This says it all



Source NPR

Smithsonian

Yesterday a group of us went out to see a couple of the Smithsonian museums.  We hit one of my favorites, the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Art.  Here are a couple of pics from our time out.

I have to say I'm really looking forward to my future assignments and seeing the sites, but there are many great places to see and things to do right here in good old USA.

Training

Well it's been a while since my last update, but how do you top "We're going to Moscow!" Well I'm not even gonna try. But I'll say training is progressing nicely. We should be getting into more technical training next week. I gotta say the campus we are training at is just like a college campus. It's cool to see all the different people practicing languages, socializing outside at lunch and best of all, the feeling everyone seems to have that we are all part of an important mission.

I also am studying at night, working on upgrading my Microsoft certifications and going through Rosetta Stone Russian. I've been mostly focusing on the Microsoft side of things, because with the right certification(s) I can earn a Skills Incentive Pay (SIP) of 15%. Hard to pass up money for doing something you like to do. I've got two more exams to take to finish my certification as MCIT Enterprise Administrator. Unfortunately, in order to earn the SIP, you have to have earned the certification while working in the State Department, so the certifications I already have don't count for SIP. So needless to say I'm keeping pretty busy.
Today I plan on heading to the Taste of Arlington festival. Over 40 restaurants set up for sampling. Of course there will be beer and wine to sample as well :)

Moscow Russia

Okay looks like Moscow is where there State Department needs me.  So this is where we will go.  Of course this is the government and anything could change between now and the time we actually go.  All of us are really happy about this and looking forward to this next milestone.

Flag Day completed

Well just a quick post from my phone.
Moscow, Russia

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Two weeks down from her prospective

Well Crystal and I have made it thought the first weeks. I have to say it is a little challenging with her busy schedule. But we are hanging in there. I have learned a couple things in these first weeks. One it’s hard to cook for one person, we usually eat about as much one person. And the second thing I learned is that I can mow the yard, although I’m not very good at it. I was so proud of myself; I mowed the front yard and down the sides. Don’t tell my husband but I hired the back yard done. It is a pretty big back yard. We have this wonderful young gentleman from church who has offered to come in and do this for us, so I am taking him up on it. We are coming in to the third week now, as we wait with anticipation for Flag Day too. At least this week is better; we get to slow down a bit since we are off of gymnastics practice this week. It will give us time to take it all in.

Two Weeks Down

Well it's been two weeks now, and I'm more familiar with writing cables, Employee Evaluation Reports, T&A (no... Time and Attendance).  I've learned more about myself and playing nicely in the sandbox.  We were introduced to the diverse cultures out in the world and the Embassy as well as the diverse missions to the international community.  All in all this was a pretty good week.  I've still got a bit of home work to finish, but there's always tomorrow right. 

So today our class is having a barbecue, another opportunity to build relationships that will most likely stay with us throughout our careers.  I am really reminiscent of military life, the similarities of common goals, experiences and hardships brings people together in a very unique way. 

So where will the Foreign Service need me after training?  Heck I don't know yet :(  But... Tuesday May 10th, is Flag Day.  We will be called up individually and given the flag of the nation we will be going to.  We've all turned in our "Wish Lists" and are just waiting on the powers to be to assign us where we are needed.  Did you catch the fact that our wish list doesn't really impact where we will be posted?  In reality, we've all had one-on-one meetings with our Career Development Officer (CDO) and after those discussions, It seems that many of us have aligned our lists to reflect the conversations we had.  Regardless of where we are assigned, we will all be serving our nation and doing our part.
This weekend I think I will try to head out to the Mall and be a tourist.  There is so much history here and so little time to take it all in. 

News Report!

Just wanted to share some of the news stories breaking...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-is-killed.html?hp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676
http://www.npr.org/sections/news/?ft=1&f=1001

Just a reminder to those abroad, be safe, be vigilant.