as you can tell, we had a wonderful trip. We're missing Chile a little bit, but more than anything it made us look forward to planning more adventures there. I think it is a country we will return to many times...so much to see.

I'm finally getting around to getting pictures organized and posted on a site accessible for everyone. Chile pictures and some Venezuela stuff's available at www.beckmannsabroad.myphotoalbum.com. For some things you will need a password and we're only making it available to people we know (such as our apartment). If that's you and you want to see the password protected stuff, just send me an email (steph_beckmann@yahoo.com) and I'll set you up. Looking forward to hearing from some of you soon!

Hugs,
Steph

She Said: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

2010-03-04T06:29:00.005-06:00

Well, you can probably guess what this post is going to be about....that's right folks, we've got bugs. Now I'm happy to report, unlike some other parts of the world, that ours are relatively small and harmless and I have waged an all out war on them.

Ants: Ants are a pretty common thing here. I think the ones that we have came in on a bag of sugar and quickly made themselves at home. They are little sugar ants and they do little more than drive me crazy building their highway across the kitchen. Unfortunately for them, when the first HHE shipment arrived (last Friday), my Terro ant traps also arrived. Within a day I had them under control.

Bugs: 0 Steph: 1

Cockroaches: Yes, it's disgusting, but cockroaches pretty much come with the territory here. I did have to laugh when our housekeeper asked if they were big ones or small ones that we had. I said big ones and she was relieved. She said those are the kind you just kill and throw out. The little ones get into everything according to her. So, GSO helped me out by putting some goo down on the drains and I put down some traps with a lovely snack that they can take to their nest so that if we find them at all, they will be dead.

Bugs: 0 Steph: 2

Indian Meal Moths: Well, I saved the best for last. These, quite frankly, are making me absolutely crazy. They are a kind of moth that comes in on flour or grains (probably some beans or flour from the grocery store) and they feed and breed in those things and in your cupboards. We have thrown away so much food it makes me sick and I have cleaned the cupboards inside and out at least three times. Every morning we come into the kitchen to find at least one of these little guys perched on the ceiling. I curse them, kill them and wait for the next day to see how many I will find. At this point we have no idea where they're coming from. There's nothing left for them to live on. We have cleaned everything and have not found anything that looks like the webbing they makes, etc. All of my rice, pasta, flour, sugar, anything they might like is now in the freezer. The cupboards are bare with only tin cans remaining. I did talk to a friend who had these in Guyana and she said it takes a while to get rid of them, so I'm hoping we're still winning. In the meantime, I ordered traps for these little guys on Amazon. The good news is...every day there are less of them. The last two days we have only found 1 or 2. The bad news is...I'm still finding 1 or 2 a day.

Bugs:1 Steph: 2

As you can see from the scoreboard, I'm still winning. I hope to be reporting the final score along with victory in my next blog post

Single handedly keeping the do it yourself pest control industry in business from Venezuela!
S

She Said: Work in Quito

2010-02-06T21:05:00.003-06:00

Greetings from Quito! At this point I know many of you are thinking, "what...Quito"? What's goings on? Let me take a second to explain. This is a great update for any FS spouses who might be reading this wondering if I will ever find work as "fsowannabe" posted in the comments under my last blog. I hope you are inspired!

As you all know, I have really been looking hard to find something that would be fulfilling, interesting work for me in Caracas that would allow me to utilize my skills. I do not want to demean embassy jobs for spouses in any way, because for many they provide a good option. The problem has been that the opportunities that have been options for me have just not been a good match for me. A couple of weeks ago, a friend mentioned a development project proposal in Ecuador and told me they were looking for someone to help them translate their proposal and fit it to the formats requested by the funding organization, etc. She asked if I'd be interested. Those of you who know me well already know the answer to that question is obvious. About a week later they contacted me and decided they wanted to hire me on a short term contract. After speaking on skype a few times, they also thought it would be a good idea for me to come to Quito for 10 days or so to work on the proposal with them. So, that's how I got to Quito...without Brian :-(.

I have to say that Quito is absolutely fantastic. Although I have been working from about 8:00-8:00 nearly every day, what I have seen of the city is wonderful. It's modern, they have lots of green space and the prices are shockingly cheap compared to Caracas. It was cold and rainy today (something I haven't seen in a really long time) so I needed to buy something to keep warm. I bought a hand knit wool sweater at the artisan market for $12. Incredible! Aside from that, the people that I have interacted with here are outstanding, "chevere" as we say in Venezuela. They are very warm, patient and welcoming people. In addition to the people and the place that are so great here I am also loving my work. I have found that even though I have been working so much and arrive at the hotel absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, I am enthralled by my work. It is one of the most intriguing projects I have ever worked on and I feel privileged to be included in the discussions I have been a part of here. This could be the catalyst I needed to go ahead an launch my own consulting business.

As I said when I opened this post, I hope any FS spouses who might be discouraged or willing to give in because they haven't found interesting work are energized by my post and that it gives them some hope that something's out there. For me it just took talking to a lot of people about my interests, time and patience with finding the right thing.

Tomorrow I'm planning to get up early and go to Mitad del Mundo which I'll have to write more about once I've seen it, but I heard it's pretty cool. Hope all is well wherever you are reading this (especially you in Caracas Bri)!

Abrazos!

She Said: Fireworks

2010-01-08T14:03:00.004-06:00

Happy new year everyone! Wow...absurd, I know. It has been way too long since we've written. I don't know what happened exactly, I guess the holidays. We spent a lot of our time over the last several weeks preparing for and enjoying the Christmas season. It was really great. We were able to skype with family so that we could watch each other open gifts and almost felt like we were together for a celebration. It was really fun! Brian and I also hosted a Christmas day dinner in our apartment. I ordered Christmas dishes, got everything ready, prepped the food, etc. and we really enjoyed the day with friends.

I've been thinking about the blog and there are several things that I'd like to share that I haven't had a chance to share with you yet. In an attempt to not overwhelm you with everything in one post, I think I'll try and do several posts over the next couple of weeks to catch up and then once again resolve to post more often.

When I think of fireworks in the states, some very fond memories come to mind from 4th of July and other big celebrations where family and friends would gather to watch well orchestrated fireworks displays set off by organizations or officials. Since we arrived, but particularly since the holiday season started, we have discovered that fireworks in Venezuela are very different. Here, almost anybody can purchase commercial style fireworks to set off at home and they are relatively cheap. They purchase and set them off for children's birthdays, anniversary celebrations, "let's have friends over and show them how much money we have parties", etc. Apologies for the sarcasm, but people definitely do use fireworks to see who can display that they have more money to buy better fireworks here. One thing Venezuelans love to do is party and even birthday parties for 3 year olds here involve chair covers, jumping castles and fireworks.

From about December 15th -January 5th there were fireworks nearly every night. Sometimes they were close, for example on the 23rd there was a fire behind our building caused by 8-11 year old CHILDREN setting off fireworks on the patio, and sometimes they were far away and beautiful. We spent many nights sleeping with our earplugs in as we adjusted to a somewhat barbaric tradition. It was definitely a cultural adjustment. On Christmas eve, Brian and I found ourselves feeling very angry that our neighbors' children were once again on the back patio shooting off fireworks after we had just had a fire in the back yard the day before and it took the fire department 40 minutes to respond with a truck that didn't have a hose long enough to reach the fire. While I'm still not happy about it and would hope that it'll be different next year (or we'll be out of town for Christmas), but by New Year's eve we realized that we are never going to change the Venezuelans. Seeing how fireworks safety is managed here gave us a greater appreciation of some of the protections we do have in the states (what?!?!? 7 year olds shouldn't be responsible for putting on the fireworks show for the adults?!?!?!?!)

The culmination of the fireworks was on New Year's Eve. The tradition here is to set off fireworks at midnight. Here's a short video taken by our friend to give you an idea of what it was like:

It felt a bit like a war zone, but it was pretty amazing to see from way up on the hill. So, that's fireworks in Venezuela. Can't wait to see what they're like for independence day here. Hoping you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a happy new year!

She Said: Counting Our Blessings

2009-11-26T18:58:00.004-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What a wonderful day we had. I have to be honest and say that I never imagined our first Thanksgiving overseas could be as fantastic as today was. Brian and I have been in Caracas just over a month now, and I am amazed at the wonderful friends we have made here. As I have mentioned before, I am blown away every day by the generosity and kindness of the embassy community here.

Today started as a lazy morning. Brian used his creative cooking skills once again to whip up sweet potato pancakes and bacon in the kitchen. It was really nice to be able to just hang out and visit and enjoy our coffee. It really felt like the weekend. Around 3:00ish, we headed to our new friends' house. It still didn't really feel like Thanksgiving. Several embassy families were in attendance and the hostess had prepared a traditional turkey along with several side dishes (mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mushroom and potato gratin, lentils). The food was great and the company was outstanding. I really enjoyed getting to know some of Brian's colleagues better. As the sun faded and the city grew dark, we sat with our cups of coffee and pumpkin pie and suddenly it felt like Thanksgiving. I looked around the table and realized just how lucky we are. Today I feel so blessed, blessed to have family that is so caring you can feel their love from afar, to have new friends here that already feel a bit like family, to have friends from different stages in our life that are thinking of us and wishing us well, to have a beautiful place to live and an opportunity to explore a new place with my best friend. I am truly blessed.

So, yes, for those of you out there wondering what it's like to be in a foreign country for Thanksgiving, it's a bit strange. We missed being with our families and I don't think that's something that ever goes away. It was always hard even when we were in the states. What I can say, however, is that being with people who share lots of the same traditions and who can come together to share those in a place that feels foreign is a really neat experience. Someone once told me that we're the most patriotic when we're away from the US and I definitely think that's true for me. It was almost like we had this great secret today when we walked into the street all dressed up to head to dinner in the middle of a Thursday. Venezuelans looked at us strangely and I felt like we had this insider secret about our own traditions and our own special holiday. The few people I did talk to about it were really interested in hearing about our traditions and the history of the holiday. It was fun to share something that is special to us and is truly American.

Well, I have lots more to share about things we've done since I last blogged, but today was so wonderful and feels so very American that I think I'll leave it at that tonight. To all of you who are a part of our lives, thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!

He Said: Food Glorious Food

2009-11-22T19:39:00.004-06:00

It has been quite a while since I last posted on the blog. I guess it goes to show how I've been entrenched with life at the embassy and getting used to the new job. I'm thankful that Steph has been able to post on occasion to keep you all up to date, and I think she's starting to feel a little more settled.

Work has definitely been keeping me busy since we landed a month ago, yesterday. It's very strange to think that 9 months have passed since I started A-100 and an entire month has gone by since we first landed in Caracas. Time has definitely flown by, and I think for the most part we have been having fun.

One thing that has really kept Steph and I sane since we've arrived is cooking and exploring the culinary side of Caracas and Venezuela. Without any of our stuff our apartment does feel quite empty. Additionally, with security restrictions and the lack of a car, life in the apartment can make you feel a little captive at times. We have really tried to battle these feelings through our weekly trip to Chacao Market, bumming a ride from someone at the embassy each week. Chacao has exposed us to new fruits, vegetables, seasonings, and cooking methods. The vendors as we've gotten to know them have become very open in sharing tips and telling us what they'd be doing with our purchases for the week. Our little adventures out have opened our eyes to new things and I think have sparked a little extra imagination with our inner chefs.

Over the past couple of weeks Steph and I have had some difficulty just spending time together. With work, embassy events, adjusting to all the new things, and just sheer exhaustion we find ourselves going to bed early and also trying to find some quiet time for ourselves. One thing that has brought us together is the kitchen. During these past two weeks Steph and I have been working our way through some of the basics of Latin American cooking... which also means we have been... (gasp) frying. Last week we braved "tostones" which are fried, mashed, plantains. Plantains are a little like bananas, but more starchy. The end product comes out somewhere between a big flat french fry and a donut. A little sweet, a little starchy. After reading this I realize my description kind of stinks, but you'll just have to come and visit us to try them out as I think we're now getting the hang of it. Other attempts have been made at making fried Yuca (another potato like product that I think turns out better than french fries... now if I only had a chocolate malt to dip them in) and Tequeños. Tequeños are white cheese that is wrapped in a bready wrapper (almost like an eggroll wrapper, but more bready) and deep fried. They're kind of like mozzarella sticks but with bread, not bread crumbs, and no tomato dipping sauce. You can buy them pretty much anywhere, including the baseball stadium. We have been taking pictures of all of our wonderful kitchen creations and we'll be sure to share them with you all...that is as soon as our newly ordered camera cord arrives.

Well, life has definitely been an adventure since our arrival, and there has easily been a lot of adjusting to do. Life is simply... different. We are of course heading in a new direction and are at the beginning of our own little journey. As you've probably gathered from some of the stories that Steph has been able to share, we have definitely had our share of "adventures" since we arrived. I am confident in time that things will settle, but until then, I guess we'll just have to confide in filling our stomachs with good food and discovering Venezuela, one bite at a time.

She Said: Turkeys and Sandy Water

2009-11-05T12:16:00.002-06:00

Well, the last couple of days have been very up and down for me. Yesterday, unfortunately, I was very down. I definitely feel a bit homesick and I'm missing all of you. I also really miss Target. It was a hard adjustment in DC to adjust to not working, but this is a really difficult adjustment. I miss the target culture, the people, the challenging work, etc. It's hard to start a new life where you feel like people just don't understand where you came from and who you are. So I spent a good part of yesterday morning at home crying.

Today, I woke up and decided I had the choice of either being at home and crying, or enjoying the day. I chose the latter and I've had a really great day. I ventured out to the gym for the first time today. It's a nice little gym at the embassy. So far I don't know of any personal trainers here, which is really what I need, but one step at a time. For now I just want to commit to going at least three times a week. It's about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, so it's definitely doable.

You're probably wondering about the title of the post. Well, yesterday I had quite the surprise at the bottom of my water glass. I was really thirsty having arrived from my walk to the embassy and I chugged my glass of water and got a mouthful of sand. Yuck! I was so grossed out. We just found out that we need to wipe off the bottles that arrive with bottled water with bleach water before we load them. I also took the bottle off the tank only to discover that the tank for the water was also lined with sand. It was gross, but everything is disinfected and ready to go now. No sand in your water if you come to visit :-).

We've decided to hire someone to help out in the apartment a couple of times a week. This will also allow me to be on my own schedule and not to have to be home for water delivery, repairs, etc. It's our first time ever doing this, so we're definitely learning from others. We'll let you know how it goes.

The most exciting news of today is that our turkeys arrived. Every year the embassy offers employees the option to order turkeys. They are really nice turkeys and I think they may ship them in from the states. In our typical overzealous fashion, we ordered 3. Now we have them all sitting our freezer. Hopefully we will get our stuff by Thanksgiving so we can enjoy the turkey, the stuffing and all of our favorites for the holidays. Off to pick up the apartment...Brian informed me packages have arrived from Target which means our new bedding is here. Yeah!!!!!

