Spoke too soon

Like I've said before, and I will likely say again many times over the course of my career, I am very happy to have both a paycheck and health insurance.  So when I complain about my job, it's because someone or some event out of my control has made things difficult or frustrating for me - this has nothing to do with my overall pride in serving my country as a Foreign Service Officer, or the joy I get out of working with so many talented professionals.  Overall, I am happy with my work, I am happy with my colleagues, and I am happy with the life that I am blessed to lead.

That being said, there are a couple of issues currently ongoing that greatly affect my livelihood.  These issues are complex, but I will try to summarize them for you so you can understand why they are so important to me and my fellow colleagues:

1. As you may or may not be aware, the government of the United States is currently operating under a "continuing resolution."  What this essentially means is that our Congress has failed to agree on the 2011 budget and the U.S. Government is operating on a budget $6 billion lower than 2010 budget numbers until April 8.  If, for any reason, Congress fails to agree on a budget and does not authorize another continuing resolution by April 8, the whole government (except for essential personnel) will go on furlough until a new continuing resolution or a 2011 budget passes.  This means that we will not get paid for several weeks.  When this last happened in 1995-1996, the government lost millions of dollars because of this and eventually did retroactively pay government employees for the furloughed time.  This is not guaranteed this time, nor do any politicians want to see this happen again, as it is a very messy process and makes our Congress and our government look very, very bad.  More related to the State Department, the Congress is seeking to cut $100 billion from the budget, as suggested by the House Appropriations Committee to meet their commitment to reduce U.S. debt.  Both President Obama and Congress have stated that the majority of cuts will come from discretionary, non-National Security spending.  Unfortunately for me and my colleagues, many of our Representatives and Senators do not feel that the work that we do classifies as National Security efforts.  Without a natural constituency (such as that which the Department of Defense enjoys with its military bases in every state) or a strong professional lobby, that means that the State Department and USAID budgets are often the first to be slashed.  It's an easy cut - it doesn't offend the voters in congressional and senatorial districts and our representatives get to look like they are making strong efforts to balance the budget (even though our budgets may represent less than 1% of the total federal budget).  Over the long term, that means that we have fewer resources to meet an ever-growing list of initiatives that must be done, often to keep the peace or extend multi-lateral relations.  We are lucky that we do have some defenders, and I strongly urge you to write to your representatives in Congress to let them know how you feel about this issue. I promise you I am doing the same.

As an excerpt from Senator Patrick Leahy's (D-VT) argument for counting the State Department and USAID as National Security initiatives, I give you this:

"Our Republican friends in the House should know that we cannot counter the influence of al Qaida and other violent extremists through military force alone. They should know that helping countries such as Southern Sudan rebuild after conflict, building stable democratic institutions in countries such as Egypt, preventing the trafficking of nuclear material and other weapons in the former Soviet Union, educating and providing jobs for youth who would otherwise be fodder for terrorist recruiters in the Middle East, combating the corrosive influence of organized crime in Central America, preventing the spread of deadly viruses in Africa and Asia—viruses that are only one airplane ride away from the United States—or supporting NATO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or U.N. peacekeeping—these are all parts of our national security. It is the diplomats here and abroad, and the funds they administer, that help make U.S. leadership possible around the world."

2. One of the State Department budget items that has strongly come under attack is a pesky line item called Overseas Comparability Pay.  In the face of the two-year wage freeze that President Obama imposed on the federal government, many in our current Congress believe that this constitutes a salary raise, when in fact, it is not.  The best description I have seen comes from the form letter the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) provided us to send to our representatives in Congress:

"The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 was adopted as a way to reduce the government-wide disparity between the public and private sectors and is a basic component of salary for all civilian Federal employees, based on annual survey data collected by the Department of Labor. As a result of this law, every federal government employee working in the United States received “locality pay” as part of their salary. Until 2009, the only United States government civilian employees who did not receive this part of their salary were Foreign Service personnel serving their country overseas.

Locality pay for Foreign Service personnel and other federal employees serving in Washington, D.C. is now approximately 25%. Under the law prior to 2009, Foreign Service personnel serving abroad sacrificed this part of their salaries and took large pay cuts to their base salaries. As a result, because retirement packages are based upon base pay (including “locality pay”), Foreign Service officers representing their country abroad received smaller retirement packages than their colleagues who stayed in Washington. This was not sustainable and in 2009 a bi-partisan solution was found to correct this policy problem. Closing the pay gap is not a pay raise -- it is a correction of a 17- year-old unintended inequity in the worldwide Foreign Service pay schedule—an inequity that grew every year.

