Where the wait is over...and the hardest is yet to come

It's been a pretty strawberry jam packed two weeks and some of this may be redundant, but I still wanted to share briefly.

Last week was our glorious Flag Day, a day filled with jitters, an overindulgence of caffeine and lots of nervous laughter. But we made our way through our assignments, cheers and applause cresting in waves throughout the room at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Classmate after classmate went up at the call of their name, spotlighted by the giant projection of their flag on the wall behind them. The most touching for me was when colleagues we knew were half of a tandem (their spouse also serving the USG abroad) received posts that would allow them to unite with their families- our class roared in approval, feet stomping as they ran up to claim their flag. But it was truly an emotional experience for all of us. My family had flown in from the west coast to join me, my father taking his first non-Christmas vacation in nearly a decade. None of them had ever traipsed the East Coast; one of my brothers was even flying for the first time. But they came and they sat in the audience with Coffee, and they smiled and cheered along with all the other rows upon rows of friends, families, future colleagues.

Actual depiction.

It was a surreal hour- yes, the ceremony only took about an hour, but felt both longer and much shorter. It is positive to say that many if not most of the class received posts that were on the high spectrum of their bid list, but that's not to say some were not a bit shocked or unsettled by their postings. People whose languages were needed were posted to places they expressed wishes not to go to. Our class also had a number of people who received partial or full language training waivers because of the desperate need of certain understaffed posts to fill vacant positions. It is difficult, but I have found that everyone has been able to pull themselves together and look forward. We sign a worldwide availability, but of course each person still has their own preferences, their desires for geographical areas or languages or jobs. The other positive way to look at things is that an unexpected post means unexpected adventures, rather than setting the bar too high on a location you have mental expectations from. And if things don't work out? Well, in a year you'll be able to bid on another list and another post!

To fast forward, yesterday was our formal swearing in ceremony at the Harry S. Truman Building, aka Main State. This is the location where the Secretary of State has his office, where delegates come in through the giant lobby decorated with hanging flags from all the countries the United States has formal relations with. Hosted in the Dean Acheson auditorium, named after one of our most illustrious and influential diplomats and Secretary of State,  the ceremony was attended by a number of ambassadors and prominent personnel. The keynote speaker was Deputy Secretary of State Ambassador William "Bill" Burns, who shared some personal anecdotes about his first tour, including one where he and another new officer managed to set off the tear gas defenses at the embassy while the Marine Ball was underway...

And so now, I am officially sworn in as a U.S. diplomat, my oath to the constitution made in front of the public and my peers. It's invigorating, it's unbelievable, it's a bit like a kid who is sitting on their father's shoulders, watching the fireworks bloom across the sky behind Cinderella's Castle and realizing, wow, I'm really here! (Now, onto East Asia Area studies next week...)

Yea, they didn't exactly hire me for my flag and floral arrangement skills...