She Said: Caracas Crud

2009-11-03T09:30:00.007-06:00

Wow, sorry to be so silent. Both of us have been really laid up the last week or so with what they call the Caracas crud. I'll spare you the details of how fun it has been, but suffice it to say it could also be known as The Revenge of Caracas, "turista" and a number of other names. Not fun. On top of that, I seem to have gotten H1N1 or some variety of influenza last week. On Friday I got a nasty cough which developed into something that sounded like pneumonia and I had a terrible fever Saturday and Sunday. It has been absolutely miserable, but I'm happy to say that I'm on the mend. Hopefully by the end of this week, I should be back at 100%.

A lot has happened here since we first wrote upon arrival, but I am going to try and keep this as concise as possible so that I don't bore you. I am currently not working, so until I find a position, I will try to keep the blog up to date on a pretty regular basis. Some of you probably noticed Brian's wonderful handiwork at the top of the blog. Don't you love it? I do!!! We (he) added clocks for Venezuela, MN and DC so it's easier to keep track. You guys all went off of daylight savings, but we stayed the same, so now we're 1 1/2 hours ahead of MN and 30 minutes ahead of DC....weird.

Since we last wrote I think one of our biggest highlights in Caracas has been Chacao market. The past two weekends we have gotten up early to go to Chacao market with friends and buy fresh produce, chicken and some things that can be difficult to find at the regular supermarket here. It is a fantastic experience. If you have ever been to a Latin American market, this one is probably pretty similar...lots of smells, easily overwhelming with lots of vendors in your face right away trying to sell you things. Our second weekend was much easier to navigate and we have already found our favorite vegetable stand. The seller remembered us the second week and he has quite the sense of humor. I was able to find the final ingredients I needed to make a couple of kringles which I've been wanting to make for people who have been so helpful to us since we arrived. The almond flavoring, powdered sugar and whipping cream were hard to find, but I got them at Chacao. I look forward to sharing more with you about our chacao purchases. Last week I think Brian had the best find in locating the cheese/bacon vendor.

We were so excited after we got back from Chacao that we were able to cook our own food. Brian even made our version of a local avocado and onion sauce called guasacaca. I was so proud of our first meal I took a picture. One thing it would have been nice to know beforehand was that we are supposed to bleach all of our vegetables. It might seem strange to some of you to be ingesting bleach, but it's only about 1 tablespoon per gallon of water and they say it's the best thing to do to kill anything that might be on the veggies or in the water.

We were also warned about eating raw veggies at restaurants when we go out. We were aware of this, but I guess you sort of get in a comfort zone. We have eaten at two really good restaurants in our neighborhood. The first is a sushi place, which was some of the best sushi I've ever had and the prices were really reasonable. The second place is called Rey David. It is a really interesting restaurant/shop that is considered to be amongst the nicest in the area. They also carry imported products that are hard to find other places (for example sour cream can't be found anywhere else in the city). It's a really great place! After we ate there, however, we warned by someone not to eat the apples served with their sandwiches...perhaps that was the beginning of our being ill. Anyway, it has been fun to discover the new places close by particularly being that Brian and I are such foodies.

I have made several friends since we arrived. I have to say that the best part about this post is the community. There are so many wonderful people here who have had me over for coffee, taken me all over the city, invited me into their homes, their families and I could go on and on and on. It's fantastic. The job situation is still very much up in the air for me, but only time will help that.

I will spare you all the details of what has been happening since our last post, but what is exciting is that we got internet in the apartment and we just found out recently that we will be able to attend the marine ball. Two tickets opened up. I'm really excited. A friend took me to the dress shop today to rent a dress for the event because I didn't pack one in my suitcase. The prices were very reasonable (ranging from 50-90 per dress). I picked out a blue one for this year. It should be a fun event. Can't wait to share pictures.

On that note, some of you are probably wondering why we haven't shared any pictures. Well, it turns out we forgot to pack our camera cord to upload pictures to the computer in our suitcase, so we're stuck until we can order one. Hopefully it won't be too long.

Finally, I hope any of you who take a nice relaxing bath or a lovely long, hot shower on Friday or Saturday will think of us. Caracas is currently in the midst of a terrible drought. That coupled with lack of maintenance on the current system has led to the government declaring all Caracas residents to be 2 days a week without water. We will be ok. Our building has a holding tank and the water should last enough for basic things for 2 days, but it still strikes me how real the water shortage is and how difficult conservation efforts can be. As with many others in the city, we will be filling our tub on Thursday to be sure we make it through the weekend without a hitch. If you're interested, here's an article with a bit more info. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8339247.stm. I also highly recommend searching for the Chavez speech on 3 minute showers on You Tube for those of you who speak Spanish.

Again, sorry we've been out of touch. I think we're back up and running and you can count on hearing from us on a pretty regular basis. Take care!

He Said and She Said: Our Arrival in Caracas

2009-10-25T16:27:00.005-05:00

Since Arriving in Caracas we've had very spotty internet service. The series of logs below are a combination of those written by Steph and Brian offline until we've had the opportunity to post them. We hope you enjoy our He Said/She Said post on our arrival...

He Said: As I sit here(Saturday, Oct. 25^th) in our brand new living room, utilizing a "borrowed" internet connection, I'm watching the clouds inch their way across the sky just barely above our apartment. As the sun rises begins to break up the low cloud cover, the Andes are revealed towering over the sprawling urban scene in the valley below, I realize that we definitely aren't in Kansas anymore... or Minnesota, or DC, or the States.

She Said: As I write this (Thursday October 22^nd), I am sitting in our new living room looking out onto the city. We have an absolutely astonishing view from both sides of our apartment. Strangely enough, this place felt like home almost immediately after we walked through the door. Perhaps it was because we had heard a lot about what to expect and the place is beautiful. Brian has commented several times that the living room/ formal dining space is probably larger than the entire square footage of any apartment he and I have ever lived in together. I think that’s true. It’s beautiful and we are very happy with our new place.

He Said: Well, we've finally arrived! After almost 8 months of training, preparation, time apart, moving, and everything else that has occupied our lives, Steph and I just got into Caracas this week. About two weeks ago, I wrapped up training and my consultations in DC to officially end my "in-training" status. We spent a little over a week at home in Minnesota taking one last opportunity to say good-bye to family and friends. A big thank you to everyone that contributed to throwing our going away parties while home. Also, thank you to everyone that came, it was so great to see you all. It really was a great trip and we were so lucky to have time with nearly everyone we wanted to see. As we got on the plane to head back to DC where we would then leave for good, Steph and I reflected on how lucky we truly are to have such wonderful people in our lives.

She Said: Before we left for Caracas, we spent some time at home with family. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at home (even the snow) and loved having the time to spend with family and friends. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. The best part about being home was seeing those we love. We enjoyed all our special time together including time at the tomato farm, playing with kids, watching movies, eating breakfast together, enjoying a glass of wine, you name it. We had two going away parties while we were home, which were both fantastic. In that time, we got to see lots of extended family and friends and had a chance to share our journey with others. In addition to the parties, the last day we were home, we had a combined family dinner and that was one of the most difficult days of my life. To have everyone I love spending time with at one table together, knowing we won’t see them for at least the next six months, made me really sad. As all who were there can attest to, I pretty much cried through the entire lunch. It was a really hard day for us and going to the airport was difficult as well.

Our families have been phenomenal throughout this process. Although some of you are not intimately familiar with foreign service life, you can probably imagine that we ask our families to support us in very unique ways and to redefine a relationship with us in very different ways. I can only imagine that it’s difficult from their perspective to be asked to participate in foreign service life and to support us in something that they themselves do not know very well and did not choose. They have been fantastic in their willingness to help us with mail forwarding, skypeing, keeping copies of important documents, listening to us in hard times, and on and on and on. In short, they’ve been great and I want to be sure to thank them for being so wonderful. We love you guys and we hope to see you soon!!!

From a foreign service spouse perspective, if I had it to do over again, I think I would have reserved our packout and departure for after the family visit. The main reason I mention this is simply because of all the extra baggage we were carrying around. Airlines these days have gotten very particular about carryon luggage and we were confronted each time we flew with whether or not our backpacks would fit, a couple of times with issues with our rollerbags, etc., etc. We had been very careful about packing everything we needed for home in our carryon luggage, but that meant they were bigger than they probably would have been if we had packed out after we went home. I know this seems like a very small thing to worry about, but what I learned from this trip was that moving to post is very stressful as is without any added stressors. The last thing FS families need is airlines stopping them and suggesting they need to check more luggage or asking them to stop and try to fit their bag in the carryon “test space”.

He Said: After one short night in DC (due to a couple of airline delays) we wrapped up a few loose ends and headed to the airport. It was the first time I had ever had to use a cart at the airport, but it was an easy concession when we rolled in with 4 suitcases, 2 carry-on, and 2 backpacks. It was made clear to us to pack as much as we could bring as the delivery of our stuff may take awhile. We listened to people's advice, and this was the result. After an extended check-in process, Steph and I were happy to be rid of the bags and on the plane to Miami. Once we landed, we were checked into our hotel on South Beach and enjoyed a couple of nice meals. We took in the local stone crab, which was great, and were able to also enjoy a great cuban meal at a little restaurant just down from the hotel. I had my first taste of "café con leche," the famous cuban coffee, which I realize now in Venezuela definitely won't be my last.

She Said: After leaving MN we headed back to DC for one last night. Brian had to do a couple of things to checkout in the morning and then we left for Miami. For me, Miami was a wonderful respite. Brian had to work, so his thoughts on the city may be different, but I was able to catch up on sleep and felt more prepared to face the journey ahead of us when we left. While we were there we stayed at a place called The Angler’s Boutique Resort. This is a little plug for them if you’re every in Miami. It was a really marvelous place to stay. It is a boutique hotel, so it is very unique and Brian and I had a 2 story tower room. The ground floor had a sitting area with a tv, bar area, stereo system with sound dock, coffee tables. There was a spiral staircase that led up to the bedroom and bathroom on the top floor which also had a tv. It was a cute place that was comfortable and relaxing. For us, it was perfect and just what we needed before our trip to Venezuela. I had one day to explore and got to enjoy breakfast on South Beach with fresh squeezed orange juice, shopping on Lincoln Road, a manicure/pedicure at a really nice salon and dinner with Brian at a great little Cuban place. It was fun!

He Said: After a day of meetings in Miami and one more night in the hotel, we repacked our carry-ons and were off to MIA one more time to get on the plane to Caracas. I have to admit I was a bit nervous at the airport. It has been sometime since I flew internationally, this is the first time I will have to truly use a foreign language, and the one-last-goodbye phone calls to family didn't make things any easier. I survived, and we boarded the plane. The flight was only around three hours long, and the views of the ocean and the coast Venezuela as we approached were breathtaking from the air. As we deboarded the plane and made our way through customs, we realized quickly we were back in Latin American time when it took 45 minutes to get our bags... after we had already waited a half-hour to get through the initial customs section where they verify our visas. We were met at the airport by my friend James, who I had gotten to know during training and softball this past summer. The hour long car ride (mostly due to traffic and the fact we had to climb 3000 feet to get through the Andes) passed quickly as we caught up and listened to James' stories from the past couple of months. Finally, the van pulled up to our new home for the next two years. Our apartment is very nice. A three bedroom place with a large living room and views of the city from both sides. We will be sure to post pictures once we are up and running full time with internet, which should be this week. After an introduction dinner at a local Arepas place (a typical Venezuelan meal - kind of like a sandwich) Steph and I turned in to get ready for the first day at the Embassy.

She Said: In the morning we left for the Miami airport. Sitting at the gate, we were both very nervous about what was ahead. I think it was a combination of nervous and excitement in anticipation of a new life ahead. When we arrived in Caracas, we passed through Customs with no problems and were kicked out into the bustling airport arrival area. It is, as many people have described it, a sea of people and you are looking for the one familiar face. Luckily ours was easy to find and we headed for the apartment. Traffic was horrendous and it took us over an hour to arrive at our place. We got there with no problem moved our things into the closets and then went to a traditional Venezuelan restaurant for dinner with Brian’s new colleagues. Again, everyone was so welcoming. We had someone pick us up at our apartment, people to enjoy dinner with, and yet another colleague that came and helped us learn how to work our new alarm system and get settled in. We couldn’t have ordered a better welcoming committee. Although we were exhausted once we got home, we did take the time to put our own sheets on the bed and put our bathroom towels out. It was a nice touch that really made it feel like ours instead of a hotel. I would highly recommend this to FS families.

He Said: The first couple of days at work for me are spent handling all of the in-processing necessary for me to transfer from DC to Post. Steph joined me for the first day as many of the short briefings I have to attend are really for her too. I have not really been able to to much work yet, but I realize it's a process. It has been nice to be able to ease in a little bit, get to know other folks in the embassy community, and not be required to use my Spanish full-time quite yet. We've really enjoyed our time here thus far and look forward to the many adventures to come. Last night we joined some friends from the embassy for sushi at a mall just down the road. Interestingly enough, it turns out that sushi is really popular here and it's actually quite good. We enjoyed our little dinner outside and the short taxi ride back up the hill (everything's on a hill here in Caracas) to our apartment. This morning we'll be heading to one of the outdoor markets with friends to hopefully secure some more food. It takes a while to get set up down here, so for the time being we are reliant on borrowed money and rides from others. We'll be looking forward to getting some vegetables and meat into the kitchen and finally being able to cook dinner for ourselves.

We miss you all very much and are looking forward to sharing the many adventures to come!

She Said: This morning (Thursday, Oct. 22) we got up early to catch a ride to the embassy. We had a full day of administrative procedures, which was complicated by the fact that our sponsor got Dengue Fever last week. He has been very ill and therefore has not been able to carry out a lot of the responsibilities that a sponsor would typically complete. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m complaining, I’m not, and there’s absolutely nothing he could have done to prevent it, it simply means that we have to ask others to fill in for him and I feel like a bit of a burden to the folks who have helped us out.

Since we arrived, the thing that has struck me the most is the sense of community within the embassy and the kindness of all the people we have interacted with. That kindness and willingness to help has been visible in each and every person we have met at the embassy. I couldn’t choose one best part about today, so I will write two. In addition to the people at the embassy being so helpful to us and making the arrival as easy as it can be, I am already loving the food. We had café con leche this morning once we got to the embassy and learned about Marón which is like café con leche, but with an extra shot of espresso. We agreed we’ll go with Maron in the future. For lunch we had traditional pabellon criollo at the cafeteria and it was really tasty.

