Channeling Bo Duke

When I flew into Tallahassee, there was a family waiting for someone – not me – at the airport. They were all decked out in FSU gear. In all honestly, I almost went up to them and hugged them.

It’s good to be back in Seminole Territory.

Really, that’s one of the things that struck me as soon as I arrived in DC – the collegiate representation. There aren’t that many US college T-shirts and sweatshirts in China, you know? And even arriving in DC, it felt nice and homey, even though I wasn’t in Tallahassee yet.

But now I am back, and man, it’s great. I’ve come down with a slight cold and that’s kind of annoying, but I’ve been seeing friends and doctors for a couple day straight.

Today I got back around 4 or 5 and immediately headed to the yard. It’s just so awful. I could spend all home leave working on that. And I might.

Last week, I spent at a class outside of DC. It dealt with, among other things, kind of defensive driving. One drill was to test brakes and I had a hard time with that. Apparently my full throttle will never be made into a movie. We had three students and one instructor in each car and my group, all men but me, had a fun time basically mocking my meek driving skills. What can I say? I do not speed like that.

Everything we did – designed, for the most part, were to test what is safe for the car to do – was against everything you learn in drivers’ ed. It was very, very “Dukes of Hazzard”-like. I do not have an inner Bo Duke to channel. I was way more into Luke.

Almost there

My favorite Disney Princess is Jasmine, from “The Princess and the Frog.” Figures, the first Disney princess I can remotely relate to is a frog. Anyway, the big song in it is called “Almost There.”

And that’s where I am this week – almost home to Florida. I realized today as I checked out of one hotel and headed to another: in a week, I’ll be back in Havana!

But this week is going to be a long one, though. I’m at a class, and it’s very hands-on. It’s not in DC, or even Arlington, where the Foreign Service “college” is. It’s somewhere else, although, quite honestly, I’m not entirely sure where. I met a shuttle at 4 p.m. and they drove me, along with a bunch of other people I supposed I’ll be getting close to these next five days. The class is sort of like defensive drills and such. It’s now a required class for all beginners. It wasn’t when I came in but everyone will be getting it soon, so I figured I might as well go for it now.

It’s sort of famous throughout Foreign Service and I’ve heard a lot about it, but this’ll be my first shot at it. I read over the agenda for my group and it sounds like of high adrenaline. Tomorrow I do the self-defense.

So now I am at a venue change, which means new restaurants within walking distance. This place is a bit more rural, so instead of Cosi, Potbelly’s and Roti I have a Golden Corral (yuk!) and a Cracker Barrel (yum!). Guess which one I did this evening? Hint: the Sunday special was enough to last me until Monday. I just can’t do American portions anymore.

The class should prove to me more exciting, though hopefully less directly applicable, than last week’s Microsoft Outlook class. I was glad to get that training – hope I learn the new tricks I learned – but it was a bit dull. It was really weird leaving the campus, though, knowing I won’t be back for at least two years.

Coincidentally, in the tiny world that is Foreign Service, I ran pretty much smack dab into my old boss, whose office is NOT on the little campus. He had no idea I was there. I had several appointments in his building last week, but when I went to email him to set an appointment, I got a little flag that said he was out of the office until last week, so I didn’t bother, as I wasn’t going near that building this week. So he had no way to know I was there, and I had no reason to suspect he’d be where I was.

There have been lots of reunions while here, but since I was only at the campus for two weeks and at the headquarters three days, I couldn’t meet up with everyone. Now I look forward to reunions in Florida. I’m almost there.

America: cold, expensive, fattening and utterly fantastic

It’s been a week since I’ve arrived in America and I’m pretty sure I’ve jolted the economy all by my lonesome. Home leave is generally expensive because you’re trying to buy stuff you’ve needed for the past two years, will need for the next two or just flat-out have missed. (That’s mostly food.)

My new laptop, a Dell Inspirion, is a cute little thing. It weighs less than half of the old one, which I already deep-sixed. I’m picking up new stuff here and there – like a pair of pants from LL Bean today – but just dumping the laptop frees up so much space/weight in my backpack!

I also upgraded my luggage to a real spinner bag. I’d been using my Peace Corps duffel, which served me well during its time, but it’s time to move on. The little divider thing tore in the duffel, so basically whatever I loaded up fell to the bottom of the bag and nothing stayed neat. That worked for Peace Corps; I needed something for Foreign Service.

Target’s been my friend and neighbor, too. Prior to my departure from Guangzhou, I ordered $325 worth of stuff including a safe and a filing cabinet. I ordered them the Monday prior to my departure and oddly, it was the “Your order has been delivered!” that arrived on Wednesday or Thursday that, more than anything, made it hit me that I’d soon be in ‘Merica.

Besides the mail order, I also dropped another $200 the first day. In order to ship the filing cabinet and safe, I had to ship 200 pounds worth of stuff, so I went shopping for heavy (mostly liquid) items I could use in the next two years – cooking oil, vinegar, Listerine. A friend is headed to Istanbul a little after me and I asked if I could take stuff for her, so she also added a ton of liquid laundry detergent and Cascade. So no problems on the weight.

