Washington's Olympic Peninsula: Poulsbo, Port Ludlow & Port Gamble

Fall leaves in full bloom!

 On my recent trip to the Seattle area, I spent
several weeks on the Olympic Peninsula.  Just an hour or two outside of the city, depending on traffic, the feel of the Olympic Peninsula is like landing on another planet.Lush, green rain forests, bountiful trees, panoramic mountains, water views, and small, quaint towns give off the feel of a rural oasis set amongst nature.

 This is what you will see to your left when driving over the bridge from Port Townsend to Port Ludlow

Some of the views are literally breathtaking: going over the bridge from Poulsbo to Port Ludlow to my left was a flitting sun kissing the water, and to my right a breached seal who (no lie) winked at me.  Though I did not see a whale, otters are more common fodder, and are known for not only looking adorable but also for using their sticky fingers to grab tasty morsels from the local trash bin.  Deers, including 10-point bucks, are plentiful--though from locals I have learned that this unfortunately affects all things flowers, which
quickly become gobbled-down deer treats.

My mom told me that a few months back on her landing she awoke to the sound of snoring, only to find when she turned on the porch light that a cougar (real full size mountain lion cougar!!!!) was taking a catnap in front of her petunias.  Bears, apparently, occasionally interact with human inhabitants on the outskirts of golf courses and nature trails.  I heard about a woman walking her little pooch, only to find herself in the unfortunate position of fighting off an eagle reaching for the leash.  (Sadly, the eagle won).  This is wilderness, people.  Walking around just outside of the small towns it feels like virgin territory--untouched, pristine land with clean waterways and active wildlife.

Port Ludlow's lil' harbor

In the small town of Port Ludlow ('a village in the forest by the bay') there is Teal Lake, a hike to the waterfalls, nature trails, golfing, and yachting.  While the village center is a quick drive-by (the movie rental store is a part of the gas station), there are beautiful homes nestled away that have spectacular views of Whidbey Island, passing cruise ships, watercraft airplanes, and every now and again a Native American paddling canoe group.  Nature literally is your neighbor and, except for the occasional sleeping kitty kat on your porch, the clean air and fresh smells of fir trees makes you feel like you are miles away from city life while still remaining in the lap of luxury (read: heated home).  Local adventurers are known for crabbing, hiking, hunting, fishing, and searching out coveted mushrooms--though their secret locations I cannot tell!  Port Ludlow is a great place to retire if you are looking for a community group of educated and interesting world travelers and enthusiasts.

Norwegian charm emanates from this great little town.

Poulsbo is a charming Norwegian town in Kitsap County, founded in 1885.  The town of Poulsbo has a boardwalk adjacent to the water at Liberty Bay that is stroll-worthy and lovely on a cool, windless day.  The boardwalk has a magnificent 360 view of mountains and boats as well as the occasional brood of ducks that are quite the entertainers!  At least three local chain coffee stores exist and Italian, Thai, American, and Norwegian restaurants are available.  The bakery in Poulsbo has breads, pastries, cookies, and sweets that are all scratch-made on the premises and are delicioso in the belly (though probably not on the thighs).  Over the years I have tried the cinnamon-orange bread, adorable ginger men, apple turnovers and bear crullers and have yet to be disappointed.  The treats there are sweet but not too sugary, a perfect delight.  Central Market is located in Poulsbo and it is arguably the BEST market selection I have ever seen, anywhere.  They have fresh-made high-grade sushi, hand-made hot out of the oven tortillas, a large buffet and to-go prepared food section, vegetable and fruit varietals from around the world, global spices, and all the nature-fruit-nut-herb things you'd typically find in a Whole Foods store.  I hate to say it, but I plan my vacation days to Poulsbo around my Central Market excursion: it is that awesome.  Poulsbo downtown also has a few funky art co-ops, dress stores, furniture and garden shops, and stores great for buying affordable gifts.  There is even a small Norwegian grocer that sells all things Scandinavian including specialty cheeses, chocolates, meats, and mints.  If you are interested in a day trip in the Olympic Peninsula, Poulsbo is definitely worth the trek.

