Time to unpack - and Myers-Briggs

I am now in the process of moving in - finally! The apartment looks like a mess, but hopefully it'll get cleaned up when I get back to town on Sunday morning. In the meantime, today at training we learned our Myers-Briggs Type Indicator so we could talk about interpersonal skills and our communication preferences. I am a ENFP - extraverted intuition with introverted feeling. Okay, so that doesn't mean much, but when I dig into the description, I think it fits pretty well....here's the quick summary...

ENFP's tend to prefer what might be over what is. They approach the world with optimism and trust, taking risks others might avoid. They find new challenges more appealing than what is known and verified.

ENFP's focus on possibilities and people's potential. They like to talk with their network to find out what people think about an issue. They prefer collegial relationships, shared rewards and consensus in decisions. They are warm, flexible and encouraging leaders, and can be energetic followers when treated with respect. 

ENFP's value meaningful relationships. They want to make the world a better place. The focus on developing potential in others, finding a purpose in life, and bridging differences. They want to be authentic.

ENFP's like to work with general direction and freedom to accomplish the task in their own way. They like frequent feedback and appreciate supervisors/teachers with warmth, enthusiasm, and humor who provide individual recognition. They enjoy verbal communication and are typically verbally fluent; however, they become awkward when they need to express their deepest values.

When they feel frustrated and misunderstood, they become scattered and have trouble focusing on the task at hand. They fail to follow through on their decisions - become rebellious and excessively nonconforming and ignore deadlines and procedures.

Energizers: variety, challenge, being taken seriously and valued for competency and skills, freedom to innovate creative and effective solutions

Stressors: being disrespected, competence doubted, overloaded with details, supervision that is too close and communicates distrust and doubt, too little outside stimulation, rules that inhibit the creative process

When ENFP's are stressed, they withdraw, shut down and avoid people. They become passive-agressive. The generate possibilities with no data or follow-through. They become convinced that they have medical problems that don't exist.

Okay, there's more, but I think that's enough. If you know me, I think it fits pretty well. For those of you who from NCGA, perhaps this explains why it just didn't work out for me...

Here's hoping my career at USAID is a better fit!

Uggghhhh!

Well, this morning was interesting. I had my appointment to go visit the storage facility at 9am. In order to get myself out to Manassas, VA (about 40 miles away), I had to rent a car. So I chose a lovely blue Prius from Zipcar that lives at one of the last Metro stations on the orange line in Virginia. I loved driving the Prius! If I ever buy another car, I'd want an electric car like the Volt or the Leaf, but I have a feeling foreign countries won't have the infrastructure to make that work. So maybe a Prius...? But I digress...

So I arrived out at the storage facility and they took me to my stuff - three very large crates, which were surprisingly mostly full. They sat me at a table with the inventory that the packers had made and a group of three guys began pulling out items, calling out the number on the box, and I told them whether it stayed in storage or came to the apartment. First, I was surprised at how much of the stuff is coming to the apartment...it sure looks like a lot, but really, I guess it's mostly kitchen stuff and clothes. Second, and most disturbing, my BRAND NEW desk is broken. And I mean, irreparably broken. Grrrrrr! I'm hoping it's just this one thing and I don't have boxes of broken things waiting to further disappoint me when I open them. So, I asked my HR guy what to do and he directed me to the claims department, where I will no doubt be required to fill out paperwork and wait...and hopefully eventually get reimbursed for the things that are damaged. Luckily for me, I have the receipt showing that the desk was purchased about a week before the move, and I have pictures showing its condition, so hopefully there won't be any disputing that they broke it. We'll see....

Tonight I'm having my grocery order delivered for the first time. I'm interested to see how this works out.  For $7, the grocery store brings my stuff to my door for me within a 2 hour window. I got free delivery for my first order, but I'm pretty sure this will be the first of many times I'll use their service. To ride the Metro to and from the store is $3.20, plus the time I spend in the store and the hassle of having to carry everything (and buy only what I can carry). This is great because I ordered huge bags of cat food and litter, cases of soda, etc. which I would never be able to get home without a vehicle.

