Round-up

So we have just wrapped up an overseas assignment for the Department in Chile, and it was a very educational and interesting experience. Chile is a beautiful country, and some of our favorite memories will be of hiking in the Andes, the national parks in the Araucaria region, and the thermal baths near Pucon. I think our cruise around the southern park of South America and visiting Antarctica was the highlight of our time down there. And of course I cannot forget to mention the bountiful supply of apples, strawberries, avocados and berries!

Mrs. Globetrotter and I travelled to more places in Chile than other American officers in the Embassy during our two years there, and it helped us gain a nuanced and in-depth view of the culture and personality of Chileans. Granted we did visit some other parts of South America while we were there, and it helped to put Chile into perspective. However, we focused our time and attention exploring as much of Chile as possible, and it helped make me a more productive officer in the Embassy, and improved my visa adjudication skills. I believe it was due in part to our travel throughout Chile that helped me become a fast and effective visa adjudicator, with higher output, fewer overstays and fewer turn-arounds at the port of entry. I am also thankful to the outstanding managers I worked with in Chile, who helped me become a better Consular officer and adjudicator, and who role-modeled the characteristics of a Consular manager that I want to emulate when I am in their position.

Coming back to America was something we had looked forward to a long time. It was wonderful to see so many friends and relatives again, and I was very happy to be part of my friend Eddie's wedding. Congress mandates that we spend at least 4 weeks in the United States territories after each overseas assignment to get reacquainted with the country that we represent. Its nice to have this paid vacation time. However, home leave does have its downside. Every relative expects you to visit them, and its hard to live out of a suitcase for one month, shuttling from place to place. Sometimes it feels like an imposition on our hosts, and we certainly don't want to wear out our welcome. My wife and I were really glad to settle into our hotel room in Washington, even though it wasn't quite home. We think that next time we come home to America, we will just stay in one of our places, and people can come and visit us if they want to. Its just too expensive to pay for hotels and car rentals to go visit everyone, and it is not relaxing to spend one month of home leave in 9 different beds. Having one place to come home to and live in would make a big difference.

Sometime I'll post my observations about the atmosphere at the Foreign Service Institute, and the evolution of a Foreign Service Officer.

For now, we have just launched on a brand new adventure, high up in the mountainous mists of the capital of an Andean nation, where we have been assigned to temporary quarters for a couple of months until our permanent apartment is ready.

Here are some final photos from our time in America.

One of our last days in DC before heading to South America, we paid our respects at the George Washington Memorial in Alexandria, VA.

We spent the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa, and enjoyed talking and relaxing at their home.

My faithful car of 10 years was finally coming to the end of its useful life, and so regretfully I put it up for sale on craigs list and another website, and sold it within days. I have had the same car since I saved up and bought it during my third year of college, and when I sold it the car had 160,000 miles on it. I attribute its long life to frequent oil changes.

At the Village Chapel where Grandma & Grandpa attend, there was an international theme that day, with university students in attendance.

Bright and early Monday morning we began our journey south. Here we are taking off south from Miami toward the Caribbean, as a Carnival cruise ship leaves the harbor. Good bye America--I'll miss you until we come home again!