Monument Tour

Lincoln's two hands represent compassion (the open hand)
and strength (the fist)

Today Elizabeth and I went on a tour of the monuments with a few other of my fellow FSOs.  We had a real ranger taking us on the tour, so that was great.  She had a lot of information that I had never heard before.  I had NO idea there was a cave underneath the Lincoln Memorial!  There was more too it than that, of course, but it was good.  And once again my legs and feet are tired from walking so much.
On our tour we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial, and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.  Afterward, Lizzy and I went to the World War II Memorial since that wasn't here when we came as children.

The spot at the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther
King Jr. gave his speech

Vietnam War Memorial

This is part of the Vietnam Memorial that
is in memory of the women who gave
their support in whatever capacity

The Korean War Memorial, you can see the
reflection of the soldiers marching through
the rice

FDR Memorial, this sculpture depicts the state of the nation
during FDR's second term of office.  These men are
waiting in a bread line

WWII Memorial, the pillar for North Dakota

The Washington Monument as visible from
the WWII Memorial.  You can see the capitol
to the left, and the flags around the base.

Then we met up with most of the group at Chevy's in Ballston.  They have excellent food there.  It was great.  The day was long, but it was fun, and I'm glad Lizzy got to see the monuments while she was here.  That is really a must for any visit to DC.

The Future and the Past

I was planning on trying to write this morning before Lizzy and I left for the National Mall, but it didn't work out. Hopefully this will work now to upload pictures.

Welcome to Flag Day!

Yesterday was an interesting day.  I have to admit that I was not expecting the post that I was given.  That is mainly because I was notified of training that was to begin after A-100 before Flag Day.  The information I was sent for that training said there were only a few posts that were required to have that training.  Of the listed posts, the only one on our bid list was Yemen.  So, I thought, this must mean I'm going to Yemen.
Friday came, I was sitting with my class, listening to the posts.  Yemen was called, and I learned I was NOT going there.  Instead, after a while, one of the Ciudad Juarez posts was called, and I was stunned to hear my name called afterward. 

Me after flag day holding my Mexican Flag

That's right, I'm going to Ciudad Juarez, a city in Mexico on the border with El Paso, Texas.  That means I will be learning Spanish!  I've had several different reactions from people that I've told.  Some are excited for me, others say, "Isn't that dangerous?" and one of my best friends told me that she was terrified for me to go there.  I don't know how to reassure anyone, but I feel like I will be safe there.  And it will be really easy for anyone to come visit me!  If you don't feel safe in Juarez (though I hear I will most likely have a 3-bedroom house for people to stay in . . .) then El Paso is really close.  I just wouldn't be able to provide free housing accommodations during your stay.  I will be in DC for a while still, since I need to learn Spanish, and I'll only be in Juarez for two years.
Then today, Lizzy and I went in to DC (that was a pain since stations on the metro have been closed) to go to the National Museum of Natural History.  That was really interesting.  There were only two and a half floors, but it took all day to go through it.  They had a 3D Imax movie that was interesting, exhibits on the beginning of the world, dinosaurs, Ice Age, mammals, ocean, gems & minerals (including a display of the Hope Diamond), etc.  It was really interesting, but it sure made my feet hurt!

Elizabeth's first metro ride

Museum of Natural History

An early human offers me a piece of meat . . .

A spider monkey skeleton looks eerily like a small human

Flag Day!

Guess where I'm going!

I'll leave it at that for now as my file upload won't work right now, and hopefully I can write more tomorrow.

Almost there!

This week has been an interesting one, designed to try to keep our minds off of the impending Flag Day.  To a certain extent, they have succeeded, but they may only be true with the third of my classmates who are in my same rotation.  Tomorrow, for me, is the day when we actually talk about the logistics of Flag Day.  For a third that session fell on Tuesday, the other third had it today.  I can only imagine how much that led them to focus solely on Friday.
For me, the anticipation is there.  But at the same time, it is tempered by an event that has basically told me where I am going.  Nothing is ever sure in the Foreign Service because things can change up to the last minute, but if I am right, I will let you know on Friday.  Until then!!

It's About Time!

So, I finally got my UAB shipment today.  There were two large boxes that contained about 250 lbs of various things.  It didn't take long to unpack, with the exception of the mess that some of Gizmo's stuff made (litter spilled out of the container it was in and got over/in everything in that box.  Luckily, it was in a smaller box inside the large box, so it was only one medium sized box that was messy rather than half of my stuff.
It is weird to have so many clothes know.  When I started to unpack, I thought to myself, why did I want all these clothes?  Over the past three weeks, I've gotten used to wearing what I have.

My UAB

But I learned one thing that is important to have in UAB: HANGERS!  That's right, hangers.  I don't want to have to buy hangers every move, so if I just pack some in my UAB, then I'll be set.
I also did some massive shopping today, including grocery shopping, and other necessities.
Finally, several of my fellow 156thers got together for a game night.  We played Apples to Apples, Mad Gab (though some played a German card game during that time), and then Cranium.  It was a lot of fun.
Now I am ready to get some sleep.  On a side note, Friday I find out where I am going!