Oh, and last night I had dinner at a wonderful little Vietnamese restaurant with my friend DaNita, a former NCGA coworker here in DC, followed by some fro-yo. It's always so nice to get to hang out with people outside of my training class! And if you come visit me, I may be taking you to Saigon Bistro, so be prepared...

Lovely weekend

Week 2 of training seemed to drag along for some reason. On Wednesday, we went out to the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington. It was fairly interesting - learned more about medical services overseas at post, educational options for your kids, and what kind of resources are available to families overseas. They definitely take excellent care of foreign service officers and their families. We had another happy hour over in Rosslyn afterwards, which was fun. Thursday and Friday we did some group projects and heard about a few more programs and benefits.

Yesterday I decided to go out and see a movie by myself, so I saw Morning Glory, which I really enjoyed. Afterwards I took a quick trip down to Filene's Basement and found myself a pair of flat black boots, which I think will officially allow me to fit in in this city. I got home and made myself a real home-cooked meal. 

Yummy chicken pot pie!

I had to improvise since I don't have any baking dishes yet, but luckily the skillet I bought was oven-safe, so it worked out just fine.

In other news, tomorrow morning I go to Manassas, VA to access my storage unit and sort out what's coming to the apartment. They'll deliver Tuesday at noon! I'm going to have to recruit some help to put my bed together and move some things around...we'll see how successful I am with that.

Also, Wally now insists on sleeping under the covers with me. It's cute, but annoying...

   

Wally is spoiled!!

I don't know what he's going to do when I'm away for four days at Thanksgiving....

I also got a very nice package in the mail yesterday from my friends, Chuck and Cris France! 

I'm particularly excited about using the Star Wars bandaids...and being able to open the bottle of wine when my stuff gets here on Tuesday!

Today brings cleaning in preparation for the delivery, grocery shopping, and dinner at a Vietnamese place with my friend DaNita, who works for NCGA here in DC. Should be a nice end to a lovely weekend.

Stuff is Here!

I have to say, having wireless in my apartment make life much better! Also, I got word yesterday that my stuff has finally arrived in DC! I'm still working on scheduling my time to access my storage unit (which is an hour drive away from my apartment in Manassas, VA) and then a time for everything to be delivered. Hopefully this will all happen before I come home for Thanksgiving next week....

That's right, I'm coming home for Thanksgiving! I figure it may very well be the last time I get to be home for Thanksgiving for a number of years, so I may as well take advantage of it while I can. We're finishing training early on Wednesday, so I'll be in early Wednesday evening and flying back early Sunday morning.

Today was my first rainy day in DC. I have never seen so many dogs with raincoats! It's cute, but also slightly disturbing.

Tomorrow we have a field trip to the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington for the day. It'll be nice to be somewhere other than the training facility we've been in for the past week.

First week = Done!

So I've made it through a week of training and feel like I'm learning a lot. The first three days or so was all about benefits and taking care of paperwork. Did you know that there are 207 health care plans available to government employees? It's overwhelming. Luckily, foreign service officers have a unique opportunity because we can change our plan every time our permanent duty station changes (ie, when they send us overseas and when we come back to the US) in addition to the yearly open-enrollment season and other typical qualifying life events. I'm pretty sure I chose a good plan, but if I am unhappy, I'll be able to change soon enough.

We had a DLI 15 happy hour on Wednesday night at The Laughing Man Tavern, which is just a couple blocks from the Reagan building. We have a fun, social group of people in the class, so it was fun to get to know some of them better. On Thursday I was off for Veterans' Day. I spent the day ironing and hanging up all my clothes...sounds awful, I know, but I was so happy to do it! And Saturday night I met with the sister of a former coworker and her husband for dinner downtown. It was so nice to have a conversation with someone outside of training! Hopefully we'll hang out again in the next couple months before they move away.

It was a gorgeous weekend here...mid 60's and sunny. I walked down to the grocery store this afternoon, which was so nice. I rode the Metro back, of course, because I can't haul all those groceries on a 20 minute walk.

Oh, and the best news, I have wireless in my apartment now! I feel like part of civilization again. Hopefully I'll be blogging more in the future since it'll be more convenient that having to go down to the common areas.

