This last week of orientation featured a lot of self directed learning, and proved to be a fantastic week for my family to come from Texas for a visit. It was a jammed pack week of monuments, museums, a quick trip to Williamsburg, and good eating.
It’s difficult to articulate how wonderful it was to see my family again after 8 weeks of being apart. My baby E in particular has grown so much, she’s rolling around like a roly poly, and can mimic someone blowing raspberries at her. I can already tell she is going to have a fun personality. My daughter L had a blast seeing monuments to Presidents like Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson she learned about in the last school year, and was blown away by their scale. She probably equally enjoyed how we snuck away for some interesting mini-golf in Maryland.
It was also nice to be able to give my wife some alone time, (no matter how fleeting) getting her treated to some self care like a mani/pedi she hasn’t been able to do since the baby was born, and enjoy some of her favorite cuisines like Dim sum, not easily available in El Paso.
It wasn’t all fun and games. With the whole family in town, we were able to do the crucial work of getting our diplomatic passports taken care of and arrange some of the final details of our move to Mauritania. We are just a month away from shipping out, and time seems to be enclosing around us as we arrange the final pack-out and get the necessary visa’s for Mauritania. Thankfully, the individuals I have spoken to at post in Nouakchott have been incredibly friendly, supportive, and excited to have us. It’s going to make the transition a nice one.
Looking ahead as we begin the final countdown to post, I will have a lot of concentrated medical training, will need to get my new car ready to ship, and make the all important consumables purchases. It’s getting much busier but also a lot more exciting. –Nick
Nick,
Thanks again for all of your insight. Is there any lag time between the end of training and when you ship out? Just curious as I have to have a dental procedure completed and am not sure I’ll be able to fit it in.
You have 5 “consultation days” at the end of training, which is basically a week to get your ducks in a row. You could schedule it then, but you also can likely find gaps in the general training schedule where you can make it happen. Several days will have built in “self study”.
Your fam is so adorable. Glad you’re back together again for a bit. Nouakchott will be lucky to have you!
Thanks amigo!
Hey thanks for all the info. Glad you got some family time. I will be in the July class. Wondering about the follow on med training location. Is it near initial training? If not could you give a general location? Looking at commute by bike/ public transport etc. vs bringing my POV.
MED is very close to State HQ, and about a 5 minute walk from the Foggy Bottom metro. FSI is very POV friendly if you have more in person training there during general orientation, but it’s far easier to ride the metro into DC for MED training.
I didn’t have a car until 7 weeks in and have only used it a handful of times. Public transport is def easier.