This is us.  The one showing lots of shoulder (in her Chengdu, China Marine Ball ball gown!) is the EFM who writes this blog. The one wearing a tux (James) is the employee who moves her (and their two sons) around all over the world. The red link, below, is how you can get in touch with me...

The time in Chengdu, China

Chengdu: city of fabulous food and beautiful Buddhist monasteries!

Recent Comments

Yes, Beijing's Forbidden City (pictured, above) is really pretty and all, but I like Chengdu much better than Beijing!

In Our Same Boat (with State)

  • Beyond the Cornfields
    Brand-new State Department family in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Love their two little girls (she just recently had a baby while being posted in Dhaka), horticulture, traveling and adventure!
  • Email From The Embassy
    State Department family formerly in Beijing, China, and recently posted to Amman, Jordan. A trailing spouse, she's also a writer, and frequently publishes articles with major news sources. A very experienced State family, this new post is something like overseas post number six or seven for them.
  • Just US
    A beautiful family of seven - they have arrived at their new post: Jerusalem! They just finished off an unaccompanied tour to Iraq and are very much looking forward to sightseeing around the middle east.
  • Our Life
    State Department family on their second post...Tijuana, Mexico. It's their first overseas assignment and they have two little boys. They love Tijuana so far and post pictures frequently! They also get to enjoy the best of both worlds for they can sneak over the border into San Diego when they want to!
  • The Dinoia Family
    State Department family formerly in California, now in DC for a DC tour. Next, the husband will do a one year unaccompanied tour. A very experienced State family (formerly in Iceland and Caracas) with a blog that has been around quite a while and has great archives. Jen has a sweet heart and a lot to give!
  • The Perlman Update
    State Department family formerly in Chennai, India, who then did a year-long unaccompanied tour in Iraq. They are now on a DC tour and after that will do another unaccompanied tour (Afghanistan). She totally tells it like it is and doesn't sugar-coat what life is really like. Witty, snarky, funny and down-to-earth. Look elsewhere if you want fake. Read if you want REAL.
  • Where in the World Am I?
    State Department family formerly in Bujumbura, Burundi and now in Hyderabad, India. They just had their first baby this summer - a beautiful little girl- (there's a separate blog about this) and she also eats gluten-free (with a separate blog, also).
One of the most intriguing things about Chengdu is that it is a seamless blend of ancient and modern... all together, side by side.

Can't Live Without (non-State)

  • Crass-Pollination: An ER blog
    The best ER nurse blog EVER!
  • Doctor Grumpy in the House
    The best doctor blog EVER!
  • In Which...
    My IRL friend, a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mama of seven. Her darling daughters are, goshdarnit, probably too young to be hoped for as my future daughters-in-law.
  • The Crib Chick
    My IRL friend, a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mama of five. Hopefully two (Any two! I'm not picky!) of which are my future daughters-in-law.
  • the underwear drawer
    An anesthesiologist who is possibly the most talented & entertaining writer ever. I've read her blog ever since she started medical school. No, don't know her in real life. Wish I did.
  • The Bloggess
    This blog is both hysterically funny and hilariously irreverent. I actually let my 17 year old son read it (who loves it as much as I do!), but wouldn't even CONSIDER letting my 12 year old son read it. Which is about all the description it needs!
The grounds of Chengdu monasteries can be very, very peaceful...even though they are smack dab in the heart of a city of millions of people.

Categories

Yes, there are Starbucks in Chengdu! All over the place, in fact. So much so, Starbucks even crafted mugs for Chengdu stores!

Archives

Texan bluebonnets. Because I learned during our very first posting (Houston) that there's nothing prettier in the spring than the meadows of Texas.

Specifics

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Our Family's Story



All us 400 x 400
Taken in 2008 at Main State during Swearing In




James and I were high school sweethearts.  Now we're a family with two sons, ages 19 and 14.


Initially, James worked as a Sheriff's Officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.  He stayed there for more than five years.


After that, he was hired as a federal employee and was nearly tortured to death by soul sucking evil demons in the depths of hell.  That fun period of our lives lasted almost six years.  We couldn't get away fast enough, nor could we be more thrilled that he's outta there. 


He was offered his dream job (Special Agent) with the Diplomatic Security Service (which makes him a Specialist in the U.S. Department of State, and also a U.S. Diplomat) in 2008.  His initial training lasted through 2009, and our first post was Houston, Texas.  We stayed there for a year, and then left Houston in the summer of 2010, in order to begin the year-and-a-half-long training for our second post: Chengdu, China.  We were THRILLED to get Chengdu, and James and I started full-time Mandarin Chinese language training at FSI in the fall of 2010.  We arrived in Chengdu, China (our first overseas post) in September of 2011, and are scheduled to be here for two years.


We love Chengdu!  The food is amazing (UH-MAY-ZEENG), our boys really love their International School, and is there anything more fun than a Marine Ball?  I think not:


DSC_9897                  James, Matthew and I at the 2011 Chengdu Marine Ball


For the last decade, I have been a stay-at-home mom, and before we came to Chengdu, I homeschooled our two boys during that time.  I am now what is called an EFM (or Eligible Family Member) for the State Department, which means that I am James' dependent. 


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A Facebook User

Thank you for your blog! My husband was just hired, starts training in May. We are so excited! It is great to see a family living the life :)

Posted by: A Facebook User | 03/23/2012 at 01:27 PM

Kim

Hi,
My husband applied for a FSS and as I was researching about homeschooling overseas as a FS family, I found your blog.
In one of your posts, you had Chinese training along with your husband. Are you also FSO or can you tell me how you were able to train for the language as EFM?
I would like to ask you a few questions via email, if you don't mind. You can contact me via the email provided.
Thank you for your time.

Posted by: Kim | 03/17/2013 at 05:35 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

James loves me. And our sons. And his job. But not having his picture taken. In 2011 he finished up over a year and half of training, and in the fall of 2011 we got to our first overseas post - Chengdu, China!
Mao says hi! Because Chengdu is one of the only cities in China with a Mao statue.
Flowers are like friends. Each one is unique. Each one is beautiful. They brighten up everything around them. And you can never have too many. 

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2012 is the Year of the Dragon, y'all! Talk about the ultimate in good luck! This kinda party only comes around once every twelve years!
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Colorful! (Inside a Chengdu ancient Buddhist monastery.)
Have I mentioned that I absolutely adore taking pictures? Here are some that I've taken recently:
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