Digital Diplomat – Page 2 – Life as a Foreign Service Specialist

Shenandoah Spelunking

I’m fairly unfamiliar with the natural beauty of the East coast. I simply haven’t spent enough time in that area to familiarize myself with much of it. So I didn’t really have a ton of expectations when a few of us decided to make a day trip out to Shenandoah Park. As per my habit, I looked at the area maps ahead of time to get a feel for what was there and what to do.

Before we got too invested in the park itself, we spotted some advertisements for cavern tours once we got close to the park. Since some of my companions had never been through a proper cave, it seemed like the natural thing to stop for. So, we took a tour of the Skyline Caverns, which had some pretty spectacular formations. The caves I have been through previously were formed by lava tubes and other geological activity, whereas this one appeared to be formed from water flow over vast amounts of time, leaving quite a different set of formations than ones I had seen before.

Our guided tour introduced us to the usual stalactites and stalagmites, the columns that eventually form, flowstone, and other underground features; shallow ponds and lakes, that were perfectly calm and still, entirely mirror like, all of it existing naturally in these caves. The tour was aided in many spots by colorful LED lights, which made for spectacular underground displays. Of particular significance was the flowstone formation which looks like a phoenix with distinct plumage, which is quite a spectacle.

Many of these light displays gave the caverns an entirely different feel

Further in the caverns are some very rare formations of pure calcite crystals called anthodites. These were created over many years in a natural vacuum that formed in parts of the cave, which aided in the creation of these remarkable crystal formations. There are only a handful of formations like these in the world, and there was evidence that people had previously tried to take samples of it with them on their visits to the cave. Now the area that these crystals occupy protected by state laws and various physical protections on site. It’s unfortunate that this is necessary, it does not seem like a high moral bar to leave a place of natural beauty in the same condition that you found it in, so that others may enjoy it.

One other thing of note about the Skyline Caverns is the rare (and presumably extinct) cave beetle that was discovered there. As the story goes, the expedition responsible for the discovery found specimens of cave beetle when surveying the cave, and removed them for study. These specimens died, and on many return visits over the years, the living specimens have not been rediscovered. Some think them to now be extinct. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder of just how fragile ecosystems can be, and how our presence and activities can affect them.

Onward to Shenandoah park proper. Apparently Skyline drive is the signature drive of the park, which is heavily trafficked during the summer months when the greenery is in full bloom. It’s one of those long, windy, scenic roads that car commercials would feature to evoke an emotion about their product, rather than actually telling you anything about it. The vistas from the top of the ridge that the road runs along are spectacular out to the valleys on both sides.

Paying the park entrance fee and starting the initial climb up onto the ridge in our rental vehicle rewarded us with several grand vistas and other viewpoints. We stopped for photo opportunities at many of them, but the exposure to the cold and windy (albeit clear) weather soon quelled us of our desire to exit the vehicle.

At one point at large plateau, we made a rest stop at the visitor center and were treated to a meadow with a herd of deer grazing through it. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see, and quite different from the other views we had been treated to that day.

As I drove through the area I could help but also think about how it compares to the scenery and geology back home. The highest point of the drive we took was just over 4000 feet in elevation. In the corner of the Pacific Northwest that I’m from, that’s still lower than our mountain passes – you know, the low saddles in the mountains where we build highways through to facilitate movement through the mountain ranges. The surrounding mountains are also an order of magnitude taller. So it this excursion really amplified the difference in geological age difference of the coastal regions on each side of the continent.

Mulling these and other thoughts over, the senice road provided a great opportunity to relax and reflect. All in all, while the drive was generally enjoyable and sightlines were improved by the lack of foliage on the winter drive, we all were loudly wondering just how much more gorgeous the park would look in the spring, summer, or fall. Maybe I’ll have to return and find out.

Hello New York City!

It seemed that many of my furloughed colleagues took advantage of the shutdown to visit family, sight see, and generally take an impromptu vacation. I wasn’t much different, aside from being limited in the forms of transportation I had available to me. Of course, there was at least one place where the absence of a car would make little difference, and so myself and a few colleagues grabbed some train tickets and headed to New York for the long weekend.

I’ve been to New York once before on a business trip, but it was during a time where I wasn’t as adventurous, and was tethered to our small office in Melville. Suffice to say, I really didn’t get to see the big apple that time around. This time it would be different!