Random Tidbits from DLI Training

Today they gave us a list of stats on our class...almost 50/50 male to female ratio. Ag is the second-largest group with 9 DLIs – 3 mid-levels and 6 junior officers (second only to financial managers, because apparently USAID has not had its own budgeting system for something like 6 years and is now rebuilding). 

After the first 5 weeks of training, we split off to do training for our particular focus area, but then we do Individualized Development Programs for the rest of our time here. As far as I can tell, myself and two others in the Ag group don't have extensive world travels (and, coincidently are the only non-Peace Corps volunteers). I'm going to put myself at 10 months total in DC.

On December 10^th, we have a flag ceremony. The administrator is supposed to be there to give us the flag of the country we're going to. So I'll know where I'm going in 5 weeks. I'll start taking bets soon.

I don't get my first paycheck until December 2^nd. I am very poor at the moment.

We have cubbies, like in kindergarten. Mine is blue – very exciting!

The government pays for us to take public transportation to and from work...that'll add up to an extra $21 each week for me. Nice perk.

Tomorrow I have to pick a health insurance plan....there are something like 15 options and I am overwhelmed. Also have to pick dental, vision, life and disability coverage. I haven't even looked at those options yet.

I can make it home from work in 15 minutes...which is nice because the view of the sunset if beautiful from my apartment.

First DLI happy hour is tomorrow. (I miss happy hour with my NCGA coworkers...we'll see how this new group is).

Orientation - Day 1

The first day of orientation went well. I left myself plenty of time to get to the Ronald Reagan Building via Metro this morning, which was good because there was a disruption on the Green line, so everything was running behind and all the trains were jam-packed because of it. So, I had to wait for the second train to come to squeeze on. I left the apartment at 7:10, and even with the issues, I was at the building by 7:40. I think, with no issues and good timing, it should only take about 15 minutes, but I plan on always leaving plenty of time...I don't like being late!

So, I made it to the building, was escorted to our classroom, where I sat at a table with five other DLIs (which is what we're called – we're DLI 15). We were sworn in right away...turns out I didn't have to memorize the oath of office, but I had anyway. We heard from a panel of retired USAID mission director, who had some good advice. Here are a few of their insights...first, coming in completely fresh with no idea of how USAID functions or what you'll be doing is an advantage (HOORAY because I definitely fall into that camp!). Also, all of the panel members kept reiterating that there's really no use in trying to do “career-planning” because you'll just end up frustrated when the positions, locations, etc. that you've planned for yourself aren't there for you. Also, I learned that after I'm tenured (approximately 4 years), I have the ability to take positions in other program areas (education, policy, environment, health, etc.) to try them out. One of the panelists had worked for USAID for 30 years, and said that almost every day was pure enjoyment. I find this promising...

We had some additional briefings on logistics and security, and then we had our formal swearing-in ceremony with the acting USAID administrator (Dr. Rajiv Shah, the actual administrator, is traveling in India with President Obama this week). I learned that, by next year, 50% or more of the US Foreign Service Officers will have less than 2 years of experience. The rebuilding of USAID is a huge effort...our class alone is 60 new hires. Apparently, before starting the DLI a couple of years ago, they didn't even bring in 60 new hires in a year. We're supposed to be 'agents of change' for the agency, however we've been warned that not all of the long-time employees are so thrilled with this prospect. I can understand that. We'll see how it goes.

I was home by 4:00 this afternoon. According to our schedule for the next five weeks, it looks like we don't have to be in until 8:30am from now on. Yay for an extra 30 minutes of sleep! The rest of this week is mostly administrative stuff – getting badges, filling out paperwork, learning about benefits and USAID organizational structure.

On December 10^th, we'll have our flag ceremony, where I'll find out where I'm going once I'm done with training. That's not too far away...

First Week in DC, Alone

My first week in DC had some highs and lows...the biggest low of all being the fact that my stuff was supposed to be ready this week, but the truck broke down somewhere between here and St. Louis, and I won't be able to get my things for another couple weeks. This also means no internet or TV in my apartment for another couple weeks.

