Two weeks ago we got our bid list. This is a list of the jobs available at various posts/embassies around the globe. There were 103 jobs available for Adrian's class of 93. So many opportunities to choose from. As far as what jobs to look for the first 2 postings he will basically be training and learning the ropes so it is not as important to stay in your specialty at this time (Public Diplomacy). We decided together to go through the list and bid on posts that will allow us to stay together as a family, provide a good education for the children and not require us to learn a new language right away. We did not want to have to put the boys into another school in DC for the time it would take to learn a language, then pull them out when we go to our new country. Poor kids have been to 3 schools in the last 3 years already.
So, that eliminated many of the Middle Eastern posts as well as the Mexican border posts. We tried to be as diplomatic as possible given the fact that Adrian's CDO (career development officer) stressed that the State Department was not Travelocity and we were here to serve America not shop for a vacation spot. Point taken.
Since Adrian is already fluent in German we didn't feel bad about bidding on the only German speaking position on the list. Hey, someone has to get it right As for the beautiful, first world gorgeous locations ? Someone has to work there too, might as well be us right? Check. And of course someone has to work in the third world locations where drinking water must be boiled, the school is adequate but not winning any awards and the mosquitoes are present in huge numbers. Check there too. We are supposed to be available for worldwide service right?
I am so eager for Friday to be here so I know where I will be living with my family. Hopefully it won't be a place where I will be forced to home school. Could you imagine me home schooling Morgan? He would have to go to boarding school which would break my heart.
Anyhow, no sense speculating. We will know in 2 short days. Out of the 103 posts we bid high on 10, medium on 12 and low on the rest. I hope that doesn't put us in the "difficult" category.
It had been a while since I had cried tears of joy. Though, I must admit, they were mingled with tears of relief. Forty minutes into the hour long ceremony, they still hadn’t called Adrian’s name and we had seen our top 10 posts dwindle down to two. The two left being Vienna, Austria (to utilize Adrian’s language skills/ requirements early) and Wellington, New Zealand-one of the only Public Diplomacy jobs on the list. We were not holding out hope for either as they were probably on everyone’s top ten. But, the MC held up the little blue flag with the union jack in the corner and called out Adrian’s name. I cried, the boys fist bumped and hooted and Adrian looked at me like the cat that ate the canary. How on earth did we get New Zealand?
