Another meagre update. Orientation hums along and I get another week closer to learning my first overseas posting. We are just a little over a week away, and the feeling in the class as a whole is that it can’t come soon enough. I’m just glad I’m in MED at this point. Since we don’t get language, my path to my new posting is fairly clear cut. Generalists and certain specialists waiting for their first posting not only will learn where they will be going, but also what language they will be learning. The Foreign Service Institute rates languages by difficulty and how long you need to learn them. Here is a fantastic article that gives examples of specific languages and how long it takes to learn them. What this means for many of my friends in orientation is they could be here for another 6 months to 2 years depending on the language. I think this is so cool, and I’m somewhat jealous, but I also feel for those that get a country they really didn’t want on their bid list, and then spend months learning a language they weren’t exactly keen on.
Otherwise, it’s been business as usual. I’ve continued to meet more of my classmates at various social functions, and am still blown away by how diverse, experienced, and impressive my classmates are. I can’t say how thankful I am I was able to do my orientation at a time during the pandemic where cases are not spiking (although as of this writing increasing again), and hospitalizations, which have been the new metric for severity, remain near record lows. It’s definitely made things a lot more “normal” feeling, and I’m happy for the wonderful friendships I’ve made as a result.
Probably the most eventful thing I did was go to a rainy/cold DC United game with my classmates, which was still a blast (and they won). Which brings me to another point. The only really confounding thing about my time here so far has been the weather. Every week in DC seems to feature 2 days of rain. 2-3 cool/cold windy days, and 2 perfect days. In a single week, highs have ranged from the low 80’s to the high 40’s. All in the middle of spring. Being from El Paso, it’s basically summer time now. Highs have been and will stay in the 90’s between now and September. I guess what I’m admitting is I’m not really sure what a season is, and this might be my first time truly experiencing “Spring”.
The next week looks to be a bit more of the same. I’m going to game 4 of the Caps playoff match against the Florida Panthers, which has been a good series so far. More importantly, next week brings me closer to flag day, and probably just as exciting, closer to seeing my family later this month. I’ve planned some fun surprises for them, and I can’t wait to see my family.
Lastly, a shoutout to the MED Recruiting Facebook Page. They were kind enough to feature our MED cohort with the beautiful photo seen below. If you are curious about what MED does, careers, or job openings, I suggest giving them a follow. Until next time! –Nick