Highlights of the week included my Tuesday as a tourist, which included stops at the American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery and the American History Museum, as well as the Ronald Reagan Building, which is where I'll be working starting tomorrow. The portrait gallery had an exhibition on Elvis, who I've never really been interested in, but I found it really cool. Also, Elvis was hot. I never really got why he had the female following that he did, but after seeing the pictures, I get it. On the American Art side of the building, the folk art section was my favorite...lots of really interesting pieces, mostly related to religion, slavery, and oppression of different groups of the history of the country. Also, there was a large Norman Rockwell exhibition, with all of the pieces from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg...which leads me to wonder, why do those two men own so much of his work? I think the pieces are interesting, but really not my cup of tea.

I remembered the American History Museum from my visit when I was at National Youth Science Camp after high school. They had a neat exhibit of moveable paper books (i.e. pop-up books), and the collection of the dresses from the First Ladies is always interesting. I think that my favorite was Nancy Reagan's inaugural gown. I didn't make it through the whole museum because I was hoping to avoid rush hour on the Metro (I was still unsuccessful).

On Wednesday, I got to have dinner with my friend Mel, who was in town for an NCGA meeting. It was so nice to see a familiar face and catch up on what's been going on back in St. Louis. Mel went home Thursday afternoon, but the directors and managers from St. Louis came in for their staff meeting, so I got to see them that evening, which was great timing because that was the day that I found out about my stuff being delayed.

Yesterday I rented a car from Hertz for the day so that I could drive out to Ikea in College Park, MD, stop by a mall, and do some grocery shopping. I paid $23 for the rental, plus $5 in gas, $2 in parking, and $3 for the Metro ride to and from the airport. Now the apartment feels a little better...I got a real comforter (the best purchase of the day!), a skillet and saucepan, a few real dishes, and some baking dishes. Now I can make real food! And stay warm and comfortable at night! I didn't find a winter coat that I liked, but I will probably head out for that this afternoon. I'm feeling better about life now. The mall was an interesting experience...coming from St. Charles, which is probably 90% white, living here is completely different. Good different, but still taking some getting used to – the population is so diverse around here. I hear so many different languages every day...maybe someday I'll be able to understand some of them.

Alright, well I'm going to get back to life now. I'm hoping to be better about blogging once I have internet in my apartment, but until then, I'll do what I can!

The Move to DC

Well, I made it to DC. I arrived Thursday night and went to my hotel downtown, where I ate dinner and went to sleep. Luckily, the apartment complex had my unit ready early, so I was able to get in shortly after noon on Friday! Here's what it looks like (empty of course):

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bathroom

Part of the living/dining room (there's more around the corner of the kitchen too)

Sunset from my window (complete with glare off the glass!)

I ventured out to Target (which is about 10 minutes away via Metro) and to Safeway (about a 15 minute walk, or 2 minute Metro ride) that afternoon to pick up some food and essentials. Chris arrived with Wally at about 10:30pm. Wally did surprisingly well this week with the temporary move to Matt's with Chris and then the flight to DC. He was curious about everything when he got to the apartment. Chris bought a great air mattress in St. Louis and brought it with him for me to sleep on until my bed gets here. So we inflated that and went to sleep.

Saturday was busy – we went to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which was entertaining.

People watching from dumpsters...

and the tops of Porta-Potties

'They told me this was Disneyland'

Then we had our first Zipcar experience, which went very well. We picked up a truck nearby the apartment and drove out to the Ikea in College Park, MD to pick up a chair and sofa and a few other small things. We got everything back and unloaded and returned the car on time. All in all, a good experience. I witnessed a fight on the Metro on the way back from dropping the car off, so now I know what to do in an emergency on the train. We assembled our furniture and went to bed.

Sunday morning we got up to go to Founding Farmers (Chris's favorite restaurant in DC so far) for breakfast. We shared some donut holes and I had a HUGE bowl of oatmeal. Delicious!! Then we walked along the waterfront by the apartment before stopping by Safeway again so I could take advantage of Chris's presence to buy lots of groceries.

Then Chris went home :( It was a very sad night...not having anything in the apartment compounds how bad being alone is. USAID tells me I won't be getting my shipment this week – boo! So hopefully they'll give me time off to have my things delivered since they only do deliveries during the week. Next week maybe...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.