A Daring Adventure

And Then Life was PERFECT! (Also: Score One for the DS Folks!)

I am very, very proud (you have no idea how proud) to say:


**JAMES GOT HIS 2/2 TODAY IN CHINESE!** 


Holy cow, you guys, this is awesome for so many reasons, not the least of which is that DS folks right now are being put under the microscope in language training in a BIG WAY. 


Because of that, and because of many family reasons (I'll get to them in a sec), this test was SUPER high stress and SUPER high stakes.


For example, who in the world wants their CDO contacted and Post contacted and told that they didn't/couldn't make their required language score and thus... (fade to unknown)?!


No one, that's who.  And especially not my husband. 


But there was also a lot of pressure on him because he scheduled his test 2 weeks earlier than the end date of his class.  The reason he scheduled his test that early is:





So get this.  James has been a Boy Scout leader/Scoutmaster/Assistant Scoutmaster since Matthew (our 17-yr-old) was in kindergarten (Tigers).  Matthew is now an Eagle Scout.  During all those years, never once (never once!) has James been able to go to Boy Scout summer camp.  His job situation never let him.  (Reason why I hate TSA # 7,975,233.)


But Matthew turns 18 soon and won't be a Boy Scout any longer.  And this is the last summer we're in the US for at least a few years.  Thus, next week is James' first and last chance to go on a Boy Scout summer camp trip with both boys, and they are scheduled to leave in just a few days.


So not only was our going-to-Chengdu schedule on the line... not only was the rest of James' training schedule on the line... not only were phone calls to his CDO and Post on the line... not only was the threat of SIX MORE WEEKS OF CHINESE on the line... but also my husband's only chance to go to Boy Scout camp with our two boys was on the line when James took his language test this morning (two weeks early). 


I can't even begin to describe how happy we are.  I got the score I needed yesterday and James got the score he needed this morning. 


And you know what?  This is a fun little tidbit.


I have heard - I cannot verify, of course, but I have heard - from both my husband's classmates AND a few of his teachers - that James was the VERY FIRST ONE of his Chinese cohort (which is very large - something between 20 and 30 students) to get a 2/2.


**Score one for the DS folks!!** 


                                                 ~   ~   ~


This is the part of the blog post where I wholeheartedly thank all of our Chinese instructors and the Chinese Department management. 


Oh. My. Goodness. 


To say that the teachers care is an understatement.  Yes, learning Chinese is SO hard... the length of the course is SO discouraging sometimes... the goal often seems SO impossible... but all of our teachers have hearts of gold and want more than anything to see us succeed. 


You guys should have seen it today. 


After James left the testing center and came back to the Chinese corridors, he was/we were surrounded by his teachers and my teachers all hugging us and all being so thrilled for us.  And I cried and James even got misty-eyed and the teachers were all so happy and proud.  It was such a wonderful time.


So thank you, Chinese teachers.  Thank you, Chinese Department.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.


And thank you, everyone, for your encouragement and your prayers.


WE DID IT!!!

Score one More for the EFMs!

[First of all, if you haven't yet gotten to read hannah's RoundUp that she posted just a few hours ago, head on over to her blog the slow move east!  Also, Connie at the blog Whale Ears and Other Wonderings will be hosting next week's RoundUp, so stay tuned!]


                                                  ~   ~   ~


Sorry for the recent silence.  I wrote a post last week that I hesitated to publish, and I'm glad I did, for it was titled "Just Because I'm an EFM Doesn't Mean I'm Stupid!"  It was rather... grouchy in tone and spirit... for the multitudinous EFM issues that are out there are... multitudinous... and lend themselves to be spoken of in grouchy tones.


Perhaps someday I will go back and discuss these things in a more rational manner (and then hit "publish").  As it stands, now, though, the topic of the day is again:  Language Training.   Lucky YOU!


I will never ever ever be able to touch Andy's record of Total Wicked EFM Awesomeness, but I pulled a somewhat Go-EFMs-Rah!-Rah! accomplishment, myself.  You see, we recently had our midway-through-Chinese-training Progress Test, and I actually did rather not badly.  Which shocked me, actually, because I feel like I can't even speak a single blessed word of this insane language.  But evidently I was able to fool a tester in the Chinese Department, for guess which box I got checked on my Progress Test form?