Port Gamble is a small, up-and-coming village/town with only a handful of residents but a number of small shops and a few restaurants.  The theme of the town focuses on its timber mill history and the few Victorian houses and church are nice to walk by when traveling on the Port Gamble square.  Around Halloween, the town was hosting a "Ghost Hunting Conference" so many of the visitors were looking for their invisible counterparts in the supposedly haunted Victorian house (now for rent) with the front facing the port waters.  The General Store across from the Post Office serves food and sells kitschy trinkets.  The kayak business formerly in Poulsbo moved to Port Gamble, so if you are up for getting really sore hands and potentially falling into icy waters, here's where you can do it.  I would prefer to kayak in the area's warmest months, mid-July to early-August.  About nine months of the year a light to heavy sweater is required, but when it is not raining it is comfortable and enjoyable to walk the dogs on the footpaths and greet friendly locals.

You can get to the Olympic Peninsula from Seattle by taking the Kingston-Edmunds ferry.  The drive to Port Gamble, Poulsbo, Port Townsend, and Port Ludlow from there is between twenty and forty minutes.  In Kingston, nota bene, is an amazing little crepe and galette (savory crepe) shop that is cheap, informal, mere feet from the ferry, and absolutely fabulous (AbFab, dahling!).  I had a craving and went back specifically for the galette with poached egg, spinach, roasted almonds, honey dijon, grilled mushrooms and onions with a frothy cappuccino to boot.  Mmmm....  Note: if going all out on the galette, bring a breath mint: le garlique (ail) est plus forte! 

Port Townsend, Bainbridge, and Whidbey Island write-ups coming soon!

Seattle and Traveler Tips

Totem poles created by First Nation communities reflect Seattle's heritage.

 I recently returned from a three-week trip to the Seattle, Washington area.  Seattle is a beautiful, magical city when you can catch her on a sunny day without a cloud in the sky.  Similar to her sister city of Portland (notoriously dubbed 'City of the Weird'), Seattle's quirky character gives her a certain charm.  Seattle, I suppose, could be called 'City of the Liberal Salmon,' 'Land of Starbucks and Mountains,' or, in a fit of California envy, 'Rain, rain, go away.'  But really, Seattle is a great city.  I love all of the small antique and art shops downtown interspersed with a cornucopia of coffee houses, cheese shops, specialty food marts and bike
shops, yarn havens, and seafood-centered restaurants.

Pike Place is a typical tourist trap, though well worth the while for the giant ten-dollar bouquets of flowers and gift-style foodstuffs.  When my husband and I go, he always gets the Chinese-Vietnamese pork rolls (pronounced Hum-Bow or Banh-Bao) that reflect the French influence and obsession with bread and South Vietnam's love for pork.  There are also a few scattered comic, used book, and photo shops that have surprising finds tucked away, if you take the time to look.

View of the Harbor from Bainbridge Island

I talk with market and shop vendors to get their take on the lay of the land.  On one of my first Seattle trips I was planning to go on the underground tour of the city reflecting its early tumultuous history as a frontier town.  Tunnels, underground hideaways and passages are all around the city.  After talking with an African mask dealer about dream states (of all things), we were shown the underground passages directly parallel to his basement-stationed shop.  Very cool, indeed.  (And no, we didn't find anything spooky or old in there, but I did find the remnants of chicken wings consumed and partially petrified...woohahhaha!)  But it was a fun experience and I wouldn't have had it were I to have not struck up an interesting conversation with a perfect stranger.

Let your wings be your compass!

That is what I love about traveling... you never know who you are going to meet or what you'll come by once you jump off the designated tour circle.  And mostly, I've found over the years that people are generally nice.  (I know--surprising right?)  It's amazing what you can learn when you are willing to listen and sit and ask a few questions.  People LIKE to exchange ideas and thoughts.  And people for the most part ENJOY telling you what they have gleaned from years of daily habits and experience residing, working, and eating in a place.  It makes them feel helpful, important, needed.  And it's a great way to strike up new relationships.  Take note, dear friends, take note.  The best tour guides are often those rare individuals who genuinely desire for your experience to be a great one even if they won't remember your name or get anything out of it other than knowing they've been kind to another human being.  Finding people like that who are willing to share their knowledge is TRAVELER's GOLD.

More coming soon on THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA.  Ciao for now!  

