criplomats

After two years of not being able to really drive anywhere, it felt great to get behind the wheel of my new car and hit the road! Saturday morning, we loaded up Flavia and the luggage and drove out of DC. Freedom!

We detoured off the interstate and drove a few hours on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, along the crests of the George Washington National Forest and the Thomas Jefferson National Forest – gorgeous! It was a bit of a surprise to see a rescue helicopter land in front of us. As we made our way past (after the blades quit turning), John noticed beagles in the back of a National Park Service truck; we surmised that a hiker was lost/injured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The views are stunning along the parkway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the night in Bristol, Tennessee, then took I-40 to Nashville. Along the way, we made contact with our friend Justin. We served with Justin in Juarez, then he came to visit us in Tel Aviv in 2011. We met up for lunch in Cookeville, Tennesee, and had a great time catching up! He’s heading to DC for language training before heading out to the Congo next year.

After that, we went south of Nashville on the Natchez Trace Parkway – how beautiful! We saw deer (including a little fawn crossing the road with mom) and loads of wild turkeys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trace is simply gorgeous and oh, so peaceful. Hardly any traffic at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it as far as Tupelo, Mississippi, on the Natchez Trace and are overnighting here. Flavia is doing great on the road trip, thank goodness.

 

The last week in DC was big fun. I took a good leadership class at FSI. Being there, I had the chance to have lunch with Scott each day, often taking advantage of the lovely fall weather.

Last Monday night, we took Edward and Barb to RT’s for another great dinner. It was good to see them again before we left.

Wednesday evening, we met our A-100 classmate Nicole and her (new to us) husband Nikola for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Clarendon. It was fun to get caught up with her, meet her new husband, and chat about her bidding strategy.

Thursday after work, Cousin Donna picked me up at FSI and took me to her condo for wine and cheese (and, of course, to meet her kitties!). Her husband Jeff arrived from Arkansas while I was there, and we hit their neighborhood restaurant for a lovely dinner. So nice to see them both!

Friday evening, we met our good friend Cathy for another great dinner at Smith and Wollensky – great steak and a killer martini.

All in all it was a good three weeks in DC. We saw lots and lots of friends, enjoyed taking a few classes, ate some great food, and just enjoyed being back in America! Next stop – Hot Springs!

For Week Two in DC, I had a consular class in the new consular office building, which has consolidated the consular mothership into one building, not too far from Main State. It’s great to have everyone under one roof. Our class was for mid-level officers (like me) who are going to work in the American Citizen Services sections at post. Lucky for me, my good friend Jim was also in the class, so I had a built-in seat mate and lunch buddy. Lots of good information, and a reminder that ACS work can be very, very hard. Since no two cases are ever the same, you have to rely on your knowledge of the law and good judgement, for the most part.

The socializing also continued! Monday night we met George and Melissa at our favorite restaurant, RT’s in Alexandria. They had taken us there the last time we were in town, and we loved it! She-crab soup and pecan-crusted halibut for me, please. It was wonderful to catch up with George and Melissa; they are doing great.

Tuesday after work, Cathy and I went to Jim’s cool condo and sat on the roof – lovely! Beautiful view, nice wine and cheese, and the chance to finally meet Jim’s partner, who is really cool. The weather was glorious.

Wednesday evening, we braved the rain and went to Lorton for dinner at Ray and Patty’s house. Ray was the principal officer when we were in Juarez. The kids are getting all grown up, and it felt like we had just seen Ray and Patty yesterday. (I loved seeing Patty’s sign on the door when we arrived: “Ran to pick up the kids from school – come on in!”)

Thursday we spent a much-needed night near home; I drove to one of my old haunts for a mani-pedi, then we just relaxed with a little TV. We did pretty much the same thing on Friday after a drop in at happy hour nearby with some friends – afterwards we put our feet up with a glass of wine and watched “Hannah and Her Sisters” at home.

Yesterday morning we grabbed our umbrellas and drove to Eastern Market so John could visit his favorite used book store and a gaming store. I love poking around the market – and was delighted to run into our old neighbors Katie and Charlie from Tel Aviv. Hard to believe that Katie was pregnant when I last saw her and now has a darling toddler.

In the late afternoon, we drove to Springfield to see TFran and Miguel’s new house. Meghan and two of their cousins were also there; we had yummy pizza and yakked for a few hours. And it was great to see their dog Jasper, who is all grown up now (he was a puppy in Juarez with big ol’ ears).

