Where I live in chaos (or how it's like to packout for your first post)
First of all, I want to welcome the newest group of baby Foreign Service Officers, the 179th! Our class hosted the welcome happy hour for the August class this last weekend and it was great getting to meet a lot of my new colleagues. It seems like eons ago, but only four months have passed from when I first got on that red eye flight to DC and attended my own welcome happy hour. In fact, I think I've barely recovered my hearing...But alcohol, hummus dip, and poorly written name tags aside, I think they're off to a great start! The weather has been consistently cool as we end August so despite the enforced dress code (business formal) and crowded A-100 classroom, they should survive.
My 2 cents? Ladies, get machine washable dresses and a Longchamp style purse. I got one based on M's suggestion and I've loved and used it all of my training at FSI. It's large, durable, waterproof, pretty stain resistant, and still looks nice enough to use with work and casual. You can throw a pair of flats in there along with your folders, an umbrella for sudden downpours, and even a scarf for when it gets meat locker cold. Guys, hmmm...I'd say good quality shoes. Good quality can be pricey for a reason, so look into a comfortable and long-lasting pair of dress shoes you can wear dressed up or possibly down. Being on your feet will get old, so why torture your sole? (See what I did there?) I'm a fan of Ferragamo, although Cole Hane and Bruno Magli are decent too depending on your price range. And no, I'm not made of money (nor do I get paid for referral), that's what sales and outlets are for. Trust me, one does not work for the government to get rich.
Other than that, invest in snacks for class, a good water bottle, and possibly consider packing lunch since our cafeteria at FSI is still under renovation and quite overcrowded. There's microwaves, fridges, and vending machines, so that helps. Have fun!
As for the rest of my life lately...advanced warning, this is gonna be long. I'll try to throw up headers since I've been MIA for a while.
Leaving College
To Dan, who will probably think 'I told you so' even if he's too polite to say it, you're right. Checking out of FSI is a pain and a process that should be done way earlier than we all think. The rooms you have to get your sign off from are all over the buildings and on all different floors. You may get lost. You probably will look like a sad Twist orphan as you wonder where exactly you go to get your email account processed. Embrace it. Buy a DVD early for saving your Personal drive and email PST file on unless you want to be running to the sundry store at 13:55 after stealing a dollar from your poor classmate on his way to Vietnamese language training that you managed to accost in the hallways only to find out that DVDs cost $1.50 as you stand there panicking only to be saved by a very nice man who took pity on you (and who will only ever know my thanks through anonymity, unfortunately.) Just saying.
Get your check out signed out early. Don't wait. It doesn't matter if you don't own a car, you'll still need GSO to sign off and prove you don't owe $100 for parking. If doesn't matter that this is the most panic inducing time of your first tour, but you will have to give back your security fob so bye bye to remote accessing your email or the intranet. I learned the hard way...there's intermittently available access at Crash & Bang.
Good bye FSI...it was nice attending our foreign service college for overachievers and those with no shame. I look forward to coming back in two years and hopefully getting some language and skill craft in! (Please have a better cafeteria by then.)
Crash and Bang It
So after Coffee and I celebrated an eternity of five years, I had to leave for my 1 week training at an offsite location in West Virginia. This involved me living in a hotel out of a weekend bag, so I brought a loaf of bread and my peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches. (Really it was just an attempt to get rid of my PBJ before I ship out.) FACT training (Foreign Affairs Counter Threat course) or C&B as many people call it was a great training experience, although one that can be a bit of a metaphorical splash of cold water when you think of the reasons for why we learn things like dealing with explosives, surveillance detection, what to do if you're taken hostage, firearms (I got to shoot an AK), and some pretty serious hands on training for trauma medicines- tourniquets, chest wounds, packing gaping holes in someone's neck. Not exactly your typical team building, trust fall type of get away trip. Did I mention you get up at 5 or 6AM everyday?
The driving was probably the most fun I had though, with some very experienced instructors (people who also train our overseas drivers, special ops, and special agents to name a few) teaching us to learn how to handle advanced driving techniques. Never thought I'd be wearing a helmet and bullet proof vest, practicing seeking cover from IEDs, and actually ramming cars to break out of a barricade in the foreign service...
Shawn from the Foreign Service Test blog linked a CBS video on the training which you can check out here.
The Elusive 50 lbs
Finally I'm down to just a day before I head out to consultations with DHS for post. It's all becoming very real as I sit in an apartment that's been emptied of the additional items I will be taking to post. For example, there's issues with shipping liquids, so I basically pre-bought 2 years worth of liquids. Like shampoo, juice, peanut butter, soy milk, lotion, hand sanitizer. You get the idea. Having a second pack out before I head out means I get to have a UAB done up (yay for 250 lbs that will hopefully arrive soon by air freight?) and the chance to make like a hoarder and buy way too much toilet paper, cliff granola bars, and Christmas decorations. (Don't judge me, alright. I /know/ there's Amazon.)
