It seems like we were only just getting blown over by the news of our first assignment to Chiang Mai, but since My Man has a Russian language obligation to the Foreign Service, we already found out our second tour assignment! Although there are actually lots of options for Russian-speaking assignments in the Foreign Service, because of training requirements and timing, we didn't have very many options that would work for us this go-around. Basically, we had three options: Kazakhstan (relatively stable but remote), Moscow (familiar but huge and crazy), and Kiev (politically uncertain, less developed, more European). With the current headlines in Crimea, neither Russia nor Ukraine looked very welcoming (I'd been really hoping for something in Georgia or Armenia perhaps)! But, 2017 is so far in the future that it's difficult to predict politics, so we did our research then prayed hard that we'd be sent to a place that would be a good fit for our family.
We are so excited for Chiang Mai and the adventures we'll have there, but I have to say that I was a teensy bit disappointed when I found out we didn't get the Russian spot on Flag Day. Ever since starting to think about possibly someday joining the Foreign Service, serving in Russia (or at least a Russian-speaking post) was the way I imagined it. I've sort of romanticized the Russian language and peoples and countries and have wanted to go back practically since I left almost 14 years ago. So the past few weeks I've been waiting excitedly to find out where we'd be sent.
With far less drama and fanfare than on Flag Day, My Man received an email announcing that we'd be going to Kiev, January 2017!
To get a feel for what it will be like, here are a few pictures from Google images:
Though the winters will still be harsh, Kiev is a lot further south than Moscow and will be a bit less Siberian.
A river runs through the town and the architecture is quite beautiful.
Although Ukrainian is the official language in Ukraine, it is very similar to Russian and we've heard that most people speak Russian, so we will probably focus on improving our Russian rather than learning Ukrainian, but if it turns out we need Ukrainian more, it should be an easy switch. It's bound to be a bit of a shock to head to a Ukrainian winter straight from the sunny climes of Thailand, but we're excited about the adventures ahead (and grateful for this rare opportunity to know our plans for the next five years!).
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