As I sit here tonight (Thursday) reflecting on how much our life has changed over the last year, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I can see already that this will be a great opportunity for Brian in terms of his foreign service career. I also know that for me, this will be a wonderful life experience. Regardless of the path I choose to pursue in terms of career here in Caracas, I know that my life will be full and wonderful. Being back here has also helped me regain a confidence and a voice that truly defines me. My passion for culture and language seems to have risen to the surface again and I am enjoying every minute.

Looking forward to sharing more adventures with you all soon (supposed to have internet in the apartment by Wednesday October 28)!

She Said: Shots...Round 1

2009-09-14T12:13:00.002-05:00

That's right folks, you read correctly, round 1. After weeks of trying to gather immunization records from the various places Brian and I have lived, I arrived at FSI to find out just exactly what I needed before we head out. A recommendation for any of you who are thinking you may want to go overseas at some point in your life.......KEEP YOUR IMMUNIZATIONS UP TO DATE. As the nurse reviewed my most recent records (from graduate school, so can't blame mom for this), she slowly read off the shots I should have had up to date, but did not. Tetanus booster (needed in 2006) and Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B series vaccinations that I started while I was in college, but never went back to complete. This means that in addition to the strange vaccines I have to get for going overseas (Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, Rabies Series), I also have to get a tetanus booster and complete the hepatitis A and B series. Those of you who know me also know that I hate shots, so this was not good news for me.

In any case, I got my first round today and have to go back for another round in a week or so and then once more before we head out to Venezuela. I found it interesting to hear from the nurse that yellow fever vaccine is in short supply right now. I will actually have to go to a private clinic to get that one before we leave and she recommended a regular flu shot.

So, 3 shots today, next week I'll have another 3, another 2 before we leave for Venezuela, a flu shot at the local pharmacy and a yellow fever shot at the travel clinic. 10 shots before we go and one Hepatitis B in March once we're at post to complete the series. This is one part of traveling that I do not enjoy. Looking forward to a happier blog post next time around.

Our new Gadgets

2009-09-04T07:34:00.007-05:00

Good morning all! It's a beautiful day out here in Hutchinson, Minnesota and I am on day 3 of my time here. I am really enjoying it. Thanks to all of you have tried to get in touch with me about getting together. I haven't forgotten about you, I really just needed to get on the ground and reclaim my sanity. I have had beautiful weather and while I have been working on a few logistical items, it is a huge relief to just have some time to relax with family. I'm excited for Brian to arrive this weekend and for our trip to the State Fair!!

Since I last wrote, we have a couple of new gadgets in our apartment, which I'm very excited about. The first unique gadget that I have to share with you is the Magic Jack:

This little device can travel with us anywhere in the world. All we have to do is plug it into a USB port and we can receive phone calls on our very own Minnesota number. We just plug a regular cordless phone into the other end of it and it works like a normal phone line. It's pretty cool. We've been testing it out and the call quality is fantastic. If we have the computer off or closed, the phone will go to voicemail, which we can check either on the phone or through email. It's pretty amazing. We'll be distributing the number privately to those who are interested.

The second device, as many of you may have guessed, is our GPS device. We have heard that this is a really great tool the first couple of weeks in Venezuela. It allows you to record locations you have been to that you may want to visit on your own in the future so you can find your way there without always having to have someone familiar with the neighborhood tag along.

Outside of our new gadgets, we have been receiving reports about shortages. The latest reports are showing shortages of sugar, coffee, rice and toilet paper. Aside from the obvious necessity of toilet paper, any of you who know us well know that the item that most concerns us from that list is coffee. I was shocked to hear about the coffee shortage, but apparently it relates to strained trade relations with Colombia in recent weeks. I guess we'll be stocking up on some Archer Farms Breakfast Blend when we leave and hoping for care packages with coffee in them!!!

Looking forward to seeing many of you on this trip and during our October visit.

He Said: Ends, Beginnings, & Reminders

2009-09-01T07:09:00.006-05:00

Well, I know it's a little unfair that a little less than two weeks ago Steph entered that I would be taking my final Spanish test and that I'd wait until now to officially post the results. BUT, I wanted to be able to contribute a little more than just an announcement, so here's my attempt at a review with some insight:

Ends:

As Steph preluded to, yes, my final Spanish test was two weeks ago. Please notice that I said "final." Yes, I passed!! It's hard to believe that after 17 weeks of language training I was capable of going from almost nothing to having the ability to converse and hold up my end of the conversation. While it was very exciting to finish my test and feel the great accomplishment of having completed language training, it was also very sad to leave the halls of the Spanish department. I will definitely miss my old schedule, the same thing everyday of getting up at a decent time (6:30), going to class, studying, short lunch, class, studying the rest of the afternoon, and then practicing my conversation with Steph at night when I could. It's amazing how comfortable a schedule can be, and I will actually *miss* the structure... I can't believe I actually just said that... wow, how times have changed.

Beginnings:

As you've probably picked up in my posts over the months, there usually really isn't any messing around when it comes to scheduling training within the State Department. So of course in classic style, I finished my Spanish training on a Tuesday and began my job training on Wednesday morning at 8:30 am. Right now I am in the basic consular course, affectionately named "ConGen" within the Foreign Service. The purpose of this six week course is to give us officers the basic legal and institutional knowledge to be able to do our jobs once we've gotten on the ground in country. For me, being the policy geek that I was in a past life, it is really interesting to be carrying around the text of the Immigration and Nationality Act to be able to do my job. Those of you that have been following the blog will note that this is the same class that Steph took and aced so many weeks ago. I guess it's an expectation that I will follow in her footsteps, but of course I've just gotta get the job done too.

The loss of a set schedule has been tough, but luckily (and yes I am saying luckily) there is enough work that I am able to keep an 8-4ish day of sorts. I miss the consistency of my language schedule, but appreciate the variety. Any given day I can be learning new computer applications that I'll be using at post, studying immigration statutes, or even conducting roleplays to simulate situations I may be faced with once we are in Venezuela. The broad spectrum of things that I may face in this position are definitely intriguing. I'll keep you posted as the class progresses, but please wish me luck!

Reminders:

Since my last post there have many things that I have been reminded of and wanted to reflect on briefly.

Spanish: Looking back, I have to say that I was really lucky during my Spanish training. To be able to go from almost nothing to competent in 17 weeks really was an accomplishment. I know that I have to attribute much of that to the amount of work I put into learning the language, but I was also extremely lucky to have the professors that I did during my time in language. I can honestly say that each professor I had contributed something significant to my learning. Be it helping me grasp the grammar rules, or gaining the ability to control the language with a limited vocab, I am amazed when I now get into a conversation in Spanish with a native speaker and can hold up my end. I have said many times that I was looking forward to the moment that I could finally speak. Now, I'm looking forward to the ability to USE the language. Also, one more thing I have to recognize; I am EXTREMELY lucky to have Steph in my life to practice and help me with my Spanish. She has always been my motivation in learning this language, and to be at the end of one road, learning, and moving forward together from here on out operating in a second language will be a real treat. I am so blessed to have her in my life and can't wait for this adventure. A major goal in our lives...achieved!

Reasoning: The other thing I am reminded of often when we are here in DC is the reason we got into this life in the first place; service to country. I have always been a big believer in national service, and being here in DC for training has provided me with many reminders of why this job is important to me. This past Sunday Steph and I ran down to the Memorial Bridge connecting DC to Arlington Cemetary to see the funeral procession for Senator Ted Kennedy. All politics aside, the spontaneous show of respect and patriotism to him and his family as the funeral procession went by (with people clapping, waving, and showing their American flags) was awe inspiring. It reminded me of how lucky we are to be Americans and that I have a whole lot to be thankful and give back for. I remember way back over three years ago when I began this process I thought that consular work was similar to working in the DMV. After learning more about the possibilities of stopping terrorism, protecting the American public from individuals that shouldn't be here, and providing services to Americans abroad, I realize there's a lot more to the job than just pushing paper. I'm glad to know that by doing my job overseas I'll be able to say thank you, for everything I gain and have gained as an American, everyday.

She Said: Preparations Continue

2009-08-18T09:52:00.003-05:00

Yes, yes, I know, my once a week promise has become a once a month posting. I'm working on it. No complaining, because I assure you that when we get to Venezuela it will probably be a once a day posting for a while. We will have lots to share.

We have had visitors the past couple of weeks. My sister came and spent a couple of weeks with us and most recently Brian's sister and her family came to see the city. We had a blast with all of them! I can't tell you how fun it was to just have the time to hang out and visit. I think some of my favorite moments were sitting in the hot tub and taking the kids to the pool. It was great!!!

Today is a huge day for Brian. As I am writing this, he is taking his Spanish test. I am so excited for him to have this day behind him. I know from talking with him (yes folks, he is fluently speaking another language after only 16 weeks of training) that he is at the level he needs to be at, but I am still very nervous for him as it is a formal test. I can't wait to hear from him in a couple of hours and have that stress behind us. I am sending good luck vibes his way. I'm sure he will be blogging soon, so you can all hear about what's up next for him.

Our departure date is coming up quickly and we are in full force with logistics. Brian and I each have a notebook that we carry around to jot down the random thoughts that pop into our heads for the to do list. I am tracking consumable products that we want to take with us including toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, hair products, hand soap and various other random things on a calendar so that we can have a rough estimate of how much we will need for two years. I realized that Brian and I have been talking about this a lot and probably haven't explained why we would bring those things with us. After all, they do sell shampoo and hand soap in Venezuela. Yes, they do, but there are a few issues you can run into. First, there is a problem with rolling shortages in Venezuela. On any given day you might go to the store only to discover that there is a shortage on toilet paper and you may not be able to find it again for several months. Secondly, even when you can find things like shampoo and hand soap, they may be very expensive. Most products in Venezuela (with the exception of gasoline) are imported and are much more expensive, particularly if you're looking for a specific brand. Finally, you may not be able to find the brand or quality that you are used to. This doesn't mean that we will be transporting everything we own in mass quantities overseas, but rather that we are choosing things that are important to us and make us feel at home that we'll need and stocking up on those. That is basically what life is like for us right now. The job search is currently on hold as I sort through what the reality of my options on the ground are and explore some options at the embassy.

I just finished ordering a "Magic Jack". I'll give you the full review once it gets here, but I'm excited to try it out. Can't wait to see some of you soon on my trip to MN!! Brian and I plan to make ourselves sick by eating two years' worth of fair food in one day. Pronto pups, mini donuts and cheese curds for all!

He Said: Reality Setting In

2009-08-01T16:40:00.004-05:00

Well, I just realized that it has been four weeks since my last post. I think I've said this before, but it's almost surreal how normal life here in DC has become again. Steph and I were driving down Route 50 the other day after running some errands on our way back to Rosslyn. I mentioned to her how strange it was to be exiting at Rosslyn to head home, but yet then again, how "normal" it felt. So strange to think that you could live in the same place twice but have such a different experience each time around. I guess that's the way we're always going to feel as we move through this career, as we'll have to return to DC each time between tours, and of course the impending "DC tour" where you work a position here at "Main State."

I really can't believe that it's been a month since I last posted, but to be completely honest, in my mind it feels as though it's only been about a week. In the past four weeks I've definitely felt a huge progression in my Spanish skills. I've been working about 8-9 hours a day (including class time) to keep moving forward, and Steph and I have implemented a "mandatory" Spanish hour in our apartment to give me just that much more practice. My final examination for Spanish is coming in two weeks, and I can definitely feel the pressure now. 18 weeks is pretty quick to "master" Spanish, but I think I'm going to be able to do it. Additionally, to make things interesting, I had a terrible evaluation about a week ago. My performance definitely did not reflect my true ability, but I took a huge confidence hit when my learning consultant told me his perception of my Spanish skills. Thus, I put in the extra effort this week and had a mini-session with my learning consultant yesterday. He told me, "Usted ha mejorado claramente" (you have clearly improved), which was exactly what I needed to hear. At this point, it's almost unreal to think back to where my Spanish was 16 weeks ago (almost nonexistent) and where I am today. I was a little shocked a couple days ago when I watched an entire speech given by Hugo Chavez and understood about 90% without Spanish subtitles or English translation... now if I can just communicate face-to-face. It will be interesting to use a language full time for the first time ever. In the past, I've only been able to live vicariously through Steph's experiences, so I am definitely looking forward to being able to share this with her for once.

Other than continuing to progress in Spanish, the thing that has changed for me the most in the last month is the feeling that our adventure is becoming real. This month we picked up our diplomatic passports. That was the one thing that really hit me, when I opened up the envelope and read the stamp that said I was traveling on "official US Govt business" I almost got butterflies in my stomach. To top it all off, Steph and I have re-entered the world of logistics to get ready for post. When I was living out here and Steph was still in Minnesota, I think I mentioned in the blog the crazy amount of logistical things that had to be done just to get her to DC. Well, at the 3 month mark the clock began again, and a new to-do list was formed. Lately we've been tracking our toilet paper use, the non-perishable foods we eat on a regular basis, and the personal products we use regularly. Steph even bought a calendar just for this. To think that we're getting ready to buy and ship a year's worth of stuff is almost uncanny, but such is the life of an FSO.

This week we also attended yet another "wheels-up" party to say good bye to my classmates that are leaving in August. One of my friends leaves for Caracas this month. It was so strange to not have to say good bye to him, but rather "see you in a few months buddy." The reality that we would not only be meeting on the flip-side, but also that the flip-side will be Venezuela hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm getting excited, nervous, anxious, and a whole mix of other emotions. All in all, I really think that we're just getting ready to go and that both Steph and I want to get out of DC. We've really been enjoying a little bit of "normalcy" (depending on your definition), but it's time for this adventure to continue.

Brian

She Said: Life Abroad Becomes Tangible

2009-07-12T21:39:00.003-05:00

Let me start by offering my sincere apologies to those who were waiting for my weekly post last week. I failed at blogging last week. I had a big test for my class and therefore I didn't find the time to write, my apologies. We have definitely had a lot going on the last couple of weeks.

Yesterday we had the second "wheels up" party for Brian's class. It's funny how hearing people talk about "what they'll do to get their ice cream fix in Nigeria next week" and "their new home in Moldova" makes it so much more real. It is a bigger group of people leaving this time, so it kind of stopped me dead in my tracks and made me realize how tangible this is becoming. It's a bit frightening, and exciting all at the same time.

The going away party yesterday was hosted at our apartment building, so we were busy. We had a great time and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Brian and I do love entertaining, and the FS is a great outlet for that. Here's a sampling of what we've been up to the past couple of weeks:

Trip to Baltimore-Last weekend we went up to Baltimore to meet up with some really close friends of ours that still live out here. We had an absolute blast, and the aquarium was much more fun than I anticipated. I recommend it to anyone who is in the area. They have tons of sea life there including a huge turtle and lots of sharks. It was fun!

