Flag Day Eve

This could be considered "the night before my life as I know it changes."

So far this FS life has been primarily theoretical: day dreaming, studying, writing, hoping, waiting, more day dreaming, LOTS more waiting. Now we're in our third week of orientation and I feel like I'm just getting my sea legs. I've gotten used to my routine and know most (okay, a lot) of my 69 classmates' names. I know where the Registrar's office is and when the shuttle bus comes. And now it's our last week as a group before we scatter with the wind,  hopefully to grow roots where we land. We have people staying here in the States and people heading to every continent (except Australia and Antarctica - is that considered a continent anyway?).

It seems that much of this life is spent looking to the horizon. Waiting to hear if we pass the FSOT or if we get invited to an oral assessment. Waiting to hear if we get medical clearances, security clearances, invited to an orientation. What will be on our bid list? What flag will we get? What will post be like? What is our NEXT post? Maybe this is why we chose this life, because there is always something to look forward to, some change, some new adventure.

But running through my mind is a line from one of my favorite movies: "I know she can get the job, but can she do the job?" (Anyone name that movie?) Yeah, that's still a bit scary. One of our OMS trainers told us that don't worry if we feel as if we're not even qualified to open the door at this point, they hired us for a good reason and we'll get back to our usual selves sooner or later. It reminds me about what they said about Ginger Rogers: She did everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels. We need to awesomely represent THE NATION while we adapt to a new country, a new job, a new language, a new climate, a new time zone, and perhaps while being away from our family and possibly while under the influence of anti-malarials.
Wow.
That's a tall order.

I'd better get some sleep!

Tomorrow: what flag will it be?