Boxes, Boxes, and more Boxes!

The packing company arrived yesterday to "pack-out" my HHE (household effects).

This whole "pack-out" thing is an adventure in and of itself!  I think if you can survive the initial move, it is supposed to get easier (at least that is what I am told).

I can't believe I leave for Washington DC on Friday! It is probably a good thing, since I don't have a couch, pots, pans, or even a can opener.



So here I am sitting in my empty condo, just trying to come up for air.   It is weird to think that the next time I am going to see all of my "stuff", might be in Australia, or Poland, or Zimbabwe, or . . .

I got to play volleyball tonight and say goodbye to all of my "sisters".  This is all happening so fast and so slow all at the same time.  I know that doesn't make any sense, but that is how it feels.

Now I just have one more day to make final preparations.  Paperwork . . . check, suits . . . check, apartment in  DC . . .check, excitement and a positive attitude about starting this journey . . . check!

You're Doing What??

Okay, so I have given in and decided to create a blog.  I have been reluctant to put anything in "black and white" until I knew for sure that it was going to happen, but  I am now convinced it is happening. 

Let's start at the beginning.  From a very young age, I have had an intense interest in other countries, traveling, and the world in general.  When I was in second grade, I was assigned to do 5 reports, throughout the course of the year, on any subject I wanted.  My first report was on Iceland, and my second on Australia.  When I announced to my teacher that my third report was going to be on Japan, she suggested that I change subjects and pick an animal, or a person.  Being a stubborn 8 year-old, I not only continued with Japan, but finished out the year reporting on Scotland and Sweden.  As a teenager I learned to recite all the countries in the world.  After high school, I got my degree in Travel and Tourism. So when I heard about this job working for the State Department Foreign Service, it sounded like a dream.

I wasn't sure it would ever happen.  The paperwork, the waiting, the testing, the waiting, the clearances, the waiting. . . . (you get the idea).  But, my time has finally come.  As I watched my UAB (unaccompanied baggage) drive away, it finally hit me.  This is happening.

I wanted to find a way to stay connected and share my life with my friends and family.  So I have decided to start this blog and chronicle my adventures with the Foreign Service.  Ready or not, here I come.