This morning we went to Scott and Laura’s for brunch with Nathan (who I knew in Islamabad) and Jacob (who I knew in Tel Aviv). Scott was a close co-worker and daily lunch buddy in Islamabad, so it was great to see him and Laura in their super-cool new house. After stuffing ourselves with homemade migas and peach cobbler, we headed up to Silver Spring, MD, to see Cathy’s new place – also lovely with the added bonus of hardwood floors and old growth trees.

Last Sunday we did some shopping at Tyson’s Corner and watched “A Most Wanted Man” with the now-deceased Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

All in all a good week! The only real downer is that our other two pieces of luggage have not turned up. My hope is flagging, but I am trying to remain optimistic that they will show up. Unfortunately, my bag had several things that just can’t be replaced (like my medical records). Keep your fingers crossed!

 

 

 

 

Our first week back was set aside for consultations and administrative tasks. It was great not having to dive into a class right off the bat.

Last Sunday, I started the long quest to buy a car. Wow, way harder than I thought. After countless emails and telephone calls with car salesmen, I finally ended up with a great Honda CRV yesterday. I had originally thought I would buy a Toyota, but couldn’t seem to find a fair deal without a lot of game-playing. (Example – when I told them I wanted to title and tag it in Arkansas, they insisted they had to do it for me. One dealership told me tags for Arkansas would be $594; another said $395. In reality, the title costs $10 and tags $27.) Anyway, I drove off the Honda lot happy.

It’s been such fun seeing old friends this week!

Tuesday night we got together with some of our Islamabad friends: Joseph, Sunera, Barb, Edward, Brett and his girlfriend Lara. We started out at our apartment for drinks, then walked to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner.

Wednesday night we walked over the Key Bridge into Georgetown to have dinner with our “rabbi” Dean at a lovely French restaurant. He’s retired from the Foreign Service now, and always fun to gossip with and get advice.

Thursday night we walked back over to Georgetown and met our former neighbors from Juarez, TFran, Miguel, Meghan, and Neal. We had a great time drinking Margaritas and eating Mexican food. Everyone was just the same as always! Here’s the obligatory selfie:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday night we met our good A-100 friends Jim and Cathy for dinner at Smith and Wollensky’s, one of our favorite steak houses. They are both doing wonderful and we picked up the conversation where we left off a few years ago.

The rest of the week was spent talking to our DC colleagues who have responsibility for the Mexico portfolio. For example, I talked to the folks who deal with international child abductions and the person who helps the Mexico posts who have fraud issues. It’s just a way to put a face with a name and get a head start on some of the issues you’ll see when you get to your post.

We also did a mandatory high stress outbrief – anyone coming out of countries like Pakistan, Iraq, or Afghanistan get a briefing on resources that are available if you think you may suffer from PSTD or other stress-related maladies. And I did a half-day class with Consular Affairs on some cool management tools like process mapping, etc.

After our car-buying trip (which dragged on forever), we went to Brett and Lara’s for an afternoon of Settlers of Catan (I won, finally!). Afterward, we drove to Georgetown to see a fun 3-D movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a silly sci-fi movie with a great 1970s soundtrack. Fun!

 
On the luggage front, John and I each received one bag late Tuesday night, but the other two are still MIA. One of the pieces we got had a Bangkok security sticker on it – um, but we didn’t fly through Bangkok. We’re still keeping our fingers crossed that the other two will show up soon!

Wow! After two years in Pakistan, we are finished with our tour and are back in America!

It’s still hard to believe that we are sitting in Rosslyn right now. The trip home was grueling but we made it! I think door-to-door the whole trip was a bit more than 24 hours. We flew from Islamabad to Istanbul to Munich to DC – the route was determined by the airline that would allow Flavia to fly in cabin with us. She did great but was happy to get out of her little carrier by the time we got home.

The trip was pretty stressful. In Islamabad, as we were exiting immigration, they asked for Flavia’s paperwork. Long story short, it was nowhere to be found! After about an hour of searching our bags, retracing steps, and asking the ticket counter (who had used it during check-in), we gave up. We managed to talk our way past airport authorities and I emailed the vet to see if he could email me copies, in case Istanbul, Munich, or the U.S. asked for it. After a little while of sitting in the lounge, one of the airline employees found it – it had fallen down between the ticket counters! (And, of course, after all of the drama, no one else looked twice at the cat or asked for the paperwork!)

The flight from Islamabad was threes hours late leaving, then both in Istanbul and Munich, we literally had to run to catch both flights – glad I’ve been going to the gym! My handbag, Flavie in her Sherpa carrier, and a roll-a-board were all bouncing behind me as we wove our way through the hoards of people, with lots of loud “Excuse me’s” along the way. After the ticket agent in Istanbul told us to “hurry, hurry,” we got to the gate only to find a roomful of bored travelers and no airplane. A gate change and an hour later, we boarded…which meant another sprint in Munich, where they really did hold the plane for us and fourteen other people. I’m convinced more than ever that air travel is not for the weak in spirit!

