Well, I was planning on writing a post when I got home tonight anyway, but now it will include so much more happy news! First, the original content I was planning...
My quad-cube is a much happier place now. I'm sure you're wondering, why? Well, in the past week, my cube-mates and I have acquired a Brita water pitcher, an electric kettle, a French press and a plethora of teas and coffees. We now have an unending supply of hot beverages at our fingertips! No more running out to the galley every time we are thirsty, standing in line to microwave some water, and dealing with the danger of unlocking the office door with a hot beverage in hand. It has changed our lives!
Secondly, one of my fellow trainees and I completed an economic analysis piece for one of the USAID missions and our supervisor gave us lots of praise for doing a great job! Wow, I am not used to that! It was so nice to, a) do something that is of great value to our coworkers, and b) be recognized for it!
And lastly, I GOT MY POSTING! An unassuming email arrived this morning from a HR employee that I don't know. I was cc:'d on the email and after sorting through it, I could tell it was my assignment. It was addressed to some of the mission staff, but nowhere in the email did it say the name of the country. Luckily, I noticed that the labels on the mission staff's emails was Tbilisi. Now, to be honest, I had no clue where Tbilisi was, so I had to look it up, and I found out that Tbilisi is the capitol of Georgia! So Eurasia here I come!
This was completely out of left field for me. I had been assuming I would be posted to a Feed the Future Initiative country, so Africa or Southeast Asia most likely. But don't get me wrong, I am SUPER excited about Georgia! I have to read more to figure out what's going on at the mission and learn as much as I can about the region. They've recommended 7 months of French training, with a short Russian course, as far as language. The weird thing is that most of the population speaks Georgian, for which I will receive no training. But I suppose I'll get by with English and basic Russian.
So everyone start saving now to come visit me in beautiful Georgia! I can't wait to find out more about my future home!
I spent two weeks in Georgia WAY back in the day (in 2001) and still name it as my single favorite country on earth. It's stunningly beautiful, the people are outrageously hospitable and the food as earth-shatteringly amazing. Truly. There was a Fulbright scholar who lived in Georgia who wrote a blog about her time there -- Sue and Not You, at http://sueandnotu.blogspot.com. Her blog is now sadly defunct, but the archives of her time there (August 2005 to August 2006, I believe) are well worth reading if you're looking for an on-the-ground perspective.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your posting -- I've been bucking to go to Georgia as a State foreign service officer for years, but they require Georgian these days and my mediocre Russian just won't cut it.
Take care,
--Dak
http://theafghanplan.blogspot.com
Congratulations!! I am still waiting for my salary offer and DLI class date. I'm a BS 03 Executive Officer and keep hearing they need lots of us but HR still hasn't made the offer or assigned me to a class. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteAgain, congratulations and good luck.
Congrats on Georgia!
ReplyDeleteI'm a BS-04 and I'll start the DLI class in March...and your blog has been amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing your insight!