Welcome 146th- The 146th A-100 class has started at FSI and Brian and his colleagues are the welcoming committee for them. Last week we attended a happy hour to welcome them and get to know them. It was really interesting to talk to some of them and to reflect on how much our perspective has changed since March. I remember putting together our bid list and I remember all the emotions, research, thoughts, and discussions that we went through. I listen to all of them doing the same now, and I realized how different my perspective is now faced with our reality in contrast to "what might be." It's not something you can tell someone. It's a very personal journey that each person has to go through. Facing the challenges and the personal questions for your family is the only way to really feel confident about your bids. It was fun to hear about all the possibilities for the new officers.

H Street Country Club- A new hot spot in DC. This is the first indoor mini golf course in Washington, DC. It contains tons of local references, such as "the Awakening", which is transformed with the face of Marion Barry. It is one of the new trendy spots in town in a very transitional neighborhood in NE DC. We played a round of mini golf and then headed downstairs to see if we could reserve a shuffleboard table. We had so much fun I've even mentioned purchasing a shuffleboard table for Venezuela to Brian. We'll see where that goes...

4th of July in DC- Another 4th in DC. I always love celebrating the 4th in the nation's capital. There's something about seeing the spectacular fireworks over the capitol and the monuments that is absolutely magical. We spent the evening having a picnic with some good friends of ours on the Iwo Jima hill and watched the fireworks from there.

Brunch at Founding Farmers- Today we had brunch, again with some friends at a restaurant called Founding Farmers. It's a LEED certified building and the theme is organic and local. It sits right next to the International monetary fund, near where Brian and I went to grad. school. I have to say, I was less than impressed. The food was ok, but it wasn't outstanding and the service was less than

Trips booked- The final thing we did this week was make our plans to come home in October. The date is finalized for our arrival in Caracas and everything is really starting to fall into place. Given that we have unlocked our blog for public viewing, I am not going to post the dates here, but please do reach out to us individually if you'd like to know the dates. We'll be in touch as we get closer to find time to connect with friends/family. I think our families are going to help us out with a going away party so we can have a chance to see lots of extended family and lots of friends all in one place before we go. More details to come.

He Said: Poco a Poco

2009-06-28T21:34:00.003-05:00

A long time ago in one of my posts I talked about how much I was looking forward to getting to the 10th week of my Spanish training because that was supposed to be a point at which things usually "clicked" for most students. Well, it took a little counting today for me to realize that last week was that 10th week, and that I really do feel as though things are "clicking." It is so weird to think about how fast time has flown by since we started this journey. How many great things have occurred, and how much Steph and I have grown through this whole process.

I really have been impressed by the language training at FSI. To think of where I was 10 weeks ago, and where I am now is somewhat unfathomable. I realize that I have been working and studying hard, but I definitely have to hand it to the instructors and the teaching methods used to get me to where I am today.

In one of my recent individualization sessions with my current professor, I recently reviewed the "Imperfect Subjunctive," a verb tense that is often considered horrible by many students because it's used to indicate doubt, unsure action, commands, and other things, but in the past. For example, I recently translated "We had to make a car do three things that day." This sentence seems straightforward, but in Spanish, the word for to make and to do is the same... enter the subjunctive! This form often gets a bad rap (I really didn't think it was that bad), but the real reason I am mentioning it is because it is the final verb tense I will learn in Spanish. It was crazy to walk out of that session realizing that from here on out I will no longer be working on verbs, but rather learning phrases, idioms, and other common language forms, rather than figuring out how to connect anything... basically from here on out I'll be working on review and mastering what I do know. In essence, the road forward. It's an exciting and scary prospect, but I know that deep down I am gearing up and really ready to begin using my skills... funny that this connects to the post from way back when I said I couldn't wait to just get to week 10.

On another note, it has been so nice having Steph here in DC with me to share all of this. It has been so much better having another person in the apartment and someone to share all my stories (and now experiences with). I think we both realize often how this really truly is OUR journey and that we each have a contribution to it. I've definitely enjoyed our shared time at FSI during the day and having lunch together when possible. I'm also grateful to have someone at home to practice my Spanish with, as well as someone to show my homework to (like a school child looking for praise from their parents).

As we begin to watch our new friends head off to their first assignments, it really brings a sense of anticipation for us both. I know we'll be ready, but in the end we need to take this one step at a time and little by little... or as they say in Spanish, "poco a poco."

She Said: Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-21T22:15:00.005-05:00

The past week has been EXTREMELY FULL and it has been a blast. I'm going to try and recap the things that most stand out for the last week for us. By far the most notable event of the week was our trip to Minnesota. We flew in Friday evening and we just got back tonight, Sunday night. We celebrated father's day with our dads and were able to pack a lot of quality family time into a short weekend. Brian and I both agreed that it was one of the best trips we've ever had home. On Saturday, our families got together for a pool party at my parents' house. It was so fun to swim with the kids and have time to just relax with everyone. It was hard to leave and think about heading to class tomorrow, but I think more than anything it has made us really look forward to our next trip home in September.

Aside from that, which truly was the shining event this past week, here are some of the things we've been up to:
Connecting with old friends - Last week we went to a gathering of some of my old grad. school friends. It was great to reconnect with classmates after being away for a while. It honestly felt like we had never been apart and I was reminded of one of the reasons I absolutely loved living in DC...people who are interested in the same kinds of things I am. In addition to connecting with grad. school friends, I randomly discovered that one of my high school friends now manages a running store in Cleveland Park (right by where Brian and I used to live). We had a good laugh when we saw each other and vowed to keep in touch. We are now good facebook friends :-)

Indian food - Brian and I ventured out to find a fantastic Indian restaurant near our apartment. It was our first time having Indian food in a restaurant. We had had Indian food served in homes, but just never from a restaurant. We really liked it Brian was particularly fond of the spicy flavors. I think we will be returning soon for more curry. It was awesome!

FS Prom - Some of you have already heard/seen pictures of what the foreign service officers have affectionately coined "the prom." Basically it was a cocktail party put on by Brian's class with the extra money they had from their dues. It was a blast!! It gave me an excuse to buy a new cocktail dress (which I'm sure I will use many more times once we're overseas) and everyone had fun getting dressed up and getting together. The event was put on at The City Tavern Club, which is a private club in Georgetown set in an old row house. It was a really neat venue. If you haven't seen our pics. and you're interested, just let me know and I can send them your way.

Wheels up party #1 of 91- We attended our first "wheels up party". Wheels up parties are the going away parties A-100 classes host for each other. Ok, I don't really think there will be 91 parties, but that's how many new officers there are from Brian's class. Brian's first classmates will be heading out this week. One leaves for Sudan, another for Saudi Arabia and a third for India. It was exciting and surreal all at the same time. I could tell they were a bit in shock as I'm sure we all will be as we face our new realities.

My First Interview - More to come on this as I don't have a lot of details yet. I interviewed for a position at the Embassy working with the English Language teaching program as a coordinator. I would help coordinate young Americans that come down to Venezuela to teach English. It sounds like a very interesting job. I didn't think the interview went very well, so we'll see what happens, but I should have more info. by Wednesday of this week.

Exam - I had my first test in Congen. I got 100%, so I guess I didn't need to worry about passing. Cross your fingers for me for this week. I have another test on Thursday.

Venezuela Happy Hour - On Thursday night we had an opportunity to speak with some people who just came back from Caracas. We got a lot of information. It helped me to begin to get an idea of what life will be like down there. I have to admit, we were a little overwhelmed by some of the warnings they gave us about crime in Caracas. It sounds like there is a lot of "crime of opportunity" and you really have to employ as many safeguards as possible. I think we can really only assess the situation once we're on the ground, but it is good for us to know going into it. Overall, all of them said that they greatly enjoyed their time down there and that overall it was a good experience. It sounds like there will be lots of fun embassy parties and trips and like it is easy to travel while you are there.

That's the update for this past week. It was great to see those of you we had a chance to see this weekend. Hope to connect with more of you while we're home in September. Take care!

She Said: Relaxation Ends, Class Begins!

2009-06-10T21:37:00.003-05:00

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.

He Said: Long Overdue

2009-05-19T21:36:00.002-05:00

Well, this post is much overdue, but these past couple weeks have been quite crazy. As many of you have read, Steph arrived in DC a little more than a week ago. I was so happy to have her finally arrive here for good. More than 2 months had passed since we said goodbye and I headed out here for training. It is so nice having her around now to be able to share this experience with me. I know she worked extremely hard on getting our things ready for our packout from Minnesota. A nice little break is well deserved for her. It's definitely strange to think that it may be 8 months until we see our "stuff" again... I guess this is the life we've signed up for... a small price to pay for all we gain in my opinion.

I'm having a little trouble trying to figure out where to start for my post tonight. Since I last posted, a lot has happened, but I'm not totally sure what of it is blog worthy. The biggest thing that has happened in the past couple weeks was Steph's arrival in DC. Hopefully we'll be able to share some more fun adventures stateside while she is here before we head to Venezuela. I know that once we are abroad, we will have many adventures to share with you all through the blog, but I feel as though we're in this crazy little gray area where we have to decide carefully what to post and what is really not that interesting... what a challenge!

2 weeks ago, I celebrated my 27th birthday, without Steph and without my family. It was strange to not really have anyone THAT close to me to celebrate with. I actually have never really experienced that in my life. I did end up having a pretty good day. I went to class/work, had dinner with some classmates, and then went out for drinks with some of the guys from my A-100 class. In the middle of the evening, one of my friends asked me if I had a good birthday. My answer was this, "In the past I've had working birthdays, and they've never really been that bad. When I look back on today and realize that right now my job is to learn a language, I have nothing to complain about." That simple reflection really sums it up for me right now. I try to remember everyday how lucky I am to have this opportunity, and I'm even luckier to be able to share it with Steph.

Other than Steph's arrival and my birthday, not that much has happened. The summer softball season in DC and I am coaching/organizing one of the two teams from our A-100 class. I'm looking forward to enjoying another summer of softball in the District...one of my favorite past times. Spanish has been going well. I definitely feel as though I've progressed during my 4 weeks. I have my first mini-assessment next week to determine my progress. I've been taking every opportunity to speak as much as I can in class, and Steph and I spoke only in Spanish for a half hour last night. The Department tells us that we should see a significant difference by week 10. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I really wish week 10 came sooner. I know that learning is a process, but I'm really just ready to begin using my newfound language skills.

I hope that this post finds you all well. Please keep the notes and calls coming our way. We surely do appreciate all of your love, support, and friendship.

She Said: Packed Out and In DC

2009-05-14T16:52:00.004-05:00

Well, we passed a big milestone last week. Last Wednesday, the movers came and we officially "packed out" for the first time in our foreign service lives. We have done three cross country moves with the help of family and friends, and while they were wonderful, I'm here to say that professional movers are the way to go! It was so nice to have them come in and pack everything up and they were extremely efficient. A big shout out to my mom, Brian's mom, and Ellie for all your help on move day. Without you, we never would have been out of that place in one day!!

On Friday morning after the move, my dad and I headed for DC. It's about a 21 hour drive, so we decided to do about 15 of those hours on Friday and the remaining 6 on Saturday. It was actually a really fun trip and we had plenty of coffee stops, treat runs, and meals on the road together. It was a nice chance for us to spend some quality time together.

Saturday we arrived in DC. I was so glad to see Brian and am so glad to be out here with him. Living apart was no fun! Brian is making amazing progress in Spanish and it's fun to be able to talk with each other. Yesterday Brian and I went to do our passport applications. It took us nearly the whole morning to do our applications, get our pictures taken and wait in line to get them processed. But after all of that, we are well on our way to having our diplomatic passports. Exciting! We ended the evening with a dinner together at La Tasca. It's a tapas restaurant about 10 minutes from us and it was nice to finally take a deep breath and be able to spend some time together just catching up and not doing anything "administrative."

Now that I'm here, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what it is that I want to do, both for the next six months, and for the two years we'll be in Venezuela. As we've begun to talk with the people out here who can really help me with that search, it seems I have a lot more to focus on and work on out here than I had anticipated. Suddenly my summer is filling up and it looks like the next six months will be spent "building a toolbox" for Venezuela. Brian and I call it building a toolbox because while I'm not doing any one specific thing, I am basically just growing my skill set and qualifications so that I will ahve options in Venezuela. It looks like this summer will be spent networking with old contacts, reaching out to new people, taking the Consular course at FSI, brushing up on my Spanish, taking the protocal course and taking a short vacation to Maine. I am excited about the opportunity to take the course at FSI to see what opportunities might be available for me within the embassy as well. Aside from that, I'm looking forward to having a few visitors :-)

We're hoping to be back to Minnesota at least once more before we leave in October. We'll keep you posted.

She Said: Last day at Target, Preparing for Packout

2009-05-05T08:40:00.004-05:00

Today is Brian's birthday, another milestone apart :-( . I am ready for this part of the journey to be over!!! Happy birthday Bri!

Aside from the fact that I am missing another celebration with Brian, this has been an extremely challenging week. Last Friday was my last day at Target and I cried harder than I think I have ever cried when I left a job. I loved Target from the day that I first reached out to them to find out about what opportunities they had available (some would argue even before that), and I love it even more having worked for them. A shoutout to Target, they are outstanding from start to finish!! As I said goodbye to my coworkers, I started to get teary eyed, and by the time I got in my car, I was definitely crying. I miss the people there already!

On Friday night, Brian arrived and he and I spent the majority of the weekend sorting, labeling, donating and organizing. The leadup to packout has been quite the experience. While in other moves I have been overwhelmed by the thought of packing all of my possessions into boxes, in this move I am overwhelmed at the thought of not packing anything. Everything is literally sitting out in our apartment and I have the urge to just start boxing and sealing. No worries Brian, I will not do that. I know that everything must be seen and packed by the movers for insurance purposes. There always has to be some red tape. Beyond simply sorting and organizing, I think the worst part of packout has been the inventory. Granted, some of it is because of my own choices about inventory, but it has been painful nonetheless. Because we won't see a lot of our possessions for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, I want to be as organized as possible, and know which possessions are in which boxes. I have put everything into an online system (which is great by the way, www.knowyourstuff.org) labeled with its location, description and the box number. Tomorrow the movers will be here to box everything up and take it away. My dad and I will leave for DC on Friday morning.

Aside from the logistics, there are exciting things going on, which is the fun part of this adventure. For the first time since we started dating, I have been able to share some of my favorite Spanish music with Brian and he can really understand the meaning. That has been fun. He is really progressing quickly and it's fun to watch him. I have also made several Venezuela contacts here in Minnesota just in talking with people. In about a half hour I will be talking with a woman whose husband is Venezuelan and has offered to share insights and answer questions for us. If there's one thing I've learned about Venezuelans so far, it's that they are warm, and welcoming and so open to sharing their country with you. I can't wait to experience that first hand when we get on the ground. Looking forward to sharing more stories with you soon!

