Flag Day, 2009. Flag day is a tradition in the Foreign Service Officer orientation class. It's truly an amazing moment. Some people jump and cheer, others suffer temporary shock -- regardless of how they ranked their assigned assignment. One of my orientation coordinators share this fantastic story (paraphrased):
"I ranked H-- at the top of my list. First, actually. No one else wanted it as much as me. I told my friends that's where I was going. I told my entire family. On flag day they held up the H-- flag, paused, and called my name. Suddenly, my heart sank. I felt like my life was over."
In all fairness, the day does define an FSO's destiny for the next 1-3 years. In the extreme, it can be the first step in a life-long connection with your post. After they held up the red and blue flag of the Dominican Republic and called, my name, I felt numb. By the time I sat down I was already calculating how my family would like it, what it would mean for my language training, and what this meant for my career. It's silly, but the State Department admits it likes to hire "planners," so I think this is a normal reaction for many of us!!
My conclusion: Gee, if the State Department wants to send me to a tropical paradise for two years, where the weather is warm, the fruit is plentiful, and my son can be fluent in Spanish before he is 5-years-old, then I'll take it! I mean, look at the pictures on the official country homepage!
Dave has decided he wants to track down the Boston Red Sox in the Dominican Republic. David Ortiz, aka "Papi," is from the DR and has a children's foundation that helps fund pediatric critical care: http://www.davidortizchildrensfund.org/. He's also considering working for the embassy, or maybe just hanging out in a hammock with some Dominican rum. The way I see it, he has a little equity coming to him from supporting me through law school.
Tomorrow I start Spanish language training. The introduction to language training they gave us in A-100 "freaked me out" a little bit. I imagine I'll be fine, but the speech they like to give goes a little like this: "So, if you majored in a language in college you probably got to a 1+ score according to our system. You might have made it to a 2 if you were really good. We're going to take you from a 0 to a 3 in six months." Wow. And wow. Well, I'm just grateful that learning a language is part of my job. They're actually paying me to do this!!!! Yipee!!! (Jealous, anyone?)
5 comments:
Hey Joanne, Congratulations on your appointment! I have visited DR, and posted this blog in Oct.
Note the boy with the rum bottle.
http://itmayhavehappenedingreshamonenight.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-can-pick-your-friends-and.html
Dan
Hello, I can't remember if I've posted here or not but I am an FSO hopeful (taking my OA in Feb 2010) and hoping to be a tandem couple with my husband who's waiting on QEP results. We are also the parents of 2 toddlers so your blog is of interest to me!
Just wanted to chime in about the DR. I lived there for about 5 mos. I'm sure you know all this, but just in case: Beautiful, friendly country. You can travel from capital to mountains to beach in just a few hours. Great food and music. I hope you enjoy, and please, please keep blogging! So many stop after a few posts. Thank you and congratulations! Bridget
After going to the website listed and looking at the photos, I am hearby puting in my vote that you guys have christmas next year! Congrats!
Well, if your calculations forgot to include the vector "How frequently, and at what intervals will the Connor-McCandless' be coming to visit us" let me provide a quantity:
Often and Often.
:)
Second the Christmas nomination.
All in favor?
Hi. I am a member of the current A100 class. We just had Flag Day and I was assigned to the Dominican Republic. We (me, husband, and two elementary school age kids) will be arriving in May. We are also from Ohio. Are you still in the Dominican Republic?
Natalie (npeterson@stanfordalumni.org)
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