Where I breakup with China and head back to the Diplocommunity College of Arlington

This post was hard to write for many reasons, some understandable and some just plain 'me'. When I started it a few weeks ago, I was winding down my two years. Two years of learning about the department, learning about the people, learning the ropes of how to do this living abroad business. As I tried my best to avoid the countdown game, (1 month...25 days...8 hours) there's a strange part of when your work life begins to become about tying up loose threads, passing projects onto other officers, doing the seemingly never ending check out process (which I think I still ended up doing wrong).


You need to complete an employee evaluation report (EER) which is a lovely document completed by you (to talk about doing your job), your rating supervisor (to talk about you doing your job), and a reviewing supervisor (to...talk about if your boss and you were talking about doing your job?).



My laoban's motivation was a genius plan of sticking a giant sign with my name and EER in large letters at my work station, guilting me into working on said EER every time someone passed by and would ask me about it. Tips for those in or wanting to join the service? Work on your damn EER early, it's like performing self oral surgery with no mirror and just a bottle of whiskey for anesthesia.


So with an EER out of the way, my fumbling attempts kind of proceeding with getting checked out at HR when your main management section is located a 45 minute car ride away in traffic from your usual work location, I had the brilliant plan that instead of a farewell party, I would just run down a bucket list of activities that I had wanted to do in Shanghai, but never gotten around to, while inviting anyone who wanted to come to join in. Someone once explained serving abroad as being in 6 month cycles for a two year tour and I have found it pretty valid. Will have to see if it stays true for my next tour.

http://textsfromthe-impala.tumblr.com/post/142493487538


1st 6 months: excitement at arrival at a new job and location, getting to make new friends, I can't believe they pay me for this. don't screw it up.
2nd 6 months: cloud nine sinks down to routine life and the not so wonderful inconveniences of life abroad crops up, maybe time to do some traveling and explore
3rd 6 months: usually after R&R, you realize that you have a year left and you actually are starting to understand what the acronyms they use at work are and maybe you aren't a complete fail
4th 6 months: wait, i'm leaving? time to fight for as many opportunities as you can to complete before they all forget your name and throw your nameplate out

So here's some random shots of the last few months.






Last trip to Japan





Shanghai Disney Prep!

I'm going to miss good Chinese food.





I don't remember where this was, but check out those shoes!

Moo for America.


I'm proud of these signs I designed. Very proud. They're waterproof. 
"antique" shopping

Sherlock Holmes Cafe




We had an ACS egg drop for team building. I designed our NASA style badge.

ChinaJoy ....convention. Games? Electronics? I don't remember, it was really hot. #chinajoymeans 
Celebratory wheels up meal with J.



Last train ride for a prison visit in Zhejiang.

One day, I will be literate. One day.

Live music bluegrass band!

We've gotten so many great new people in and I miss the great group I left behind. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces in DC and having more people for me to cajole and force into social activities with me. Last time I was here, it was just for a four month session of training, a whirlwind of learning about the Department, my job, my assignment, and unanswered questions like why do we need to have TM-1 through TM-4, will there quizzes on the logistical layout of department hierarchy, what is work life balance, and how many annexes are there?(Also, HST cafeteria is still way better than FSI cafeteria.) This time, I'll be returning with more unanswered questions like if I don't get tenured does that mean I never have to try bidding 3rd tour, what is work life balance, and how have they not created a state department tinder (list the bureaus you're willing to bid on, language scores, and how many hours you're willing to fly for a first date).



Goodbye UpSea. You have been a wonderful bundle of adventures to the Silk Road, friendships that will survive Wechat and the Great Firewall, the opening of Shanghai Disney, bad trampoline decisions (still on crutches), glorious karaoke decisions (always say yes to a karaoke invitation in China), Go Karting, Trivia Nights (go Team Hatch Act!), and all the other plethora of memories that may or may not be recorded on a phone camera somewhere. I missed out of G20, but did work on a super EdSec visit, and hey - there will always be more important work, more visits, more cables, and more 'Murica. As I rode in the car to the airport, I realized that leaving post feels a bit like a breakup - you've invested so much time, energy, passion, and love. You both separate hopefully having made a tiny impact (for the better?) on each other and even though you may meet again, it will never be the same as it was before.


Hello FSI. Be kind to me, language training, I have a delicate constitution and the memory of a goldfish cracker.



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