We departed early on a snowy morning from Washington Union Station on a comfortable three-hour train ride across the frosted landscape of Maryland and Philadelphia. It would have been easy to sit back and drift off into a light sleep, aided by the gentle rocking of the train, and interrupted only by the soft clacking and other noises trains make – of course, I had earbuds for the latter. In any event, the landscape was far too enthralling to pay much attention to the backside of my eyelids. It almost felt like a scene out of The Polar Express. Frozen countryside, ice-crusted lakes and marshes, snow-covered trees and houses. It was all fairly majestic, especially given when you see this much countryside enveloped in snow, you’re usually attempting to drive through it.

Of course, by the time we got to New York city, the snow was scant and scarce. It was still before noon, so we left our bags in Amtrak’s keeping and decided to visit the American Museum of Natural History. Of course, we first had to navigate the New York city subway system (they oppose to calling it the Metro, as it’s called in DC). Only a couple mistakes were made in our first foray into the tubes, and we arrived at the museum only twenty minutes later than we had anticipated.

We made our rounds through the exhibits – Scales of the Universe, Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, Vertebrate Origins, Mammoths, Mammals, and other fossil remains. I especially enjoyed the Scales of the Universe, although much of it was information I already knew – it was good to see that displayed in such an easily understood and enlightening manner – though I don’t think everyone got the same sense of awe from it that I did.

Proceeding onward, I was looking forward to the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, the native cultures from my own geographical backyard – unfortunately this exhibit was closed for renovation. This was a real setback, given how much floor space they had dedicated to it – but there was plenty more to see, so we didn’t let it delay us. Progressing through the Hall of Human Origins and Hall of Meteorites were both enjoyable and hearkened back to some of the anthropology courses I attended in college.

We visited the Halls of South American Peoples, of Mexico and Central America, and others. The hall of African Mammals was also quite enjoyable, although none of them appeared to inhabit any of the areas near Cairo, where I would be staying. I guess that means I’ll have to go on a safari. We hadn’t finished getting through everything when closing time rolled around, but that’s the nature of trying to explore a big city in a few days.

One of the folks that we were traveling with had some relatives that lived in Brooklyn, and were accommodating enough to allow us to stay with them for the weekend. Navigating the subway to the closest stop was a good exercise – but was accomplished with all bags and persons accounted for. With the temperature dropping to uncomfortable cold levels, we were all eager to get into our accommodations. I was expecting a fairly tight living situation in the domicile, and I wasn’t to be disappointed – although it was a tad bit roomier than expected. I believe this was because it was actually two flats combined into one – the layout certainly lended to that. After meeting, supping and drinking with our hosts, we planned for another big day and turned in.

The next morning, our group walked to Bergen Bagels, where we tried a good selection of their bagel offerings, and even a little dessert. I distinctly remember the salmon, cream cheese, onion and chive bagel that I treated myself to, being quite delicious. We parted from our hosts after this point, and took the subway back into lower Manhattan.

Once in Manhattan we walked the streets and sidewalks, from Madison Square Park, up through Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. At every step of the way we took pictures, ducked into stores that interested us, remarked upon the sights, and generally enjoyed the experience. The sights and sounds of Time Square was otherworldly to behold, but still had that distinctly “American” feel I knew that I’d soon be without. After much walking, we rested our feet while watching skaters on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, one of which was clearly a professional. Once we were ready to go again, we awed at the architecture and magnificence of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was definitely worth the stop.

Finally, we made our way up through Central Park, enjoying the walk despite the protests from our feet. We managed to get about halfway through it before heading off down 74th street to Levain Bakery. The wait to even get inside was quite long, but we were treated to some amazing smells and bought several cookies, which would turn out to be hands down the best cookies I’ve ever had, once we got them home and had them for dessert. Definitely worth a stop.

The next day we visited the 9/11 Memorial, which was a moving and emotional tribute to the tragedy which occurred there. It was definitely worth going through the museum there, built into the foundation of these buildings, offering onlookers and those to young to have experienced it – firsthand accounts and the experiences that people that were there went through at the time. It was past lunchtime by the time we got out, and we were all looking for something to lift our spirits.

New York style pizza seemed like just the thing to do it, so we stopped and enjoyed some, then continued on, visiting the Federal Hall, New York Stock Exchange, as well as the statues of the girl and the giant bull nearby. Most shockingly, were the still-working payphones that we found along Broadway street!

