Tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-Tucson!

Yesterday I bummed a ride from the Principal Officer's wife into Tucson and snapped a few pictures I thought I would share.  My impression of Arizona so far is that it is yet another alien landscape to me.  Having grown up in the Northeast of the U.S., I am accustomed to dense populations (or "Thickly Settled" signs, right Mel?), lots of greenery, hills and forests, and grass.  The area south of Tucson, between the Mexican border and the city, is basically flat, with some dry shrubs and dehydrated looking trees, and then some mountains ringing the whole expanse.  Much of the main highway (I-19, the only interstate highway in the U.S. to have markers based in kilometers) linking Nogales and Tucson is pretty barren - there are exits for places like Tubac (the artist colony), Green Valley (an essentially over-55 retirement community), the casino for the Tohono O'odham nation, and what appears to be an expansive trailer park.  When there are homes or businesses dotting the landscape, they are all low to the ground structures with plenty of space surrounding them.  It's a completely different desert than I am used to (Lima and the surrounding desert in Peru is so different).

And the people are different, too.  You cannot walk into and out of a single store without at least a twenty minute conversation.  Even if you're just browsing.  People here are so friendly and want to know everything about you.  Being the noncommunicative and purpose-driven New Englander that I am, I find all of this strange and wonderful and completely wacky.

So when I was chauffered in to Tucson yesterday, I wasn't yet sure what to expect.  I would assume that Tucson is built like your typical Southwestern city - it covers a huge amount of geography and the stores, restaurants, businesses, clubs, and bars are all spread out.  Dropped off at the University of Arizona campus, I wandered up and down streets, looking for new and wonderful discoveries.

The first thing I noticed was the public murals, which seem to pop up just about everywhere, just like they do in Philadelphia.  The first mural I chanced upon was this one:

Since it was early yet, most businesses were closed.  The first place I stopped at was Cafe Passe, where I got myself a really wonderful cup of chai and listened to some cover music done in a combination of English and Portuguese by Seu Jorge, a Brazilian musician who is perhaps most well-known for his David Bowie covers that were featured in the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissau.  This cafe was just one of many funky, brightly colored shops running along 4th Avenue between University Boulevard (which is home to all the bars, restaurants, bistros, and shops that are frequented by the University of Arizona students) and Ninth Street.  My guide book tells me that this is one of the best places in the city to shop for everything from books to bicycle parts, and it is perheps THE BEST location of thrift store buys.

Also on 4th Avenue, I also came across this uniquely named bar, which I couldn't resist snapping a picture of, as I could imagine Bob and Anthony requiring something on tap there:

From 4th Avenue, I navigated towards the skyscrapers I could occassionally see over the tops of buildings.  Most of what I passed through felt like industrial neighborhoods and I did pass more blue collar workplaces such as automotive centers, but I also passed by a number of (closed) galleries and buildings I couldn't readily identify.  One of the more creative locations was this one:

Perhaps the strangest thing about Tucson that I began to notice around this time was the fact that I was almost always the ONLY person walking around on the street.  At first, this realization made me a little fearful that I had somehow wandered into a "bad" neighborhood, but as I thought about it some more, I concluded that the real reason for the solitude I found on the sidewalk is that Tucson is so geographically huge, everyone around here drives.  Moreover, Tucson isn't heavily populated.  So there will be some neighborhoods at certain times with some foot traffic, but many areas will be far quieter.  It is, by far, the smallest city (in terms of population and culture) I have navigated in a long time.

Somewhere in the midst of all these apparent warehouses, there are railroad tracks.  Once you cross over them, you basically land amidst the skyscraper portion of downtown.  One of the first modern buildings I passed appeared to be some kind of public works building and had this really cool structure in front of it:

So, I had thought that the skyscrapers would mark the city center, and that assumption is basically true.  Tucson basically hosts only 3 skyscrapers, and the surrounding blocks are full of professional businesses, government offices, the public library, and a host of eateries and shops.

The white and glass building photographed in both pictures is actually directly across a small park (I almost hesitate to call it a park, as there is very little greenery, but there are benches, a food truck, public art, and a wide walking expanse for city residents to enjoy) from the Pima County Public Library.  After spending much of the last 2 months in Massachusetts and the Lancaster Public Library with Christy and her girls, the library became the highlight of my downtown trip.  I finished my chai in the first floor lobby, watching people as they went about their daily business, and just enjoying the feeling of having nothing pressing to do.  Then I immediately signed up for a library card.