  

Things to Consider When Moving Abroad: Part 3

Things to Consider When Moving Abroad Continued: Culture and the Daily Grind

6. The Cultural Milieu: Food, Festivities & Activities
Ask yourself earnestly, "What do I consider FUN?"  Not everyone defines enjoyment similarly.  Sitting at the beach knitting all day while knocking back appletinis may be the bee's knees for one and the definition of hell for another.  If given the opportunity to really do what you want within a foreign country, what would you actually want to do with your time, money and resources?  Compare your daily routine (traffic, congestion, shopping, cooking) with the adventures and excursions you idyllically imagine your upcoming life will entail.  When it comes down to the daily grind, what are you willing to tolerate and what can you admit honestly would be too tough or too intolerable to personally handle?  The travel will be amazing, yes, but really focus on the daily routine realities to determine if the country of choice would be up to snuff for your plans and preferences.  A country may have fabulous, lush pictures of flora and fauna, but if you will be residing in an urban jungle (read: lots of concrete), imagine what city hustle and bustle on a daily basis will be like on your commute, walking the dogs, grabbing groceries, jogging, etc.

Cultures have subtle cues for interrelations.  Find out what is expected of males and females, young and old, marrieds and singles.  Learn about typical community activities: are you a dominoes aficionado or a karaoke queen?  A film fanatic or sports enthusiast?  Know which country activities match your own interests.  If bowling is the national activity and you wouldn't be caught dead in polyester and bowling shoes, think about alternative options for entertainment.  Some communities use religious or social organizations as primary vehicles for community relationships.  Others rely on a tight-knit family network of support (which may be hard to break into if you are not a local).  Learn whether or not the community is comfortable, familiar, or inviting of foreign guests: will you be a welcome addition or perceived as a communal burden?

Read some ex-pat country specific blogs to find out how easy (or difficult) it is to make lasting friendships.  Find out what type of night life abounds: is drinking in public acceptable or highly frowned upon?  In the community is dancing impermissible (read: punishable) or virtually required when more than three are gathered?  What time do most businesses, shops, and restaurants open and close?  Is dinner time the 4 o'clock early bird special or will restaurants not open their doors until after 8:30?  On Sunday or weekends do businesses close shop, or will it be near impossible to find some peace and quiet with 24-7 city life?  During holidays and events like Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting) does the city shut down or will market shopping be open for business?

Other questions to ask include: What are the local and national songs, dances, stories, and proverbs that children learn from an early age at bedtime?  What are the foods that are ripe and abundant, and which foods (if any) are considered taboo?  What gifts are expected when you show up at someone's house?  Do you have to arrange the cost of taxi fare before getting in the car?  Will haggling be a part of your daily shopping experience?

Learn whether or not it is okay to: use your left hand (most Muslim and African countries consider the left hand unclean); address people informally; look at a person in the eye when speaking; talk with the opposite sex; travel without accompaniment.  Find out what the expected 'personal bubble' of space is for the community: some places have personal bubbles measured in feet while others have mere inches (if you're lucky!).  (Imagine yourself sweatily sitting on public transportation with a breast-feeding baby--not your own--sitting on your left thigh and a goat perched beneath your ankle on your right...)  Know whether personal lodgings will be limited to a few hundred feet or an entire hacienda.  Even if the city or town is the best in the world, if you are living in a shoebox you might begin to feel (er-hum) a touch claustrophobic.  


Whether you are working, retired, child-rearing, or just absorbing the local community flavor, what type of activities could you see yourself (and your accompaniments) engaging in?  If the country has safety issues, how will this affect your freedom of movement and engagement with the local populace?  If women's rights or freedom of speech is different than US standards, how will this affect your relationships, travels to the market, and social expectations generally?  Will you have to change your style of dress or speech to fit in, and if so, are you willing to adapt accordingly?  In your country of choice, will you be able to eat at the locally available restaurants?  Are you only willing to eat at high-end restaurants, or do you hope to tap into street food vendors, local markets, and cheaper dive pit stops?  Even if a country is comparatively affordable to US standards, if you are planning to live the high life, assume it will come at a cost and prepare your budgeting accordingly.


7. The Daily Grind
The tourism photos online will most likely not reflect what is happening on the ground day-in, day-out.  Check out statistics on crime, poverty, residing persons per capita, and cost of basic foodstuffs.  Look up local holidays, celebrations, religious practices, and community preferences for music, national dishes, and movies.  Check out recent news articles on reputable sites and see if elections or other potentially chaotic events are occurring anytime soon.  Check up on local laws.  Some countries have reciprocity agreements for working if you are a foreign national.  Other countries, unfortunately, make it almost impossible to secure a job on the local market that can support your new life.  If the perfect place with the perfect house and the perfect market and the perfect view are perfectly out of jobs for people like you, then maybe it's not so perfect after all.

