Running Away

M and I drove up to Needham last night, stopping briefly at the Tarrytown, NY Metro North Station to pick up J. We are excited for Hughesgiving and also for a little long weekend away. I picked up Adam Gopnick's "Paris to the Moon" this morning and immediately fell in love with it. This made me need to blog again:

"You can't run away from (a) reality, (b) American culture, (c) yourself," our friends all said, compositely. "But you can run away," we said under our breaths, and we did.

Beautiful.

Where to Go, Where to Go?

HE PASSED!

I'll write a longer post in a bit, but wanted to record my elation that Matty CRUSHED the FSOA and the security and medical clearances should be started in the next few weeks. What a rush. I am so proud and excited!

I heart Philadelphia

I grew up only 13 miles from this city in the beautiful suburb of Bryn Mawr. My parents still live in the house where I really came of age and in the backyard of which M and I were married in May 2007. My childhood experience of Philadelphia was museums and field trips, cultural events and community service projects. I have fantastic memories of being in a small group selected to visit the Betsy Ross House (not sure why) in 1982, and I remember a trip to Independence Hall with my junior class for Core. Mom, Laura and I, all dressed up, made many trips to the Academy of Music for Christmastime performances of The Nutcracker. An artist drew pictures on a blackboard with colored chalk during a rendition of Peter and the Wolf by the Philadelphia Orchestra. It made classical music absolutely come alive, and also, I think the conductor collapsed and they had to ask if there was a doctor in the house. I can't find this incident via Google search, but it would be such a weird thing to have made up! I even sang in that gorgeous hall when the Orpheus Club invited the Bel Cantos to join a concert in 1994. Though I have never seen any of the Rocky movies, I have sprinted up the famous stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for crew team work outs and Mom taught us the different types of columns standing at the top of those steps. Over the last three decades, I have visited and learned about important works of art and history within that beautiful building and the first weekend that Matt met Mom and Dad, we spent a Saturday in March, 2005 at the Dali Exhibit. Laura and I learned about elephants and pigeons at the zoo. We learned about poverty, humility, humanity and basic residential construction with an organization that provided home repairs and renovations for low income families.

A beautiful childhood notwithstanding, I never expected to return for more than a visit after I left for college in the fall of 1995. I certainly didn't want to move to the suburbs and I never gave Center City Philadelphia any real consideration as I was making plans. As luck would have it, Matt was offered a very prestigious position with the Fall 2007 class at the Philly Public Defender's Office and we bought a beautiful little house and settled in here so easily. Getting to know Philadelphia from this very different perspective has been a real treat. We love so many things about it, not least living so close to my parents and now the Little Bee.

We went on a lovely walk today and Matt took a few photos (pretty good quality for Blackberry photos, I think.)

Incredible ironwork on houses in Old City:













If you click to enlarge, you can see children apparently learning to march in formation in the Revolutionary Army on Labor Day, 2009:
Matt's favorite flower, the Morning Glory, Ipomoea purpurea:

More beautiful ironwork:
Flower baskets hanging from a lamppost across from the Philadelphia Stock Exchange at 3rd and Walnut (F&O*. Founded in 1790, PHLX was purchased by NASDAQ July 2008):
*When we first moved here, my Uncle J explained that we would find many of Philly's attractions to be F&O (the First & Oldest in the country) and/or FBF (Founded By Franklin). My new hospital, The Pennsylvania Hospital, happens to be both! Not sure about PHLX.

It's an honor just to be nominated....

Matt and I took all of next week off and we leave for Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning. The big day is September 10th and I can't believe it is almost here! The last few weeks have really flown by. I've been very busy at work and am absolutely loving my job. Matt is busy defending the accused, as always, but has also been spending significant chunks of time studying and preparing all the paperwork that he must bring to D.C. Plus, we've been trying to get a lot of sleep, but get up early and get regular exercise, and we are just constantly on the go. Philly is fantastic in the fall - the air temp has cooled, the humidity has passed and all the students are back as of this week. It makes such a difference; there are so many more good looking people in this town in the non-summer months!

We went to a wonderful birthday party for our friend C last night at C&W's beautiful house. We love all their great friends and I feel pretty torn about leaving whenever we have the chance to spend time with them. Luckily, this Foreign Service Oral Assessment is a REALLY difficult test to pass. Matt is feeling confident and is certainly well prepared. We even have a brand new, bright white, Brooks Brothers athletic cut dress shirt, which our dry cleaner pressed out perfectly for the big day. Matt's shoes are at the cobbler for new soles (President Obama got his campaign shoes re-soled instead of buying new ones, so we're following his example) and WE ARE READY! But, realistically, very few people pass this step and I am trying to be totally open to the possibility that we might very well spend another great year in Philadelphia.

