Chinese Chair Skating

So, I've been asked by several folks about the weather in Beijing. It apparently gets quite, quite cold in the winter. Mostly a very dry cold (very little snow) punctuated by wind that blows in from the Mongolian steppes.  Sometimes I can't believe I'm typing these sentences.  I've been told to bring serious coats and winter clothes for all of us. Lakes and rivers often freeze for long periods of time. Instead of strapping on bulky ice skates and attempting to glide along these frozen ponds, the Chinese sit on a wooden pallet chair and propel themselves along with ski poles.  Very clever and perfect for those of us who never truly learned to ice skate (um, most of my Texas brood).  Now when planning a trip, I've heard that September and October are the loveliest months to visit Beijing.  You can rest assured, however, that if you do end up here in the winter, we can find lots of stuff to entertain you.  If you don't mind the winds off the Mongolian steppes....

Ni hao!

Yep, those are the only words of Chinese I know.  This is important because our next posting is in.....

Beijing!!!

We are thrilled by our posting. Lots of options for schools, lots of orthodontist choices for the kids, good work prospects for me.  It is also supposed to be a busy and interesting work environment for Chris.  Plus, it is a part of the world that we probably would not have visited on our own dime.  It is pretty cool that we get to live there for a couple of years.  I never thought I would actually get to see the Great Wall of China or Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden Palace. We are definitely up for visitors so please come!  We should even have a guest bedroom for you so that you don't have to sleep on a sofa.  We are supposed to leave towards the end of January/beginning of February so we have some time to start to prepare for life there.  I think it is a good idea to try to learn some basic Chinese, and we have to start getting children enrolled in schools, yadda yadda.  All of the stuff you have to do even if you are running away to China.   

The List

Well, we've turned it in now so it is all over but the shouting around here.  The list, of course, refers to the places that our family might move to in 4-7 months.  And, my friends, I will tell you that when they say "worldwide available", they mean it.  Over half of our list was in Africa -- places like Burundi, Djibouti and Niger.  Rounding out the list were some fairly obscure places in Eastern Europe, like Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.  A couple of danger posts topped off the fun -- Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv.  While wild and truly adventurous, our list definitely had some gems on it.  Our top picks, in case you are interested, are Kiev, Ukraine; Beijing, China and Lusaka, Zambia.  There is no guarantee that we will get these places and the powers that be can certainly go further down our wish list, but those are the places that we feel would best suit our family's needs. For our family, the needs revolve mostly around the children and the fact they have to go to school.  Shocker, but Burundi and Djibouti do not have English-speaking schools, which knocked them pretty far down our bid list. Moldova doesn't have English schools either and I was sad to have to push it down on our list.  It actually sounds like one of the loveliest little places you've never heard of.

Now, the amazing thing about the foreign service is that families can and do live in places that aren't their top picks. Families will almost certainly encounter a posting or two along their path that they didn't find desirable.  I meet people on the playground every day headed off to Kazakhstan or Bangladesh.  Sometimes these places grow on people, sometimes people endure the places but find solace in a tight embassy community.  Most places have at least something that folks remember fondly when they move on to another locale. Given the news right now involving our diplomats abroad, I'm sure you can appreciate how difficult many of our posts can be.  U.S. diplomats serve in places that aren't terribly safe as well as places missing much of the infrastructure most Americans take for granted.  I can't tell you how brave and admirable I find many of Chris' colleagues as they prepare to head out to Egypt or Yemen or Pakistan or Iraq.  I'm equally in awe of all of the capable spouses I've met who've managed their families while their husband is on an unaccompanied tour or ones who feed and care for their families in places where they don't speak the language.  I mean, I'm fairly certain grocery shopping is its own unique experience in Cameroon or Suriname.

Anyways, in a week we will know where in the world we are headed.  Hopefully we end up somewhere in our top tier of picks, but I've been told by people experienced at this stuff that the important thing is knowing.  Knowing will enable us to start to plan and prepare and to visualize our lives in this new place.  For now, I'm passing the time shopping at Trader Joe's and Target. Stores that I will certainly miss when we head overseas. Oh, the kids picks if you are interested:  The boys both want to go to Beijing because the housing looks cool while Violet really wants Africa so we can see the animals.    

Truths About Virginia

Okay, so far there are definitely some goods, bads and uglies to life in Northern Virginia.  While similar to Texas, it is definitely NOT Texas.

Truth 1:  All of my kids are having just fantastic, incredible experiences at the local schools here.  Everyone, from the teachers to the administrators, are helpful and supportive.  The kindergarten is a warm, loving environment.  The middle school is safe and challenging, yet still very supportive and understanding of how young 5th graders are.  And the high-schooler is surrounded by people who care.  He is in a homeroom class with only 7 kids staffed by a teacher who brings them food and monitors their grades to ensure everything is as it ought to be. 