I walked around the library a bit, familiarizing myself with its layout and enjoying some of art exhibits on display, but chose not to borrow any material, thinking that I wouldn't be able to return anything on time just yet.  But I believe I will be back on Sunday, and Anthony has promised to help me return books as needed, so next time, I am all over the book stacks like white on rice.  Yeah, baby!

Then I wandered around the buildings a bit and found a few more interesting things to photograph, starting with the Pima County historical courthouse.

The Superior Court and other justice buildings are located around a courtyard behind the Courthouse, as well as a fountain, a John F. Kennedy bust, and a World War II memorial.

At this point, I really only walked around the block surrounding the high rises, and I found myself in a little boutique, where the woman was just setting up for the day.  As I mentioned previously, Arizonans seem particularly friendly, so, after a nearly 40 minute conversation in which I learned all about her daughter's academic career in Library Sciences and taught her a bit about the Foreign Service, I decided to walk back towards the University of Arizona campus to have lunch.

I walked mostly through residential streets and took a few pictures to give you an idea of how different the neighborhoods look.  (My favorite picture, of course, is of the self-identified Love Machine #13 - the name was spraypainted across the rear bumper.  It just makes me wonder what happened to the other 12 love machines...)

I ate my lunch in the outside seating area of Cafe Paraiso on University Boulevard, which allowed me to alternately watch the UofA students as they wandered by in large numbers (now that it was past noon and they were actually awake) and read the book I had brought with me (George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones," gifted me by Aurit for my 30th birthday!  Thank you, dearie).

When I was done and it was nearly time to meet up with my ride, I took one last meander through the University of Arizona campus, and then sat again to bake in the sun and read more of my book. 

It really was a lovely way to spend a day in Tucson, and I look forward to learning more about what my temporary home (the AZ part anyway) has to offer.  I am most looking forward to the outdoors opportunities for hiking and such, but I think a visit to the zoo, the Air and Space Museum, the Missile Museum, the botanical gardens, and a few other hotspots will be totally necessary.  I also found out that they have an independent movie theatre in Tucson, which I am very excited about.

Let's see how much I can fit into the next month or so of exploring before I head off to DC to start my new career...

That whole employment thing

Yesterday I finally got the news that I have been waiting for: my file with the State Department finally received the clearances and suitability review it needed for my name to be placed on the register's list.  The register's list is the list from which State hires its Foreign Service Officers (FSOs).  Right now Congress is looking at an appropriations bill that will hire 700 new FSOs for the current fiscal year (October 2009 to October 2010), so there is a pretty aggressive training schedule set for 2010.

As it stands, State plans to start new training classes in January, February, March, May, June, and a few other months.  Each class is expected to have anywhere from 70-98 new hires in it, and these classes are divided (not necessarily equally) between the 5 different FS cones: Political, Econ, Public Diplomacy, Consular and Management.

The calls for the January class already went out in November, although there is a possibility that they may add new hires to this class when the appropriations bill gets through Congress (potentially by the end of this weekend).  So, with my placement on the register's list at 23 out of 92 on the Public Diplomacy register, and with several people above me known to be unavailable for the February training class, I would guess that my chances are pretty solid for getting an invitation to the February training class.  At worst, I believe I will be invited to join the March class.

Of course, all this is speculation and practically anything can happen, but just know that no matter what, I have at least the one job offer coming through in 2010!  And this means that I can lay off the job applications now.  Whew!

This also means that you DC folks will be seeing my bright, shining face in just a few short months!  Training lasts, on average, anytime from 3 months to a year, depending on your assignment and the requisite language training - so I will be around for a while.  Of course, I won't know my assignment until the end of general FSO training (around the 3 month mark), but I will be bidding in the first week of training, so I will update you all on my wishlist when I am able to see what is available.

In the meantime, I am living la vida peligrosa here in Nogales, Mexico, with somewhere between 10-15 confirmed shootings so far this week.  Lucky for me, we live in the neighborhood where all the drug dealers live, which means this is where many of the shootouts occur.  So far I have only left the house to get a tour of the consulate, to have dinner at the Deputy Principal Officer's house, to have dinner at the Principal Officer's house, and to go to the grocery store with Anthony in an armored vehicle.  We also walked the girls around the block this afternoon, which, judging from Anthony's unease with the whole situation, may never ever happen again. 

