Здравствуйте Киев!

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!).

3-2-1 . . . Flag Day! (or Snow Day?)

So, hopefully, Flag Day is just three days away now (or two if you don't count today, or one if you don't count today or Flag Day, not that I'm counting).  But we are looking at winter storm advisories that are scaring us just a little.  For some strange reason a few inches of snow scares people here and everything shuts down.  According to some reports we could be getting 15 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow (I think it will more likely be around 5 inches).  The last time school and the government were shut down it was for 2 inches.  Friday's weather looks clear, but will they be able to clear the roads in time?

We hope so!

To throw another curve in the game, today My Man got an email welcoming him to the Foreign Service Language Institute.  Unless they just sign everyone up in case they need language training, it probably means we're going somewhere that My Man doesn't speak the language . . . no Russia then?  It's hard to know for sure but it's definitely ramping up the speculation.  That could mean anything from Spanish to Thai to Chinese!

Stay tuned . . . And pray for Flag Day not to be delayed!

And on another subject completely:  Do I work hard to get valentines ready only to have school canceled?  We have a cute idea this year, but it's going to take some work, and I've been under the weather.  I hate to go all out only to have it canceled. But I suppose it would be worse to do nothing and have business as usual!  I guess we'll make the call Thursday. :-)

Bid List Surprise

When we met with our CDO (Career Development Officer, the one mainly responsible for deciding our fate for our first post) last week, she asked if we had any other considerations for her.  My Man leaned back in his chair and declared, "Well, I'm just holding out for that Russian post that's going to pop up at the last minute."  In fact, throughout this whole excruciating exciting process, he's been saying stuff like, "You know, it probably doesn't matter.  I just have a feeling that there's going to be a Russian spot that opens up." 

Well today was the deadline for turning in our bid list, marked high, medium, and low.  Last night My Man came home grinning.  Guess what got added to the bid list at the last minute?  Let me give you a hint.  It's the opposite of tropical, and it's in a part of the world that rhymes with "Iberia."  (OK, it's not actually in Siberia, but it's on the edge and wimpy Americans like to claim it anyway to get bonus sympathy points when they have to live there.)  It's one of those posts where they have to bribe people to go because it's so far from ANYTHING and chances are you've never heard of it. I mean, it's the only place in the world where Siberian tigers still live, if that tells you something.

That said, I am from Gold Beach.  It's not like I need a lot of big-city excitement to be happy.  In fact, the more we researched this little outpost of diplomacy, the more intrigued I became.  It really is a beautiful little city.  And it hits most of our quality of life priorities: good air quality, good outdoor recreational opportunities, survivable climate (kind of) . . . The only thing it's really lacking is affordable airfare to other places and great schools (there are options, but we'd have to do some serious research into this if we go).

But we didn't give it too much thought (if obsessing about it until past midnight counts as not "too much" thought).  Afterall, the posting is available NOW and we still didn't have My Man's Russian test results back.  He didn't feel like he did very well on the test and if he didn't ace it, we wouldn't be ready in time to be considered for this post.  So we sent off our bid list, and didn't think too much more about it.

Then this morning, My Man got his test results back.  He aced his test (Way to go Honey!!!). . . . This could be our home as early as March!  Yikes.  I better start brushing up my Russian skills, just in case.

(Disclaimer: None of these pictures are mine.  I shamelessly stole borrowed them from Google images.  If we end up going here, maybe I can update with pictures of my own . . . )