Take into consideration the difference in lifestyle between being a tourist and being a resident.  When you are living in a place, what do you really need (items, relationships, activities, and otherwise) to make you feel comfortable, at home, and loved?   

Once you've picked a city, neighborhood or particular residence, see how far away the local market will be.  If you will be walking from place to place, check out the streets you will have to go by on a daily basis to pick up milk, bread, meat, and the like.  Can you see yourself there?  Would you be happy?  If the answer is yes, my friend, then I think you will do just fine.

The world awaits!

Things to Consider When Moving Abroad: Part 2

PART 2 of Considerations for a Life Abroad

Part 1 of this article looked at issues to consider before setting up shop across the ocean yonder.  We hashed out questions addressing personal preferences and concerns regarding 1. weather (palm trees or pashminas), 2. health (the ick factor), and 3. travel companions (pets, partners and spouses).  Now let's look at some of the financial, food, and language stuff to consider when you are deciding on your new country of temporary, semi-permanent or permanent residence.  Part 3 (forthcoming) will look at cultural activities (festivals and the like) and the daily grind (We're not in Kansas anymore...).

The end goal of these articles is to help you pick a country and community that you can see yourself living, shopping, playing, and perhaps working in-- a place that with time and a little patience you will be able to call 'home' or, at the very least, 'a home away from home.'  And a home must obligingly have lots of belly laughs, general hilarity, tasty treats, lasting friends, marvelous mementos and an all out rockin' (or quietly relaxing) air of enjoyment.  Simple things, you know?

If you can answer this then you know what you want:
Consider the following question: How do you see your upcoming experience abroad?  For example, do you see yourself engaging with the local community, learning community slang and language cues, and eating the local grub, or are you more of an isolationist ex-pat who wants to engage primarily with English speaking ex-pats with similar social backgrounds?  The answer to this question is important: your view of how and who you want to relate to and with will not only affect what country you can move to but what activities you can do, where you can travel, what you can eat, and whom and what experiences you will hold as memorable.

If you put in the effort to think about all of the nitty gritty details--along with what you actually want in your life abroad BEFORE you personally invest in moving half way across the globe--I can assure you that it will save you money, time, and frustrating scenarios.  Below are a few questions that will hopefully get your thinking cap buzzing and mind's eye generating ideas about what you seek/yearn/crave for within a life abroad and, more importantly, who you ultimately see yourself becoming through global exploration.

4. Budgeting & Finance
What is the differential between what you can ultimately afford and what you see as the ideal living scenario?  Would you rather live in affordable, less than magnificent housing but eat out and dine-it-up, or would you rather have a beautiful sky rise apartment and rely on affordable street food and the more reasonably priced lunch time restaurants?  Perhaps you would like to live in the countryside.  If it is cheaper and you won't be bored to death (or lost in translation), this is sometimes a good option to become immersed in cultural community life.  If you have a local 'in' with people who can show you the ropes, all the better.  Two or three connections before you go can make all the difference in the world upon your first days post-arrival.

To get a good idea of your financial options, check up on rental prices in safe neighborhoods and compare your own finances with listing prices.  Maybe your first city of preference costs 5x the amount as the sister-city thirty miles over.  Maybe the difference in transportation costs (one city requires a car, the other you can rely on metros/taxis/trains) will affect your overall experience.  Write down the elements that are important to your contentedness and then seek out locales that fulfill your primary needs.  Find a happy medium between the best of scenarios in an ideal world and the realistic expectations of being on a tight budget or having limited travel orders.

5. Language
If a former colony has English (or for that matter French, German, Portuguese, or Spanish) as a primary or national language, find out how many local residents actually speak it.  What languages are available on the most-listened to radio stations, television programs, and newspapers?  For example, Ghana's national language is English, among others, but when I was living in villages adjacent to Togo in the Volta region, less than 10% of the population could speak or understand English conversationally and fewer could read and write in English.  Regionally, Ewe was the lingua franca, but outside of the Volta region very few Ghanaians understood when Ewe was spoken.  The capital city of Accra had more English speakers and the languages of Twi (Fante) and Ga were more widely understood (and expected) than the regionally-specific Ewe.  The point being, know what the particular city's spoken languages are and not just the country's official national languages.  If you are in a country where women have less access to education, be prepared to learn local dialogue in order to buy even basic items from the market vendors or to make local female friends.  With a little research beforehand, you will get a better idea of what you will be in for and how you can prepare accordingly.