We arrived at Battery Park just in time to miss the last trip to Liberty Island and visit the Statue of Liberty. That was a bit of a bummer, as I had really been looking forward to it. It was a perfect day to see it, though the wind was really picking up, which made it pretty cold outside. As our fallback, we instead hopped on the Staten Island Ferry, which gave us a good view of New York from the water, including the Statue of Liberty, and provided a nice warm place to watch the sunset from as we simply rode to Staten Island and back.

By the time we returned, the sun had set and we were all fairly tired, so we retired for the day – knowing we’d be up early to catch the train back to DC tomorrow. At this point, we were experts with the subway system and didn’t have any problem navigating back. All in all it was a pretty phenomenal trip which I’ll remember for years to come – and there’s still more in New York that I haven’t done, so perhaps the opportunity to make a return trip will be somewhere in my future. I can’t imagine living there though – which is a bit strange given that I’m about to head off to another giant city to live in. It’s evident that space is at a premium though, and I like to have my space. I don’t like feeling cramped and enclosed in a small space (not to be confused with claustrophobia or anything). Inner city life hasn’t found a lot of appeal in me, but I found it a nice enough place to visit.

Furloughed!

As a non-essential government employee, myself and many others have entered furlough territory – that is, a period of time in which government funding for the department lapses and we’re forced to take an unplanned “vacation”. The same has happened for thousands of other non-essential Federal employees in affected agencies – including those charming TSA agents that frequently grace our trips to the airport, and more importantly the ATC (Air Traffic Controllers) which maintain communications and control the airspace to ensure that civil aviation disasters are kept to a minimum. Of course, this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a government shutdown.

Folks in these and many other positions will go without pay for the duration of the shutdown, and while historically back-pay has been provided for those affected by such events, it’s not always assured. In the meantime, bills and the costs of life pile up, which can put some families in tight spot – especially around the holidays. To further this, important services go neglected or otherwise unfulfilled and businesses that catered to the Federal workforce will likely see a drop in business. Essential Federal employees are working without pay, and the contractors won’t get paid at all even if back-pay is granted. As for myself, I’ll be missing out on some important training that will be needed to perform my role overseas. It’s a Kobayashi Maru – a no-win situation.

I am fortunate enough that this income interruption does not affect me adversely, but I am sensitive to the situations and hardships that those other than myself will face due to this lapse in funding. On the other hand, there’s unfortunately nothing that we can do about the situation that will affect it in any meaningful way. The inevitable result of this has been no small amount of griping from colleagues and others affected by the shutdown, lamenting the wasted time and otherwise being unable to curb their boredom. It’s at this point where I tend to lean towards a different perspective than others in my class.

While it is a shame to miss out on valuable training, I will never complain about being provided free time; inevitably, time is the limiting factor for what we are able to experience and accomplish in life. Washington D.C. is an area rich with history, monuments, museums (the ones that remained open, anyway), and activities and we’ve been handed an unexpected chunk of time. It seems only fitting to try to make the best of it, especially given our lack of power in the current situation. Carpe diem rather than per diem!

To that end, I’ve tried to make the most of it, catching up on personal interests, steam backlogs, gatherings with friends, spending time with those I care about; generally trying to enjoy and make the best of an unfortunate situation. I’m more likely to look back fondly and cherish the memories I’ve made during my time in furlough, rather than the humdrum of training we would have otherwise had – but it’s important that we get back on track soon, so to that end I hope the funding situation is sorted out quickly so we can get back to doing what we ought to be doing. But until then, I’ll be making the best of it!

Arlington National Cemetery. Just one of the many sights to see around D.C., even during the shutdown!

Turkeyday Training

Okay, so it’s not quite Thanksgiving yet, but it’s getting close! Our training has started taking a turn towards the technical side of things – which is an enjoyable change for us. Of course, we’ve also “enjoyed” some schedule revisions that make it seem like we’re constantly trying to hit a moving target too. Like any other organization, the State Department wants to make the most efficient use of time when getting new hires up to speed. As such, it’s constantly evaluating and assessing the training mechanisms and requirements of lengthy onboarding processes. In some cases where content has been deemed lacking, entire courses have been built up to address the deficit; while they’ve shortened others that may not provide as much value or return on investment for the time allotted. This process is a necessary part of ensuring that we receive the required training in an appropriate timeframe.