Today thousands of Foreign Service employees serve in hardship assignments around the globe, which now constitute nearly 60% of all posts. The number of unaccompanied posts has increased more than fivefold in the last decade. Assignments overseas are increasingly challenging, difficult and in many instances, dangerous. There has been strong bipartisan recognition that it is time to invest in diplomacy and development. Penalizing Foreign Service employees whose mission is to serve overseas to advance and protect our national interests by cutting their base pay undervalues the importance of their work, widens the gap between those serving in the United States and those facing hardships and sacrifices overseas and creates real disincentives to serving on the front lines of American diplomacy and development."

 So, as you can see, Overseas Comparability Pay is incredibly important to me and my colleagues, as it determines our contributions to retirement and puts us on an even playing field with our civil service counterparts.  Moreover, our civil service colleagues often do not have to choose between their jobs and the ability of their spouses to have a fulfilling career that contributes to household finances.  In righting an inequity in our overseas payscale, Overseas Comparability Pay allows our Foreign Service families to be able to better afford to serve our country, even when our spouses cannot work.  A much more organized and compelling argument was made previously by a friend whose wife has an engineering degree and has the difficulty of trying to find work every few years, except in those countries where we have no bilateral agreements that allow it.  I encourage you to read his story.

3. Let's talk about that 2-year wage freeze.  I've already talked about how this relates to our Overseas Comparability Pay, but I haven't yet touched on a wider issue: that of our Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs).  In every U.S. embassy and consulate overseas, we have a host of local employees (usually from the host country, sometimes from a third country) that form an integral and necessary part of our staff.  I don't pretend to know all of the laws and regulations affecting their pay and benefits, but I do know these two things: their salaries are paid in the local currency (here in Argentina, that makes it the Argentine peso), and, as U.S. government employees, they are subject to the 2-year wage freeze.  Without going into too much detail (partly to keep myself from appearing incredibly ignorant by publishing incorrect or badly understood information), let me just say that this is wreaking havoc on our FSNs.  Largely due to perceived wage increase injustices in the past (whether or not that is true, I cannot say) and the fact that Argentina "enjoys" one of the highest rates of inflation in the world (not currently recognized by their government however), this has been very traumatic for our Argentine staff.  As you can easily guess, on top of greatly affecting their purchasing power (many have to find new housing, move their children into different school systems, and make other life-altering household budget cuts), this is also harmful to our FSN-American staff relationship.  We are working to remedy this situation as best we can here, but progress is rocky at best.  It is easy for us, as Americans, to say, "Well, if the work environment is so bad, just leave," but this alternative is not available to all our staff.  Hiring practices in Argentina are not the same as they are in the U.S. and the EEO laws are certainly not on par.  More and more young adults are finding that their advanced degrees do not help them land jobs and are increasingly living at home with their families for even longer periods of time.  On the older end of the scale, it is my understanding that there is a lot of age-ism practiced here - if you're over a certain age, your hireability apparently drops off a cliff.  I've even been told that if you don't "look the part," you don't get hired.  These limitations make it such that, even with the wage freeze, a job at the U.S. embassy is still one of the most appealing options out there (despite our not very Argentine work hours).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

So you can see that I and my colleagues are closely watching our Congress (and the rest of our government), waiting to see how we will fare over the coming months.  We are committed to doing our part to elevate the reputation of the United States abroad; to working with our foreign counterparts to create a more receptive environment for U.S. business interests and peace; and to sharing our culture with the rest of the world.  But it is certainly frustrating to see that our jobs are often misunderstood or poorly imagined by our compatriots at home, so badly so that no one bats an eye as our budget gets massacred because our Foreign Service is viewed as "discretionary" spending.  In the end, we will certainly make do with the budget we are authorized, but as our resources dwindle, so too does our ability to make forward progress.

One down, 19 to go...

My one-year anniversary as a Foreign Service Officer just passed.  That is a whole year with a paycheck and health insurance, guys!  ROCK.

On Argentine Men: One wink too many

As part of Steve's Hannukah gift extravaganza for his wife, Katie, Petra and I volunteered to babysit FROGMAN! one night so they could go out for a date.  Steve cashed in on our offer a few Saturdays ago and Petra and I had a fantastic time, ordering out pizza, Chinese food, and ice cream.  What?!!!  A girl's gotta eat.

