LOOK WHAT I GOT TODAY!

It's like Christmas!  Except more bureaucratic.

Everything looks better in black.

Yes I am.  Or, at least, yes I will be.

WEEKEND AT SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

Last weekend, Andrew and I loaded up the car and headed to Shenandoah National Park.  It’s only a couple hours west of DC but couldn’t be more different.  Trees!  Quiet!  Cool(er)!  It’s up in the Blue Ridge “Mountains.”  (I think quotes are appropriate since the elevation is about 3,000 feet.)  Skyline Drive runs the ridgeline for the length of the park – about 100 miles – and offers lots of views to the east and west.  We stayed in a little cabin for a couple of nights, and did lots of hiking both days.  Several segments of our hikes were on the Appalachian Trail, so I guess technically we hiked the AT… but we saw several folks loaded up with legit backpacking gear who were actually hiking it.  We saw tons of critters, including deer and wild turkeys, and the forest was blooming with wildflowers and mountain laurel.  We had a picnic table outside of our cabin that made for a great happy hour spot, and there was music in the evenings at the on-site restaurant.  It was a great weekend and the slightly cooler temperature was a welcome reprieve from the heat in DC.  I predict I will spend much of this summer - and much of my time in Belize - flushed and sweaty.  It's a lovely combo.

Checking another national park off our "been there" list.

A lovely vista from one of our hikes.

On the Appalachian Trail!

Looking over the Shenandoah valley on a morning walk.

Big Meadow, an area in the middle of the park.

Happy hour at the cabin.

Sunset over the Shenandoah valley.

Friday was the last day of my 6-week course for the consular position I’ll have in Belize.  Next up in my training program is a 6-month intensive Spanish course that I’ll be in until Christmas.  I'm a bit anxious to see how this plays out since I know from my brief stints of Spanish immersion over the past few years that I will likely be exhausted at the end of every day from doing nothing other than using my brain.  Thinking is hard!  Wish me luck.

A NEW ROUTINE

It’s been a month since I finished the orientation program for my new gig.  I’m now in the midst of a 6-week training program for the consular position I’ll have in Belize.  I’ve been learning all about tourist visas, immigration processes, American citizen services… some fascinating, some… not so much.  But I’m getting paid to learn stuff!  How bad can that be?

   

It is a bit like being back in college... without the fraternity parties and final exams.  I start my day between 8-9 every day.  A shuttle bus picks me up in front of my apartment and about 15 minutes later, I arrive at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI – welcome to Acronym World!).  The grounds of FSI are very campus-like.  Lots of connected buildings and open space.  At lunch time, everyone goes to the cafeteria and/or eats lunch outside.  I generally have classes and sessions until 4-5, and then I take the shuttle back to the apartment.  Some days I have homework.  I’m reliving my youth!

Welcome to the Foreign Service Institute

Andrew has arrived here permanently too.  He drove cross county to bring our car and some things we couldn’t ship (i.e., WINE!) and got here the first week of June.  Having him here has helped to make this all seem less temporary and more real too.  And now that we have a car, we’ve made some plans to get out of town on some weekends.  We’re headed to Shenandoah National Park this weekend and then a beach town in Delaware next month.

One of the things I’ve most appreciated about the last month and my post-orientation schedule is that I’ve finally started to establish some sort of a routine.  The weather has helped in that regard also because it has stopped raining but hasn’t yet reached full-blown heat and humidity.  This means I’ve been able to get in a little run (read: 30% slow jogging, 30% panting, and 40% profuse sweating) before my day begins.  Most mornings, I’ve been doing a little loop around Roosevelt Island, which is a pedestrian-only park very close to our apartment. 

View of the Potomac, Key Bridge and Georgetown from the pedestrian bridge
leading to Roosevelt Island

The only things on the island are trees, trails, a boardwalk along the Potomac… and a huge monument to Teddy Roosevelt in the middle, which looked like a Mayan ruin looming out of the vegetation the first time I came upon it.  This is NOT in everyone’s tour book, that’s for sure.  It’s also my daily moment of nature – I’ve seen tons of birds, squirrels, rabbits… even deer and turtles!  Pretty cool considering how close it is to the urban sprawl of Arlington and DC.  I feel like a little bit of Portland has made its way into my new routine. 

On the loop around the island

A boardwalk through the trees

The HUGE Theodore Roosevelt monument in the middle of the island

I think he's waving and saying, "Hey! I'm over here in the middle of all these trees!"

Too much nature?  Fear not!  The concrete jungle is just over yonder