The Bid List is Upon Us!

I can't believe it, but it's actually time for Sarah and I to start bidding on our second assignment in the Foreign Service!  We just got the list of available positions, so Sarah and I have been excitedly going over all the different places around the world that we may be moving to in 2015.  But let me back up, and explain the process a little bit. 

As you may recall from previous blog posts, the first two assignments in the Foreign Service (FS) are "directed assignments."  What that means is that we receive a list of available positions around the world, and then tell the State Department which ones we are interested in.  They then make the assignments for us, and we are basically bound to accept them.  This is different from mid-level assignments, where you personally contact the posts you are interested in, and lobby for assignments.  You are also allowed to turn them down if they don't interest you.  Not so with your first two tours. 

For first-tour officers (which I was in September of last year), they receive a list of basically all the leftover positions around the world, which is why there are quite a few positions on that list that many people would consider slightly less-desirable (Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), etc).  For my first-tour list, we received a list of about 90 positions and had to rank all of them high, medium, or low.  We then found out our assignment on Flag Day at the end of our six-week orientation class.

For second-tour officers (which I will be soon), the process is a bit different, because it introduces the concept of "equity."  Essentially, how difficult your first assignment was will determine the order in which you bid on your second assignment.  Ciudad Juarez is considered a high equity post, meaning we will get to bid in the first group of bidders.  Basically, assignments will be handed out in the following order: first to FSOs in Sudan and similar locales; then us; then the rest of the world. 

Also unlike the first assignment, Sarah and I now have a much larger list to choose from.  There are about 400 positions available worldwide, and Sarah and I only have to rank our top 30.  Although there are 400 available positions, however, not all of them will work for our timing.  For example, I am scheduled to leave post in April 2015.  If there is a spot in Rome that opens in May 2015, I wouldn't be allowed to bid on it because there wouldn't be enough time for the State Department to teach me Italian.  So it can be a bit of a bummer when you see amazing locations on the list, but realize the timing just won't work.

Sarah and I have just about finalized our list of 30 assignments around the globe.  I won't be posting it online because I don't want to somehow jinx ourselves.  We're hoping to find out sometime in early December.  Wish us luck! 

Visit from the Family!

My family came for a visit last week!  In the LDS church, we often have a baby blessing for newborns, which is essentially a small ceremony where we officially give the baby a name and a blessing that he can hopefully benefit from throughout his life.  We were fortunate enough to have my parents and sister Jaime cone visit us for El Senor's blessing.  

Sadly, there is not much to see or do in Juarez, so their time here was mostly limited to staying in the relatively safe zone around the Consulate and traveling to the mall for a little bit.  That being said, everyone had a good time, and was mostly just happy to spend time staring at El Senor as he smiles and coos at everyone. 

Our little guy keeps on growing and developing.  He is very smiley, and already weighs 14 pounds at 11 weeks!  At least we know he's eating well.

Updates from the Borderland!

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of recent updates to the blog.  Not surprisingly, a new baby puts quite the monopoly on your time, so I'm lucky if all three of us are wearing clean clothes and relatively well-fed.  Anyway, here's a recap of what we have been up to for the last month.

Hair Additions/Deletions
    

I decided to grow a beard for a month.  Everyone says that a beard stops being itchy eventually, but I have not found that to be the case.  Beards are literally always itchy!  So one month was about enough.  Sarah, on the other hand, decided to cut all her hair off, and looks completely adorable.

Fall Cooking is in Full Swing

It takes a while for Fall to finally show up here on the border, and we still have highs in 70s each day.  But that hasn't stopped us from going nuts on fall-related grub.  Case in point:
 

Butternut squash & parsnip soup.  Tasty. 

Chili and cornbread, a classic.

Butternut squash gnocchi (and it only took approximately 75 hours to make!) 

El Senor has Finally Started Smiling

This is a pretty exciting moment for parents, because it means that you can finally tell if your child knows who you are and/or cares about your existence.  For the first two months, babies just sit there and stare at you, occasionally crying for no reason.  So after two months of wondering if your baby is even enjoying life, smiles are pretty rewarding.  Keep it up, little guy!

I Ran in the Juarez Marathon
 

That title is incredibly deceiving for several reasons.  First, I participated in a relay with other Consulate staff, which meant I only ran about 7.2 miles.  Second, I didn't really run all that much of the race.  I cannot emphasize enough how unprepared I was for this race.  I signed up before James was born, thinking this would be the perfect way to be motivated to exercise with a newborn.  Ha!  I think I ran once around the neighborhood before the race, so I put in a pretty sad showing.  But at least I finished.

Sarah Threw Me a Surprise Party

My birthday was last month as well, so Sarah managed to throw me a surprise party with all of our friends from the Consulate.  But not just any surprise party; a surprise PIE party.

If you know me well, then you know that I love pie more than just about any other dessert in existence.  So Sarah made me a pecan pie, and an apple pie, and invited all our guest to bring pie as well.  It was awesome.  Thanks to everyone who came and brought me pie!

