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.  

Pack-out

So I haven't blogged in awhile, partly because I was in Mexico last week and partly because things have been crazy getting ready for the movers to come today. I'll eventually write about the trip to Mexico, but for now, I'll focus on the pack-out.

Yesterday the moving company called and said the moving team would arrive between 10AM and noon, which I thought was awesome because I could sleep until 7 and then get up and do some last minute sorting, do a quick photo inventory, and then shower before they arrived. So I got up and felt motivated, so started working on the last-minute things, like filing some papers, pulling out utility account numbers to cancel them, sorting toiletries, picking jewelry to pack, etc. And at 8:10, the driver called and said he was about 10 minutes away...CRAP! I had to run out and move my car, shove some stuff in the 'Do Not Pack' closet, and then the semi pulled up.

Huge semi parked in front of the house

I am, of course, still in my Pjs, haven't eaten, brushed my hair or teeth, and feel completely frantic. For those interested, here's what our house has looked like for the past couple weeks...

Piles of books on the piano

Piles of crap in the office

More piles of crap in the office

Piles of crap in the bedroom

Wally - thinking 'what the heck is going on?'

After a quick walk-through, the team of packers split up into each of our rooms and went to work, while I sat on the couch playing on my computer and answered their questions. They probably started the actual packing at about 9AM...by about 1:30PM, they were done. All that's left in the house right now is the couch and loveseat that are going out with the trash on Monday, the spare bed that will eventually go to Erin's, a few things that will be sold on craigslist or donated to Goodwill, clothes and toiletries. And the cats (who are both in hiding).

Not sure what I'll be doing for the next week, but I have a feeling I'll be busy enough.

Ikea furniture

I got my new Ikea furniture on Saturday! Well, I got most of it, but unfortunately they didn't have the awesome green sleeper sofa that I want. I'll pick it up when I get to DC. I spent Sunday assembling furniture and watching football games, and then Chris helped me put together a couple of things that were too unwieldy for me to do alone. Here's a sampling of what I got...

Armchair with awesome patterned slipcover

Red desk & chair

Dining room chairs

If you haven't been able to guess, I like colorful things! I'll have the patterned chair and green sofa in the living room with a coffee table made of 4 smaller tables, 2 dark brown and 2 yellow. Then yellow and red floating shelves on the wall, the red desk in a little nook between the living room and kitchen, and a shiny white dining table with the light blue chairs. I think that about covers everything. I'm looking forward to decorating the new apartment...that should keep me busy for a couple days at least.

In other news, the moving company is coming on Thursday to do my pre-pack survey, so I'm busy sorting out what's needs to be sold/donated/given away, what Chris is taking to his brother's house, and what I'm taking to DC (which also has to be sorted into what goes to the apartment and what goes to storage).

I'm leaving for Cancun in 5 days! Time to start packing...

I got my Travel Authorization to DC!

Moving is stressful! We got rid of a lot of stuff last weekend between the yard sale and Goodwill, and there are probably a few boxes worth of stuff still to go. I finally got the movers scheduled to come pack up all my things on Oct. 26th and have my one-way ticket to D.C. for Oct. 28th. But there are still a lot of things to get done between now and then...most notably to me at this point, get our house rented to someone stable and reliable, and get my lease for my apartment in D.C. signed. Both of these things are going to give me an ulcer!

Renting out your house is not a fun prospect...when we moved in, we took a lot of time picking the 'perfect' paint colors for every room, which are probably not going to be perfect in the eyes of a renter - in particular, I'm guessing our purple and yellow "office" and the dark blue bathroom and accent wall in the dining room probably aren't for everyone. So, we decided that we'll let tenants paint (of course, we get to approve the colors though). It's sad to think that it may not even look like 'my' house anymore, even though we'll still own it. Plus, finding the right tenants has been difficult so far...we're headed into our second round of applicants and I have my fingers crossed that something will work out this time.

Then there's the lease in D.C., which is more stressing to me for some reason. My training program can be anywhere from 3-12 months, so I've been told by my HR liaison. This makes finding a place very difficult because there aren't many reasonably priced options that offer month-to-month or really short term leases. I'm not too keen on the idea of renting out a room in a shared house, and most wouldn't let me bring Wally along anyway...so, I found a nice apartment, but I'm really worried about having to move out before my lease term is up. I don't know why it bothers me so much - I'm sure it happens often, but I hate the idea that I could potentially be paying for a vacant apartment for months if I get an overseas assignment before the lease is up.

So, I'm focusing on the more fun tasks I have before I go...things like figuring out how I want to spend my gift card to the spa, picking out new furniture and planning a going-away party.
Everything will get done eventually....right?