 



Oh HELLS YEAH, peeps!  I gots me the top box checked!  And some awesome commentz, to boot! 


Since there are actually employees in language right now who haven't been fortunate enough to get the top box checked, I feel that this is at least a small accomplishment for EFMs everywhere, especially since (and this is something I bitched about at length in the aforementioned blog post that will never see the light of day) each and every time I have interacted with ANYONE official from State (outside of the language department at FSI), they have told me (in so many words, and to my face, even!) that I will never pass the final Chinese exam and get my 2.


(I'm not making this up.)

They may well be proven correct in the end, my friends.  I have miles to go before the final test, and my classmates and I are now starting to learn all manner of grown-up vocabulary like trade surplus and light industry.  It's all headed to the same place - political, economic, military, trade, etc. vocabulary - that, like, educated grownups use in diplomatic environments.  I may well prove all the Main State Dwelling folks who doubt I have any chance at getting my 2 correct in the end.  Heaven knows a lot of EFMs don't stay very long in the FSI Mandarin program.  But some do... and, goshdarnit... I'm one of them, I'm okay today, and that has to count for something. 


(And yes, I had the Chinese Department email that Progress Test report far and wide in a sort of in-yer-face! (but not) kind of thing.  It's the small joys in life...)

[If I may, I have one small piece of advice for anyone who has just started or who will start Mandarin at FSI in the future:  memorize your characters *immediately*.  Do NOT get behind in your characters, especially in the Reading textbook.  Memorize them the second they are assigned to you.  The volume of daily new vocabulary is so impossibly horrific that it is easy to get behind, and if you do, this is the kiss of death.  Take the weekend to memorize what you couldn't during the week.  If you fall behind in the memorization of the characters, you will end up derailed in Chinese.  If you are a spouse, you will drop out.  If you are an employee, you will be held back.  Progress tests are used as barriers to continuance in the program.  Those who do not test well in their progress tests are held back.]


In family newz, the boys are knee-deep in Boy Scouts here.  James is an Assistant Scoutmaster now (a long time ago, he was the Scoutmaster of a Troop we helped start in Florida... *sniff*... we miss you guys!!), and the other night my boys got dressed to the nines for a formal Scout program.  Matthew got all dolled up in his Eagle Scout finery... it was so cute.  Matthew basically looks like a red, white & blue Christmas tree or something.  It made for a great picture:


 


What's nice about our Troop is that a whole lot of folks in the Troop are with State.  Those not with State tend to be with other federal agencies, so this lends itself to some great leadership, some great kids, and lots of empathy about frequent family comings and goings. 


Also, what other Boy Scout Troops but those in the DC area get to wear patches with Air Force One on them?





Dude.  That is AWESOME.

So that's what the boys are doing.  As for me, all my spare time goes toward cleaning the house (True story- after coming home every Friday afternoon, after a looooooong week at FSI, I immediately.... SCRUB THE BATHROOM FLOORS!  It's a glam life, y'all...) or making the wildlife in my backyard clinically obese.  (I get this from my mother, whose housepets tend to be nearly unable to make it through doorways.)


Behold!  A normal day's squirrel buffet:





NO I didn't specifically make that macaroni & cheese for the squirrels!!!  It was leftover, the boys hadn't eaten it, so it was stale.  Better to feed it to the squirrels than throw it away or push it down the garbage disposal.  I hate wasting food.


Also, you can't see this in the picture, but the bananas were wayyyyyy past being usable, and please, heaven help me, PLEASE don't anyone tell me to make banana bread from them, for I barely have time to make the macaroni & cheese that my children won't eat.  In fact, I think James probably made it.  So, basically, you would be telling JAMES to make banana bread with the overripe bananas.  Do you really want to do that?


See the piece of macaroni & cheese hanging out the squirrel's mouth?  I tell you, stuff like this brings me some of the only glimmers of joy in my pathetic life right now.  (All this to say:  RUN LIKE HELL FROM BIDDING ON AN SCNL POST.)