We were gleeful when we arrived at Dulles, amazed that this bone-jarring trip was finally over (did I mention that no cats are allowed in business class? Yep, economy class for us this go-’round, although I euphemistically tried to convince John that it’s first class for cats…). We tra-la-la’d our way through immigration, bypassing the hoards of people with our smarty-pants Global Entry card. Our sense of triumph faded as we watched the conveyor belt at baggage claim stop with a few orphaned bags, none of which were ours. There’s nothing sadder than the realization that your bags just aren’t there.

So here we are in Rosslyn with uninterrupted electricity and water that you can drink right out of the tap! It’s great, even if I only have the clothes I flew in!

Our last week in Islamabad was really a blur, and since my day- timer is in my lost luggage, I have no references. We spent a little more quality time with rug salesmen and bought three more rugs, and we had our lovely rosewood bar delivered on Thursday – just in time for the movers to come load up the last lift van! Here’s a photo of the bar, both folded up and unfolded:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our A-100 friend Rob Anderson and his wife Christel gave us a great bottle of the Widow champagne when they left; we’d been saving it for a special occasion. That was Wednesday night when we had going-away dinner at the Marriott steak house with Carolyn, Konstantin, Eric, and Diana. Great steaks and great company!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last Sunday after a trip to the Serena Spa, we had brunch with Christy, Mike & Teri, and two new folks in honor of Mike and Christy’s birthday. Lots of fun!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It was sad to say goodbye to our friends in Islamabad, especially our local staff who I may very well never see again. The NIV staff gave me a fun truck art cat as a going-away gift – cute!

I was also super-happy and surprised when the Ambassador walked in the door to the Consular Section to give me a farewell. The Consul General had asked him to come down, and he did! I don’t think he has been to the section since he arrived over a year ago. It was really nice of him to do; due to the many high-profile visa cases that we’ve handled over the last two years, I’ve worked closely with his office. His praise really means a lot to me.

The hardest thing about leaving was knowing that I won’t see the Embassy kitties again. I’m very happy because there are still lots of great volunteers who will take over where I left off, so I know they’ll be in good hands, but I will certainly miss them. What lucky kitties they are – they have gone from being strays to having a good home on the compound – or, in some cases, finding a permanent home.

So – in short – it was a great tour in Pakistan! We are looking forward to the next chapter, after a couple of weeks in DC and some time spent at home – then onward to Guadalajara, Mexico!

A few parting shots of Islamabad…

So now we are moving into single digits – only a few more days left in Pakistan. It’s a bit surreal.

The Embassy was closed Tuesday – Friday for Eid holidays. The quiet days in the office were a godsend to me and I’ve gotten a lot of work done – but still a lot to go! I picked up my replacement at the airport in the wee hours of Thursday morning and have spent some time with her doing some cross-training in the last couple of days.

Last Sunday, we went to a great brunch at Carolyn and Konstantin’s house – Konstantin makes a mean biscuit and gravy (that’s high praise especially considering he’s a Yankee)! We, along with our other A-100 classsmates Eric and Diana were the last to leave, enjoying visiting while we can.

Thursday night, we went to Adi and Celia’s house for cocktails with Ron, Pam, Steve, and Dave, then we all went to dinner at Pangia, a nice Asian restaurant. And back to Adi and Celia’s for coffee and a delish trifle for desert. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know all of these folks. John works closely with Adi and Ron, and Celia and Pam have been my photography class buddies – all nice people! Here we are:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday evening we went to Keith and Shelly’s house for drinks and a small get-together. We yakked and laughed with Julia for a while – she’s always so fun to talk to. Several good friends were there, and I got some last minute tips from my photog instructor Sully before he and Alexis caught their flight to leave Pakistan; they’ll ultimately end up in Costa Rica for their next tour.

Except for Thursday when I was at the airport, I’ve managed to continue my daily gym routine – I’m really trying to keep that up; the exercise and the routine are even more important now when everything else is crashing down around me! Monica took over spin class for Meghan, thank goodness! We had a killer workout this week.

The exercise paid off yesterday when Ron gave me a very coveted behind-the-scenes tour of the new Embassy building, still under construction! We climbed the stairs to the top of the building for a panoramic view of Islamabad on a beautiful clear day! Thanks, Ron!