He Said: Life After A-100, Language Training Begins

2009-04-29T19:47:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I last posted, but I believe its been for good reason. Since the beginning of February, when I got "the call" I really haven't had a chance to slow down, pause, or take a break. Now, I'm not saying that since A-100 ended life has been a breeze (far from it in fact), but I have realized now the excruciating pace I've been going at since this all began. After the swearing in I slept harder than I think I ever have. I think my body just realized what it had been through and that there was a short window to recover... boy, that sure felt good. After a great weekend of celebrating the end of A-100 and the official beginning of Steph and my new diplomatic life, I put everyone on planes and sent them back to Minnesota. On Monday, it was back to reality and back to a little bit of (controlled) chaos.

Since then, I have been in language training for a week and a half now. The time has definitely gone quickly and been enjoyable. Although, it has been a lot of work and wears me out each and everyday. Heading to Spanish every morning is a constant reminder of what we've gotten into. It's not quite like college, but it's also not your typical full time job. Our classes are extremely small, and I spend 4+ hours in a classroom environment that is 98% in Spanish. The rest of the time in the day is spent in the multimedia lab working on listening exercises, speaking practice, interactive programs, and homework. I also do about an hour of homework each night. All of that totals to about 9 hours or so of Spanish everyday. It's so weird to study one subject so intensely and to have it be your full-time job on top of that.

I've definitely felt like I've been learning during our short amount of time in class, but I'm really wishing I could fast forward a few weeks at this point to be more comfortable in the language. I enjoy doing all the work and am motivates as the language will be a skill I need to have for my job. Although, all this work and the effort to understand another language has been exhausting. To put things in perspective, I have heard that one day in language at FSI is the equivalent of one to two weeks of a college level language course. I know that my hard work and this exhaustion will pay off, but I'm definitely looking forward to being able to use my new skill effectively.

Aside from starting language training, the move out of A-100 has been fairly smooth and enjoyable. It's strange to walk the halls at FSI and not see my classmates in their suits. Now everyone has moved to different levels of dress, with those of us in language training on the more casual end of the spectrum. I get the opportunity to catch up with many of them either in the hallways or at lunch, which I really enjoy. I know that during the A-100 days I have made many friends that we will keep throughout our careers. These are the people we will keep track of share this common experience across the globe with.

Everyday there is something that reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to be apart of this amazing experience. I hope I never lose that mystique.

She Said: Swearing In, The beginning of my search

2009-04-20T17:53:00.004-05:00

Well, the past few weeks have been a blur and yet they have been wonderful. After flag day, I made my way back to Minnesota for a few days and then headed back to DC for the swearing in. It was really nice to have both my parents and Brian's parents in DC for the swearing in, and to be able to just spend some quality time together. As Brian has already said, the swearing in was a really neat ceremony to witness, and it made us all feel very patriotic. I was extremely proud of Brian!

Beyond the ceremony, we had a lot of time to talk about this journey. It has been 10 days since we heard "Caracas, Venezuela" announced as our post, and I think we are in a very different place about it today than we were when it was announced. As Brian and I said in our first post about Caracas, our initial reaction was mixed. While we have been excited about Venezuela and South America from day one, we had concerns about whether or not I would be able to work. I think at that moment, we both realized what "worldwide available" truly meant and it was a bit scary for both of us. Truthfully, I have hesitated to share my emotions about the post to this point because I never wanted anyone to think we weren't excited about Venezuela. That's really not the case AT ALL, and I want to be clear about that! What I have realized is that I think our fears just really took over when we realized what was happening. Suddenly, it wasn't what COULD be, it was what IS GOING to be, and those are two very different things.

From a career standpoint for me, I feel that I have worked hard to get to where I am, and I really don't want to give all of those things up. It has taken me 10 days (a few of them just feeling sorry for myself) to realize that I'm not giving those things up and that what lies ahead is an opportunity for me to showcase my abilities and talents and to do it overseas, as I've always wanted to do. Will it be hard? Without a doubt, but I've never been one to do things because they're easy. What I have realized since the announcement is that Venezuela offers all of the things that I said excited me about life as an FS spouse in the very beginning. When i read my first posts on this blog, I said that I was excited about the possibility of teaching, of freelance translating, of working with entrepreneurs in various industries such as chocolate, coffee and wine....of reinventing myself.

We know that Venezuela will offer us many challenges, but we also know that we will have an authentic foreign service experience there that will allow us to decide whether or not this is the kind of life we want to have after Brian serves his first two years. So, for those of you who have been wondering about how we're processing things, we're at a really good place about this whole experience. We are realistic about how challenging this post will be for both of us and excited about all of the beauty and opportunity it brings to us.

He Said: Swearing In, the end of A-100

2009-04-19T19:19:00.004-05:00

Wow, what a whirlwind these past seven weeks have been. As I look back, it's hard to imagine where Steph and I were just a short few months ago, heading down such a different path. Today, after my parents, Steph's parents, and Steph were all safely on planes back to MN, I took a little time to go for a run. When we used to live in DC, running around town was one of my favorite things to do. Where else in this world could you run for 40 mins and see a number of national treasures and landmarks along the way. On my run today though, I realized how truly changed my life has become, and that Steph and I have now entered a completely different world, exposed and aware of so much more. Along my route this afternoon I encountered both the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and Swedish Embassy. During the more than three years that Steph and I lived here before, I had never come across either. As I ran by today, it was strange to think that in six short months, I too will be working in an Embassy

This past Friday, I was so lucky to be joined by my parents, Steph's parents, and Steph for my official swearing in as a Foreign Service Officer. After a short reception with my classmates and their families, we filed into one of the auditoriums at the main State Department building. What a treat we had for our ceremony. Not only were we able to hear Ambassador Bill Burns, currently the highest ranked Foreign Service Officer still in service, but we were also honored with the presence of former Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, the ONLY FSO to ever serve as Secretary of State. Secretary Eagleburger actually administered our oath after giving a short speech. In his remarks, Sec. Eagleburger choked up a bit after mentioning how proud he was, and how proud we should all be to have the opportunity to represent the greatest country on Earth. I must say, this short moment encapsulated all my feelings for this journey we are about to endure. I am so proud of my country and so honored to be able to serve in a capacity where my actions could make a difference for America. Below is the oath I took, and above is a picture of me taking the oath of service.

"I, Brian Beckmann, do solemn that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Tomorrow I begin the next phase of my training. I will spend the next three months learning Spanish full-time. It's so cool to think that learning a new language will be my job. What a great opportunity. It's also a little nerve wracking to think that I need to get to a certain fluency in the language to be able to do my job. I'm looking forward to it and think that I'm motivated enough to study hard.

He Said/She Said - Caracas, Venezuela Here We Come!

2009-04-11T08:29:00.004-05:00

We apologize for the slight delay in posting, but as you can guess, the last 12+ hours have been pretty crazy. It is official... around October we will be heading to Caracas, Venezuela for two years.

Those we have talked to have been wondering how we're feeling about this assignment. We'd be lying if we didn't say we were very happy and a little disappointed at the same time... not to mention completely shocked. It turns out that a few positions on our list had been removed and duplicate assignments had been added. So, when Caracas had already been assigned we were blown away to see another Venezuelan flag come out and to hear our name announced.

Venezuela will be a good post in that Brian will learn Spanish and will be speaking it quite well by the end of the tour. As a Vice-Consul he'll be interacting daily with the public handling visa requests. The political atmosphere with Hugo Chavez will also make the situation interesting to witness first hand. One of the biggest challenges we anticipated with Venezuela will be the challenge of finding work for Steph. The political situation has caused many multi national companies to leave Venezuela and there may not be many opportunities outside of the embassy. We will have to wait and see what the situation is really like as we really start to dig into the opportunities.

Venezuela is a beautiful country with opportunities to see Angel Falls, Margarita Island, and eat lots of Arepas. We are excited about our new adventure and hope to see many of you there!!

He Said: The Flag Day CountdownI

2009-04-09T17:35:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that we're finally here... the night before Flag Day. I didn't mention that it was coming up in my last posting because, well frankly, I was too tired when I was writing and it would've taken up way too much space. Now, here I am, the night before Flag Day, waiting for Steph and my parents to arrive. I'm going to be so glad to see them, especially Steph. I can't believe I haven't seen her in an entire month. I'm very much looking forward to having someone else in the apartment for a bit. I just don't think I'm that good at living alone.

The week leading up to Flag Day has definitely gone quickly. On Monday and Tuesday our Core Skills Rotation continued. Team Monroe spent the two days learning about and practicing our public speaking skills. On Monday we spent 8 hours reviewing tips, tricks, and elements to be used for all kinds of public speaking. We even got down to reviewing appropriate, off-the-cuff, presentation practices. On Tuesday we actually delivered speeches we wrote t6:he night before. My speech was about freedom of the press and was delivered to a fake audience of journalism students in Venezuela. They videotaped our speeches for us to review on our own and I was pretty happy with my performance. In fact, the instructor told me one portion of my speech was "perfect." Too bad I ruined the 6 and a half minute speech with a two minute conclusion. In fact, I actually delivered two conclusions on accident... apparently a "call to charge" is a good enough ending and you don't have to wrap the speech back to the intro if you do that. Unfortunately, I did both... oh well!

The last two days have been filled with some wrap-up and policy sessions. I can definitely feel my classmates getting anxious. I can't blame them. I'm so ready for tomorrow to come. To think that in less than an hour the next two or so years of our lives will be set. It will be good to finally know and be able to look forward.

I know that many of you are going to be extremely curious about where we get posted. I promise that we will try to get to a computer tomorrow to post where we're going, but we'll get something up by Saturday morning for sure.

The Flag Day ceremony will take place in the late afternoon tomorrow. The ceremony is expected to last about an hour, which is pretty impressive considering our class is over ninety people! The ceremony consists of the Ambassador in charge of our placements raising the flag of a country. Sometimes they announch the country the flag belongs to and sometimes they leave it up for the class to announce. Once the country is identified, the Ambassador lists the jobs and people from our class that will be heading to each post. After receiving your flag and getting your picture taken, we have the opportunity to review the packet of information that tells us when we'll be leaving and what our next round of training will be. There's not much to the whole thing as you can tell, but obviously there's a lot riding on that short hour.

That's about it. We'll be sure to let you know where we'll be for the next two years of our lives. Wish us luck!!

She Said: Flag day, Finally!

2009-04-08T20:25:00.002-05:00

It's finally here...flag day, and I can hardly wait! Life has been absolutely crazy here in Minnesota, including a random April snowstorm last Saturday. I'm already ready to leave that behind. While these past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me, I am now looking back on them and amazed at all that I had the chance to experience. I really missed Brian and can't wait to see him again, but I had a great time with all of you! I had dinners with mom and dad, hung out with Kelly and Chris, had a visit from Erica, read bedtime stories to Lola, hung out with Renee, helped Dan and Mel move, met Micah and Sandra's new babies, enjoyed shopping time with lots of friends, and on and on and on. I wish I could list all of the fun things that I have been up to here, but I've got to get packed sometime tonight. The time has been wonderful and family and friends have been incredibly supportive. Thank you to all of you for listening and for helping! I can't tell you what it means to Brian and I.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving for D.C. and on Friday afternoon we will find out where this adventure will take us for the next two years of our lives. I can only think of a few places on the list that I would be really disappointed in, and so many that I would enjoy. We will write a short blog entry on Friday night for those of you who are wondering where in the world we will be going. It will probably be late, so Saturday might be the better time to check. If it's really killing you, just shoot one of us a text. Thanks for all the well wishes, and we'll see you on the flip side of flag day.

He Said: A-100 Week 5, Core Skills Rotation

2009-04-07T20:15:00.002-05:00

Before this week began, we were told that it would be one of the most useful weeks of A-100. Looking back, I can honestly say that they were not kidding.

The Core Skills Rotation is a series of exercises and sessions that continue our education on embassy life and help hone our communication skills. For these sessions, our class was split into three groups: Team Jefferson, Team Franklin, and Team Monroe. I was placed on Team Monroe, representing our fifth President. My group began the week by discussing embassy life, professional conduct, and how to properly work and run a representational event (reception). Although these sections were mostly presentations, it is really nice and refreshing to begin discussing what our lives will be like at the embassy. I was shocked how many after work events either occur at the U.S. Embassy or at neighboring embassies in the host country. It's strange to think that this new job really is 24/7 representation of the U.S. Government, but in the end that is what I signed up for, the opportunity to serve my country.

Toward the end of the week, Team Monroe spent time reviewing crisis management and diplomatic immunity and privileges. While major emergencies at the embassy are not highly likely, they do happen. The State Department definitely has experience handling these situations and teaching us to do the same. Our session on diplomatic immunity taught us that it was created to prevent host governments from trapping, holding, or hassling diplomats as a bargaining chip to their country. I was surprised that with all the hype around diplomatic immunity that this is what it comes down to, you are never supposed to have to use this privelege. In the end, I really don't care, but all the hype and build up definitely brought about a slight sense of disappointment.

The best sessions of this week, at least I thought, were titled "Composure Under Fire." These sessions were designed to teach us how to handle tough questions during a press conference, Q&A sessions, or even at cocktail parties. As representatives of the U.S. we can expect that many people we meet along the way will be interested in the U.S. and what is going on here. While we will be prepared to answer many questions, there will likely be answers that we won't have. These sessions taught us how to handle those situations. The highlight for me was the session where we got in front of the room and were hammered with tough questions. While it was very uncomfortable and nerve wracking, I really do want to get better and practice is the only way. I think I did pretty well, but I'd sure like to do it again.

After class on Friday a number of us went out into Virginia for Korean Fried Chicken and karaoke. One of our classmates organized this extra-curricular field trip to expose us to something new. I have to say, this was some of the best fried chicken I have ever had in my life. Apparently they cook it a lot longer than here in the States and at a lower temperature. this causes the fat to render out and for the batter to become one with the skin. It was spicy, crunchy, and delicious. I can't wait for Steph to come out so I can bring her to this restaurant to share in the experience. Karaoke afterward was an absolute blast. What a great group I have for classmates, Everyone was willing to participate and was just out to have a good time. I can already see how the Foreign Service develops a close knit group.

I'm constantly amazed at the different things I am exposed to because of my new job. In one weekend I have tried a new food, done karaoke (where the book was mostly in Korean), and learned many of the rules of rugby (as explained to me by one of my classmates). I consider myself so lucky to be having these experiences. I truly do look forward to Steph getting out here when the time comes so that we can share these new adventures.