This picture makes me happy.  Their little hands and feet are so cute!

This picture also makes me happy.   There are actually TWO squirrels in this picture!


So, today, the weather here is gorgeous.  I will be inside all day, cleaning and doing Chinese, but at least my rental house's windows are open, the shutters are thrown wide, there is a wonderful breeze, and all of this makes me smile.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

 

 

Odds & Ends (Such As: The RoundUp is Up! And My Children are Famous!)

First and foremost, I would like to state that Connie has already posted today's State Department Blog RoundUp (Whale Ears and Other Wonderings)!  Thank you, Connie!  And next week's RoundUp will be hosted by Lydia at Here, There, and Everywhere!


                                                 ~     ~     ~


My boys are so excited - they've landed themselves into the Falls Church online community newspaper!  You see, they went camping last week with their local Scout Troop (it's almost entirely made up of State Department and other federal employee families!) and the camping weekend was very successful.


Speaking of my boys and Scouts, you are now looking at the Troop's new "Junior Assistant Scoutmaster:"






(Taken BEFORE he got leprosy/mange.)


In the article, you'll read that Zachary is part of the "Flaming Marshamallow" patrol/group, and that his patrol/group won an award during the campout.  Can I just saw how totally hilarious the patch for this patrol is?


Behold:  the patch for The Flaming Marshmallows:





Fits Zachary's personality well.


Our family.  Such paragons of Scouting that we have all landed on the cover of Boy's Life Magazine for multiple months in a row.  Here's proof...


Former Scoutmaster Dad, plus his current Junior Assistant Scoutmaster/Eagle Scout and his Flaming Marshmallow (extra credit to those of you who can spot Former Scoutmaster Dad's concealed firearm bulge at his waist!):





And some short old crone joins them just in time for Halloween:





 
Kidding!  (Not about the short old crone part, but about being on the cover of the REAL Boy's Life Magazine.)  It was a photo op from back when we attended the Boy Scout's 100 year celebration a couple of months ago (which means that Matthew is even taller now.  Crazy!). 

 

State. Moving. Money. Pictures. What You've Missed... (Etc.)

This morning is our last here in Washington DC for a few weeks. 


We packed up our Oakwoody (not The Mothership) apartment yesterday.  James is off at his last morning of Training Class #1 ("The Education Needed Before He Can Go to our next post in Chengdu, China"), and when he gets home about noon, our stuff is getting packed into our minivan and we're outta here.  (We have to go back to Houston, Texas (our previous post) to pack up and sell our house, and so that James can process out of Houston.)


Poor James.  The task of getting all our STUFF into our vehicle always falls on him. 


Last night, as we were gathering items and packing, he randomly said to me:


"My Native American name would totally be: Fits Crap in Minivan."

For that is what James does.  He fits all our crap into the minivan.  I don't know how, but he does it.  And he will showcase his Minivan Crap-Fitting Skillz again for us this afternoon.  Don't you wish you were he?

~  ~  ~

But enough of that!  Let's talk money.  For oh, how I love talking money. 


We "moved" here to Washington DC three months ago for James' Training Class #1 (the first of the many classes needed before he can go to Chengdu, China, next year) about three months ago.  Fun little fact:  we have YET to even FILE for the reimbursement of our travel here...from three months ago.

Guess why?  Oh guess, guess, guess. 


Because we traveled here not *just* without Orders (being as it was a last-minute thing), but also without any rubric for billing.  Because the three-month-long Training Class #1 was only meant for him, and not for all of us... so sayeth the Orders.  Thus, only travel for James is on the Orders.


But - ha ha!!  For this training class (Training Class #1) was three months long, and the Orders only authorized him to fly to Washington DC from Texas.  But a rental car wasn't authorized for the three-month-long class time.  So... that would have meant that he would have been here for THREE MONTHS without a car.  And he wasn't even able to be housed at the Oakwood Mothership with the shuttle service (no room there, because this was so last minute).  And not even that, but this three-month-long training class was held at something crazy like ten different sites.  Some even scattered about in Virginia.  Be here three months without a car, without us, and without being at the Oakwood that has shuttle service to class?  I don't think so.  We ALL came, and we SO drove.