Unfortunately, this means trainees may find themselves under-instructed in some categories and over-prepared in others as the training officers pursue an appropriate balance. This balance can be further upset when other factors impose their will.

In this particular instance, we’ve been enjoying some off-site technical training. This had previously been a weeklong course, but we’re getting an express 3-day version. By sheer coincidence, mother nature has been threatening the area with snow and has over-delivered today(as she is keen to do as of late). This results in the closure of the facility, which sends us home short a few more hours of training while being expected to take a proficiency test the following day. I’m confident that this won’t create a significant knowledge gap in our case, but compound this with larger class sizes, varied levels of trainee experiences, tight schedules, etc. and the problems start presenting themselves.

Unfortunately, I don’t see any easy solutions for this. It’s a product of trying to find the aforementioned balance, the solution to which is constantly changing as the needs of the department evolve. I have some trust that the feedback cycles in place will allow our voices to be heard in order to strike that balance.

So, onto the real meat of this entry. Turkey!

As luck would have it, the facility we’re training at has a genuinely good cafeteria! That’s not to say that the cafeteria at FSI or HST is bad, but I don’t expect them to have the spread that accompanied the above image. We’re talking about a mouthwatering combination of turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, butternut squash soup, and a fine selection of pies. That’s not even the whole of it, but with a heaping plate of the delicious items listed above, I simply didn’t have room for anything else. It was all good, but the butternut squash soup was superb (I don’t even like squash and I’m a fan). I was also particularly impressed by the pumpkin pie, they did it the appropriate justice in the spice department, which the baker in me appreciated. Top it off with a warm hot cocoa to go as the snow came down outside and it was a remarkable and memorable meal – as far as cafeteria meals go. (My colleagues claim it was freezing hail coming down, not snow. I’ll prefer to remember it as snow and tease them for being big babies).

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so we’ll see how our Foreign Service Friendsgiving goes!

Chimay Trappist Beer Dinner

I was tuned into the Chimay Trappist Beer Dinner by would-be in-laws. I’m more of a traditional Northwestern Beer drinker. I like my hoppy IPA’s and other craft beers. Still, there was no way I was going to turn up my nose at an opportunity to try some renown Chimay Trappist beers, so I found an interested friend in the area and made our reservations for this event.

Trappist beers have their roots in Europe, traditionally being brewed by Monks for both consumption and sale to support the monastery. They’re notable for their flavor and quality, which generally improves with age. I’m not terribly familiar with them, but I was excited to give each of these selections a try alongside some carefully prepared companion dishes.

The selection of beers we enjoyed are as follows:

Chimay Cinq Cent
The Chimay Doree (Gold)
Chimay Premiere (Red)
The Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue)
The Chimay Grand Reserve Vintage 2012
The Chimay Grand Reserve Vintage 2014 Jeroboam

Lacking a sophisticated beer-tasting palate, I’ve provided the appropriate links to Beer Advocate to share the reflections of those with far more discrimination and scrutiny in the realm of beer-tasting than I can provide. The last two on this list are simply alternate vintages of the previously listed Grand Reserve. The Blue and the 2012 vintage were served side-by-side, allowing us to taste the difference in taste and flavor that age brings these brews. The flavors definitely seemed to get more confident and bold as the age of the brew increased. Despite this, I found myself savoring the Premiere Red the most, perhaps because of the stronger bitter tones that I usually enjoy. Surprisingly, the fruity and strong dark malt flavors of the Grand Reserve didn’t bother me – I’m usually not fan of strong dark ales, but these were an exception. The Cinq Cent and Gold were light and flavorful, but their unique characteristics didn’t stick with me throughout the evening nearly as well as the subsequent beers did. Maybe it was the alcohol?

The food pairings were excellent, and I thought the slow roasted lamb shoulder was exquisite, but the beers really stole the show – as they ought to for a beer tasting! At the end of the night, we were told that we could take home any of the Chimay beer chalices – these were acquired for the event and the restaurant had no need or use for them. Score! I took a pair of both the large and small glasses. I figure that one of these pairs would make an appropriate give to the folks whom I consider family that tuned me into this event in the first place.

Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to try a wide variety of beers in my travels, and maybe even be so lucky to partake in some more of these beers directly from their source!