El Senor Went as James Bond for Halloween
 

I apologize for not having a better picture, but El Senor attended the annual Halloween event at the Consulate, as none other than 007.  He was outfitted in a tiny tuxedo, along with a miniature martini and Walther PPK (made out of cardboard).  He seemed to have a pretty good time.

We Carved a Pumpkin

Despite not having a ton of free time, we still managed to carve a pumpkin for Halloween.  I don't know why, but I'm incredibly proud of this.  Like I said, anything done around the house that goes beyond eating, sleeping, or washing clothes, seems like a major victory. 

The 2013 Summer Movie Roundup

I recognize at this point it is well into Fall, but better late than never.  Perhaps some of you thought that, now that I am a family man, I would stop doing the Summer Movie Roundup (which has been a bit of a tradition as long as we have had this blog); not so!  Granted, I didn't get the chance to see quite as many movies this summer as I would have liked to (a trend I foresee extending well into the future), but I did my best.  As a result, there may be some overlooked films that I just didn't get the chance to see.  Here we go!  

5. Pacific Rim

Here on the blog, I always try to award originality (since there are so many sequels, reboots, etc., each summer), which is why Pacific Rim just barely makes the list.  It is for the most part an original story, which borrows heavily from Godzilla films.  Plus, it's loud and explodey, which always wins points in my book.  Much like the author of the Winnie the Pooh tales, A. A. Milne, I suspect the screenwriter may have written the entire movie based on watching his son play with toys, but it was still an enjoyable way to spend two hours. 

4. Iron Man 3

Iron Man 2 was kind of a weird disaster, so I was glad to see a return to form with the most recent installment.  I often judge how good summer movies are based on whether Sarah actually enjoyed watching them with me.  Of all the loud, action-packed movies we saw this year, this seemed to be the least objectionable to her, which earns it the #4 spot.

3. Monsters University

Pixar will almost always have a spot in this list.  I remember being disappointed last year when I heard that Pixar would be doing yet another sequel, but Monsters University ended up being a great film.  I think what impressed me the most was that it had unique message for the kids watching.  I feel like almost every kids' movie today has the same "dare to be different" theme, so I was glad to see something unique, namely the idea that "sometimes you don't get what you want, even if you try really hard," which is a pretty tough lesson for kids, if you think about it.  My son seems to be working on that every day.

2. The Way Way Back

Huh?  What movie is this?  Well, let me explain.  Most of you are probably scratching your heads wondering what I am talking about.  This movie was only in limited release, so not a lot of people heard about it.  Let me paint a picture for you: Sarah and I are visiting my folks in Arizona for a couple of days, and we're all amped to see Pacific Rim in the giant IMAX theater.  All except for Sarah, who wanted to see a heartwarming coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of a summer at the beach working in a water park.  What?!  Who wants to see that?  I want to see giant robots fight giant aliens.  Summer is NOT the time for movies that make me think and/or feel things.  Well, Sarah won out, and we went to see this instead.  Let me tell you, it is a fantastic film, and it really captures how magical/distressing summer vacation can be when you're a kid.  That being said, it could have used a giant robot battle at some point.

1. Star Trek: Into Darkness

I'm not even a Star Trek fan, but this was one entertaining film.   It was funny, smart, and had stuff blow up.  Enough said.  

Well, that's it for this year.  Who knows if I'll ever get the chance to go to the movies again, but here's hoping we see you all back here for the 2014 Roundup.  Adios!

Adventures in Baby-Raising: Week 5

It's hard to believe that El Senor is already five weeks old.  I suppose each day seems like it lasts forever, but then the individual weeks go by quickly.  Rest assured the little guy is doing well, and has become quite the accomplished border-crosser.  Speaking of the border, let's talk about getting from Mexico to the US and back again.  

Behold the mighty Rio Grande!  Believe it or not, I think this may be most water I've seen in the riverbed since I have been here, although it did rain the day before I took this picture.  Life in the Borderland consists of a lot of international crossings, for things like grocery shopping (which is surprisingly much cheaper in the US), doctor's appointments, and other errands.

For most folks, crossing the border can take an hour or more, as you slowly inch across the four-lane bridge and wait to get through the security inspection.  However, for people who cross all the time, it makes more sense to enroll in a sort of trusted traveler program, that can get you from Mexico into the US in about five minutes or less.  If you are crossing three or four times a week, it is definitely worth applying.

But that's where our problem lies.  Although Sarah and I are members of this program, our son is not.  We have to schedule an interview for him with border security, and getting his trusted traveler card can take a couple of weeks.  So while we wait for his card, we have two options.  We can go through the regular slow lane and wait with our newborn in the car for over an hour.  Or, we can have one person walk across the bridge with El Senor, while the other person drives the car through in the fast lane, and then waits on the other side.  Although slightly inconvenient, this can actually save us about 45 minutes to an hour while we wait for our son's trusted traveler card to arrive.