So the whole time we've been here, James has been trying to figure out how to bill *driving here* against what would have been paid on the Orders (just him flying here)... had he had any Orders to begin with.  Various and sundry Departments have told him that they are not the ones who will be paying it, so not to bill against them/ their Orders.


He thinks it's all ironed out now.  Basically, we get to bill against what the plane ticket would have been at the last minute (about $800) to get him here.  That was only half the battle, so please don't anyone say anything like Oh, I knew that!  The other issue was the Orders, or which set to bill against.  For there are so many.  Different sets from different places.


All this to say:  when he was getting hired by State a couple of years ago, I remember hearing about how having good credit was such a big deal.  You HAD to have GOOD CREDIT.  And now I know why.  They want to know that, when you float lots of travel money (which you will), you will still be able to be financially responsible (which we are).  Because you WILL float money.  For long periods of time.  And that's not EVEN when you go on Insanely Expensive Home Leave (Email from the Embassy), which is financially painful and scary.  Holy cow!

~  ~  ~

So, we're leaving Washington DC today and driving back to Texas.  We then have about a month until we have to report back up here for James' Training Class #2 (Mandarin Chinese at FSI for 45 weeks).  Between now and then (the beginning of September) we're going...


... from here to Texas (driving).

From Texas to Seattle, Washington (another James training class, and I'm going, too!)(flying)

From Seattle, Washington (and the Vancouver, Canada area) back to Texas (flying)

From Texas to Florida (driving)

From Florida to Washington DC (flying)

From Washington DC to Florida (flying)

From Florida, with the children, to Washington DC for real and for good until China (driving).

All within the next month.  And somewhere in there, we're packing out and selling our Texas house. 



So those are the plans for the time from now until Mandarin Chinese starts and we're moved (yes, we're PCSing to Washington because we'll be in training for longer than a year) back here.

~  ~  ~

So now, all that's left is to catch you up on what we've been up to in the last few days.


After Matthew finished his Eagle Scout project, we flew from Florida back up here to Washington DC, and James gave Matthew a hero's welcome at Dulles Airport in the Baggage Claim area:

This year is actually the 100th year anniversary of the Boy Scouts, and two Boy Scouty things were going on here in downtown Washington DC this past weekend, so we hightailed it over there.

The first was the Boy Scouts Centennial Parade in downtown Washington DC.  It was the first time since 1937 that the Scouts had a parade in Washington DC... and we were there for it!





There were, of course, lots of Scouts.  And lots of American flags.





Red, white and blue were very much the theme.

There were also a TON of historically-dressed folks.





When these guys marched by, I couldn't help but feel insanely sorry for them.  Yes, they looked so snappy (of course), but honestly- it was something insane like 105 degrees with the heat index.  The heat had to be almost unbearable!





These ladies, also, were dressed so beautifully - but all I could think when they were walking by was Oh my goodness, I'm SO glad I'm wearing shorts and a tshirt! 


We've come a long way, baby.  Yes, the above was more attractive and feminine, but GOSH.  I'll take shorts and a tshirt on any 100 degree plus day!





They had all sorts of historical vehicles.

Everyone in the cars was always dressed in authentic Scouting attire from the period.  So neat!





The parade even had balloons!  Like this cake, for Scouting's 100 year Anniversary.


On one side of the street from the parade, there was the Adventure Base 100 truck and the Adventure Base 100 setup, complete with portable Scouting Museum. 

The Adventure Base 100 setup was right in front of the Washington Monument, and on the same exact street as the parade.

A huge area of grass was roped off...

And the Adventure Base truck was opened up as a Scouting Museum.

~  ~  ~

So - now you're all caught up!  I'll only be on Twitter via my million-year-old Dinosaur of a cell phone for the next few days (as we drive from Washington DC to Texas) until we get everything back up and running in Texas.


A HUGE thank you to everyone for the comments you have left for me and for our family on this blog... on Twitter... on Facebook... via email.  I'm so sorry I've not been on y'all's blogs lately- or returned email lately.  Please forgive me for being so absent and so silent online. 

And now, Fits Crap in Minivan and I have some travelin' to do.  See you on the other side!  :)