I just wrapped up a nearly 3 week visit to the U.S., with part of it involving some training for work. When the powers that be offered a class for us to understand our procurement system better, and how to maintain our complex medical inventories, I pounced at the opportunity. With the embassy trying to go through end of your training funds, it was perfect timing for me to head back to D.C. and kiss the soil of the homeland.
It had been nearly 7 months since I had last been to the U.S. and nearly 18 months since I was last in D.C., so it was a great time to get back and enjoy the benefits of our nation’s capital. Cherry on top, I went during peak fall weather, nice during the day, cool at night, and beautiful changing of the leaves. Below is what my walk to and from the Foreign Service Institute looked like:
It was a lovely week enjoying some great dining, FS friends from Mauritania that are in training for their next assignment, and for some reason, winter sports. The first event of the week was attending a Washington Capitals matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although the Caps lost, it was bucket hat night, so I walked away more stylish than ever.
Once the training ended at FSI, the weekend came, and that could only mean one thing: Time to curl. My good friend who some eagle eyed readers might recognize from my London trip a few months back had some experience with the great sport of curling, and suggested we head over to the Potomac Curling Club early Saturday morning, and get in on the action. Having always been a fan of Olympic curling, I was more than down, but being from the desert southwest, and currently living in the Sahara, my abilities on the ice were no so great. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful time.
Curling may seem like a chips and beer sort of game in the same sort of sphere as bowling, but it is really tough work. First off, balancing on the ice and launching these stones while sliding in an entirely unnatural position takes a lot of practice, but then, once the stone is gliding, two people have to sweep the ice to help get the stone to curl. Sweeping is hard work, and when you are a newbie there to learn, guess who gets to do most of the sweeping? The following 48 hours resulted in muscle soreness in parts of my body that I didn’t know existed. Ultimately it was a wonderful time and I fully endorse visiting the Potomac Curling Club if you are in the D.C. area, but I definitely underestimated the athletic ability of curlers.
Sadly, following the week of training and a weekend of curling, it was time to say goodbye to the DMV. However, instead of going back to Mauritania, I took a road trip from D.C. to New Mexico that I will discuss in a separate post. Overall I had a great week of training and I look forward to future trips back to the DMV.
