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.