Truth 2:  The traffic around here is truly awful.  In Texas, you can generally be fairly certain that a location 5 miles away should take 5-7 minutes to get to.  Here, distances 5 miles away can take 15 minutes or they can take double that.  That occurs regardless of the time of day. Of course, it is worse at rush hour but going certain places can be brutal on Saturday morning as well. 

Truth 3:  Probably due to the traffic, the populace here is incredibly fit and healthy.  There are bikers, runners and walkers everywhere.  A really nifty system of trails connects almost everything and people definitely don't gawk at pedestrians like they might in many Texas locales.  You really can manage without a car here if you need to, which is great for we FS types who may or may not have a car at any given moment.

Truth 4:  Places are crowded!  Everywhere and what seems like all of the time.  There are several Chipotles here (yay) and they are always packed.  Ditto the supermarkets, the Target and the Costcos. 

Truth 5:  The weather is awesome so far.  Like perfect springtime temps in the 70's and plenty of sunshine. I know this isn't the case always, but I am loving it!  Such a welcome escape from Texas at this time of year. 

Sacrifices

Olly here (who is probably teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown) wanted me to take this firm photographic proof of the sacrifices he is making based on "the needs of the service.". He is sporting rainbow soft claws in these pics. These nifty nail covers are supposed to keep him from scratching up the rented furniture and carpet. Nice huh? Lola has pink glitter but doesn't look quite as humiliated by it all. Fingers crossed this works and his sacrifice isn't in vain.

We're Here! Home Sweet Oakwood.

Well, we've been here a week but things have just normalized enough for me to update our blog with our latest happenings.  We hit the ground last Sunday.  Yes, all 5 of us survived a 3 day road trip with 2 cats in tow.  The diplocats (I just like to say that) were amazing collected considering they spent long days in small carriers and nights in random places.  Plus, when we arrived in Oakwood, we found out that we were getting a 3 bedroom apartment instead of the 2 bedroom one they had committed to.  Happy dance!  The layout is a bit unusual, in that they make a larger unit by combining a 2 bedroom with a studio apartment.  So Violet gets her own pad with a giant bed, sofa and chair, TV, bathroom and full kitchen.  The extra kitchen is a bit strange in my 5 year old's room, but really handy for storage and such.

We rested up on Monday and ventured down to the pool a bit.  This place is just loaded with kids so Violet immediately made some new pals, many started kindergarten with her the next day.  The boys are shyer and more hesitant. Plus, there are just fewer kids that age lounging about the complex. I think they all hide out in their apartments.  This is definitely a new dynamic that I hadn't thought through completely.  It is so much easier when they are playground age for them to make new friends.  The good thing is that the bus is sort of a forced captivity with kids who live near you so they are chatting with other kids there.

 On to Monday, all 3 of them got up and at'em.  We got them registered in their new schools and they were up and running and able to participate by the first day.  I was extremely relieved to realize that while 5th grade is in the middle school building here, it is not the same as middle school.  The kids stay with a homeroom/content mastery teacher who teaches all subjects except for the specials like art, band, home economics (love that they take that), Spanish, French and drama.  Now, 8th grade is high school here and they mean it.  Alex is in the high school building with tons of hairy people who can drive.  That said, he seems to be having a pretty great time of it.  He has met some foreign service friends who also ride the bus back to Oakwood.  One just returned from Paris so he definitely has delusions that we will be going there (HA!).  Violet attends school with a mind-boggling amount of FS kids, many of whom are in our building.  She also seems to be adjusting well, but it is a big adjustment.  She is completely exhausted when she gets home!

A week into it, I can't say it is par for the course, but I am amazed at how adaptable everyone is.  Now, our home still feels like a hotel and the whole experience feels more like a vacation that my real life.  But I suppose that is fairly normal when you land in a new place like this.  We have found the Costco and the grocery stores, a Target and good running trails.  We are taking Alex to an orthodontist next week.

Today, Chris boarded the bus and headed off for his first day at the new job.  Tomorrow is the big day when we receive the long-awaited bid list.  We also receive our air shipment (UAB in FS speak) so we should have more clothes and some things that make life a bit more comfortable. I totally miss my spices and am thrilled that they will be arriving along with my blender and crockpot.  Cooking without any spices is definitely an interesting endeavor.

I'll leave you with some pictures so you can visualize where we are and what we are up to:

Boys room

View of Oakwood from our window

Oliver while travelling

Violet's bedroom

It's For Real

We have hit the road. We are very excited but a little sad, too.  Our 9 years living in this house were terrific.  Really, you should buy it. Here is Erin locking the door for the last time.