Geeking out, at a distance

I knew going in that one of the hardest things I’d have to deal with was moving away and out of the lives of the many good friends I had back home, consequently missing out on all of the fun activities and gatherings we enjoyed. Staying in touch and connected with someone half a world away is a tall feat, even today with the vast array of social media available to us.

One of the many things we’ve enjoy doing since we were teenagers was having LAN parties (local area network). For the unitiatited, these are gatherings where the attendees bring their computers, connect them together and proceed to play games together until the wee hours of the morning. Repeat for multiple days if desired. It’s anything but healthy, but for the geeks among us, it sure is fun!

In my home life I greatly enjoyed planning and organizing these, and that’ll be on my to-do list whenever I have the opportunity to make it back. These were great ways to spend quality side-by-side time with friends, drink in a friendly and relaxed environment, and generally unwind as guys. I’ve lost track of the great memories and friendships forged over the games we’ve played together at these events in the past.

In any event, there was a small gathering of friends back home that got together to do just that over this last weekend. I’ve never attended a LAN party remotely, but with the luxury of high-speed internet connections, the opportunity to join them remotely was afoot. I grabbed a 6-pack of a tasty-looking IPA, fired up Skype to share video, joined them on voice comms, and proceeded to spend a significant chunk of the weekend playing games with them remotely. It wasn’t quite like being there, but it’s the closest I’m likely to get for a while, and it was immensely enjoyable to see everyone, game, and trade bullshit.

It’s definitely moments like these that will allow me to stay connected in a meaningful way to my friends back home. Not everyone will be lucky enough find an activity like this that can be done together remotely, but keeping in touch with friends and loved ones back home will be an important aspect to maintain in this new life.

Orientation

The introduction and orientation for the Foreign Service typically starts bright and early on a Monday morning, so the weekend before is generally spent traveling to Washington D.C. and getting settled in to the roller coaster ride that will be the next few weeks of Foreign Service life. For local hires this doesn’t amount to much, but the majority that are relocating for the opportunity will generally either drive or fly to D.C. Coming from the opposite side of the continental United States and having an older vehicle that wasn’t going to come with me, flying was the obvious choice.

I spent my weekend in much the manner one might expect; a last hurrah with friends, family, and loved ones, quietly contemplating the life I had embarked upon while en route to my destination, and attending the traditional mixer the night before orientation. That is, the previous group of Specialists are tasked with hosting a meet and greet for the incoming group. I was eager to meet my new colleagues, so as soon as I dropped off my bags at the apartment I was provided, I caught a ride down to the venue where it was being held.

I met and mingled with other members of the incoming class, as well as the veterans of the specialist class before us. From the specialists before us, we heard all about where their first assignments would be and the training they had received. Getting to know some of my own specialist colleagues revealed that regardless of which walks of life we came from or what our background was in, what tied us to this opportunity was the sense of adventure that we all shared. The meet and greet was a good way to put some names to faces and provided a good opportunity to make a few acquaintances before the start of Orientation.

Orientation began bright and early the next morning. I made a quick stop at the Filterhouse – the same coffee shop that I had visited before my Oral Assessment a year prior. I then met with my other colleagues in the lobby of the State Department building, all of us sharply dressed in suits and other professional attire. The first day is all about the necessities of administrative stuff, badging, benefits, and what not. However, it’s the second day which sets the pace for the rest of the orientation and gives an accurate example of what one can expect for the next few weeks.

National Foreign Affairs Training Center – also know as “FSI”

During this time, one will be expected to arrive on time and appropriately dressed, to conduct themselves properly, be attentive, respectful, and professional. Embody the expectations that one has for a public servant and a representative of the United States abroad, and encourage the same from your colleagues. Be your best self and exhibit the 13 dimensions of Foreign Service personnel.

The orientation period itself is blistering. The schedule is packed with different presentations, information sessions and speakers from 8 to 5. Breaks are provided, but with everything going on this rarely leaves you with the time to catch up on everything. Myself and other incoming specialists struggled to find time for a proper lunch. Thankfully, my appetite had also dropped off considerably, whether this was due to moving across the country and other considerable changes in my life or something else, I do not know.

