SETTLING IN

I’ve been in DC for two weeks now, and I just finished my second week of training.  I’m getting pretty well settled in, and so far, so good.  The training days have been pretty long and filled with lots of information to absorb and things to learn, so that has been keeping me busy.

Andrew joined me here last Wednesday.  He has been taking advantage of some of the classes that the Foreign Service Institute offers for family members.  He’ll head back to Portland on Monday to get our house packed up (which we are renting - we had tenants lined up within two days of the rental being advertised) and then come back to DC permanently in a month or so.

Last week, we got a list of possible posts where we could be assigned, and we’ve been doing lots of research on all of them.  Not a lot of garden spots on this list, but if you like malaria and Mexico border towns, we have got some great options for you!  They let us rank all of the options as high, medium, and low, and those rankings are due on Monday… but ultimately, we go where they tell us to go.  On May 6, we’ll find out where we’re headed and when we’re headed there.

My fellow classmates are a really interesting group of people.  Lots of younger mid-career types, but also, lots of second career types, like myself.  Retired military personnel, recovering lawyers, PhDs… you name it, they’re in this class.  We’ve been getting to know each other through a multitude of after-hours events that have been planned – happy hours, museum trips, even a wedding reception!  Yes, one of my classmates got married today and has invited all of us to a “reception” they’re having at a bar on the waterfront.  We're heading there later this afternoon. 

Andrew and I have been having fun exploring our new (temporary) city together in the evenings and on weekends.  We were able to get together with long-time friends the Culvers who were in DC for spring break last week.  We’ve taken lots of walks through the monuments and a couple of the museums in DC.  We even happened upon a filming for NCIS in front of the White House!  The cherry blossom festival has been going on for the last couple weeks, and even though the cherry blossoms are a bit past prime now, there are tons of other flowers in full bloom.  The weather has been amazing this past week – true spring days – and we’ve been making the most of our free time outdoors before the heat and humidity of the summer arrives and forces us inside.

Heading out now to enjoy some more of the beautiful weather and rest up a bit before the frenzy of training starts up again on Monday…

The Capitol with tulips in their full glory

The "Castle" (The Smithsonian's visitors center) with its gorgeous garden

Inside the Library of Congress - one of the prettiest buildings in DC, I think

The reading room at the Library of Congress

The Washington Monument - and tons of blue sky!

Mark Harmon!

Us!  (And the White House)