The 4th of July in DC & Swearing In
We arrived in DC in the middle of July 4th weekend.
It felt almost momentous to arrive in DC this weekend. The fireworks seemed to be our own personal welcome party (at least that is what we told our toddler!).
First of all the humidity here is absolutely no joke. As someone that lives in a near year round fog, I was not prepared for this heat. Do you ever get used to humidity and will we eventually stop sweating so profusely? So many questions!
We are currently in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington and it is a lovely and lively little part of town. Super walkable, with CVS, target, safeway and restaurants just blocks away. Our apartment through PCS lodging is very nice, fully furnished and with great amenities (rooftop pool, gym, gorgeous common areas to hang and work).
Home for the next 3 months.
Amazing views of the capitol from the top level of our apartment building.
We will be renting a car while here, and hope to buy one as soon as we know exactly where our first posting will be. Many countries have their own regulations about which kind of cars can be imported, and it would be a total waste to buy a car now only to find out we are going to a place where the steering wheel is on the right side..
For the 4th of July we watched fireworks from the top floor of our apartment.
The first day of orientation was an in person oath of office AKA the swearing in.
Day 1 of orientation was slightly surreal. I definitely felt like Carrie Mathison from Homeland as I placed one hand in the air and pledged to defend the U.S. against all enemies foreign and domestic. It was a long day with so much information packed in, but at least we are getting some clarity on how things work in the DOS. We also received our official bid list! I thought it would be weeks before we got it, so it was very exciting to see the list of 10 places that we will all be sent to. Also, somewhat comforting to have our next location narrowed down a bit. There are 10 medical providers and we rank each location on a scale of 1-10 and then discuss our priorities with our Career Development Officer to get a better idea of where will be the best fit for our family. You don’t necessarily get your first picks, ultimately the needs of the department come first. We did after all sign up for worldwide availability- something they remind us of only every 2 seconds. Basically once you get your assignment no tears and don’t complain- remember you signed up for this! There will be no complaints on our end, I honestly could see us at almost all of these posts and I know we would make it work.
I can’t disclose the locations but when Flag day comes on August 9th, I will definitely post where we are headed.
So for now we are obsessively researching all of these locations and buying summer clothes for the entire family…
