Swearing-In

The last week of A-100 is by far the most exciting. It started with Flag Day and the following Friday was Swearing-In. Flag Day was by far the more exciting ceremony, however, Swearing-In is more official.

The Swearing-In of the 175th A-100 class took place on February 21, 2014 at Main State (State Department's main headquarters). PM's parents and sister and brother-in-law flew in for the weekend to celebrate with us. It was great having them here. 

This class's honorary speaker was the Honorable Ambassador Burns, Deputy Secretary of State. The ceremony was short- about 20 minutes, and formal, which is why I say Flag Day was more fun and exciting. However, Swearing-In marked the end of A-100 and the start language training.

After the ceremony we went first to a happy hour to celebrate with his class and then out to dinner to celebrate with PM's family. We went to PM's favorite DC restaurant, Old Ebbit Grill. At the start of dinner, PM presented each of us with a gift from the State Department's gift shop. His father, sister, and I all got shirts. His brother-in-law a whiskey glass, and his mother a coffee mug. Then, PM pulls out a little yellow baby onesie and announces that it is for the family's newest arrival and hands it to his sister (who is expecting baby Millie in September). His parents were shocked and confused and his mother thought we were playing a mean joke on his sister, but they were very happy to learn that they will have a new little grandbaby due Labor Day. Congrats Lori and Sam!