He Said: A-100 Week 4

2009-03-29T11:02:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday of this week one of my classmates mentioned to many of us that "today is our official 'hump day.'" Now at first I thought she was a little off... of course it's hump day, it's Wednesday after all. Then, after a little bit of thought it came to me that Wednesday was our official halfway point through training. It's crazy to think that as I write this entry today that I have already completed four of the seven weeks in A-100. To be honest, it feels as though I have been in training for months and have been working with my classmates for a decade. I guess when you put that much time, effort, and learning in to such a short amount of time, the only way we can truly comprehend it is to stretch the timeline out in our minds. No matter what, its becoming obvious why I am so tired at the end of the day!

Now aside from my summers of two-a-day swim practices, I have never really been the best napper. Unless completely exhausted, I've always had the hardest time shutting off my mind and letting go for a quick rest. Stretching back as far as I can remember, I've always been a little too worried that I will miss out on something. As a result, I think I convinced myself that I always needed to just fight being tired to make sure I wouldn't miss what the world had in store for me. My analogy reminds me a little bit of when my oldest niece was just a baby and she'd never want to go to sleep... she was always the curious little bugger that wanted to be awake for everything (she sure does make her uncle proud!). This week however, was a completely different story. More than once this week I came home and started studying or working on homework after class. Realizing that I was too tired to be absorbing information or make logical decisions, I would put my materials down, turn on the TV and just rest my brain for a bit. After what I can figure was only a short while, I would unintentionally fall asleep and wake up HOURS later!! To top it all of, even after waking up and finishing my nightly routine, I was still able to get to bed at a normal time and sleep through the night. Its been almost embarrassing that this is what my nights have become, but hopefully after a weekend of sleeping and getting stuff done I'll be able to return to a normal schedule (or what could pass as normal considering the circumstances) this week.

A-100 week 4 was a big mix of exposure as we continue to learn more about our new jobs, the State Department, and overall U.S. foreign policy. This week we spent an entire day learning how to adjust to working in a different culture and how the clash of U.S. habits and demeanor with the local culture can cause some major workplace chaos. While many of my classmates have worked in an overseas environment before, I found these sessions to be quite helpful, as I want to be as effective as possible when I get to post. In the process of discussing and learning about "crossing cultures" it was really interesting to profile and generalize American behavior. One of my favorite parts of the day was when someone clashed with me about Midwestern communication. I was insistent that in the Midwest we constantly have to read between the lines when someone is talking to us (as opposed to saying exactly what's on our minds). A number of folks disagreed with me, but it turns out one of my fellow Minnesotans was having the same disagreement in his small group. After the discussion he came up to me with a few of his group members and asked, "Brian, how do you know if its okay to accept food that someone has offered you?" I told him, "well, if they offer it only once you politely decline, but if they offer 2-3 times, you know you have to take it." He began to laugh and the people with him looked dumbfounded. They asked me how that works, and I had to explain that in the Midwest if someone is seriously offering you something (as opposed to just being polite) they offer it multiple times to notify you that it's okay to accept. It was so fascinating to discover that being able to overcome and learn our own American culture differences will be a big help in adjusting to life and work overseas. I guess with our diverse class, we'll have plenty of time to practice before shipping out.

This week we also began our series, "Diplomatic History." I think a more appropriate title would be "History for Diplomats," but the point is probably taken. In our sessions this week we began to learn the historical foundations of U.S. foreign policy, beginning with the outreach done during the Revolutionary War. Now, I've never been a history buff, but I really did enjoy these sessions and fealt like I learned a lot. I don't know if I'll ever be able to remember it all, but I think it is useful to be able to learn and discuss previous events and how we can learn lessons from them. Additionally, we learned that the State Department has a History Office, that can provide research and context to events of the past. I hope that I'll be able to tap into this resource as I get ready to go to post. I'm convinced that I'm going to learn as much history of the country we're assigned to as possible before we head out... we'll see how that goes.

The end of the week brought what could be one of my favorite sessions thus far. We received a briefing from the Congressional Relations Office for the State Department. It was so exciting to learn more about how the Department works with Congress to make decisions and to hopefully develop policy that is favorable to us. I was also elated to discover that the CR office does have positions available to FSOs on DC tours. Now I wouldn't be back to DC for 4-5 years most likely, but I definitely think I want to keep this option in mind for the future. One great opportunity would be a one-year fellowship to work in a Congressional office on foreign affairs issues. I always regretted not working on "The Hill" during our time in DC, but who knows, this could be a great opportunity to do some policy work while maintaining my position as a FSO. Our session with the CR office was the cap to a series discussing interagency cooperation. It was surprising how much work it takes for the government to work with itself, but when you consider checks and balances, it's probably a good thing. I guess this is just the reality of our world and we can only work to increase cooperation and efficiency. It's exciting to think that I could be doing this now from the inside.

This weekend I am working on my final cable assignment. I can't believe how much we've learned in four short weeks! I'm actually looking forward to putting this together and seeing how much progress I've made. My last practice cable got good remarks from the instructor, so I'm hoping that I can do even better on this final assignment.

This coming week our class splits into three groups for "core skills rotations." I'm told that these sessions are deep dives into public speaking, composure under fire (tough questions), and learning more about Foreign Service life. I'm sure it will continue to be exhausting, but I'm really looking forward to these practical sessions where we get to apply much of what we've learned thus far.

He Said: A-100 Week 3 & "The Woods"

2009-03-25T19:47:00.004-05:00

First I want to apologize for the delay in getting this post up. As you've probably guessed, this experience has left me both crazily busy and extremely E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D! Considering it is Wednesday of the following week and I am just getting around to this post, I think it just shows a little of what my life is like right now. Thank you to everyone who has been calling and/or sending me e-mails. I apologize that I have not yet had a chance to return many of them, but I will do what I can to get around to it. By the time I hit the end of the day, get dinner and homework done, and then carve out time to talk to Steph I barely have time for anything else. I'm not too confident that things will change before Flag Day, but in the meantime I will continue to chip away at getting back to you all.

This week past week marked my first whole week and weekend without Steph. Its strange to realize that this is the first time in my life that I have lived alone. Throughout my life I've either had siblings, roommates, or Steph, so this is quite the adjustment. Its probably a good thing that I've got so much to do which helps pass the time.

Week three was another great week of training where I felt I gained so much. The first two days of the week were spent in the classroom where we continued to work on our cable writing. We received feedback on our last assignment, and I'm happy to report that I am improving with each try. I'm definitely glad that we're going to have so much practice before I ever have to write one for real at post! We also spent a large chunk of the two days covering management within an embassy or U.S. Mission. It is interesting to get a look at how our working situation may be covered and how we might be able to advance in our careers. We were lucky enough to have a panel that covered all of the career tracks. The more I learn about it, the more confident I am that I picked the right cone. I think being a Public Diplomacy officer will be great!

Before we left for our leadership retreat (The Woods), we were given the results of our Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is an assessment that tells you your preferences in viewing the world, dealing with people, and making decisions. I am an ENTP, meaning that I am extroverted, I see the big picture first and then the details, I work through problem solving logistically rather than from the gut, and I do not prefer to schedule things in advance or plan too far ahead. We are supposed to use the results of our test to see how we deal with people and to recognize where we may have to work harder to deal with people that are different from us. I really feel that I learned a lot from taking the assessment this time around, mostly because they explained what each letter means so well.

The rest of the week was spent at "The Woods," a conference facility in West Virginia. This offsite is an opportunity for the A-100 staff to really dig deep and give us an opportunity to work on our team building and leadership skills. While we did not do trust falls and the other cliche retreat activities, we did go through many different exercises that tested our ability to quickly create working teams, identify leadership and expertise, and implement a plan. I've mentioned in previous posts what an impressive group my class is. After spending three days with them conducting teambuilding activities, I must say that I am blown away even more. Honestly, I really didn't expect to learn that much from the offsite. In the end, I was completely wrong and took away so much. It was such a new concept to work on such a competent team and to realize that I don't HAVE to be the leader of the group for it to succeed. A truly valuable lesson to learn I think.

In the midst of the offsite, I was able to complete my class committee obligation by participating in the A-100 Follies, a variety show put on by every class during the offsite. After a week of writing and practicing, I think the show was a hit. The class coordinators did not give us much guidance (in an effort to make every show original), so we settled on creating a show similar to Saturday Night Live. I was one of the anchors in the "Weekend Update" skit, which was a blast. I think the highlight of the show was both the live band we had (made up of classmates) and a skit called "Acronym Guy" which makes fun of the constant alphabet soup we're exposed to everyday as those in the State Department communicate with us and all those in the Department. We literally had people rolling on the floor laughing... what a blast!

After the offsite, I think everyone was completely exhausted. The bus ride home was definitely much quieter than the one on the way to The Woods. I guess its good to know that everyone put so much into the experience that all they could do was rest. I think leading into this week we were all really tired and it showed. We're probably at that point where you just maintain "operational" status in your life and do whatever you need to be able to stay awake in class, get your homework done, and learn something about how to do our jobs in the process.

This week I'm going to work on getting more sleep. I don't have a shortage of things to do, but perhaps I can do some exercises in moving from a "P" in the MBTI to a "J" forcing me to create lists and become more efficient in my time management.

She Said: A much needed break

2009-03-17T22:26:00.004-05:00

Sorry I have been so disconnected, though I must admit that it has been intentional. There is so much I could share that I don't even know where to start, but I will take a shot at updating you on what has been going on.

Brian and I had a great time in Florida, which, as I suggested, was a much needed break from this chaos. I intentionally did not bring anything foreign service related with me, with the exception of the bid list. Friday morning we talked with Brian's CDO and had a really great conversation. I truly believe that he cares about my input as well as Brian's career and will take those into consideration as much as he can. On Sunday, I had to send Brian back to DC. A melty, crying mess, I drove myself back to Marco Island for one more day of vacation. Monday Brian submitted the bid list, and to be honest, it feels really good. It is out of our hands now and we will have to wait until flag day to see where we land.

While I have been missing Brian dearly, I am also very busy at Target. Today was our National Sales Meeting and I thought to myself about how sad I would be if I had to leave that environment. Target is an outstanding company through and through and the environment is addicting. I absolutely love working with the people there. Kelly Clarkson performed at the meeting today, but to be honest, she looked terrible. Jake Shimibukuro, a Hawaiian ukulele player, definitely put on a better show than Clarkson. He was amazing and I'm putting in a plug for all of you to check out his music on You Tube and support him if you like it. Who would have thought I'd like ukulele music.

That's all I have for now. I am trying to keep myself busy as we lead up to flag day and will keep you posted on the process of packing out, moving out of our apartment, and all the other fun things that accompany this process.

He Said: A-100 Week Two

2009-03-14T08:16:00.000-05:00

Another week down, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t exhausted. Over the past two weeks I’ve had so much information presented to me, I think it’s tiring just for my brain to try and absorb/comprehend it all. I have never been in a situation like this where I am required to be engaged for an entire day. From the time I arrive, until I finally get home each evening, I am either having something new taught to me, doing research, or simply trying to get to know my ninety plus classmates. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I am doing and feel so lucky to be there, but they certainly weren’t lying when they said the first two weeks are the worst. I’ll definitely be crossing my fingers next week for it to become “routine.”

On Sunday I had to put Steph on a plane back to Minnesota. It was so good to have her out to share the experience and to meet many of my classmates and their spouses and/or families. I was sad to see her go, but knew that this was a small price for us to pay to be able to share this adventure. I believe she wrote already about her travel nightmare on the way back, so I’ll spare you all the nitty gritty details.

This week was definitely a big mix in terms of subject matter. We had the opportunity to hear from yet another Ambassador, as well as some third and fourth tour FSOs. It is amazing to hear the stories and experiences these people have had. Their reflection is a constant reminder of how unique this experience is and how lucky Steph and I are. We also took some time this week to begin learning to write “cables.” Cables are the system the State Department uses to communicate between post and Washington. Based on the old teletypes, cables are a writing style of their own… basically a super memo. I thought because I’ve spent so much time in my professional life writing memos that I would be an instant superstar in putting cables together…boy was I wrong! It is definitely an acquired craft, and I’m glad we’re having the chance to practice before I ever have to write one for real.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the week was the time we spent discussing U.S. public diplomacy. As a PD coned officer, it was automatic that this topic would intrigue me. I’m amazed at the breadth of U.S. efforts to understand, inform, engage, and influence the rest of the world. Amazingly, it has much more to do about relationships than it does about policy. I can’t wait to continue this series.

The last and most demanding task of the week was completing the requirements for submitting our bid list. While Steph was visiting, we spent the majority of our time together researching the posts that were available on our bid list to determine how we were going to bid each. We are required to mark posts as a high, medium plus, medium, or low, based on our career and personal preferences. Although we are “worldwide available” it is nice that they at least give us a say in where we end up on our first tour. After hours upon hours of research at the Overseas Briefing Center, surfing the web, and watching post videos (firsthand accounts or recruiting videos made by many of the U.S. missions) we finally wrapped up our bid list on Tuesday night, which was good considering it had to be turned in on Wednesday.

Friday marked one of the final steps for us in the bidding process. In the morning I sat down with my Career Development Officer (CDO) and Steph via telephone to discuss our strategy in bidding and how we got to the conclusions we did. I think the interview went well, and it was also useful to hear firsthand his experiences and the process they go through. We’ve got until Monday to make any last minute changes, and then it’s completely out of our hands. Flag Day is less than four weeks away, but I am already ready to know where we are going and to move forward.

My great reward at the end of the week was to finally be able to see Steph again. We’ve had a long planned vacation to Florida with my cousin Renee and her husband, so I’m glad I was still able to join. My part of the trip will be cut short as I have to be in class again on Monday morning, but after an intense couple of weeks it is nice to have a little time to relax.

She Said: Sharing Foreign Experiences

2009-03-09T21:26:00.001-05:00

Q: How did your day go. We are excited about getting more information about your days and experiences.

Asked by Steve Flinn

A: I guess the fact that it took me 4 days to get to your question pretty much answers it. I know we've shared lots since then, and the bottom line is we had a blast being together in Washington. I will be looking forward to being together in one place again sometime in the near future. It was strange to be back in Washington again, but in a totally different space with once again, new experiences.

The excitement and seeking information piece of your question reminded me of something that came up in the training that I thought I'd just share it. The staff at FSI said that one of the biggest challenges families and children face when they come back from overseas (and even now I can see it to a certain extent), is that they have a hard time connecting to people at home because their lives are so different. I remember this from study abroad. When I came back, I wanted to share my experiences. It's not that people aren't interested, it's just that you have very different experiences and people sometimes aren't as interested in listening. An older woman at FSI told me how fortunate she was to have people in her life at home that would sit she and her husband down each time they came home and share experiences back and forth. That has been our experience so far as well and I wanted to say thanks to all of you for being so supportive and interested in what we're doing. You have all been so interested in hearing about what we are doing and we have not felt disconnected at all. We really do look forward to sharing our experiences with you in the future as you share yours with us as well.

