SPRINGTIME IN DC

We arrived in DC in February for two months of training.  The first several weeks were cold – really cold – single-digit cold.  I had one snow day and one delayed start due to snow.  Coming from Belize this was a shock to the system.

No choice but to enjoy fancy cocktails at fancy DC hotels when it's 8 degrees (F) outside.

But over the last couple of weeks, spring has sprung!  The weather warmed up, I was able to walk to and from work each day, and the flowering bulbs and cherry trees put on quite a show.

The requisite photo of the Jefferson Memorial with cherry blossoms in full glory.

So many cherry trees!

Many of our friends from my orientation class were back in DC after wrapping up their first tours abroad too, as well as several of my Belize colleagues who also just finished their tours, so we were able to reconnect, share some to laughs… and a lot of meals and wine.  I should have brought stretchy pants!

I don't have any good shots of our group get-togethers, but I do have this one of more cherry blossoms.

And here's a shot of Ben Franklin at the Foreign Service Institute... with tulips!

My parents came to visit for a few days, and DC continued to impress.  They played tourist on their own while I was in class and Andrew was working on the weekdays.  But on the weekend, we were able to check out some of the museums together, and we visited Mount Vernon via a boat trip down the Potomac. 

My parents at Mount Vernon.

The Rose Family doing what we do best.

We visited Ford's Theater, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the National Portrait Gallery.  This was one of my favorites there.

Alas, all good things come to an end.  My training is completed, which in theory means I learned how to do my next job as a Political Officer in Zimbabwe.  (Of course, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that you really learn how to do your job by actually doing it.  At least I didn’t have to try to learn a language this time!)  So our time in DC has come to an end for now too.  I’m writing this blog entry from the Dulles airport while we await our flight to Portland.

I also did some "training" for Africa while visiting the National Zoo.

One of the (many) perks of this job is that we get a few weeks of paid leave between each overseas post.  They call it “home leave” – I call it “homeless leave” since we will be surfing couches and pet-sitting our way around Portland for the next few weeks.  We had the option of taking this leave before my training in DC… but that would have meant being in Portland in February and March.  Not the best time to visit Portland unless you’re particularly fond of grey and rain.  This way, we’ll get to visit Portland in the spring, and I expect we’ll see even more flowering bulbs and trees.  Springtime in DC AND Portland – the best of both worlds!