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!

Flag Day

Today was Flag Day at FSI! It was a day filled with much anxiety mixed with excitement as we waited to find out where we will be going. I sat there as 82 of the 87 people were called in his class, just waiting. Near the end, it seemed all the China postings were gone, however, we were lucky enough to snag the second to last one!

In December 2014, we are headed to Guangzhou, China (formerly known as Canton). We aren't experts on the area yet, but in doing some brief research, I have learned the following:

• Guangzhou is the 3rd largest city in China and the capital of the Guangdong province. 
• Guangzhou has been an international trade center for over 300 years. 
• It borders the South China Seas.
• Guangzhou is 2 hours from Hong Kong. 
• The weather is tropical with hot and humid summers. 
• Guangzhou is 13 hours ahead of Eastern time. 
• According to Andrew Zimmern, it is the food capital of China.

PM and I couldn't be happier to start this next adventure together!

Its Out of Our Hands

PM submitted our bid list today! In the two weeks that we had to rank all the posts, our thoughts changed some, partially due to PM's conversation with his CDO. Our final bid list was submitted with the only posts being high, the EAP (East Asia and Pacific) bureau posts. The low posts were the English language designated posts (including Mumbai and Manila- cool spots, but we would rather go when a language is required) and Nuevo Laredo. And everything else being medium posts.

Now we just have to contain our concoction of excitement, nerves, anxiety, and anticipation in check until February 14th as its out of our hands now!

Bid List!

We have the most prized possession of anyone in A-100, the Bid List!

When PM brought it home the other day I could barely contain my enthusiasm. The bid list is a list of all the potential places we could be headed next. There are 99 spots on the list for the 86 members of his class, so some spots will go unfilled. The list contains places as familiar as Ottawa, Canada and as unknown as Abuja, Nigeria. The list is heavy on Mexico, China, and Brazil, which was no surprise as everyone in his class will be serving as a consular officer their first tour.

We now have one week to rank every spot as High, Medium, or Low, with only 25% being in the low category and unlimited highs and mediums. We have to take into account that many of the positions require language training and the ETA in country has to allow for appropriate language training. The list also gives us the percent of danger pay, differential pay, and the size of the American direct hires at post. All things that need to be considered when we are making our list.

In a couple days, PM will meet with his Career Development Officer (CDO) to discus what his preferences are when it comes to his first post as his CDO is the one who, along with the other CDOs, makes the decision.

So far, we are heavy on Asia in the highs and the lows consist of the English language designated posts as PM really wants to learn another language right away. I have been writing each post out on pieces of paper and placing them in the correct categories.

After submitting the bid list in a week, we have to wait until February 14th, so learn where we will be headed in the much anticipated Flag Day Ceremony.

New Apartment

We moved into our new apartment in Arlington today and I must say, its the nicest place I have ever lived that's for sure! A few highlights of our apartment include: onsite gym, swimming pool, 1 block from the metro, and 2 blocks from a grocery store.

I am excited to take this place and turn it into our first American home!

Inaugural Post

This inaugural post is exciting as it marks the start of Book 1 in PM and Slim's Overseas Adventures.

Yesterday, PM and I flew to Washington, D.C. to begin our new life. However, PM's journey to becoming an FSO began quite awhile ago. I won't go into details about all of the initial steps, but I will give a brief rundown of the process and it's timing since I have been involved.

June 2012- Written Test
July 2011- Personal Narratives
January 2013- Oral Assessment
February 2013- Security and Medical Clearance
June 2013- 2nd Candidacy Written Test again (you can have multiple candidacies at one time)
July 2013- 2nd Candidacy Personal Narratives
November 2013- Language Exam (Macedonian)
November 27, 2013- Acceptance

As you can see, even just this process has been long and this is only the shorthand mention of the major checkpoints.

PM was lucky enough to find our about his acceptance to the January 2014 A-100 training class during our epic return journey from Peace Corps. Since arriving back in America, there has been lots to do to get ready, including purchasing new clothes and shoes, completing our first pack out, and submitting all the paperwork.

Pack out went really well. Because neither one of us has much stuff, we had it pretty easy. We brought as much of my stuff from Minnesota as we could in two checked bags and even adding some of that to the piles of PM's stuff, there was room in the UAB (unaccompanied air baggage- this will arrive in DC in 2-6 weeks and will be what we have to live with while PM is in training) and certainly ample room in the HHE (household effects- this will all be placed in a storage locker in the DC area and we will have limited access to it).

We flew to DC yesterday to have a bit of time to adjust before PM starts work on Monday. We will be staying at a friend's apartment until we move into our own place tomorrow. Housing is provided during training, which makes it possible for me to join PM and search for a job here. I have two second round interviews lined up for the upcoming weeks, and hopefully something will work out. I get to attend a training for spouses and members of the household this coming week to learn about my role in this career and the services that I am entitled to.

So far, so good!