Thank You Lucy!

Lucy, a foreign service friend who lives in Europe too, sent me these cute little Christmas ornaments to make.  It took them quite a while to get here, but they made it!  Thank you very much, Lucy!  I think I will try to make the pin very soon.  It's beginning to get chilly here in the evening, so winter can't be very far away.

Going Greek Again

 We went back to El Greco and had a great lunch again.  I truly like their zeama more than others because they use chicken breast and don't leave in the bones!

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.