Flag Day! Part Two

Everyone remembers some big one-time event in their life: a high school prom, a quinceanera, or a graduation. Flag Day is that event for the FS, because all further assignments will announced via e-mail and with far less whooping, hollering and clapping. However, in the company of 90 classmates (three of us switching from Specialist to Generalist), I got to go through this twice. And it's just as fun the second time!

So, the new flag now proudly displayed in our little home is....

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Mexican Flag

MEXICO!

We're border-bound for Ciudad Juarez!

Now I know it doesn't sound as exotic as some places whose names have a spy-thriller ring to them like Baku, Astana or Tashkent, but it's going to be a super training ground and an opportunity to finally get that elusive 3/3 in Spanish (as in they won't let me leave until I do!).

The Tabbies were pretty excited because we told them that they wouldn't have to go on an airplane to get there. We thought we'd mention the four-day car trip a little later on, after the excitement has worn off some. They'll be Mexicats, and are being fitted for serapes and huaraches as we speak (Toby wants a sombrero, too. His pink nose is quite susceptible to sun burn.)

My name was called about 75% of the way through the ceremony, so I got to watch my colleagues leap to their feet in many cases, even throwing their arms around our class mentor Ambassador in excitement. She took the exuberance in great spirits and kept a huge genuine smile as she waved each little flag in play in front of the crowd as the assignment was announced.

They always warn us that Flag Day will bring about surprises, and yesterday was no exception. We knew that not every option would be assigned as there were a handful more places than people, but there were some last-minute additions as well. One city  came up twice and I have two classmates instead of just one headed there, and there were two countries that weren't on our list that surprised everyone. One of my hopeful-highs didn't get assigned at all, but that's okay - beautiful, historic Europe is overrated, right? And while it would have been really cool to learn a one-country language like Mongolian so that Tim and I could use it to comment privately about the rude person behind us in line in the supermarket - it'll be good to deepen instead of lose our Spanish.

I was honestly surprised to get Ciudad Juarez, but only because the timing of the training and the projected arrival time were not an exact match for my language level. But in retrospect, when I review the list of priorities given to my career development officer: easy for elderly cats, work in my career track and possibility for Tim to work - it fits the whole bill. Plus, it's an easy hop over to El Paso if the need arises for, oh I don't know, movies without Spanish subtitles? To be honest, I can't think of what El Paso would offer that Ciudad Juarez wouldn't, but then again - I've never been to either place.

So here's another cool part: minutes after the last flag was doled out and my classmates started milling around hugging each other and looking for their families in the back of the room, two people approached me. They are from previous A-100s and are also headed to Ciudad Juarez and wanted to come meet another new coworker. They said that there's a core group that gets together regularly here while in training, each of us with different departure dates. It really meant a lot for them to offer the welcome mat, and how great is that to have an instant group of friends already!?

Well that's that. We'll all file back into our A-100 classroom on Monday, no doubt chattering about our new horizons, finally freshly in focus. I'm thrilled to be starting the training in the meat-and-potatoes of the work I'll be doing. It's been three years imagining this time and the Consular Affairs flag lapel pin is no longer just a hopeful symbol, but now a true association.

Woo-hoo!!