All that adds up to a lot of fiscal hemorrhaging and man does it hurt. Coffee tried to make me feel better though- apparently if I take all the money I've spent, divide it by 24 months, that's the monthly fee for an "American experience abroad." All I know is, I'll be eating canned corn and instant noodle for a while when I get to China...
My biggest goal now? Getting my two giant luggage down to exactly 50 lbs each. I have a carry on to help even things out but apparently things weigh a lot more than I had hoped. I've spent a lot of time just moving things from one luggage to the other in hopes of balancing out a few suits with a box of cookies and some clothes hangers. Great investment? A digital luggage scale. I picked up this one on Amazon earlier this year and it helps a lot.
So now Coffee is back dealing with his own move from the mid-west back to the west coast with the puppy, and I'm going to spend tomorrow throwing away amazon boxes and empty shopping bags, and thinking about how in just a little while I'll be moving into my first new home as a diplomat abroad. Cra-zy, right?
My 2 cents? Ladies, get machine washable dresses and a Longchamp style purse. I got one based on M's suggestion and I've loved and used it all of my training at FSI. It's large, durable, waterproof, pretty stain resistant, and still looks nice enough to use with work and casual. You can throw a pair of flats in there along with your folders, an umbrella for sudden downpours, and even a scarf for when it gets meat locker cold. Guys, hmmm...I'd say good quality shoes. Good quality can be pricey for a reason, so look into a comfortable and long-lasting pair of dress shoes you can wear dressed up or possibly down. Being on your feet will get old, so why torture your sole? (See what I did there?) I'm a fan of Ferragamo, although Cole Hane and Bruno Magli are decent too depending on your price range. And no, I'm not made of money (nor do I get paid for referral), that's what sales and outlets are for. Trust me, one does not work for the government to get rich.
 |
| Makin' it rain is not in my repertoire |
Other than that, invest in snacks for class, a good water bottle, and possibly consider packing lunch since our cafeteria at FSI is still under renovation and quite overcrowded. There's microwaves, fridges, and vending machines, so that helps. Have fun!
As for the rest of my life lately...advanced warning, this is gonna be long. I'll try to throw up headers since I've been MIA for a while.
Leaving College
To Dan, who will probably think 'I told you so' even if he's too polite to say it, you're right. Checking out of FSI is a pain and a process that should be done way earlier than we all think. The rooms you have to get your sign off from are all over the buildings and on all different floors. You may get lost. You probably will look like a sad Twist orphan as you wonder where exactly you go to get your email account processed. Embrace it. Buy a DVD early for saving your Personal drive and email PST file on unless you want to be running to the sundry store at 13:55 after stealing a dollar from your poor classmate on his way to Vietnamese language training that you managed to accost in the hallways only to find out that DVDs cost $1.50 as you stand there panicking only to be saved by a very nice man who took pity on you (and who will only ever know my thanks through anonymity, unfortunately.) Just saying.
Get your check out signed out early. Don't wait. It doesn't matter if you don't own a car, you'll still need GSO to sign off and prove you don't owe $100 for parking. If doesn't matter that this is the most panic inducing time of your first tour, but you will have to give back your security fob so bye bye to remote accessing your email or the intranet. I learned the hard way...there's intermittently available access at Crash & Bang.
 |
| Turn everything in BEFORE you leave FSI... |
Crash and Bang It
.JPG) |
| Rose's Luxury in Eastern Market is my new favorite restaurant. |
 |
| Totally like this, but with helmets. |
The Elusive 50 lbs
Finally I'm down to just a day before I head out to consultations with DHS for post. It's all becoming very real as I sit in an apartment that's been emptied of the additional items I will be taking to post. For example, there's issues with shipping liquids, so I basically pre-bought 2 years worth of liquids. Like shampoo, juice, peanut butter, soy milk, lotion, hand sanitizer. You get the idea. Having a second pack out before I head out means I get to have a UAB done up (yay for 250 lbs that will hopefully arrive soon by air freight?) and the chance to make like a hoarder and buy way too much toilet paper, cliff granola bars, and Christmas decorations. (Don't judge me, alright. I /know/ there's Amazon.)
All that adds up to a lot of fiscal hemorrhaging and man does it hurt. Coffee tried to make me feel better though- apparently if I take all the money I've spent, divide it by 24 months, that's the monthly fee for an "American experience abroad." All I know is, I'll be eating canned corn and instant noodle for a while when I get to China...
.JPG) |
| This is just the LAST costco trip I took. Pain. So much pain. |
My biggest goal now? Getting my two giant luggage down to exactly 50 lbs each. I have a carry on to help even things out but apparently things weigh a lot more than I had hoped. I've spent a lot of time just moving things from one luggage to the other in hopes of balancing out a few suits with a box of cookies and some clothes hangers. Great investment? A digital luggage scale. I picked up this one on Amazon earlier this year and it helps a lot.
So now Coffee is back dealing with his own move from the mid-west back to the west coast with the puppy, and I'm going to spend tomorrow throwing away amazon boxes and empty shopping bags, and thinking about how in just a little while I'll be moving into my first new home as a diplomat abroad. Cra-zy, right?
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