So we're sitting there, with our computers, surrounded by this feast, and FROGMAN! is out cold in his room.  Even George and Gracie (the dogs) are stretched out on the floor somewhere, leaving us to our dinner and chatting.

Of course, at one point the conversation turns to men.  Since Petra is leaving for Norfolk, VA, in June, she decided to post a profile on Match.com in the U.S. to see if there was anyone in the Norfolk area who might be willing to be her tour guide when she arrives.  We think it might be interesting to peruse Match.com's catalogue of men here in Buenos Aires, while we have the site up. 

Turns out that there is a completely separate Match.com for Argentina and the only way to browse the participants is to open a profile.  Since Petra has the U.S. profile, we sign me up for the Argentina profile.  Being the survey-loving fool that I am, I actually fill out some profile items, like my height, eye color, amount of physical fitness activity, my dislike of smokers, and the fact that the one thing I can't live without is oxygen.  Yes, yes, most people answered the question of what they couldn't live without a little less realistically and entered things like their i-Pad, coffee, and their dog, but I thought they were wrong.  It really is amazing how many things we can live without, but oxygen?  There's just no getting around that pesky gas.

So, needless to say, we start cruising around Match.com Argentina and, in the male looking for female category, aged 31 to 42, we compiled the following observations:

• Argentine men are not modest.  About 75% of them have as their main profile picture a shot of them topless.  I decided right there and then that I clearly can't use Match.com Argentina as a dating medium.
• In the 31 to 42 age range, about 75% of Argentine men are divorced with children.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does make me feel like I missed out on the first round of marriage.  (Although secretly I hope that my life only has ONE round of marriage.)  It also reminds me of the high rate of divorce around here.  What is up, Argentina??!
• Argentine men write profile summaries like Hallmark cards.  Very, very sappy.  I hear that Argentine women like this, just as they like their men to text or call them 15 times a day, tell them how wonderful they are every hour on the hour, and just woo them into a willing puddle of romantic goo, but...BUT.  I am my mother's child and I find the overly saccharine language to be a bit overwhelming.  It reeks of a man who is far too dependent and needy...which makes sense since Argentines generally live with their parents until they get married.  Needless to say, not my cup of tea.  (Hey, in theory it sounds great, but in practice, well, I'd be all like, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fantastic, I know.  Now would you please get up off your ass and take the trash out?!!")

So Petra and I laugh and make fun and oogle the better-looking men, and then move on to other topics.  Eventually, Steve and Katie come home, all aglow from their night out on the town without FROGMAN!  So we leave and move on with our lives.

You probably know what's coming next...

I completely forget about signing up, but Match.com Argentina approved my profile and the emails started pouring in.  The first email was from a good-looking thirty-something who writes, "You don't have a picture up, but I really like your height."  And it just started going downhill from there.  Match.com Argentina gives you the ability to "wink" at people, too, which seems to be the internet version of, "Hey, I think you're cute.  Wanna suck face some time?"  In less than a week, I had racked up at least 20-30 emails and a good 50-60 "winks."  Most of the guys just wanted to connect with someone and hoped that they would find romance.  However, I even had some Brazilian write to me, hoping I could help him with his Spanish (oops, forgot to mention on my profile that I am a gringa).  But I finally deleted my profile when a 57-year-old man "winked" at me.  As much fun as the attention of a number of desperate Argentine men can be, I draw the line at men older than my parents.  I just can't do it.

Although, to be fair, I had no intention of dating ANY of the men on Match.com Argentina.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like meeting people the more traditional way: drunk in a bar.

Tee-hee!

So mad I could spit

In mid-January, I hosted the most tragic asado of all time.  And today I got slapped with a $2,600 peso fine for it (about $650 U.S.).

Here's how it all went down.

I reserved the party room through the porteros at my building for the Sunday of Martin Luther King weekend.  I sent out invites to 20 people.

Two days later, the portero on duty tells me that they started tearing apart the parilla that day to work on its chimney, which reaches to the 15th floor from the ground floor where the party room is located.  Building management hadn't bothered to notify the porteros and it seemed unlikely that the work would be complete by the weekend.

So I consulted my girls and we decided to bring a Weber grill to the building and continue as planned.  We asked the porteros if this would be okay and if we could still use the kitchen, the tables, et. al. as reserved.  They said yes.  We said GREAT!

Day of asado arrives.  We load up the mini chimney with charcoals to burn them down to embers and, since the party room is entirely enclosed in glass, we take the mini chimney outside so it can smoke in the free air.  The porteros tell us to take it inside.  So we do.