Lucky us.

On the other hand, during our walk this morning, we decided that if I am able to keep my women's health career going at our various posts, I could have a blog called The Foreign Cervix. Nice, right?

Sitting Here in Limbo

My little sister, B, is celebrating her 24th birthday on Saturday. We are going to Chifa for some comidas latinas, and Matt and I are very excited. However, as of today, we are not only celebrating her birthday. It seems B got herself a job as a research coordinator in a certain Urology department. This should be incredibly fun! I am hoping that we'll be able to do some interesting work together. But, wait, there's more. Little B has applied to the Penn post-baccalaureate program to complete her pre-requisites before doing the Penn NP program. I am beside myself. How amazing to have two NPs in one family. I would love to work together, we could be such a force, and I know she wants to do psych and behavior change therapy which is so important in female (and male) urology. I feel extraordinarily torn between feeling excited about the FS life and feeling excited about what could be if I stayed here. I am trying to really compartmentalize today. We have 15 more wake ups and a duffel bag drag and I do want to enjoy these two weeks. If Matt doesn't pass this time, we have already decided that we'll try again. And, I'll remain in limbo, but will definitely enjoy doing female urology with B and A!

Mom and A will be here bright and early for our WMW (Wednesday Morning Walk) so it is time for me to turn in. What an exciting day for B, we have so much to celebrate at Chifa.

The Final Countdown!

I don't know why today marks the beginning of the final countdown, but we had 17 days until the OA when we woke up this morning, and we are pumped! Having spent the first year (almost) of our relationship split long distance between Boston (MGHIHP for NP School) and DC (GWU for Law School), Matt and I are very good at whittling down remaining days. We do the old "if you don't count today, and you don't count the day of the OA" and "if you don't count the weekends" and pretty soon, the OA is tomorrow. But, I know it actually will be tomorrow before I realize and, pass or fail, the Monday after Matt's OA is September 14th - an official fall date for sure. I am doing my best to enjoy the rest of summer 2009, and my best effort is pretty good.

My ten day vacation in Cape Cod with the Hugheses and Maine with Mom, Lisa, Becky and Matthew was sensational. I took hundreds of pictures and got a few fabulous ones. I kept saying that I have no idea how one hundred and fifty years of history were captured on film before the advent of digital photography. This is not completely true. I have a large wooden box of photos from my semester abroad in Australia that answer that question in a word: badly. But now that I have a digital camera and the magical powers of Picasa the pictures are really improving.

Matt, Toby and I have a goal to work out everyday through 9/9/09 (when we'll drive to a fancy hotel in our nation's capitol). Today we ran to, along and home from the Delaware River Waterfront. It was a lovely evening, even Camden looked good, and I am nice and sleepy now.

Metapost

I was telling Mom a little bit about this blog last night and tried to compare it to how I imagine a person with a painting hobby might get back into painting. I feel like I just cleaned out a little room in our house and set up an easel and bought a bunch of paints and brushes. It think because this is written stories of my life on the Internet there is some sort of expectation (and I have it too) that they'll be stories of an Important and Interesting Life. But I just want to write, and I don't write in a journal. I think a blog already is a very easy forum for me. It's very inviting and I know that it will be a wonderful account of Matt's and my life for us (and friends and family if we end up moving far away). But it also gives me a place to write, an excuse to write and I know that will give me the opportunity to use my brain in a different way. It's a win win.

Customer Service

Boutique Nail & Hair on 9th and South Streets is basically the opposite of Apsara where I got my beautiful haircut yesterday. It does have some excellent qualities, for instance it is very close to my house and it is reasonably priced and they do a good pedicure. As a result, I totally go there. Nevertheless, they are not a friendly crew. When I walked in this morning no one aknowledged me at all. Luckily, I am an old hand (foot?) at pedicures, so I picked out my color and went over to sit in the one empty pedi chair. The pedicurist attending to the feet next to me turned the water on and dumped in some blue crystally stuff without making eye contact. I am trying very hard to appreciate moments like this because I imagine that doing the same thing in a different country, in a language I only just learned is going to make the memory of this morning seem like a shining example of pampered luxury. I have been feeling the same way about drivers in Philly. I am amazed how I don't get annoyed at all with their lack of manners and common courtesy because I hope, hope, hope that I will soon live in a place where the rules of the road are merely suggestions and a little ride to work is an adventure.

