I'm in Fiji!

As I've once again let way too much time lapse and lots of people want an update I thought I'd take the opportunity of some down time to update my blog. Lot's has happened--good and bad--since I last wrote. In March I was able to take two days off my language training to go to a wedding in Venezuela with Alex and his family. On that trip we were robbed at gunpoint when we walked a little ways up the beach during the wedding. Luckily, our losses were covered by insurance. It wasn't fun, but it could have been a lot worse. About three weeks later, Alex made a complete surprise visit to Arlington, which I was completely amazed he was able to pull off. The fun of that trip was diminished by the sad news the next day that our close friend Anne had been killed in Afghanistan (See here for more information). I was so thankful to have Alex there as we went through initial stages of the grieving process. The next 5 weeks or so were filled with different ceremonies honoring her and giving different groups of people within the State Department the opportunity to grieve her death. It was surprisingly difficult to balance feelings of personal loss of a friend with all the activities in the State Department aimed at commemorating the loss of the young promising diplomat who so many people admired, but that didn't necessarily know her personally or very well. They had a very nice memorial service for her in DC, and it was especially meaningful to me to be able to attend her funeral and have the chance to talk with her family a bit. 4-5 other good friend from Caracas were also in DC for assignments or training at the time, so we were able to support each other through a really difficult time, and I was so grateful for that chance to share with others who could identify with the same feelings I had.

Shortly after, I went through a whirlwind of finishing language training (passed with flying colors, but I feel like I could take another 8 months before feeling adequate in the language), packing out, getting final doctor and dentist appointments, getting ready for home leave, and saying good-bye to good friends in DC. Alex joined me at the end of May, and we departed for a four-week trip covering much of the Southwest and Western parts of the US. We were able to see a lot of family and friends, visit 9 different states, see parts of 4 national parks, and drive over 3,730 miles in three different rental cars. It was a lot of fun, and we got ideas of how to make it even better next time (visit fewer places and stay longer in each one!).

The day Alex left to return to Caracas, I began my journey to Fiji, and about 40 hours after departing on Wednesday morning, I arrived in Suva, where it was about 12:30 in the afternoon on Friday. I'm staying in a hotel until my housing is ready, so I have internet and my meals prepared for me. I was able to make myself stay awake until almost bedtime on my first day here, so I've been adjusting well to the time change so far. It is very weird to realize that though it's Sunday afternoon here, Sunday hasn't even started yet for most of my friends and family. I got a sim card right away, so I can still use the internet on my iphone, though I'll probably just use my embassy-issued phone for phone calls locally. I've had a very warm welcome from so many people from the embassy community, and I'm very eager to begin working there tomorrow morning. After about 10 months of training and leave I am really ready to feel like a contributing member of a team again as soon as possible! I'm also looking forward to moving into my permanent housing (which sounds great), Alex's arrival in just over a month, and visits from friends and family over the next two years.

Here is some more information about Suva, the capitol of the Fiji Islands.

Between heats at an outrigger paddling competition the embassy team participated in yesterday, in a bay in Suva

A first view of the main island, Viti Levu, from the airplane