I am now really looking forward to receiving our SENTRI cards (issued by Customs and Border Protection for frequent border crossers) so we can drive into Arizona and live like normal people on weeknights and weekends.  This is even more pressing for me now that I no longer have either schoolwork or job applications to keep me busy while Anthony is at work.

On the upshot, the house (which Anthony lovingly refers to as "The Pink Monster" because of its peachy-pink exterior) is ENORMOUS and it is taking me some time to settle us in.  I mailed us a few large boxes of household stuff from MA, which arrived before either of us did, so I've been cleaning, emptying boxes, inventorying the household goods provided by the Consulate, and generally keeping myself occupied.  I have also spent the week trying to tie up loose ends with our Vonage line (the box no longer works and I am waiting for the replacement to arrive), research potential health insurance plans (my COBRA coverage finally dies at the end of December), and work out a new budget (which will, of course, be thrown to the four winds in a few months when I finally start working and earning an income).

Tomorrow we might actually head out of Nogales - we've been told that if you walk across the border, there are plenty of buses to take you into Tucson.  I imagine there are also buses to take you to closer locations, like Tubac, the artist community approximately 30 minutes away from the border.  If that's true, we can scope out the art AND nearby hiking trails where we may be able to walk the girls after our SENTRI cards arrive.  We will see, we will see.

Fleeing to Mexico

T minus 2 days til Anthony and I cross the border into Mexico.  On the one hand, it feels like time has flown by while I've been here, but on the other, it has been far too long since I laid a big fat slobbery kiss on Anthony and SMOOSHed! the babies.  And now that State packed up our house in Lima yesterday, I no longer have the Vonage phone to connect to my family.  So I'll have to throw my birthday wishes for Anthony out on the worldwide web: if you can hear me, honey, I'm screaming out the birthday song for ya right now (in my best impression of a dying cat, of course!).  Happy 33rd, baby!

But it will be exciting to reunite in Mexico.  It'll be the third country we've lived in together since starting to date 5 1/2 years ago.  Who would've thunk it?

I wrote Nicole the other day about what I know of Nogales and, I'll admit, it sounds a little bit intimidating the way I put it:

• There is a Nogales, Mexico, and a Nogales, AZ; they are clearly separated by a number of Customs and Border Patrol agents;
• Despite being a border town, Anthony tells me that crime has dropped over the past 5 years. He seems to think that this has something to do with the fact that, unlike other border towns that suffer from drug-related violence because the Mexican cartels are trying to smuggle the drugs over the border to the U.S., Nogales is the border town into which the cartels are trying to smuggle guns that they've bought with the money they made from selling the drugs in the U.S;
• Nogales, Mexico, is home to a thriving market, where many Americans make day trips from Arizona to buy Mexican goods;
• That being said, I have been told by people from the consulate that I cannot walk around, certainly not by myself, even during the daytime and not even with my dogs;
• Nogales is an hour south of Tucson, and about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Phoenix.

But one of the young women who just left the Nogales Consulate gave me hope that my time in Mexico will be well spent.  She just finished her 3 year tour there in November and said it was a great post and that she really enjoyed her time there.  It's not exactly a glowing recommendation, replete with flashing neon lights, but when you consider the fact that I am both unemployed and a homebody, there isn't much I need in the way of entertainment from a post.

What I am most excited about (other than reuniting with my family, of course) is our proximity to Arizona.  I get nothing but glowing recommendations from Mel - although she is mostly referring to her spa vacations - and I have read wonderful things about the hiking opportunities.  There are also randomly cool sounding things like visiting Tombstone, AZ - I think I can see a cowboy shoot-out reenactment!  I don't know what's cooler - the cacti or the cowboys.  Now, who's with me???!

In the next few days, I'm going to have to start researching our new home town and find more cool things to do.  There's nothing like uncertainty and dreaming big to keep this girl enthusiastic about the possibilities!

I am a slacker

The past two weeks have been crazy.  With a capital "C."

First, we finally got Anthony's official orders, right before Thanksgiving.  So he was able to plan the pack-out of our house in Lima and we are now scheduled to arrive in Mexico on Monday, December 7th.  So now I'm running around most days trying to change our address everywhere and make sure everything is settled enough that I can live without internet for a few days if forced.