Ask stephbeckmann a question.

She Said: Post Research and Spouse Training

2009-03-09T20:02:00.003-05:00

I have never been so happy to see our apartment as I was tonight when I walked through the door. Given that this is not a blog about how much I dislike flying through O'Hare Airport or about my terrible experiences on United Airlines, I'll spare you the details of my trip home. Suffice it to say that it was not fun and I arrived in MN at 3:00 in the morning last night. Yes, I did still work today.

I too am very sorry that I have not posted lately. Brian and I have literally been glued to computers, books, reading files, and whatever other media we could get our hands on to do our post research. It has been a blast! We are both exhausted, but this experience has been even more fun than I ever could have imagined. Putting a description, name and place to where we might possible be posted is absolutely thrilling!

This weekend brought both anxiety and calm to my life. In spouse training I had the opportunity to meet other talented men and women who are also leaving their own careers to go on a journey with their significant others. It was really reassuring to hear others who had the same fears and worries that I do about seeking employment overseas. The trainers talked constantly about how foreign service spouses are forever "reinventing" themselves, and that was exciting to me. I don't know what is ahead for me, but the idea that I could be given the opportunity to be an international businesswoman, a teacher, a mother, a volunteer, and so much more that I don't even know about is quite a blessing. How many people get this opportunity? I found myself really getting excited about this experience and feeling very thankful for all the talents I've been given.

While on the one hand I felt very reassured, I began to feel the stress of moving and all of the logistics that lie ahead of us. I realized that the next couple of weeks leading up to flag day are going to be absolutely chaotic in my life. Between the immunization records, sorting our belongings for packing, deciding what to sell and what to keep, and perhaps enticing my mother into "helping me with a garage sale (pretty please!)," I will be a busy woman. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Brian and I have tried to reach out to as many extended family members and friends as possible in the past few weeks and let them know that Brian accepted a position with the foreign service and about the big adventure. It has been really crazy, and we may have inadvertently missed some people, so please do share our news and our blog with those we have missed. I'm off to read some more about foreign lands...

He Said: A-100 Week One

2009-03-08T22:40:00.002-05:00

I apologize for the delay in posting, as I'm sure there are many of you out there that have been waiting anxiously to hear about what has been going on. To say the least, this week has blown by. I cannot even believe how much has been crammed into so few days and tomorrow morning the craziness begins.

Wednesday marked the official beginning of the training to actually becoming a Foreign Service Officer. The first day of class brought the first exercise of many to practice our public speaking skills. After general announcements and housekeeping, we spent the rest of the day introducing our classmates to each other. I was completely humbled by my classmates. There are some truly amazing individuals and unique backgrounds in our class of 92... this will be an interesting 7 weeks. The second and third days of classes consisted mostly of briefings on how the State Department operates overseas. We also had the honor of hearing two former Ambassadors speak on their experiences overseas.

The real pinnacle of the week came on Thursday when we received the BID LIST! For those that don't remember, this is the sheet of all the available posts for our class. We are required to bid on every post, giving the Department an idea of where we'd prefer to go... I say "prefer" because in the end it's up to them. Don't forget, we signed up to be "Worldwide Available!!" Steph and I were so happy to see a number of Spanish speaking posts on the list. Additionally, there was an extremely diverse selection of posts from across the globe. No matter where we end up, I am confident that we will be happy based on what is available to us. Flag Day is April 10th... I will be sure to let you all know where we are assigned as soon as possible that day.

As I just mentioned, Steph came out to DC this weekend to attend spouse training. It was so nice to have her here experiencing what I have been going through first hand. She also had the opportunity to meet many of the other spouses and partners. I think meeting others who are going through the same things that we are and validating what we have been feeling was a real breath of fresh air for us both. This is such a unique experience and honor; the ability to become apart of an amazing community with whom to share the highs and lows is just gravy. In addition to both our training classes, we spent the weekend conducting research on the available posts and how we planned to bid each one. We're not quite done, but the draft is not due until Wednesday. Later next week I will be sitting down to review my bids with my Career Development Officer (CDO). Steph will be joining us by phone, as the State Department does everthing it can to accomodate the wishes of family into the decision making process.

I will try to update every fews days to let you all know what has been happening. I could never have imagined how busy this time would be, but after the bid lists get turned in, I should be able to have some more free time after class each day.

He Said: The First Day

2009-03-03T20:14:00.002-06:00

Today was my first official day as a Foreign Service Officer... how exciting! After the travel fiasco and the stress worrying about having missed my first day, I was much more at ease today and ready to head off for my first day. After getting a good nights sleep (finally) I got up early to get ready to head to the main State Department building in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of DC. Of course, today was the first time in 6 months that I cut myself shaving! It took me 15 minutes to get the bleeding to stop, and I was so desperate that I actually salted the wound to make it stop so I could head out the door. Man, did that burn!

After getting to "Main State" I headed through security and was directed to the auditorium where the second day of HR orientation would take place. Right away, the coordinators whisked me away to be joined in a side room with three other of my classmates who also missed yesterday's orientation. Once we were all there, we took the oath and afterward were officially Foreign Service Officers! After the oath we were treated to a briefing on how to handle confidential material which was followed by a conversation on what considerations needed to be taken for us with our health insurance because of all the overseas travel. In the afternoon we had the chance to finalize all our employment paperwork, talk to the health insurance providers, and in the end were awarded our security badges as official State Department employees.

Today was an absolutely amazing day. I met some truly great people and am so exciting about the upcoming seven weeks. I truly enjoyed hearing about everyone's backgrounds and how they ended up as FSOs. Tomorrow starts our official training at the Foreign Service Institute, so I am really looking forward to getting into the real "work" of this process and learning about how to do my new job.

It's strange to be back in DC, but definitely exciting at the same time. I'm so looking forward to seeing Steph tomorrow so I can share this experience with her firsthand. There's so much going on, I know that she will have a blast and that this will then become OUR experience.

Well now its time to relax as tomorrow will be another early day!

She Said: Food Poisoning and a Dose of Stress

2009-03-02T22:07:00.002-06:00

Wow, what a crazy couple of days. On Saturday night we went out for dinner and I got sick from the burger that I ordered. It was not good! Although I felt a lot better yesterday, I'm still not back to full strength. That was the kickoff to our weekend, followed by all of the chaos that Brian described in his post. I'm just glad he finally got there today and will be able to join his class tomorrow. Even though he's nervous, I know he'll have no problem jumping right in.

As I opened the door to the apartment tonight, it felt very lonely. Noone was there, no lights were on, and Brian had not called to let me know that he was on his way home. It hit me that we are now apart and I felt really sad. I am lucky, however, that I will see Brian on Wednesday when I head to DC and then again we will have a chance to be together in Florida the following week. I think the weeks between Florida and Easter will be very difficult. As of now, we are not planning any trips to see each other in that time.

I am very excited to head to DC for "spouse training" at the end of this week. I'm hoping we will also have the bid list by the time I get there so that Brian and I can start to rank the posts and get a better idea of where we could be headed. That's all for now.

He Said: Tried & Tested

2009-03-02T20:05:00.002-06:00

Well, to say that the last couple days have been interesting would be much more than an understatement. To begin with, I MISSED the first day of training!! That's right, I basically missed the first day of the job. Now, I'm alright and I had a good excuse, but I would never have thought in my life that I would ever actually miss my first day of work.

Flashing back to yesterday, the plan was for Steph and I to attend my niece Lola's 3rd birthday party in the morning and then Steph would take me to airport to catch my flight in the afternoon. On the way to the party (around 10:30 am) I got an automated call from Northwest saying that my flight had been cancelled and that they had rebooked me on a flight the next day connecting through Boston...my heart stopped. What was I going to do? Would it be possible at all for me to report to training at 7:45 am the next day in Washington, DC? The major problem was a snowstorm that was hammering the east coast... would the federal government even be open on the first day? In the end, there were too many questions and I figured I needed to do whatever I could to try and get to DC as early as possible.

After 7 hours on hold and probably 9+ hours on the phone with the airlines and the government contracted travel agency I finally had a ticket for this morning to put in into DC around 12:45. In the midst of all that I was trying to track whether or not there would even be training today. At around 2 am last night, I finally had a confirmed ticket leaving Minnesota at 8 am, but a decision on the government's operating status was not yet made. After getting up at 5 am to get ready to head to the airport, I found to my dismay that the government was operating on a 2 hour delay, meaning I would for sure be missing some degree of training today... I was so sick to my stomach at that point. After an extended layover in Chicago, I ended up making it to DC around 3 o'clock this afternoon...most of the training day was over before I ever even landed...ugh!

In the end it worked out alright. One of the coordinators from the class got a hold of me while I was on my layover in Chicago and explained that I would be able to make up what I missed today, and that it was more important for me to make tomorrow than to go crazy trying to get there today. I was glad to have the piece of mind that I still had a job and that things would be okay, but in the end I was a little sad to have missed sharing some of those "firsts" with my new classmates (who I am yet to meet). I was also glad to know that two other people had missed today, meaning I wasn't alone. I'll be curious to see what they do with us tomorrow and how the three of us meld into the rest of the group who have all already had a chance to begin getting to know one another. Additionally, to be a Foreign Service Officer officially, you have to be sworn in. I unfortunately missed the opportunity to do this with my class, so I 'm really curious if the three of us who missed will do it in front of everyone else tomorrow or off to the side. I'll have to keep you posted on how things play out, but for now the anticipation is killing me.

I'm told that tomorrow will be the day we handle our security badges and cover some of the confidentiality components of the job (we did have to get security clearances after all). I'm very excited to go through this process and to finally get to meet my classmates and colleagues for the next seven weeks. On Wednesday we move to the Foreign Service Institute to actually begin our training. These first two days are mostly employment oriented, so the real work begins then. I promise to post often this week to keep everyone aprised as to what is going on and what I'm up to. I'm sure that this will be an exciting week.

Thanks to all for their support in this crazy process. Obviously, the craziness continues to pursue! I'm absolutely exhausted at this point and want to be fresh for the day tomorrow, so I think its off to bed for me.

2009-02-26T09:13:00.002-06:00

Q: Where did the dog come from that is in the picture?

Asked by Mom

A: We're not really sure. This picture is from when we were in Chile taking a tour of the salt flats in the Atacama Desert. We climbed to the top of the sand dunes to get a good view, and that dog followed us all the way up and ended up in the picture.

Ask brianbeckmann a question.

He Said: What I'll be Doing

2009-02-25T22:21:00.002-06:00

Well, the time for me to leave Minnesota for our new adventure begins soon. On Sunday afternoon I'll be catching a plane to Washington, DC to begin my training for the Foreign Service. In these few short days there's a lot to accomplish. I seriously cannot believe how quickly time has passed since I first got "the call." I joke that every day brings about a new logistical task to accomplish. I didn't think it was so funny when all of the planning and action wore me out to the point of getting a cold! How can I be sick when I've go so much to do?!?! Oh well, I guess this will be good practice for learning to roll with the punches... I'm sure there will be much of that in my new job. What's left to do this week? Well, I tie up the last loose ends for work tomorrow; I have to finish putting out my personal affects (the things I want access to in DC but am not taking with me on the plane) for the movers to pick up on Friday; I'm trying to have one last nice dinner with Steph before we spend a large amount of time apart; brunch with Steph's family; and a birthday party for my twin nieces turning 1 and their 3 year old sister. It is definitely going to be a full end of the week and I'm sure I'll blink and Sunday will be here. I've heard the first two weeks of training are fairly intensive, so I'm not crossing my fingers for things to slow down anytime soon.

Since we've been sharing the good news that I've been accepted into the Foreign Service, many people have been asking me about what I'm going to be doing as a FSO and what the training consists of. I wanted to direct you to a couple of really good explanations of what the future holds for me and for Steph and me as a couple. As for the career part, I was accepted into the Foreign Service under the Public Diplomacy cone (job track). The blogger. The Hegemonist is in the process of explaining what all five of the Foreign Service cones are and what a career within those cones looks like depending on your time in the diplomatic corps. I thought his description of the Public Diplomacy cone was particularly good, and you can read it by clicking here.

Starting on March 4th (the first two days in DC are spent handling employment processing), I will begin my training as a Foreign Service officer as a student in the A-100 class. The class, named after the room it was first held in at the State Department back in 1924, consists of seven weeks and is chock full of the general diplomatic training any new FSO will need. I've heard it consists of many different things from etiquette, to American policy, to public speaking, and basic skills necessary for living and working abroad. There's a fairly generic description of the course on Wikipedia. I've linked to it here. The best description I've found thus far though is a firsthand account written by a FSO who took the course back in 2004. While some of the days have changed, I'm guessing this is most likely what my next seven weeks will look like. Mike Edwards is the author of this recap (from WorldAdventurers.com), and you can read his accounts here.

I hope that this information is interesting and helpful to you that are curious about what we'll be doing over the coming months. Its exciting to know that some of it is a mystery. I look forward to sharing my own accounts through the blog here and to let you all know what is going on. I'll be sure to keep my posts as often as possible. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to use the askablogr feature on the sidebar of the blog where it says "ask Brian a question." Well, its off to bed for me as tomorrow is another full day!

She Said: Key Dates

2009-02-24T22:06:00.005-06:00

We finally got some dates, and for a day I was relieved. Then I realized that March is next week, that Brian leaves me on Sunday, and that every minute of our life up until that point is scheduled. It is stressful! I didn't anticipate it would be like this. I am loving getting to be with family and of course there are tasks that we just have to get done, but it's a lot to deal with emotionally too. I think it's going to be kind of a tough week. For those of you who have to see me in the coming weeks, I apologize in advance for any crying or crabbing you may have to put up with

Anyway, like I said, we finally got some dates nailed down. I will leave the details for Brian to share with you about what each key milestone means, but the two most important days to me are flag day (when we find out where we're going) and swearing in (when Brian graduates). Flag day will be held April 10th and Brian will be sworn in on April 17. I am sure they will sneak up on us before we know it. Time seems to be literally flying by these days.

I just bought my ticket to join Brian for part of that first week in DC for spouse training. I think it will be very useful in helping us define our timeline and making a decision about when I will move out to DC with him. I can hardly wait. I am very excited about the first week, because that is when we will get the bid list and have a chance to research and rank them. That will give us at least a rough idea of where in the world we might go. Fun stuff!! Looking forward to seeing some of you this week. Take care!

She Said: Intro. to Foreign Service Community

2009-02-22T22:45:00.004-06:00

Hi all,
This week will be a whirlwind. They are coming to pack 250 lbs. of Brian's "stuff" on Friday for his move out to DC. He leaves on Sunday. It is going to be a crazy week, so even though it's late I thought I would take the time to post tonight.

