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

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!

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

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!!

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

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

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"

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.

He Said: A-100 Week Two

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.

He Said: A-100 Week One

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

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!

He Said: Tried & Tested

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.