When we try to set up the grill outside of the party room, but not inside the pool area - just outside where the smoke can escape in the free air - the porteros once again tell us to set it up inside the party room.  We think this is nuts, since the party room immediately fills up with smoke, but we soldier on.

The guests who have arrived at this point are now congregating in the pool area, to keep out of the smoke, and my friend Katie goes into the kiddie pool with her 8-month-old son, Ethan (a.k.a. FROGMAN!). Her mom and sister hang out by her side, chatting away and keeping her company.  I continue to play hostess and move from the grilling group to the arriving guests to make sure everyone is comfortable.

I go upstairs for a minute to pick something up - I don't remember what - and when I come back downstairs, there are three Argentines completely unknown to me who are in the midst of screaming at Fran (our Argentine asador), Petra, and Monica.  I have no idea what is going on, so I stand there for a minute, taking it all in. 

Quickly I realize that these three people live in the building and they seem to think that our asado is going to set the whole building on fire.  We listen to them, without talking back, and try to move the grill to a more acceptable location.  They scream even louder, seeming to think that by moving the grill, death and destruction are imminent.

So they scream and they scream and they scream, as Petra and Fran quietly put the fire out.  The grill is still smoking so one of the men (there were two men and one women) starts walking toward the grill with a full 2-liter bottle of water and tells us he is going to put out the fire, apparently by pouring his water all over our steaks and chorizos.  This, of course, is the straw that broke the camel's back.  This is when Petra stands her ground, gets in his way, puts her face within inches of his and says, very calmly, very evenly, but very, very pointedly, "Basta.  BASTA.  Ya se apago."  Which is the equivalent of, "Dammit, enough!  Back the fuck off!" 

Didn't seem to phase him at all.  He continued advancing with the water bottle.  Petra said, one last time, "BASTA," and so totally got in his way that he couldn't but listen to her.

Meanwhile, the other man is screaming at me that my guests are not allowed in the pool.  Which, by the way, is completely untrue. 

And the woman is still screaming about god-knows-what and whipping out her cell phone to take pictures of the RAGING FIRE.  Which at this point is a sad little Weber grill, smoking a little around the edges, with no spark whatsoever to speak of.

To make the best of a bad situation, Petra and Fran then took all the meat up to my kitchen and finished preparing the meat there.  All our guests arrived in the meantime, each bringing a side dish lovingly prepared, and we feasted.  And feasted.  And feasted some more.

Meanwhile, a thunderstorm raged outside.  Which, to my line of thinking, made it so that, had our building really caught on fire, I couldn't imagine that the fire would've lasted long.  Moreover, it made it so that the man's argument about my guests using the pool quickly became a moot point.

So, we ended up having a great time, eating, chatting, eating some more.

When the last few guests dwindled down, we cleaned up like the party room had never been cleaned before.  It was SPOTLESS.

Nevertheless, that crazy, rude woman had submitted an official complaint.  Turns out she's also a member of the building's version of a condo association board - which I didn't know existed.  She and the two gentlemen, who clearly don't know a damn thing about being civil and have nothing better to do than to find fault with the tenants, are all on the condo association board.

So they complained.  And now I have been fined - and my party room privileges have been docked for 6 months.

There are many things I find wrong with this situation, first and foremost being that they also fined and punished Vanna, another embassy employee resident of the building.  The letter claims she was hosting the party, which isn't even remotely true.  She arrived long after the incident with the grill and was just another invitee.

I am also pretty pissed off about the way they treated me and my guests.  They never introduced themselves, never calmly asked us to do what they wanted us to do.  They just screamed at us and cited some list of building rules that I've never seen nor heard of.  It seems to me that this whole situation could have been dealt with calmly and rationally, like adults, with none of the fuss, or tension, or screaming.  Life would have been so much easier had they just said, "Hey, I happen to be a condo association board member and my name is... Did you know that you are not allowed to use an outside grill in here?  Would you please put out the fire on your grill?"

But no.  They were all, to a "t", assholes.  And it pisses me off that now I have to go into the embassy tomorrow and explain to our General Services Officer why I've been slapped with a $2,600 peso fine.  Their attitude and behavior really taints my affinity for this building and my other neighbors.  And, well, it just plain sucks.

Working for the man

I mentioned in a previous post that I had a VIP that I was going to be controlling the hell out of! in the first few weeks of January and that is the primary reason why I haven't had time to update since late December. 