More on Culture, Community, and the Daily Grind in Part 3 coming soon! 
   

Things to Consider When Moving Abroad: Part 1

Joining the foreign service or deciding to move abroad both involve an upheaval of life as you currently know it.  Living abroad entails making new local friends and contacts, adjusting to differing cultural norms, weather patterns, languages, and multiple other social factors.  That being said, I have compiled a brief list of factors to consider before moving to a foreign country.  The more comfortable you are with your options, the more likely you will be ready to face and achieve success in your new life abroad.

So you've got the travel bug.  When considering foreign ex-pat life, if you don't know exactly what type of experience you'd like to have on a daily basis, ask yourself the following questions for a bit of clarity and assurance.  If you sit and take a few moments to ask yourself what you really want, you will save yourself money, anxiety, and droves of time later.  Don't be caught saying "Why didn't I consider this before I left for a life of travel?"

A girl's dream or way too warm for ya?

1. Weather:
What type of weather am I looking for?  Am I a tropical weather, beach fanatic or do I prefer the changing seasons?  If snow is considered pleasurable, how low (temp wise) are you willing to go and for how long of a duration?  Some winters are brief, but others encompass 7-8 months of the year.  Likewise, are you ready to face potential wind storms, hurricane seasons, or monsoon seasons?  Can you manage in 90+ Fahrenheit degree weather without access to air conditioning?  Think about holidays and special times of the year: would you be okay with a summer-style barbeque at Christmastime?  Could you face a 4th of July with ice storms?  Don't just check out a country's rainfall level, but the times and amounts of rain that falls.  For example, Seattle has a lower rainfall than most tropical weather islands, but the trickle effect of daily overcast drizzle makes it feel as though it is raining all the time.  If you will only be happy with palm trees in your vicinity, or, conversely, fall leaves and snowmen, narrow your world options in half by assuming your weather preference.

Willing to deal with mosquito nets?

2. Bugs, Germs, Disease--the good stuff:
Some countries require no vaccines; others require multiple.  Are you limited to countries that are for the most part immune to the likes of malaria, dengue fever, and tuberculosis?  Are you willing to face flying cockroaches in the shower, scorpions in your shoes, or other such lovely adventures?  If not, this knocks out another half of your options.  Generally, the warmer and wetter the weather, the more types of bugs and 'fun' inoculations will be required.  That said, the original reasoning behind gin and tonics harks back to colonials living in countries requiring antimalarial prophylactics: the quinine-infused tonic protecting against those pesky mosquitoes was considered so noxious tasting that it had to be covered up with gin to be potable.  Now people in malaria-free countries order a G+T because of the taste.  Moral of the story: bugs and lizards and creatures (oh my!) are scary to think about, but often easier to adjust to with a little patience and time.  I don't love cockroaches, rodents, or crawly creepies myself, but if I see one now, no big deal as long as they aren't poisonous.  Lizards, tree frogs and geckos I find endearing, and am intrigued by lizard culture head bobbles, faux push ups, and knightly battles for the best spot in the house.  My motto is that if it can kill me or eat me, I respect it from a distance.  'Nuff said--no Steve Irwin inquisitiveness here.

How would your spouse/friend/pup feel about sporadic access to electricity?

3. Children, Pets & Partners:
Another consideration is who will be accompanying you on your journey abroad: kidlets, fido, and family.

Kids & Spouses: If you have school-aged children, the level and types of education offered in-country are of course going to stand as primary consideration in your mind.  If there is no quality education available in-country, would you be willing to send your children to boarding school, home school, or another viable alternative?  Try to imagine how the people accompanying you will adjust to language, social interactions, cultural expectations, food availability, weather patterns, and their new daily routines.  If your kids, aging parent, dependent, or your spouse has special needs or interests that they can't live without, their needs being met will be primary to group satisfaction and a happy abroad life.  If one person is completely miserable, it will affect the whole family.

