Month: March 2019

Arrival at Cairo

My flights from Washington D.C. were both long, uneventful, and uncomfortable. It had been my intention to sleep as much as I could on the overnight flight across the Atlantic, but I don’t think I ended up getting more than an hour of sleep. Whether this was due to the discomfort or anxiety, I’m not sure. In any event, as the sun crested on the Eastern horizon, it illuminated an ocean full of icebergs far below. It was an impressive sight, and I didn’t really want to close the window afterwards in further vain attempts to sleep.

I laid my eyes on Europe for the first time as we flew over Ireland, England, and finally the mainland. The slow descent into Frankfurt revealed a countryside dotted with downs and marked by tall wind-power farms. I greatly desired to explore it, I’d have to settle with exploring the airport with only a two and a half hour layover. Upon landing we taxied for what seemed like an eternity, only to park somewhere on the tarmac and load into buses which took us to the terminal. This seemed strange to me, but I guess it is fairly normal at these gigantic airports that may have more aircraft traffic than gates.

I scrambled around the airport, looking for the connecting flight. With a little luck and perseverance, I found it with enough time to grab myself a midday meal at a nearby restaurant. Of course, any meal at this point would have been incomplete without some accompanying caffeine, and of course, I couldn’t pass through Germany without getting a taste of whatever local brew they had on tap, so that’s what I got along with Weißwurst and a pretzel. This was something a little bit off the beaten path food-wide, so I wasn’t surprised when it wasn’t what I’d consider the best German food I’d ever had, but it was easily better than the food served aboard the aircraft. And of course, the beer was delicious.

I boarded the shorter connecting flight to Cairo, and found myself getting anxious and counting the hours until my arrival. I would have liked to relax, but I found it difficult at the time. I didn’t have a window seat this time, so I missed out on whatever sights there were to see until we began our descent into Cairo a little bit after the sunset. Shortly before touchdown I managed to catch the dark silhouette of one of the Giza pyramids against the backdrop of lights in Cairo. It wasn’t long after that we parked and deboarded the plane.

My expeditor was waiting for me just off the plane, and swept me up into his whirlwind of activity as he rushed me through the airport, dealt with customs and collected my bags. In true military fashion, we hurried up only to end up waiting for nearly half an hour for our ride to show up. Apparently there had been a few wrong turns taken somewhere along the ride. When the vehicle finally rolled up, I thanked my expeditors, loaded my bags and climbed in to meet my social sponsor.

As we headed back to Maadi and the apartment waiting for me (which I was absolutely looking forward to given my state of exhaustion) my sponsor and I talked, he answered many of the usual questions I had, and laid out the other plans he had in order to get me situated. During this time I was taking in everything around me. The first things I noticed about Egypt was how dirty everything seemed, and how maniacal people seemed to drive. Neither of these were really unexpected – Cairo is a pretty dry place, with occasional sandstorms. It’s no surprise that it gets everywhere. As for the driving, well I’m still alive aren’t I?

The apartment complex in daylight – something I really wouldn’t see until the first weekend!

It took us about 40 minutes to get to the apartment and I spent an hour or so with my host and his wife, chatting, eating, drinking, etc. He showed me to my apartment, where he had already collected some groceries for me, and my work sponsor and his wife had kindly left me a card, some homemade bread, and other treats. I was touched by all of this, but fatigue had caught up to me and I crashed shortly afterwards. I should have taken an administrative day off to try to adjust, but I didn’t – I was going to be going into the embassy for my first day bright and early in the morning. It was only fitting when my body refused to sleep more than a few hours.

The first day at the embassy was a blur of introductions, a maze of confusing and nondescript hallways and corridors, and an test of how much I could absorb on minimal amounts of sleep. After following my work sponsor around the embassy like a lost puppy for most of the day, I went home and had dinner with him and his family – then retired for an early night to do it again the next day. I was more than ready for the weekend when it came, and I embraced a couple of familiar faces that I had known from my time at FSI.

My first impressions were positive of both of my sponsors, but guarded about the work and interactions I could expect. Clearly, conducting diplomacy would not be limited to only foreign relations. I began to have my nagging doubts about what I was doing, and the choices I had made in life that lead me here – much as I had experienced upon my arrival in D.C. six months ago. One thing I could count on was that this post and life would test and challenge me, that I would either rise to it or back down from it. It would have it’s ups and downs, it’s hardships and luxuries, and that I’d need to work hard to ensure my success.

Departing D.C.

The past six months have flown by far faster than I would have imagined. When I arrived, I was unsure of myself and the direction I was headed in – I made a few acquaintances and learned to cope with it. I got over the worst of it – those first few weeks, where every day is a huge drain, you’re struggling to keep your head above water, and stave off loneliness and despair. It eventually ebbs, things come around and start to feel normal, and eventually start looking up.

My classmates became my friends. With some of them, such a rapport developed to rival longstanding friendships I’ve had back home. I learned to thoroughly enjoy the life in limbo characterized the time spent in D.C. at FSI. Though the apartment I lived in never felt like a home, the companionship I found helped to bridge that gap. I will cherish many of the connections I made, and the people I met during this time. As my impending departure loomed ever closer, I found myself wishing I had more time to spend with these individuals.

Arlington National Cemetery – a great place for a long walk

Leaving a place is never easy. Abandoning the routine for the unknown puts me ill at ease. Some people find this exciting, but for me, it was terrifying. Ironically, I felt the same way about downhill skiing when I first tried it a few years, and now I really enjoy it. One less thing I’ll be doing in Cairo, but I hear they have an indoor ski slope. Anyway, I digress…

The last few weeks have been spent checking off some of the final things on the to-do list. I attended FACT, which would make for a great blog entry of it’s own, but is probably best left as something experienced, rather than documented. A few other gap days and seminars, and you’ll find yourself running around on your consult days getting all you’re pre-departure work done, wondering where the time has gone.

A snow day in my neighborhood during training at FSI

Departure from the US to your first assignment involves a long laundry list of checkout and preparation activities that one has to muddle through first, and not all of it is straightforward. There are some pretty good resources that will guide people most of the way, or help them make a through-looking departure checklist, but I haven’t found a complete or definitive departure guide. By the time you’re thinking about checking out, you’ve hopefully already taken care of your shots, travel arrangements, and visa. On top of this comes transferring accounts, final checkout procedures, returning equipment, coordinating with the gaining post, and a whole host of other activities. On the personal side, you’re probably already freaking out about packout, packing, family stuff, pets, checking out of accommodations, and any number of other things. The good news is that this all happens surprisingly fast, and once you get on that plane, it all becomes much easier and those responsibilities take a backseat to the reality that you’re finally heading to post.

Things in the State Department seem to move at glacial paces at times, yet they also happen surprisingly quickly when they want to. Such was the case with my initial orders to D.C., which arrived only a day or so before my scheduled flight. This time around things were quite a bit less hectic. Everything seemed to line up rather nicely for me, while some of my colleagues were poised to be spending several more weeks in limbo at FSI. Still, we made the most of the time we had, going out for dinners together, celebrating birthdays and time well spent, segueing into late nights together playing board games and chatting. I knew I was going to miss time spent like this, in the company of those I had come to know – but the next big adventure was not to be kept waiting (unless post screws up your housing assignment). When the evening of my flight rolled around I departed for the airport with a cherished colleague, who saw me to the ticketing counter and finally parted ways at the security check – leaving me only with a cross of jittery sadness, and the dawning realization of being headed into the unknown. My most prevalent thought, and not for the first time, was “what the hell am I getting myself into?”. Only time will tell.