This was a really important visit for the embassy, as it was the Department of State's Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela who was traveling to Argentina during a politicaly sensitive time - right in the wake of the Wikileaks fiasco, in which a disproportionate number of Argentina cables were released to the media, and just after the creation of a new Security Ministry and appointment of a Security Minister who has a reputation for antipathy towards the armed services (this is relevant because we have a strong U.S. military presence at the Buenos Aires embassy that does reach out to Argentina's military and needs the cooperation of the new Ministry to conduct any sort of bilateral relations).  The last time Valenzuela visited Argentina was in December 2009 and he received quite a bit of negative press for that visit, so we had to be particularly careful in planning this trip.

With a great amount of luck, and a lot of help from every corner of the embassy, I received a lot of kudos for my role as control officer - from the Ambassador on down.  The visit went off without a hitch, and the Assistant Secretary had a number of succesful meetings with the Foreign Minister, the Buenos Aires provincial governor, and even the new Security Minister.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I am really proud of this visit.  This kind of work really suits me, with its focus on organization and logistics and details.  I definitely look forward to more of this.

On Argentine men, the New Year's Eve addendum

On New Year's Eve, my friend John said that his greatest hope for 2011 was to find love.  It is important to this story to note that John is gay, as his follow-on comment had to do with the fact that, from what he'd heard about Argentine men, however, he wasn't sure that they were prime boyfriend material.

Later in the evening/very early in the morning of New Year's Day, our Argentine friend Pablo was sitting with us on the couch and this conversation resurfaced.  Pablo told John that he should definitely date Argentine men and then he turned to me and asked if I was dating, to which I answered no.  He said that I, too, should be dating Argentine men.  I replied, "What is so great about Argentine men, Pablito?  Convince us that we should date them." 

His brilliant response?  "Just try them."

I said, no, convince us.

He repeated that we should try them.

This back and forth went on for several minutes until he finally, probably in exasperation, said, "Porque son fogosos!"

Neither John nor I knew what fogoso meant, so I yelled out to the room full of the hardiest New Year's drinkers: "Anyone know what fogoso means?!!"

Someone yelled back, "Fiery!"

And as soon as Pablo heard that we received our definition, he slyly added, "...en la cama!!!"  (The Spanish equivalent of  ye olde classic Chinese cookie fortune addition, "...in bed!!!")

Oh yes, those fiery Argentine lovers.  Yet somehow within the next twenty minutes of convincing, I found myself promising to try a fiery Argentine out by the end of 2011. 

I think I may have lied to Pablo and then shook on it.  I am so going to hell for this.

2010, the positive review

I once read a book called The Celestine Prophecy and one of the things that stuck with me from this book is the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies.  Basically, that boils down to this: if you think something bad is going to happen, it will.  And vice versa.

I really think this is true, to a certain extent, so I do strive to put more positive energy out into the world than negative.  And this applies to the current moment, forward-looking, and reviewing my past.  Part of the thought process in reviewing one's past is letting go, forgiving, and accepting - all simple enough terms, but really difficult goals when you get right down to it.  Who doesn't know a parent who experienced a difficult time letting go of a child and allowing that child to make his or her own life decisions, with all the consequences that come with transitioning into adulthood?  Who hasn't themself experienced a moment in which you just couldn't forgive and forget?  And who hasn't looked at themself in the mirror, focusing on all the flaws instead of just accepting that you are beautiful, just the way you are?

Keeping this in mind, I'd like to take a look at 2010 and remember all the beautiful things, the things that made me laugh, or the things that made me cry tears of joy, or just the moments that brought me good news.  So, without further ado, the awesome that was 2010:

• January.  When I first opened my eyes on New Year's Day 2010, my vision was full of ribbons and balloons, which was a really intoxicating, intimate experience that reminded me of the joys of childhood, especially when Ali (who was sleeping on the air mattress next to me) started laughing to the point of breathlessness and grabbing at all the balloons with her hands and feet.  The Lucchesi brothers had stolen the balloons from some bar in San Francisco on New Year's Eve and wandered all over town with them for the rest of the night, only to spy us sleeping in the basement when they returned home - they thought it would be a fun present.  It was.
• February.  After being unemployed and uninsured for over a year, I finally started my current job as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.  Although I know plenty of people who are content to be a housewife or house-husband, I was never really happy when I wasn't working.  There aren't enough positive things to say in my world about receiving a paycheck and health insurance.  Moreover, I don't have the words to express how satisfying it is to be productive and hopefully be making a difference, and to get paid for the privilege.
• March.  Although I had, at the time, completely removed myself from the process and was eagerly discovering where all my new friends would be living and working for the next two years, one of the most unexpected and truly gratifying gifts I received this year was my assignment to Buenos Aires.  Someone, or many someones, was looking out for me when they selected me for Argentina.  I absolutely love it here.  And I think the number one reason for that is the people - there are such great people working here at Embassy Buenos Aires, Americans and Argentines alike.  I have made such good friends, learned a lot on the job, experienced quite a bit of the city and some of the other provinces, recieved quite a few ego boosts from Argentine men, developed a minor crush on one Argentine man in particular (since there is nothing to tell, I'm not spilling!), and learned to love living small, within my own boundaries, at my own pace.  Perhaps the joy is just a natural result of my insistence on making the best of whatever comes my way.  But regardless, I am happy here.
• April.  My first Cherry Blossom Festival in DC.  I avoid crowds like the plague, but Marilyn had a suggestion that beat all get out: she, Stephanie and I arose before dawn to walk down to the Tidal Basin and see the sun rise over the cherry trees.  There aren't a lot of people on the streets in DC at 6AM, which meant that it was fairy tale perfect.  And I finally crossed off another life list item: sit on Einstein's lap!
• May.  The most important thing in my life are my friends (and family!).  I may be one of the world's worst correspondents and I freely admit to hating the phone, but I think of you all the time, day in and day out, hoping that you are happy, wondering what new adventures you are up to, remembering the times we shared together, and looking forward to the next time I get to hug and squeeze you (or, in Andrew's case, get my revenge and throw you in a garbage can).  In May I was visited by two of my dearest friends (Mel, Estee, you know I am looking at you!), I celebrated the Kentucky Derby and Stephanie at her Kentucky Derby birthday party with all of our new Foreign Service friends, I said goodbye to the most infamous carpool ever (geez, Max, Emma, Sean, I actually miss those godawful cds Max used to play for us on our way into work - R. Kelly, anyone?), I spent an afternoon hiking with the Spouse family at Great Falls, and I attended Morgan's wedding in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  If there is anything that the "jet-setting" lifestyle of the Foreign Service teaches you, it is to take advantage of what you have when you have it.  (The flip side is to also learn when you've had enough and it's time to say "no.")  Guys, how I do so love taking advantage of you...wait, I meant that in a really nice way, I swear!
• June.  How many ivy league grads does it take to blow up an air mattress?  Seriously, guys, how many?  We discovered that it was precisely 5.  The same number of ivy league grads you can fit into a deliciously tiny one-bedroom DC apartment for a weekend.  Plus Maggie.
• July.  I moved to Argentina.  I experienced new sights, new sounds, a new culture, a new take on an old language.  It was difficult.  It was exciting.  It changed my life.  And I love, love, LOVE IT.
• August.  I discovered Oui Oui.  I like to eat, and I like to eat the way Americans eat for breakfast.  None of that croissant, a coffee and a cigarette bull-poop Argentine style of eating breakfast.  And none of that weak, soggy ham and cheese, plus yogurt and unripe fruit European/continental style breakfast either.  Give me waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, homefries, toast, and a side of scrapple, if you please!  And Oui Oui delivers, baby, Oui Oui delivers.  Except for the scrapple.  That was just me going overboard.  Did I mention that I love Oui Oui?!!
• September.  Kaitlin and Matt, my first two visitors.  I really enjoyed hearing about their experiences at their posts, and really learned from their stories.  More importantly, to me at least, I found the support I didn't know I needed.  Even though everyone in my Foreign Service class is doing vastly different jobs, there are still Junior Officer experiences that we all share, can learn from, can kvetch about, and can grow from.  That, and Kaitlin and Matt just plain rock.
• October.  The tradition continues!  The Ladies Lunch Club of Lima has now morphed into the Ladies Brunch Club of Buenos Aires.  Our inaugural brunch was on Argentina's Mother's Day at the Evita Cafe.  We shared stories, dirty jokes, an afternoon full of laughter, and it was good.  Really good.
• November.  Hands down, no question, November was AWESOME.  It always rocks because it is the month that contains Thanksgiving, but in 2010 I turned 31.  While dancing.  On a glacier.  In Patagonia. 
• December.  And this brings me back to the last post...New Year's Eve.  I can sum it up in one short sentence (in case you missed it last time): 360 FREAKIN' DEGREES OF FIREWORKS.

So yes, indeedy, you have a good life, Ms. Ryan...