Tonight we had the opportunity to meet one of Brian's new co-workers. They will both be starting training in DC together. He and his wife live here in Roseville and they are going through a lot of the same process that we are. It was really fun to be able to chat with someone who really understands the stress/excitement of this whole process. They were very interesting people and we found ourselves wondering out loud in the car about how we got to where we are and feeling a little inadquate in contrast to someone who speaks SEVERAL languages and has lived all over the world. I'm sure this will not be the last time we feel that amongst a group of 80 or 90 high achievers who are interested in representing our country abroad. Oh well, we'll get over it. In any case, I was reminded tonight how much the foreign service really is a community. We exchanged phone numbers and emails and Kristina and I agreed to stay in touch. She is not going to DC for spouse training, so I promised to bring back any important materials for her, and I'm sure at some point in the future, she will be a resource for me. It is really strange how this one small common thread can weave you together like friends so quickly. It made me feel very excited to meet the other members of Brian's class and their families. Can't wait for the first week in March to be able to share with all of you.

We were able to get a "subscribe" feature added to our blog tonight. You probably noticed it in the top right corner. It is run through feedburner, but I don't think you have to have an account or that they'll spam you. I signed up for it myself so that I can monitor. I already subscribed immediate family. Feel free to add yourself via feedburner if you would like to get an email when we post new entries.

He Said: The Ball's Rolling

2009-02-19T21:56:00.003-06:00

Well, it has been a while since I've last posted, so I figured it was about time for an update. Time has definitely been flying over the past week, as many of you can probably imagine. Our existence these days seems to be a delicate balance of dealing with logistics, scheduling time with family and friends, maintaining some level of consistency (or normalcy) in our day-to-day lives, and making sure that each day Steph and I have a little time to talk and just catch up. I imagine that the coming months will continue to be a whirlwind, but my hope is that we'll at least fall into a bit of a routine and some of the anxiety will drift once my training begins... oh, which is less than a week and a half away!

Today I was able to check off two major "to-do's" before my impending move to DC. I was able to lock down an apartment and get my ticket to DC booked. I'll be living in Rosslyn which is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia directly across the river from DC. I chose this location because it's only two blocks to two Metro lines (we're leaving the car with Steph, so I'll once again be reliant on public transportation), close to DC, the shuttle for training picks me up a block from my apartment, and finally because I found a swim team that trains two metro stops and a 5 minute walk away! It was strange to consider so many "conveniences" in my decision, but at this point I really wanted to be able to maintain some consistency in life while we still had a little bit of control. I think I'll enjoy being back in DC, but will definitely miss many of the routines Steph and I had developed in Minnesota. In addition to locking down an apartment, I was also able to get my ticket for March 1st booked. I have to say, it was definitely the easiest travel arrangement I have ever made. With one simple call I basically was given a list of flights to choose from and once I decided they took care of everything else (including adding my frequent flyer account). Maybe it's just because things are so crazy right now, but the fact that I was able to knock out a major task in such a short time gave me a true sense of satisfaction. Maybe a little sad, but you gotta go with what you've got at this point, right?

In my life I've come to truly believe that things in life happen for a reason. I imagine that years from now Steph and I will look back and realize why we were called to accept this adventure. At this point we just trust it's the right thing to do and dive in head first. This past weekend was definitely a moment in which I know it was "meant to be." As Steph mentioned in her previous entries, my brother Dan and I went to the Daytona 500 with my dad this past weekend (those of you on Facebook can see some of the pictures). For as long as I can remember, my dad has always said that the two things he wanted to do before he died were to see the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500. This year, we were able to make the latter a reality with some major assistance from my mom. It truly was an amazing experience and hopefully not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with my dad.

I say that I think this trip was meant to be because it had been planned since late last year (we surprised him at Christmas), it coincided with his 60th birthday, and because I was still able to do the trip before I headed off to training. I imagine that under any other circumstances this trip might not have happened or not had as much meaning, but what a way to go out! If my memory serves me correctly, the last time my dad had any time with just his boys, it would have been about 14 years ago when all of us were at boy scout camp for a week in the summer. Dad still has a picture of all of us after a huge storm hit the camp in the late afternoon and then we were blessed with an amazing sunset. I love that picture, and think that the joy I experienced then was as strong as I felt this weekend. The weekend was filled with time to bond, enjoying some good stock car racing, and just really having a ball. None of us had seen racing at that level before, so it was quite the experience. I think all of us would really like to do that again. I know that when I go I will look back on that trip and smile. I am so glad I was able to spend that kind of quality time with my dad and brother, and will look forward to a time that we can do it again. Those kinds of opportunities are definitely something I will miss, but I'm confident that another one will present itself in the future.

I continue to think how blessed Steph and I are to have so many special people in our lives. As we continue to notify people about our road ahead we are constantly reminded of the great friends and family we have. It will be hard to leave it all behind, but I am confident that the strength of relationships we have developed with all of these people will serve as a foundation for moving forward, and give us strength in the almost imminent tough times that may surface.

She Said: Medical Clearance

2009-02-16T21:56:00.005-06:00

Today was another new experience, probably my least favorite since Brian got "the call." I had my state department physical in order to get my medical clearance for travel. Those of you who know me probably know that I am not particularly fond of needles. Today they did lots of blood work (needle), took a chest x-ray, and did a mantoux test (needle). On Thursday I will go back for a cholesterol and blood sugar test (12 hour fast, needle). All of this is part of the preparation for our journey. The journey is exciting. It hasn't changed the way I feel about needles.

Brian comes home from Daytona tonight and I'm sure we will start right away with planning his last two weeks in Minnesota. It feels very strange to think that before long he will be back in the place we just moved away from and I will be here in the place we were settling.

For those of you who may be wondering (and I will send a communication to family specifically about this), Brian and I will come back from DC one last time before we leave for our overseas post. My sister tells me there will be a lovely sending off celebration and it will give us the opportunity to see everyone before we go. I hope this helps ease some worries about trying to fit in a visit with Brian before he heads to DC. The short time between our decision and his move has made it nearly impossible for him to be able to see everyone he would like. In any case, feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

Finally, on the note of questions, we have added a new feature to our blog. I'm not quite sure how it's working yet because noone has tested it, so I would love it if someone would give it a shot. It is the "askablogr" feature. If you click on the box on the upper right hand side it will take you to a separate window that will send a question to our blog. My understanding is that the questions and answers will post on the blog. Our intention is for people to post questions they have about anything related to this adventure so we can share with all who are interested and answer any questions people might have. Anyway, give it a shot.

That's all for now. Looks like I will be heading to Washington for "spouse training" March 5th and 6th...more on that later.

She said: Craziness Continues

2009-02-12T22:36:00.002-06:00

I didn't think I would write tonight, but it has been such a whirlwind that I decided to share my thoughts. Eventually we intend to share this on the web with all who want to view it and I think other "foreign service spouses" might appreciate knowing that someone felt the way they might at this point.

This week has been absolutely crazy! Since last weekend we decided that Brian will be back in DC March 1, that we will eventually go overseas, that I will move to DC sometime soon and that I will go to DC for the meeting with the career development officer and part of the bid process. I scheduled my physical to get my medical clearance, Brian started looking for housing for his first few weeks of training and I am looking at plane tickets and when I will go out to DC. It is a bit overwhelming as you can imagine!

I was contacted today by Natalya, our contact at the FSI Transition Center. She was super nice and told me about spouse training during the first week that Brian is in DC. I am still deciding whether or not I should go. It's a delicate balance between taking vacation from my current position (which I would like to keep until I move to DC) and participating in this whole process. Will share more when I know more.

He Said: It's Official

2009-02-11T21:48:00.005-06:00

Well, it's finally official. After six days of shock, deliberation, excitement, and waiting, my official offer from the State Department came via FedEx this morning. The three pound packet arrived this morning and I couldn't wait to get in and get the official papers signed and returned. After this whole process started on Thursday, I have to admit I've been a little neurotic. I guess with a change this big, you would never actually believe what's about to happen until all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed. Steph has been absolutely AMAZING during this whole process. I realize every day how lucky I am to have her in my life. I can not wait to share this journey with her. I guess the fact that we are able to do this together was the final sign that perhaps this was meant to be.

After signing the appropriate forms I headed over to Kinkos to submit them by fax. Of course, the first three times I tried to send them I got a busy signal... ahhhh!!! Ten minutes later I had officially accepted an offer to become a Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State! A major weight has been lifted off my shoulders at this point. I've got a mound of paperwork to finish filling out, and Steph and I have much planning to do. These next few weeks will likely go very fast. I'm going to try to live this time as normal as possible, but I know we'll be trying to fit in some "last times" for many things.

For those wondering, I'll be heading out to DC for training on my own. The first day of training is March 2nd. We're trying to figure out when Steph will be moving out, but it's tough to decide without knowing where we're going to be posted. We'll be sure to keep you posted on major decisions, updates, and changes through the blog.

She Said: Our Journey Into the Unknown...

2009-02-10T22:20:00.010-06:00

Wow! The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind. Although Brian and I have made many big decisions together, specifically decisions about moving far away, never have we laughed, cried, smiled, talked, and "mulled over" a decision as much as we did this one. After all of this, we have made our decision to embark on a new journey and we are EXCITED!!!

I really never thought about what it would be like to have your husband say he got "the call." Generally I only hear that from people who are married to pastors, but the impact on our life and the feeling that it gives you is probably very similar.

When Brian called me on Thursday evening to say that he had received "the call" to join the U.S. Foreign Service, so many things went through my mind. I think the first was "God, why are you doing this to me? I am just getting comfortable in Minnesota. We love it here! I love my job, my apartment, being close to family, quality of life, below zero weather, hotdish, my church, my friends, how can you do this to me now?" While we will never know why God led us to Minnesota, only to present us with a choice less than six months after our arrival, we are inclined to believe that it may have been to give us that quality time with our families before we headed out on our adventure.

Tonight I am so excited about all that lies ahead for us. I am not sure what the next step in my career looks like, but I know that there is something in store for me. Most of you know of my love for international travel, culture, language, policy, and basically everything foreign. I think most of you also know of Brian's love for everything politics and policy related. For those reasons alone, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. I am so proud of Brian for being one of the few chosen to represent in our country and to build relationships across the world in a time when it is so desperately needed!

He Said: The Call...

2009-02-10T22:19:00.006-06:00

So here we go... the first post on a blog that will keep track of Steph and my adventures over the next few years. It would probably be useful to give you all a little bit of background, as it's been a pretty crazy five days since this whole adventure began.

On Thursday, February 5th I was working at my client's office, getting ready to give a presentation. I was reviewing the file of the group we would be meeting with, and I needed a little break, so I checked my personal e-mail to get a short mental breather. Since I get about 75 spam messages a day, I usually check through the e-mail pretty quick. This time I was about to whip through the junk, when all of a sudden I saw a name that I recognized, but I wasn't sure from where. I looked at the e-mail and it was an appointment notification for the Foreign Service; they had reserved a seat for me in the March 2nd A-100 class (the training course you take to enter the Foreign Service).

Flashback: In April of 2006 Steph and I both sat for the Foreign Service Written Examination, the first step in entering the Foreign Service. We thought that if either or both of us got in that it would be such an amazing opportunity. For those of you who are not fully aware of what the Foreign Service is, it is the goverment corps that staffs and runs all of the US embassies and consulates across the globe. More information can be found at either the Department of State website: http://careers.state.gov/officer/index.html or of course on one of my favorite sites, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Foreign_Service

About 5 months after taking the written test, we received our scores. I had passed the test. In February of 2007 I moved on to the next selection round, the Oral Assessment. The OA is a day long examination of the skills that the government deems as paramount to a Foreign Service Officer's (FSO) success. Broken into three parts, the day consists of a group exercise, a writing test, and an interview. At the end of the day I was notified that I had been selected as "eligible for employment" and that I would now need both a medical and security clearance.

Moving forward a few more months, both my medical and security clearances came back with flying colors (or at least I like to think so...). In the summer of 2007, I was officially on "the Register," the official list of applicants that are eligible for duty in the Foreign Service. When you finish the oral assessment they give you a score that sets your place on the register. If someone scores higher than you, they sit above you on the list; pretty simple. With my score, I was fairly confident that I would never be called. I did all of the necessary things to keep my candidacy alive, but I never really made a plan for if it actually did happen. In fact, at the end of the OA, one of the senior officers gave us a piece of advice. He said, "If I can tell you one thing to make this easier, it would be to go home and live your life as if today never happened. Be ready for the call, but if it doesn't come, you'll be much happier." I took this advice to heart, as Steph and I continued down the same path and never looked back.

Back to Present day: So here we are, almost 3 years after first taking the written test, and I've just been offered the chance to represent my country overseas. I was honored, shocked, excited, terrified... and I had to give a presentation in a half hour!! All I could do was stare at my computer for 10 minutes or so to gather my thoughts. I went into the meeting, but my mind was definitely somewhere else.

On the way home that night, Steph had forgotten her keys to the apartment for the first time since we've moved in. We usually don't talk while I'm driving home, but tonight since she was stuck in the lobby I figured we had the time to chat and this might give her an opportunity to think before we really "hashed it out." After telling Steph that I had gotten "the call" neither of us really knew what to say. To top it all off, we had church group that night, meaning we went tubing until late and never had a chance to really talk... in fact, neither of us were really ready to consider if this was even an option for us anymore. After moving away from DC and being in Minnesota for 6 months, we had a really good life. Were we willing to really give that up?

The next morning, after very little sleep for both of us, we began the conversation. We wrote down what questions we had, and figured out if answers to those would be available over the weekend or if we'd need to call someone in Washington to get the answer. Thus began the weekend of the big decision. We spent the entire weekend mulling it over. We talked to our parents, our siblings, our friends, and our pastor. It seemed that every hour or so we'd have to just pause and check with each other where we were at. In the end, on Sunday, we decided that the right decision for us was to go for it. We were excited, relieved, nervous, and TIRED!!! A short celebration dinner at my parents' house and then on to a new week.

Monday was the day I submitted my verbal acceptance. I actually replied to the offer e-mail on Sunday night to make sure I was the first one in on Monday morning. After a few hours, a voicemail message, and another e-mail that included my resume and salary information, I finally heard back from the State Department... my information had been received, but they hadn't yet reviewed my files. I think I had an upset stomach from Monday morning until Tuesday AM when a copy of the official offer came in e-mail (the actual letter is coming via FedEx tomorrow). When I finally read the offer, a sense of real peace came over me. We were finally there.

This has definitely started off as an unconventional journey, but I am confident there will be many more exciting stories to share. I'll keep posting about what's going on leading up to my first day of training, March 2nd. The time is already going fast, but Steph and I are excited to head down this new road together.