Under Two Weeks

Well if all goes according to plan, I have less than two weeks before I leave! My visa hasn't come yet, so things are kind of up in the air. Regardless, things are moving forward. I graduated from consular training last week (pictures of the jail on my last day can be seen in my picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/sarah.cranston/MyLife?authkey=Gv1sRgCIjihLC-zqzKRA#)

I've been continuing to make arrangements for my move and all the details that go with that. I was able to see Wayne one last time this past weekend, which was great. We had a lot of fun, including him teaching me how to buy, kill, and cook lobster (pictures also included). Besides that, he helped me download the Venezuela map for my Garmin. For my birthday, he gave me cheaper versions of the watch and necklaces he's given me over the past year, so that I don't get robbed and lose them while I'm overseas. He did a great job of finding lookalikes! I gave the real ones to him to keep safe for me until I return.

All I have left to do in the next couple weeks is some more logistics and paperwork, meeting with a few people here in Washington who I'll colaborate with from Caracas once I get there, three days of security briefings (one is country specific), my pack-out, and getting my visa! My future boss is doing what he can from his end to get it to go through. My sponsor at post has been extremely helpful in giving me advice on how to prepare for my move. I was glad to learn last week that I'll be able to take and use my blackberry in Venezuela. There is blackberry messenger service available, through which I can send messages without having any kind of international charges, and service there is considerably cheaper than it is here. I'll work on getting a Vonage account, so I can make calls through the internet and it will act as a US phone number.