                                                                                                                                             

The food portions continue to astound me. I got three meals out of a Fatoosh lunch and tonight I’m having the second half of my Cheesecake Factory dinner. (I managed to eat the entire dessert on Evening One, though.) I think I’ve gained about 5-8 pounds already. That’s depressing.

My little hotel gym is no Ascott, either. I’ve been on the treadmill the last three days but I don’t like it. The window faces outside and people can see in. Who needs that? But I’m trying to make do and not walk out of here two sizes bigger than when I walked in. (The pants I dropped $60 on today wouldn’t fit!)

Training-wise, it’s been smooth. Coincidentally (which seems to happen a lot in Foreign Service), I knew the teacher. She’d been one of my 95 TDYers last year. I’ve also caught up with many colleagues, including three who also teach there now.

And I’ve met a lot more people, mostly who are associated with Istanbul in some way. I had a lot of meetings to discuss what I’d be doing there and taking names and all that kind of stuff. So far, it sounds like a good gig.

Oh, and my differential went up! This is extra money on top of salary. Guangzhou, when I got there, was an extra 20 percent. That went down to 15 in the last few months I was there, and Istanbul was only 10 so I figured I’d take a further pay cut. But they revamped stuff and now Istanbul is 15, so I’ll eventually make the same as I did in Guangzhou. When you’re in the States, you do not get the extra money, so I am down to base salary. It means a drop of $650 in my next paycheck until I return overseas.)

The living situation is very elementary. As in school. I take a bus to class. It’s even a Bluebird, but it’s white and not yellow. The bus comes after Mama Marriott feeds me breakfast, too, and then when I get home, Marriott has another snack for me, at least from Monday to Wednesday.

The classes are easy. It’s really a sweet gig because class is officially 9 to 4. You get in early – well, I do – and check email before 9, then go to class. There’s a break around 10ish and then, if you’re lucky, you get out for lunch at 11:something. Back at 1, another break around 2ish, then you’re done by 4 and, pending another email check, you head back to the bus.

My teacher arrived back in country about an hour before I did and was equally as jet-lagged, so she covered the material quickly the first day and we were done by 3 p.m. It’s so different than actual work, or at least my job in Guangzhou.

It is still not real to me that I am not going back. Since the work has been so easy – and because I spent three days running around – it still seems like I’m on vacation, not a permanent change of station. I feel like I’m going to return to Guangzhou and start working again. It just hasn’t hit me yet, and I don’t know how I am going to react when it does.

In the meantime, I am enjoying being home. It’s fantastic.

I’ve arrived

Back in the USA, everything is pretty much as I left it. It’s odd, but it’s refreshing.

Walking out after clearing immigration at JFK, a slow smile spread across my face. The first thing I did was drink water out of a water fountain. Safe, clean drinking water – right out of a wall. It’s underrated.

Now I’m settled in, but without a cell phone. I bought an unlocked phone for this sim card I purchased awhile back, but apparently you still need some sort of service, which I do not have. I’m not into buying something else to add to a landfill in a couple weeks, so I’m trying this for awhile. There’s a landline in the hotel.

And the hotel is nice. I’m near the metro and the shuttle pickup for work. There’s also a Target Express nearby, which is this pint-size version of the box store. And boy, have I hit Target lately.

Hong Kong, enjoying a rootbeer and a fantastic burger.

The $350 order I placed before departure has begun to arrive, and once here, needing 100 pounds to complete a shipment to Istanbul, I rode with a friend to the big box Target and dropped another $225. I also hit up the Express in the evening for a few household foods for the hotel. Trader Joe’s, too. No problem making weight.

My Marriott earns me points and free breakfast, too. I just finished this morning; have to gauge how long it takes for me to get ready for the 8:10 shuttle. Class starts at 9, but I need to find a computer to check my email – apparently some people got their housing assignments and I hope to see where I’ll be living.

I haven’t yet been to the gym, but one of the Target purchases was replacement workout pants. My previous ones had the beginnings of a very large hole. They’re done now.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve eaten out three times: Potbelly’s, Cosi and Fatoosh, my favorite Moroccan-Lebanese place here. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been looking forward to the stay here – Fatoosh. It’s fabulous. And lunch today will be the third meal I’ve had from the one meal. Portion sizing in America is crazy big.

One downside to this brief stay in DC is that since it’s technically spring but already oppressively hot in Guangzhou, I’d forgotten that early spring is still sort of winter. And I really forgot what winter was anyway. So, basically, even though I am a professional and here for work, I will be wearing my FSU hoodie at all times. It’s not freezing cold, but chilly enough to need two layers.

Today I begin a two-day class, and I have a lot of things to catch up on. One is the layout of the place; I really don’t remember. But, more fun, is I get to track down a bunch of people I know who are here in training right now. Despite the challenges of no cell phone, I’ve been in contact with three already.

My flight over was absolutely fine, although the JFK-DC leg was really bumpy. Quite coincidentally, two of my Guangzhou local colleagues (not my department) were on my flight and headed to DC. One flew into a different DC airport, but the other and I ended up parting in the DCA airport. His class isn’t in the same location, so I won’t see him again, but the IAD-bound colleague said she’d look for me at lunch.

It’s a very different lifestyle, knowing people from all over the world and reuniting with them at this little collegiate-ish campus in Virginia.