Generally the customer service is pretty good in Philadelphia. I think that after living in Washington, DC, my standards were extremely low when I arrived here 2 years ago, so I was thrilled by any little nicety. But I have continued to be happy with Philly customer service. I think that the big difference between the surly attitude in DC and the surly attitude in Philadelphia is that in Philly people know what they're doing. In DC people were rude and did a terrible job. In Philly people may be rude to you but you get a good pedicure or bus ride or sandwich and you believe the person behind the counter at the pharmacy has an advanced education in the field.

Sunday Routine

Over the past year, Matt and I have realized how much we like to get up early on the weekends. He has, of course, been getting up early to go for group rides for years, but it is a new concept for me. I love it because it makes the weekend days so much longer. I feel more refreshed and as though I've spent a significant amount of time away from work when I return on Mondays. When we lived in DC, I hated my job and would always begin to panic about having to return by about 2 on Sundays. I really do like the current job, but I still like to have a long, full weekend.

On Sunday mornings, we take Toby and go for a walk up to Spruce Street Espresso. And this is so nerdy, we get to walk down Clinton Street which we do as much as possible these days for luck. There are a really huge number of coffee shops in our neighborhood and I don't know why SSE became our Sunday morning destination. It is delicious, the baristas are friendly, and it is the perfect distance from the house for a nice little dog walk. They also have a poster on the wall from some sort of barista convention that was sponsored by Murky Coffee. And 1369 Coffee House is on the poster, too. I love the idea that the little coffee shops of my life are related somehow.

We are now back at the house, watching the Tour de France online. Today is the final, 21st, stage into Paris. I am sad that it is over, it's such a fun and motivating time of year. I hope that Internet connectivity (or cable teevee access) precedes us around the world so we can watch this amazing feat of strength, endurance and team work during future summers.

For the rest of the day we have planned a pedicure, an OA prep session via Skype and packing for our summer vacation. We wanted to go for a bike ride, but I just did something nasty to my back. I feel like a bit of an old lady and have actually been totally judging certain overweight coworkers who were recently telling me about lower back problems. I am confident that I am in the best shape of my life right now, but the fact remains, by back is officially thrown out. Hopefully the massage chair at the nail place will fix it up and I'll be posting photos of an afternoon ride through Fairmount Park to Ann & Walt's house this evening.

Sunny Saturday

As excited as I am to join to Foreign Service, I am totally loving my life in Philadelphia and will miss it dearly. Today I am having a bit of a day de beaute. I am getting my hair cut and colored by hair genius, Mary, at Apsara on 10th and Christian. This woman was sick of working for her old boss last year and, at the ripe old age of 26, drummed up the capital to start her own salon! It is a beautiful little spot and I have never gotten more compliments on my hair. Check out the Yelp comments - I am not the only one who loves her. I always put off getting haircuts because I dread spending a precious afternoon making conversation with a random person and spending tens of dollars on something I may not love.

For the first time in my life, I am back for my 6 week trim six weeks later and I am loving being here. It is like being in a good friend's kitchen and meeting a bunch of interesting women, plus I come out looking gorgeous. And it is less expensive than anywhere else in town, further supporting my proposed slogan: Philly, you can afford it! The other day when I made my appointment, I told Mary I wanted to be b-l-o-n-d-e, a sunkissed, beachy blondie, so we'll see what the old cheveaux looks like this afternoon.

Matt and I are headed to Cape Cod on Thursday morning! We are both absolutely counting down the days until Jim Hughes-made cocktails and lobster dinner and meltaways and puzzles (crossword and jigsaw) and great conversation and the National Seashore. I had never been to the Cape before last summer. Well, except for that one afternoon in 2005 when we brought an absolutely green, hungover Steve with us. The three of us sad in the overcast sea air on a jetty at the end of the beach. And, this was such a tragic afternoon, Matt was on the phone with Casey's former owners and all three of them were just crying about this horrible decision we had to make. My god, that dog was so well loved. So anyway, that terrible afternoon only counts as having been to the Cape because my favorite bar tender Jim Hughes introduced me to his delish Bloody Mary Mix. In all other ways I had never been before and was really astounded by the beauty of the National Seashore area out by Wellfleet. I am very excited to reprise our bike ride and I hear that sister-in-law Sarah at least will be joining us this year.

So, I am now sitting in foils in Apsara, drinking a tiny Corona. This is the life!