I also turned 30.  I don't have any major concerns about the number, but it's kind of a big deal.  I was worried I'd have to spend it alone, but it turns out that some very special people live in the area (or in a neighboring state) and were willing to make the trek out to delight in some New Moon entertainment (Go Team Jacob!  Right, Mel?) and turn my home-cooked dinner plans into a dance/karaoke party.  The only thing missing was a handful of male go-go dancers, some half-naked Native American werewolves, and Anthony, Grace, Maggie and Pookie.  (I love you Christy, Mel, Aurit!  And I thoroughly enjoyed guest appearances by Estee and Eric!  Although I am still wondering about Eric being in the bathroom with what sounded like five of his closest friends when we called...)

My birthday weekend was made all the more special by a romantic hot-air balloon ride with da' Momma.  Okay, so it wasn't romantic, but it did totally ROCK MY SOCKS OFF.  Because there is nothing quite like floating in a tiny basket 3,000 feet above the ground.  And since we were ballooning over Sunderland, MA, which is within spitting distance of Northampton, MA, I totally gave a shout out to Celia and her Masshole peeps.  What up, Schiffman family?!?!!

And my birthday commentary wouldn't be complete without a big KISS to my sweetie for gifting me a new Canon Powershot G11 camera, to replace the Canon Elph I had finally managed to destroy by hiking to Machu Picchu with it in the rain.  Let's see how long I can maintain this Canon in functioning order.

Of course, if you're American, you also know that Thanksgiving just occurred.  And if you've ever met me, you know what an enormous event in my life the annual Thanksgiving festivities are.  First of all, there's the food.  I like to eat, and I LOVE to eat Thanksgiving food.  Like I've said before (and will say again), any holiday based on food, food, and more food, is tops in my book.  Best idea ever.

Thanksgiving is also the only time of year that I get to see my relatives on my mom's side of the family.  And getting my family together is always an interesting experience.  My Uncle Dana comes from the Vineyard with his boyfriend Hyung, a case of Martinelli's cider, and his ex-boyfriend, my Auntie Thomas.  Auntie Thomas, of course, brings the stuffed artichokes from whatever little place in Boston that makes the closest thing to Nonnie's stuffed artichokes.  This year, my cousin Ilana and her husband, Scott, drove up from North Carolina and staid over.  AND we had San's brother, Binaya, and sister-in-law, Sarita, along with his friends Uma and Logan.  Of course, what we didn't have was San, who left for Nepal about two weeks ago.  So it was the usual smorgashborg and UN-themed event that we seem to have these days.  Never a dull moment.

Now things are quieting down again and I am just trying to make sure everything is ready for us to go to Mexico.  Of course, Anthony is the one who has the most to do, with packing up the house and transporting the pets, but I do what I can from here to help.

And that, my friends, is what you missed.

Stuff and things and stuff

Judging by the number of emails I've received lately asking about Mexico and my status with the pre-employment process for the Foreign Servcie, I think y'all could use a general update.  So here it goes.

It took a while, but Congress just recently granted Anthony a language waiver for the Nogales posting.  In State Dept. language, he scored a 1+/3 in Spanish (speaking/reading), but the post requires a 3/3.  Apparently, the State Department used to have the independent ability to grant language waivers, but Congress found out that waivers were being granted willy-nilly and began to wonder why they were giving the department all this money for language training, if they were just going to send unqualified officers to every post.  So they took on the granting of language waivers.  Now a congressional oversight committee looks at all requests and State must provide a really compelling reason why a position is being saved for someone without the requisite language skills.  So I like to say that Congress is a HUGE fan of Anthony's.

With the language waiver in place, the paneling committee was finally able to meet to discuss Anthony's placement this past Friday.  It shouldn't be any surprise that they paneled him for Nogales.

The one hurdle left to cross is the receipt of actual, official orders.  Since Anthony can't make any travel or move plans without them, the orders are kind of important.  So he's spent the last week doing the following: a) trying to get access to a newly developed system that allows him to enter the required information; b) trying to get his direct supervisor access to the same system so the information Anthony entered can be approved and sent to HQ; and c) waiting for his career destruction development representative in DC to sign off on the information that Anthony entered and his supervisor approved, so that the official orders can be drawn up.