Alternatively, on the information front we were well-fed, even overfed. The phrase “drinking from a fire hose” has been used to describe this period of the training process, but does little to indicate just how much information one is presented – much of which I now struggle to remember, despite taking ample notes. Death by PowerPoint is real possibility, but one can also expect to take a field trip or two, as well as an overnight off-site if they’re lucky. Weekends become a grateful and much-needed reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the week.

It’s during Orientation that one receives their first directed bid list, and their first assignments are announced. Post research and other mandatory training spilled into my evenings during Orientation, but it also provided the opportunity to make my first real friends and connections among my colleagues. We came to rely on one another for help, learned from each others experiences, and were able to ask questions without the fear of judgement from those that were guzzling from the same fire hose. It’s an opportunity to make lasting impressions and friendships with people you might be serving with in the future, and build relationships that will follow you throughout your life.

It doesn’t seem like it at the time, but those weeks will pass quickly. You’ll get your first assignment at flag day, you’ll get sworn in, and you’ll find yourself in the next portion of your training along with the other specialists of your type. So take heart and don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by the orientation, it’ll be over before you know it.

Flag Day!

For the uninitiated, Flag day is the highly anticipated day on which new Foreign Service personnel receive their first directed assignments. In other words, they discover where they’re going to be spending the next two years. An event of such significance always comes with some ceremony, so these assignments are individually revealed to the entire orientation class, along with assembled Foreign Service staff and invited family members.

Worldwide availability is a clause we’re frequently reminded of when it comes to assignments. Unless you or members of your household have medical conditions that require certain accommodations, one is expected to serve anywhere in the world where they are needed. Thus, Flag day can be a source of great anticipation, or anxiety – depending on which assignments were up for bidding. We had heard stories of Flag day assignments which caused accompanying spouses to run out of the room screaming in distress. Though we had also been told that if one had received a particularly undesirable assignment that they’d usually be notified of it beforehand so that these lapses in composure didn’t occur.

Of course, given our bid list I don’t think any of the specialists in my cone were particularly worried about where their first assignment would be. Still, it’s only natural to feel some anxiety over an announcement that will shape your life for the next two years. As with all significant turning points in life, some people tend to worry about it more than others – however having already submitted our bidding preferences, we no longer had any ability to affect the outcome ourselves, so whatever the outcome of this process was, it was out of my hands and not worth worrying about until I knew where I was going.

Our daily orientation activities concluded early on Flag day, and the entire specialist class assembled with a crowd of other invitees and onlookers at the designated reception hall. At the indicated time we took our seats and squirmed through the speaker introductions as we awaited the actual declaration of assignments. When the speakers felt like they had teased us along far enough, they began the announcements and we collectively sat on the edge of our seats to hear where our first post would be

As assignments were read, a flag of the receiving post would be displayed on the projector, the location identified by the speaker, and a colleague from our specialist class would be announced for the assignment. The lucky individual would rise and walk to the front of the room to receive their miniature flag, a handshake and a information packet with further details about their assignment.

Of course, having a basic idea of how the others in my cone had ordered their bid lists, I wasn’t expecting any big surprises. I had written off my number one pick, as there was another individual in my specialty that had also ranked it as their number one, and had a wife and pets in tow (whereas I have neither). It seemed like it really was a question of where I’d be assigned given that my second choice was also hotly contested. So my surprise came when the colleague who shared my number one bid was assigned to a different post. It was at that moment that I knew where I was going, which was confirmed a minute or two later when I was called up to receive my first post assignment – Cairo, Egypt.

“All Giza Pyramids” by Ricardo Liberato is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

To say that I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement. I was elated! I had heard so much about Cairo from other Foreign Service Officers which had served there. The person who I had spent the last 6 years in a relationship with had attended college there, and would be able to recommend all manner of activities and restaurants, as well as put me in touch with the community of expats that she knew and still lived there. No to mention the rich and astounding history of the region that would be at my fingertips. I couldn’t imagine a more fortuitous first assignment that jived so well with what I had heard about the Foreign Service and the experiences of those that had introduced me to it.

We capped off the afternoon with a happy hour at a nearby establishment; meeting and mingling with other specialists and attending family members, discussed our post assignments, and tried to contain the giddiness many of us felt. Tomorrow would be just another day of orientation, but for the time being we were getting the first taste of the adventure we had all signed on for.

Packout, HHE, and UAB, oh my!