As you can imagine, we generally opt to walk across the bridge to save ourselves a few minutes and a lot of frustration.  The other day I got to walk across the bridge with the little man, and decided to document this unique part of his upbringing.  Here he is with one foot in both countries, much like many of the people that live around here. 

And here he is, passport in hand, waiting patiently in the line of pedestrians on their way into the US.  Sometimes it can take a few minutes, and get a bit boring, as demonstrated by the photo on the right.  I know that feeling, amigo.

Thankfully, El Senor's trusted traveler card should be arriving this week, which means no more walks from one country to another.  Thanks for being such a trooper, little guy!

Rambo IIIl: Great Film or the Greatest Film?

Rambo III will always have a special place in my heart.  I remember spending hours in my backyard atop my fence with a red bandana on, mowing down Soviets in the Afghan desert.  I love the Rambo series to this day, although upon re-watching them I sometimes wonder why my mother thought this was good programming for her young son.  I suppose I was just an especially mature young lad.

Many films from the 80s and 90s seem ridiculous when you sit down to watch them today, but Rambo III remains as awesome as ever.  I’ve been thinking about Rambo III a lot recently, because I have just had my one-year anniversary as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO).  What does Rambo III have to do with my time in the Foreign Service?  As it turns out, everything…
 

 Woohoo!  Diplomacy!!!

As many of you are aware, the process of becoming an FSO begins with the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT), a three-hour exam that is meant to determine whether an individual would be a good State Department employee.  The first (and most difficult) section of the exam is a collection of multiple-choice questions ranging from politics, world history, geography, mathematics, management styles, and several other topics. 

The day I took the test, I started making my way through the questions, when I came upon one halfway through, which asked something to the effect of: “The present-day Taliban gained much of their fighting experience through which of the following armed conflicts?”  Among the answer choices I read: “Repelling a Soviet incursion in the 1980s.” 

As fate would have it, I was home alone the night before I took the FSOT, which meant I got to watch Rambo III on AMC (since Sarah is not one to spend the evening watching Rambo).  And what does the intrepid John Rambo do in the third installment of his film series?  Why, go to Afghanistan to help the Mujahideen repel the Soviet Union, of course!  What luck that I would have watched the film the night before taking the exam!

I don't know what my final score was on the FSOT, but I like to think that Rambo gave me just the push I needed to pass the exam.  Fast forward six months, and I received an official offer to join the Foreign Service.  After several days of trepidation, we decided to say yes.  And what should come on TV that very night.  You guessed it, Rambo III.  In many ways, you could say Rambo III has been my guiding light through the entire hiring process.  So, here's to you, Rambo!  Thanks for always being there for me.    

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

Hello internets,

I apologize in advance if this post comes off as whiny, TMI, or angsty.  I have had a lot of things on my mind lately (ha!) and wanted to take a minute to share my thoughts and most of all gratitude to my friends, family, and community.  

Anyone who really knows me knows that I love change. I would like to think that my upbringing (constantly moving to foreign countries) prepared me well for the Foreign Service. Yet, I have to admit that the last year at the Peterson house has been a constant whirlwind and admittedly I have at times struggled with the changes. Ryan joined the FS last September (I cannot believe it was only a year ago!) and since then nothing has been the same. It’s been a crazy year. We bought a house, got pregnant, moved twice within 6 months, arrived in Ciudad Juarez, and had our sweet little Senor.  I would be lying if I said we managed all of this without a lot of murmuring and tears (out of anger/frustration/etc.) on my part. 

I am embarrassed to say that over the last few months here in Juarez I have often called Ryan (or other family members) in tears, complained constantly about possible employment prospects, and generally become a bit emotionally unhinged.  I don’t want to embarrass him, but Ryan has been my rock throughout this crazy transition. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what I would be like at this point without his love and support. He deserves a medal for dealing with all of my hormonal madness.  I am also grateful for our loving family members and a wonderful consulate community who have embraced our little family.

El Senor’s arrival has also thrown me for a bit off a loop. It reminds me of the scene in ‘Juno’ where Jennifer Garner’s character is holding her son for the first time and she turns to Juno’s stepmom and says “How do I look?”  Juno’s stepmom replies "Like a new mom. Scared Shizless."  I am currently experiencing said terror, but the love and support from my family and friends have given me enough courage to hold on. I have no delusions that this will be an easy transition, but like the others we have experienced over the last year, I know that this one will be more than worth the while.

So in the meantime I doubt we will be posting many (if any) pics of fun baking projects (don’t worry I won’t/can’t stay away from my favorite hobby for too long). Though times keeps a-changin' and I expect there will be some more tears (mostly mine, not El Senor’s) I know we will be able to make it through this. Maybe you don’t believe in divine intervention but I can tell you that the events of just the last few weeks have reaffirmed my faith in a loving God who wants us to be happy. Just my two cents.

Love,

Sarah

* Disclaimer: I actually don’t really like Bob Dylan. Before I get any hate mail I would like to clarify that I think he is a brilliant songwriter, but I really don’t like his voice that much. Regardless, I felt the title of this song was an appropriate way to summarize how the last year has felt to me.