I know that a lot of people disparage the government because of the bureaucracy and the red tape, and usually this derogatory commentary annoys me (this is fodder for a much larger discussion that I'm going to avoid at the moment), but in this case, I don't understand why so much time has to be wasted just to get a piece of paper.  The process is new, I understand that, which means that there is a learning curve for all involved, but aside from that, it seems like the whole process wasn't well thought out.  Why does every employee need access to this system?  Doesn't it make more sense to train a smaller cadre of people in the use of the system, rather than just deploying it and wishing everyone luck?  It took Anthony 2 days and many phone calls to even find the right person to grant employees access to the system.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Anyway, if we luck out, Anthony may get his official orders today.

As for me and my job prospects, I'm waiting.  I mentioned previously that State's Foreign Service process goes a little something like this:

1. register for the Foreign Service Written Exam
2. take said exam
3. pass said exam and get invited to complete essay questions online; submit essays
4. if essays are up to snuff, get invited to take the Foreign Service Oral Assessment
5. take said exam
6. pass said exam and start pre-employment paperwork
7. get worldwide medical clearance
8. get top secret security clearance
9. pass suitability review
10. get placed on list of eligible hires according to your oral assessment score
11. get hired!
12. breathe a huge sigh of relief

I've also mentioned that at any point in the process, you can fail (which means you have to start the whole process all over again, if you are particularly determined to do so).  Right now I'm in the clearance stages.  I've submitted my medical paperwork, but as of Tuesday, no nurse had been assigned to review my case.  I was informed to call back in 3-4 weeks.

In terms of my security clearance, many of you have already had a stake in the process, as security investigators have contacted and interviewed you already.  I have also had my security interview.  The only thing I am aware of that is still outstanding is the security investigation report from Peru (yes, Anthony, I'm looking at YOU).  I will probably call next week to get an update on my file.

If I had to make a guess, I would say that I am still 1-2 months away from having my clearances - after I get my clearances, my case goes through a final suitability review.  This review is a closed and relatively non-transparent process so I can't really say what goes on there, but I know that it's State's last chance to get rid of someone they don't feel is qualified to be a FSO, despite their ability to get worldwide medical and top secret clearances.

Basically, ask me again around Christmas and I may have more positive news.  (The really nice thing is that once I get on the list of eligible hires, my score is so high that I am confident I will be invited to the next training class!)

In the meantime, I am still submitting job applications.  Because eventually, this girl needs a paycheck and some freakin' health insurance.

And that, my friends, is that.

Delightful

I can't say that I was ever a huge fan of Julia Childs, but I remember her distinctly as a background to the early part of my childhood.  (I also distinctly remember the SNL skits done in imitation of her, which were absolutely brilliant.)  It wasn't until I saw the movie Julie & Julia that I actually discovered how tremendous a personality she was.  Which is clearly what led me to read her book, My Life in France.

Unlike the other biographies I've read lately (Eat Pray Love and The Geography of Love), My Life in France isn't self-indulgent, nor is it prescribing a way of life and being that is so inaccessible to most (unlike the authors of those other books, Julia and her husband lived on a modest government income and actually WORKED for a living).  Even better, it introduces you to a woman who is so completely accessible and so passionate about life that you wish you had known her when she was still alive (Julia Childs passed in 2004).

One of my favorite things about the book are the words she uses to describe things: Twaddle! being my favorite.  She was such a no-nonsense, self-deprecating, deeply talented, self-aware, and FUN woman.  I definitely suggest you take the time to know her better.

Girl has got some bad(ass) hair

On Friday, I decided I had lived long enough with the last bad haircut I got at a salon in DC this past September.  It had grown out to the point that it hung around my face limply, doing nothing and looking sad.  So I went online to Naturally Curly, looked up salons in the Clinton area, and found one that had received good reviews for curly/wavy haircuts.  I called, made an appointment for that afternoon, and went.

And this is what happened:

Now, the cut itself isn't bad, but I haven't had hair lifted so highly off my head since that one Halloween where I went to school as a mad scientist and my hair looked like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket.  The only reason my hair was actually bigger that Halloween is because it was about 6 inches longer overall.  My hairdresser had given me such a bouffant on Friday as to be worthy of a leading lady on Dallas.

I think I am finally giving up on the idea that I can find a good hairdresser wherever it is that I find myself in the world (don't even get me started on the one-cut wonders that people the salons in Lima, Peru).  It's time to go long and layer-less (or nearly so) - at least then, I can sweep the mess up into an untidy ponytail (a feat denied me by a series of too-short haircuts over the past year).