Otto's visit

Otto got here a week ago and we have had a busy week.  The trip started with a milestone - Otto flew from Portland to Washington DC (with one stop in between) all by himself.  He did great and actually had a good time (they gave him a big bag of peanut M&M's - something his mom would never buy him).  This will be how he will travel a lot over the next couple of years once we move to Burkina Faso - so he can go back and visit his dad regularly while i stay at post and work.

 (Not a good photo, but i wanted documentation of this 'first')

We have visited our favorite museums (Natural History and Air & Space on the Mall). I was able to drag him to the portrait gallery for a viewing of some modern art and he even liked it (but we stayed less than 30 minutes which is generally the true decider of whether he likes something or not).  He has been a real trooper at work with me this week, sitting through some boring meetings.  He had his birthday while here and is TEN - how is that possible!?!  here are a few photos of his trip.

We got our diplomatic passports

Watched a film at the Natural History museum with a close relative

Carved some pumpkins

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OTTO!!

And today we are headed to the Mall to make history.  We are going to the Restore Sanity/Keep Fear Alive rally. Otto has never been to a rally, so it should be an interesting experience for him. He doesnt appreciate Stewart-Colbert humor as much as i do - so it may fall under the 30 minutes to boredom rule.

Happy Birthday (to me!!)

I had a great birthday.  here are some lovely flowers i got from my mom and Dave.  they brighten up my room which is otherwise typically hotel drab in color and decor.

Birthday story.  I had a massage that evening (not as a bday treat, but because my hip is acting up again from all the glorious running I am doing here). there was, what i hoped to be, a Portland-like restaurant a block away that i wanted to check out, Founding Farmers.  very hard to get a table or even bar space, and the bar was my only option. there was a single seat pushed as far out of the way as possible, at the very edge of the bar, and it had a couple's bags on it.  well, i really wanted to eat here, so i got up the nerve and kindly asked if i could sit there. they were gracious and didnt seem to mind me asking (phew), and they went out of their way to rearrange their seats to make room for me. I was sitting next to the lady and she was friendly, asking general questions.  well, long story short, she asked just the right questions and it turns out she and her husband are in the Foreign Service (had been all over the world in the past 20 years). they had just been to my flag day a few weeks ago because they are mentoring some of my class mates. that on top of some good food and finally a good beer (from California mind you) just made my evening.

This is a view from my hotel room. Quite nice being up high with a couple of big windows.  Tucked just to the bottom right of the picture is the Trader Joe's. Could life in DC be any better - YES, Otto is coming on Saturday!!!

The Arts

Have I mentioned how wonderful DC is.  Every evening - 365 days a year - the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts has a free show.  Wildly varied - classical music, kids programs, dance, bluegrass.

This is a picture of the stage.  The show I went to earlier this week was Hip Hop Dance Ambassadors. It is a program supported by none other than the State Dept and the Cultural Affairs offices in country. These are my new colleagues working on such wonderful outreach opportunities.

This performance featured dancers from Bolivia, Burma, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Ecuador. They were all very good and what a great opportunity for them to come to the US and have a chance to meet their peers from different countries.  The thread throughout all their comments was that hip hop and dance is a universal language.

And it is all FREE, just like so many of the museums here.  I only wish other cities had the budget to offer the arts to people. It should be accessible to everyone.

Parasitology

It was a great week.  The highlight was a parasitology course at the Military University. It was exceptional, again another highly knowledgeable instructor who had traveled extensively and seen all sorts of unusual diseases. For a little taste...

WARNING, not for the faint of heart.

This is why i just love tropical medicine.  We got to learn about all sorts of nasty, hungry parasites, see lots of disgusting pictures and look at poop all afternoon.  I just wanted to share.

So, as i was previously saying, I hope every one of you will plan a visit to wonderful W Africa, so you can experience some of these joys in person ;)

My very own government issue cubicle

Here it is...

I had to post the photo of my name plate, just so you know it is real.  Okay, no windows, pretty spartan, but mine all mine for the next 5 weeks.

MED training has been great.  I am learning the meat of what I will be doing.  Also learning the computer system and database stuff.  Meeting with the other team members and administrative staff here in Washington.  We have some great doctors/specialists who can help us in the field (cardiology, endocrine, neurology). that is a big relief to know we have the back up.  i have been so lucky in my career, working in academic settings, where we always have someone to go to for questions.

It is a good thing i am here now (thank you Bruin and Diane!!).  The next orientation isn't until March 2011 and the rumor is that there might not be any more MED positions at that time - whispers of funding cuts are out there. There has been a big push to hire more staff of late, so i may have come in just under the wire.  i feel very fortunate.

Next week i have a 2 day parasitology course - that will be a needed refresher. I am madly working to put all the final details in order - getting my car set up to make the trip to Burkina, last minute shopping, sorting out the phone thing (i have to buy an unlocked cell phone...whatever that is), scheduling immunizations (Stacy or Jenna, are you available to come give these to me?). I feel like i will never have enough time to get all of this together.  it looks like we will be leaving mid-Nov, right on schedule.  cant wait!!

Swearing in Ceremony

On Friday we were sworn in.  We say the same oath of office that Thomas Jefferson said over 200 years ago (raise the right hand and repeat after me sort of thing).  It was all very official.  The event took place in the Benjamin Franklin room of the State Dept. (photos below, gorgeous).  it is essentially a museum with a large deck and fantastic views. Was hoping to have Hilary, our boss, swear us in, but i suppose she had better things to do...

Even better than the swearing in, is that we had the afternoon to do administrative 'stuff'.  i have been feeling so overwhelmed with all the information, homework, arrangements to travel. i finally feel a bit on top of things.

Monday we have a security training back at the Foreign Service Institute and then will officially start Medical training on Wednesday. I am looking forward to that.  I feel like i am not using my brain with all this lack of medicine.  It also means 5 more weeks and i should be out of here and on to the real adventure.

The Swearing in room, colleagues and families wandering around

There is that person in the suit again, how does she keep getting into all of these photos?!?!?  Certainly i told everyone my $15 dollar jacket purchase story.  I even got another jacket here in DC at a second hand store for $10.  Some days i think the culture shock here in DC will be greater than any i experience in W Africa. I feel like a fish out of water here.

The View from the deck.  This city is so different from any in the PNW. if you have never been to our fair capital, i highly recommend it.

Hope everyone is well. thanks to all who have checked out the blog. hang in there, photo's from Ouagadougou are just around the corner.