The weeks leading up to orientation were spent in a flurry of preparation. Of immediate importance was providing notice to my current employers, transferring ownership of tasks and systems management to other employees, bringing them up to speed on processes they are unfamiliar with and performing general knowledge transfers. While giving my notice wasn’t difficult, it was emotional. I’d been with my previous employer for many years and had formed strong working relationships with those within and without my department alike. My manager and coworkers were a pleasure, and I genuinely enjoyed the work I performed as well as the flexibility offered by my position. The looming change before me was intimidating not only because of the uncertainty of the future it offered, but also because I knew what I was leaving behind. Still, I had been there long enough to know that complacency was kicking in, and I was overdue for a change. It didn’t make it any easier.

My last two weeks flew by, and when I wasn’t at work I was spending my time going through my effects, cleaning up, packing, figuring out what to keep, and what to part with. Many cones in our class of specialists only received around three weeks of notice before they were scheduled to start orientation in Washington D.C., which after providing notice to previous employers only provided about a week or so of downtime to sort out the myriad of loose ends this life change would inevitably leave. Of primary importance during this time was maintaining communication with the State Department HR folks, and other staff resources which were assisting with the impending move, and sorting personal belongings for packout.

At this point, new hires have already received and responded to an initial offer letter and are waiting on or following up with a number of other forms and documents required to complete the employment on-boarding process and get themselves to D.C. Sometime after responding to the initial offer, candidates should receive the highly anticipated e-mail that contains their grade, stepping. and salary information. New hires are responsible for researching the various direct billing housing facilities available to them and making the appropriate arrangements for the duration of their training. They’ll also need to schedule and arrange a packout with with an approved moving agency. While the packout can be scheduled before receiving orders, travel orders must be issued and on-hand for the packout to occur. All of the information needed to complete this should be available to the new hires via the resources provided and communicated to them from HR and their orientation coordinators.

A simple sticker/tape labeling system to keep track of my posessions

On the home front, new hires will be referring to their packout guide for the complete details regarding the process and answers to many of their obscure questions. In general though, items will fall into one of the following categories:

Carry-ons and Baggage
Unaccompanied Air Baggage (UAB)
Household Effects (HHE / Storage)
Leftover junk that you don’t want to take with you

Obviously one must attend to packing their own carry-ons and other baggage they intend on traveling to D.C. with. These are the essentials, clothes, professional attire, toiletries, and other necessary objects of life that one cannot go without for several weeks. Next up is Unaccompanied Air Baggage, which has a hard size restriction and a weight restriction based on the number of people in your household. Generally, UAB will be the first of your personal effects to arrive independently at post – and it will be the only shipment you’ll get while you’re in D.C. – so you’ll want to use the UAB allowance for the things you’ll want and need that wouldn’t fit into your baggage, as well as other comforts (favorite kitchen appliances, entertainment, favorite household fixtures, stuff that couldn’t fit on your carry-on or baggage for travel).

Household Effects (HHE) will contain the bulk of your possessions. Furniture, appliances, clothes, kitchenware, television, and all of the other fixtures that make you feel at home. Basically, anything that you want to keep. Your UAB and HHE will be packed out at the same time, with UAB eventually being delivered to your housing in D.C., and HHE being placed into storage until you arrive at your first post. At this point, you can determine which items in your HHE will follow you, and which will remain in storage. The major exception to this is D.C. posts, in which all of the items you have in storage will come out with your HHE. WHen you’re serving at post you’ll have the option to keep items in storage rather than have them delivered to you in your HHE shipment.

Now, for the most part you can rely on the moving company to do the heavy lifting for you. They’ll make sure things are packed according to their own policies, they may make an inventory, disassemble and move heavy furniture, etc. I would encourage new hires to take it upon themselves to be self-reliant when it comes to the documentation and packing of their desired effects. If the movers end up repacking it to suit their needs, so be it – but no one is going to care more about your effects than you are, so be diligent and don’t blindly trust in a third party to treat your possessions as if they were their own. I would also encourage new hires to create and maintain an inventory of their possessions and pick up the appropriate renter’s insurance. Diligence of this sort will come in handy if anything ever goes awry with your move and you need to account for lost, missing, or damaged items.

