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!
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