Nationals Game and Basant!

We have been busy!  Last week we joined some colleagues for opening weekend at the Nationals' stadium.  Yes, we miss the Mariners but the Nats stadium was pretty neat.  It is the first 'green' stadium complete with eco-rooftop gardens!  It was nice to meet some other families and for Thumper to smile at other kiddos.

The baseball game was the day following my official swearing in ceremony so after a long orientation it is now legit, I am a U.S. diplomat :-)  The ceremony was fun and I am happy to have been sufficiently oriented over the past six weeks.  

I started Telugu language training on Monday and the week has flown by.  There are just three of us in my class and all of us will be going to Hyderabad as new Consular officers.  Our instructors are absolutely wonderful and the whole department has been awesome.  

Only one week into Telugu and just about every day I have felt so amazingly grateful to have this job.  Someone is paying me to learn a foreign language, study the country to which I've been assigned, and to immerse myself in as much Indian culture as I can while I'm here...for ten months!  AND I don't even have to buy my own course packs, English-Telugu dictionaries, etc.  College students would be jealous of the greatness that is the Foreign Service Institute.  

Today, the South Asian Studies department hosted a Basant festival which is the festival of spring celebrated in a few South Asian countries.  Part of the celebration is a kite flying competition.  Our instructors brought saris for us to wear and invited us to be part of their tradition.  It was amazing.  Good food, beautiful music, gorgeous bengals, and best of all, good company.  I feel such warmth from this community and am so excited to get to Hyderabad and meet more wonderful people!

Pancho is learning Telugu on his own and has been doing great with the help of some online resources.  He can even count higher than I can :-)  Telugu is a script language so we first have to learn the alphabet which is significantly larger than the English alphabet and full of swirls and circles and more.  

Here is a little sample:  నెను విద్యర్థి.  Translation: I am a student.

If you are really interested in following my Telugu studies, I have a blog for my class and will post in Telugu with English translation: Spicy Dharma.

United Airlines Extends Pet Waiver!

This is excellent news...http://twocrabs.blogs.com/2crabs/2012/04/call-off-the-united-airlines-boycott.html

On another note, my official swearing in ceremony was on Friday and I have finally finished my Foreign Service orientation class!  I start Telugu training on Monday and am excited to be back in 'school' for the next eight months.

Pancho, Thumper, and Bambi are all wonderful and life in the big city continues to be fun!

Pets of the Foreign Service

I won't re-write what has already been written so well.  In summary, United Airlines (an airline FS officers sometimes must use due to the Fly America Act) has changed its pet policy and animals have to be flown as cargo rather than with the officer in the cabin or as accompanied baggage on the same flight.  This can have serious effects on poor little critters that have to withstand extreme temperatures for much longer periods of time (a few pets of FS bloggers have lost their lives...).  Not to mention, it is MUCH more expensive.  United waives this rule for military families...but not for families of foreign service members who work alongside the military at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.  There have been MANY wonderful blog posts on this topic and I just came across a blog of Foreign Service pets that gives faces to the furry friends with whom we travel.  Check it out:  http://www.at-post.blogspot.com/ 

Once we make it to India, Bambi's photo will be up there with the rest :-)

Hyderabad

సుస్వాగతం
Welcome

The State Department says...
India: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html
Consulate website: http://hyderabad.usconsulate.gov/

Wikipedia says...
Hyderabad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad,_India
Telugu language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_language

Flag Day

We've been assigned to....

Hyderabad, India

...off to celebrate!!!  And then to learn Telugu!

Ha Ha

Pancho:

Alright, so I've come to realize that my post yesterday was complete bull$&*@.  I'm so excited to find out where we are going that I can't sit still.  I look at the clock about every 6 or 7 minutes to see if it's time for Thumper and I to go meet Legs for Flag Day.  We reviewed our bid list last night and it made the entire experience all that much more real.  There are so many posts that I completely forgot about, both good and not quite as good :-P  I just thought I'd let everyone know that under this nonchalant and perfectly composed exterior is a giddy little kid waiting to find out what he got for Flag Day!  Even Thumper woke up an hour earlier than usual today.  I think he knows something is up!

Pre-Flag Day Extravaganza!!!

Pancho:

So, I thought I'd toss you all a bone before Flag Day and fill you in on how things are going and what we're up to.

You'd think that we would be dying waiting to find out where we're going tomorrow (we know you all are!!!), but I've really felt good just enjoying the days with Thumper and trying to get out and see all that D.C. has to offer.  There are so many different possibilities of where we may go that it's hard to even daydream about our lives for the next 2-3 years.  Rather than our bidlist narrowing down the possible countries to which we could be assigned, I feel like it expanded my mental list of possibilities to places that I never even imagined I'd live.  I think the most exciting thing right now is that we very may well end up going to a country that we would never think of visiting if Legs weren't working for the State Department.  It truly is an amazing opportunity, and we're happy to be world-wide available.

You'll all hear from us tomorrow...at least you'll see our flag :-)