Out of Many, One People

I think it is a suitable time to finally make an update to our post. I know at least my grandmother will appreciate it.

So, on with the move. Our stuff was packed out on May 11, and from there we took up permanent residence at the Club Quarters Hotel in DC with our airline baggage for 10 days. We enjoyed our short-term stay in the District, life is good when you can just hop on the nearest metro and avoid Northern Virginia drivers. We had a DC eat-a-thon, trying different places each night and making the most of the per diem rates. We arrived on May 21, just in time for some good ole' civil unrest. Thanks, Dudus. Really, it's been fine on our side, but sad to hear about the number of locals killed in just one weekend.

We had wonderful sponsors who took us grocery shopping and out to try some of the local cuisine, so a nice first weekend here. Cheers to Krystina and Ian!

Food can be a bit more expensive than the states, but you can find most of what you want or need here. We figured as much, so we weren't worried about buying tons of consumables and shipping them before we got here.

Due to the happenings in Tivoli Gardens, Kevin had an elongated vacation and didn't report in to work until Thursday. I went too, like a bring your spouse to work day. By the end of the day I think we were both on information overload, but little by little all of the forms and basic settling in things will be taken care of. Our air shipment is already at the port, so it may be delivered to the house this week. As for the remainder being shipped, probably not far behind.

The car situation may take a bit longer. We were unable to bring our car in because it was older than three years. At first, we thought we would buy from the local market, but are now considering ordering a Japanese car online. The idea of ordering a car online is very strange to me, but apparently a common thing among people in the Foreign Service. If we order it next week, then car soon come...in about three months.

We both really like our new digs. Kevin and I are easy to please, and would have been grateful even if they put us in a shack because hey, it's free, like most of the best things in life. We are on a hill in a residential area, so we feel very safe, but a little secluded from the outside world without a car. It's a very small neighborhood, about six other houses. Only one other person from the embassy lives here, unlike the other compound where many people are placed. We like having a house and it will allow for more privacy, but also the perk of being at the compound is meeting people when you first get here and immediate access to the amenities when you have no transport. Alas, all embassy families have access to the pool area, gym, and game room and we have been there a few times already. Our place has tennis courts and a pool too, and a few fruit trees I'm hoping are for community consumption. The best view is from the garage, which is empty and currently makes a wonderful front porch. We like to sit there in the morning, drink coffee, and just stare at the hills.

Today we had made plans to go visit the "cheese man" with some friends, but found out he was closed. We will meet another day, cheese man. All dressed up with no place to go, we decided to take a taxi to New Kingston, the business district. We wandered around and walked through Emancipation Park, one of the photos in the post. The other is of the 11ft bronze statues, entitled "The Redemption Song", that sit at the entrance of the park. I had read about the statues and wanted to see them, but we didn't spend too much time staring in person.

Next post, soon come.