Thoughts and explanations

Matt has applied to be a Foreign Service Generalist, specifically a Consular Officer which means that he would be working at US Embassies and Consulates interviewing foreign visa applicants and helping out American citizens living or traveling abroad. I think it will be a perfect match - his experience as a Public Defender here in Philadelphia has really taught him enormous lessons about judging character and thinking on his feet and maneuvering as nimbly as possible through a hulking bureaucracy. He is too modest to fully admit to how good he is at his current job, but I can see that he agrees that there is no better training for the job he wants. Right now, all that stands between us and this new adventure is the Oral Assessment and that is no small challenge. It is a full day of exercises designed to give the candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their possession of the State Department's 13 Dimensions. (Dun, dun, dun!) We are preparing like mad and at the end of the day I have to admit that this is pretty much out of my control. I am not going to take the test, Matt's the one who has to pass it. This is simultaneously a huge relief and totally panic-inducing.

Why aren't I applying too, you may ask. This is a good question. Of course, American expats need Nurse Practitioners, and there is an application on the State Department website specifically for NPs . Unfortunately, each FSO has to commit to "world-wide availability" and while I want to travel the world, I only want to do it with Matt. If I were an FSO as well, we'd be known as a "tandem couple" and our employment options would be limited because we could only go to posts where they were looking for a Consular Officer and a Health Practitioner Specialist at the same time. Many tandem couples end up long-distance for long periods of time and I do not want that! Maybe, as we get further into this, I'll realize that we really can both work for State and stay together, but after a huge amount of preliminary research, it seems like the best thing to do is to have Matt work for them and I'll try to work in the local economy or at the embassy as an Eligible Family Member (EFM). I don't know if I can be an Eligible Family Nurse (Practitioner), I might be an Eligible Family Administrative Assistant. This is honestly okay with me. I am confident that the life we'll have not just traveling the world but living in different countries for 2-4 years at a time, working for the US Government (cue swelling patriotic music), will be equally or more rewarding than a long and successful career as an NP would be.

But how will you afford it? You are, of course, too polite to ask, but I know you're wondering and we did too. It seems impossible to remove my income from the picture and still end up retired in any kind of comfort. But, remember, thousands of families have done this for decades and many of them have children. We have always gloated that the money other people divert to the college fund goes right into our retirement and travel accounts. But the FS really does make life easier financially. Whenever we are abroad, approximately two-thirds of Matt's career, our housing will be paid for. Much of our travel and all of our moving expenses (including transporting the Tobe-dog) will be taken care of. Also, Matt and I are really excited for so called hardship posts. These are places like Nairobi, Kenya

or Jakarta, Indonesia

where the cost of living is low and we'd be paid a bonus because they're hot/dangerous/have less than optimal health care facilities.

So, where will you go? As I mentioned before, we agree to worldwide availability. So, we could be headed anywhere: Ulan Bator, Mongolia

or St. Petersburg, Russia

or Lima, Peru

or Toronto, Canada

I have read repeatedly that the Career Development Officers (CDO) at State pride themselves on helping FSOs and their families design a career in places they are excited to serve. I am sure I will have much, much more to say on this topic in the future. Right now I am excited about seeing the whole world and open to everything. Our first two posts will be two years each, after that we get to stay put for longer stretches (up to four years, I think), and most people come back to DC for training between posts and for tours at Main State.

Embarking

It is 8:47 on a Saturday morning and I am sitting on my second floor deck beginning a blog. I am sitting on my grandmother's floral print chaise lounge cushion amidst my grandparents' old porch furniture, our thriving tomato plants and my very hairy dog, Toby. This seems like a perfect setting for my first post: I am sitting in the house I bought with my best friend, my husband the month that we got married two years ago. This space in our house is furnished with wrought iron furniture, given to us by my paternal grandparents when they downsized, so it's got some history, and it lived with them for much of a 60+ year marriage. And I am surrounded by plants and a dog that Matt and I are taking very good care of, if I do say so myself. I am starting this blog this morning with a sense of adventure and anticipation that I can hardly contain, because Matt, my amazing husband, and Toby, our trusty dog, and I are applying to join the US Foreign Service. Matt took the written exam on my birthday, February 10th, and was among the 20% who passed. He wrote follow-up essays and prepared a very specific resume and found out in May that he was invited to the final test. Matt is scheduled to take his Oral Assessment (OA) in Washington, DC on September 10th. I am so proud of him for getting this far in such a competitive process and understand that many diplomats don't pass the OA the first time around, but I am hoping that we'll be in the 3% of applicants that make the grade and this time next year, my header image won't be of Philadelphia anymore.