Traveling with a partner, spouse, best friend, or sibling means that you have to take their considerations into account.  If you will be the primary earner and have already landed a job, for example, assess whether your partner/spouse/friend wants to work as well.  If so, what type of jobs are available that match their individual backgrounds?  Some countries have work reciprocity agreements with the States and others only allow for traveling/vacation visas.  Would volunteer work be an option, as a way to engage with community?

Pets: Likewise, if Muffy the cat or Mr. Pickles the dog are your furry best friends that can't be left behind, be sure to check the import/export laws for bringing pets abroad to your host country.  Some places with more precious ecosystems, like New Zealand, have pet quarantines that can last up to six months.  Other countries in Latin America or Africa may easily allow a vaccinated dog in country but the US (or other home country) may not allow a pet to return stateside after living in an area with a high prevalence of rabies or disease.  Some countries may not have vet access or may only have pet care available in the lingua franca.  Can you speak (or be willing to learn) basic phrases for pet care in Swahili, Urdu, Portuguese, or Dagara? 

More on moving abroad coming up soon!

Ghouls, Goblins & Witches, My Pretty!

Happy Halloween 

    to all you celebrating the night of dress up,
      debauchery, and candy-coated disguise.                    Boohahhahahha! 

Polls show that the eponymous witch with the pointy-hatted costume (however old school and dated) is still the American costume de jour.  Nevertheless, I have heard that people this year will likewise be dressing up to match fast-fading trends: reality star and teen pop *sensations* such as the Justin Bieber, Ms. Kim Kardashian, the thing that is Gaga, and all things New Moon are in vogue.  With the tween-gone-mainstream phenomenon of television vampire entertainment (Twilight and True Blood and Vampire Diaries and The Gates, among others,) many o' persons shall be dressed as werewolves, she-wolves, fairies, shape shifters, and vampires (both diamond-y and of the scarier ripper variety).

"Finger Food Anyone, Anyone?"

In years past I have dressed as a skier (last minute!), a jester (lots of bells), Marilyn Monroe (hello blondie), Rainbow Brite gone bad (the teenage years), Jem of Jem & the Rockers (awesome star earring), Wonder Woman (middle school), a crazy chicken (el pollo loco), and alas, I will admit it, a vampire (sigh).  Needless to say, I find the time of dress up amusing.  What will you be this year?

Most countries abroad don't celebrate such a ghoulish holiday so I plan to relish it!  May your night be happily scary.  Woohahahha!  

                     Cheers to candy, 

                       cauldrons,

          and all the things that go

               BUMP

                                      in the night!

Mumbai, Chai, and Indian Film (Oh My!)

                   Our first two-year posting
                   in the foreign service is to

     Mumbai, India... 

Mumbai, City of Dreams, 

                                       City that Never Sleeps:

   AKA Bombay (the city formerly known as...)

        AKA Bollywood (Indian Hollywood).

India has been on my bucket list for a while so I am thrilled we were given the opportunity to jump into the life of a Mumbaikar (Mumbai resident) for the next two years.  We plan to make the most of it and plan excursions across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, time permitting.

Mumbai you say, hmm?  Perhaps you surmise, "Just what will you be doing there with all your free time, eh?"  Well then I am much obliged, good sir!  Let me imagine my near future.... (Bollywood music plays melodically in background as throng of Indian dancers enter stage right.)

Let's see.  I imagine, at a *minimum* that I will become a beloved Bollywood princess, learn Hindustani (Hindi, English, and Marathi combo used by Bollywood ruffians), attend Diwali and Ganesha festivals, visit Hindu temples, trek through monsoon weather, adjust to heat that is Hot-Hot-HOT and check out the amazing vegetarian food, silk saris, copper wares, ancient architecture, and the burgeoning cosmopolitan metropolis intermingling the world's wealthiest with some of the country's poorest.



  Mumbai, like many frenetic cultural melting pots, is a land of juxtapositions.  Mumbai comprises the good life and the tough life; the up and comers rubbing shoulders with the downtrodden and down and outs; immense beauty interspersed with littered landscapes and stolen dreams; ancient structures neighboring freshly built global facades; and modern skyscrapers adjacent to shadowing shanties and hovels.  When Mumbai comes to mind, I think of the paradoxical combinations of Prada bags and puja worship; movies and government ministries; the miraculous and mundane; the powerful and powerless; the dilettante and disenfranchised; the opportunists and the option-less; the lover and the listless; the skilled craftsman and the CEO...