In my case, the schedule was so compacted that my pack-out date was scheduled for after my departure. This complicates things a bit more, but as long as you have a friend or family member willing to oversee it, it doesn’t pose too much of a problem. I’d definitely recommend giving the “It’s your move” guide a glossing over in order to fill in the gaps and get a better idea of the process. Don’t forget to provide some refreshments for your movers, they’ll really appreciate it and it will hopefully encourage them to go the extra mile for you!

Given that I wasn’t even able to attend my own packout, its probably not something I’m entirely qualified to write about – and I haven’t even seen the results of my HHE, and won’t until I get to post! I’ll definitely provide an update at that point, but until then I hope this is informative or helpful to some of you and I wish you the best of luck on your own packouts!

Go Fish

This week marks our annual family fishing trip to Canada. Strangely, it does not usually involve the entire family, nor do we go every year, but that’s what it is.

For years we have come up to Canada in pursuit of Kamloops trout which inhabit many of the lakes in interior British Columbia, and we almost always end up at the same fishing camp. This may be a puzzling aspect to some of you. What is a “fishing camp”? Well, try to imagine a remote wilderness, with a set of cabins and basic facilities in which you squeeze into for a few days to a week, while taking in the natural beauty of the world and sitting in a boat with a line in the water on one of the many lakes in the area. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you will even catch a fish. Shameless plug: http://www.meadowlakefishing.com/

I was eagerly checking my email for FSI session invites the first few days of this week. I had been on the Foreign Service Register for about 9 months at this point, and had all but given up on getting an invite to the September 17th FSI session which we knew had resulted in invites to some Diplomatic Security applicants. So, I had pushed this to the back of my mind and focused on catching fish. Our luck had resulted in 10 fine fishy specimens in the first two days of the week, and perhaps we’d try our luck at the elusive, yet alluring “wall fish”.

A wall fish was simply the tradition of the camp we had been visiting and is considered a fish in excess of 4 pounds (which is hefty for these trout!). Generally, there are around a dozen that are caught in any given season, and catching one would result in a bit of a celebration and commemoration of catching the unwitting fish. Of course, fish of this sort were difficult to hook, and require an arcane combination of know-how and luck. I had never caught one, and after we had collected some smaller fish (which we would call “smokers” for their deliciousness and application as a tasty treat after they had been smoked) we would shift or focus to lakes which produced larger trout in order to hook a big one and come away with tall fishing tale.

In any event, this meant that we were visiting a lake that, while being known for it’s larger fish, was often loathe to produce them, often resulting in coming home empty-handed (“skunked” in fishing terms). So, I settled into the boat and immersed myself into the audiobook I was enjoying at the time (Cormac McCarthys “Blood Meridian”), and spent the hours of the day fishing away.

Eventually, 6 PM rolled around – which marked the time we ought to consider packing it in and heading back to camp to enjoy a 7 o’clock meal. It hadn’t been a bad day. In fact, it had been uncharacteristically good, and we would be headed back with 3 fish in the 14-17 inch range, all of them quite fat. I elected to finish the chapter of the audiobook and head back in. I opted troll (row slowly with lines out) back over a particular spot that my father had identified as a “good place for fish to be” on my way out. It was at some point in the following minutes that I felt a rather substantial tug on one of my lines, to which I grabbed the rod and twitched the tip up to set the hook.

There was considerable resistance to this action on the other end of the line, so I knew the fight was on – and on it went, for over 10 minutes. The fish went long, it came close. It rose up out of the water, and dived down deep. I could see that it was no small fish by any means. It circled the boat multiple times, much like a shark – and finally just relied on it’s heft and gravity’s will to thwart my effort to bring it to heel. It was no small effort to balance just the right amount of tension on the line during all of this to ensure that the well-endowed fish did not snap the line entirely, but my efforts were rewarded when I was finally able to bring the exhausted fish to the surface and usher it into the net. It was by far the largest trout I had ever caught, and was beautiful (as far as fish go).

My father had already landed his boat, and was waiting for me at shore when I rowed up with my prize. It was most certainly a “wall fish” which was confirmed upon our triumphant return to camp. That night, we celebrated, I wore a loon party hat, talked about the occasion, and toasted our drinks in celebration. But this was not strictly a celebration of the fish, for I had checked my e-mail once I had returned to camp, and to my surprise there was an invite to the September 17th FSI session. I had been offered a position in the Foreign Service as an Information Management Specialist. Just like that, I knew my life was going to change.