More On The Foreign Service

Two more articles on foreign service life that might give others a bit more as to what diplomats go through:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/13/americas_other_army?page=0,1

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/opinion/in-libya-and-elsewhere-our-diplomats-deserve-better.html?_r=1

These articles don't go into daily life - the small things like getting (or not getting) packages from home, the way the milk tastes different, and how you can't get certain things common in the US.  We do, as a whole, have it a lot easier than earlier generations: the internet means we can watch US sports and listen to US music and stay in contact with family and friends much more easily than even ten years ago.

It's still hard to go to a foreign country not knowing the language and be expected to walk into a grocery store and buy supplies within a few hours of getting off the plane - especially in a country where you stick out like a sore thumb or have to follow local dress that you're unfamiliar with.  Unlike the military, we're expected to live off the economy and in a house in town in most places.  It's got its benefits and its drawbacks, but I wouldn't change my lifestyle for anything.

Starting The Stem

The last flower is almost done, since I started the stem this week.  I'm getting close to the point where all I'll have left to do is all that white background....

Centered

Yay, the central motif's done!

A Little Posey

We went to Odessa toward the end of August, and there's a story behind this little dried flower bouquet.  We were eating on the terrace of Steakhouse (yes, that's it's name) on Deriviskaya Street, which is closed off to make it a walking street.  There was a lot of stuff going on there, from carriage rides to girls in 19th century dress selling flowers like the ones above.  One of those girls was in front of the restaurant for most of our meal, and Andreas was fascinated by her expert selling technique and style.  So... since she had kept him entertained all the way through dinner, we bought one.  Or rather, I did the talking and Andreas did the buying.  I end up doing the talking most of the times in foreign places.  It comes of having a husband who hates learning to conjugate verbs in other languages.  I'd started Russian lessons early in the summer.

About Foreign Service Life

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19575689

The BBC article in the link above is about diplomatic life and some of its restrictions.  We're lucky in that we live in a low threat post, and our previous one was too.  Andreas post before that was not low threat - it was a war zone at the time - and the security was much, much higher.

The main danger to us here in Moldova is traffic accidents.  People drive rattletraps, violate almost every traffic law, and drive drunk or while talking on their cell phones.  Usually all at the same time.

US citizens living overseas are -always- targets.  We're stable, easy to find, and have routines.  We're more accessible here than in the US.  Diplomats are merely more high value targets.  

This is one reason diplomats get some of the benefits (but by no means all of them) that the military get.  

Just a little note to help you all understand life in the foreign service.

Color Studies

I'm currently taking a class from StitchMAP, their color theory class.  This is the class that -everyone- has to take, no matter what you know about color.  As part of that, I've been doing multiples of the same design.  This is something I -hate- to do.  I hate it even more when I have to restart one of them due to flaws in the fabric.  That's the reason for the two whites: one of the threads in the fabric was broken, unweaving a part.  I hadn't had a pair of scissors near the fabric, so it just came that way.  There were a few other random broken threads in the piece of fabric, too.  Yuck.  Anyway, the design itself is from the Stitch! magazine I bought while we were in the States in May, and is called A Precious Gem.

Back To Pegas

 Two days after our initial visit to Pegas, we went again - with friends!  John and Theresa were geographically single that day, so their spouses didn't go with us.  We did have a lovely dinner on the terrace that they missed, though.  Andreas ordered this pineapple-based drink.  It was non-alcoholic, but had things like parsley and basil in it.  He said it was definitely weird, but good.  John had a bacon ceasar salad.  His opinion of it is in his picture later in this post.  Andreas also had a (surprise!) Greek salad and an identical meal to the one he'd had previously.  When he likes something, he sticks with it.  Theresa had an eggplant salad and chicken salad as her meal.  Both were elegantly presented and tasted good, although the chicken salad could have had more spices in it.  John liked his steak, as you can see in his picture, and Corrin had pasta alfredo, which she enjoyed.  My steak salad was also very good, and I truly love the way they present their cappucino.  It even tastes wonderful!