In a city which makes twice the number of movies than Hollywood annually, I imagine the realities of life both intermingle and widely diverge from the glitz of Bollywood dance numbers facilitating the scores of a three-part romance.  The question for Mumbaikars and travelers alike may be, "Where does the fantasy of film end and the realities of life begin?"  Ne'er the twain shall meet... who knows?   
 
Mumbai is located in southwestern India, is a coastal island town, and is known for having busy streets, markets, and events twenty-four hours a day.  Per 100,000 people, there are less than 200 major crimes per year (as of 2007), which puts NYC (over 2,400 per 100K) and DC to shame.  People say that individual females can walk around comfortably around the city at near anytime of day and feel safe and move freely.  How many cities afford such an opportunity?  (You know, while still having stuff to do, people to see, sites to visit?)

There are nearly twenty (20!!!) million people residing in Mumbai and its outskirts alone.  That's 1+1+1+1x 5 million.  (I'm sure by the the end of week one I will be on a first name basis with everyone).  It goes without saying that Mumbai is a happening city.  We are elated to go.  We leave, most likely, sometime in mid-February.  I can't wait for y'all to share on my journey through this lil' here blog.  And, if you're up for it, be inspired for a visit to the land of saris, chai, and Bollywood dreams?

Where in the World is.... Our Very First Posting???

Destination Paradise

So we have officially received notice about our first tour posting.  The first abroad tour is a directed post that lasts for two years and is generally considered the most memorable/trying/laughable/heart-warming/frustrating/endearing/insert competing, paradoxical adjective HERE.  


Are we excited?  Yes.
Am I nervous?  Maybe a little.
Scared?  Nah.
Looking forward to it?  You betcha. 

Waiting on The Road of the Unknown/ The Road Less Traveled/ The Road of Life: you get the drift...

As of Tuesday, we now know where we are going, when we are leaving, the size of our posting, the weather, the food, the language(s) needed to be acquired, the religions de rigeur, and our potential traveling plans for the next 24 months.  So, where are we going, you may ask?  Hold onto your horses for one second here, and let me first set the mood... It will give you an idea of how we heard about where the wind will take us in our first tour abroad in all of its joy and mayhem and magical fury.

Before learning about what your first posting entails, the foreign service sets up a handy network of support, a bid list, and an official event called Flag Day to get you prepared and seasoned for an upcoming life abroad.  Flag Day is a formal event where they gather all of the people in your training class, including those in different professions and fields, and they invite family and friends to attend as a sign of support and encouragement.  Because where you will be posted is a complete surprise (you may get your first posting of preference, or, to work with the needs of the service, something much further down your list), Flag Day is an afternoon that invokes stomach butterflies, idle nervous chatter, tapping legs, growling bellies, winks of excitement, and new dreams.  At Flag Day you show up, smile, cross your fingers, and, if you are into that kind of thing, make prayers, promises, or call in for favors to the universe and higher ups in the hopes you will get one of your first bid-list choices.

Bridge to New Beginnings?

 For me, perhaps because I like to know my options and prepare for them accordingly, I wrote down all of the names in the class and all of the potential postings worldwide that were listed.  As the speaker showed a PowerPoint slide of a new flag, I would jog through my mind what country it was affiliated with, whether it was on our list, and, if it was, get my camera ready in case they called my husband's name.  If they called the name of someone else, I clapped and cheered and either counted my blessings or said, "Dang!  That was a good posting!"  As more names were called and postings for countries from multiple continents were determined, a few of my favorites were taken and all of our bottom o' the list preferences remained.  Needless to say, I felt---well, I was at the edge of my seat.  Literally.  A flying elephant could have landed in the room, jumped on a trampoline, and sang Happy Birthday Mr. President and I wouldn't have batted an eye. 

Focus was my middle name as I became momentarily thankful for my forever-ago statistics class enabling me to quickly calculate the possibilities based on remaining people, percentages, and postings.  Some of the postings were better for kids, others were better for singles.  Some required language, adaptivity, inoculations, and the like, while others were in developed English-speaking countries with similar lifestyles and cultural tendencies.  Some were safe, others would take some getting used to.  That's what it means to be worldwide available: you must express flexibility and be adaptable, amenable, and service-oriented.

When there were only seven choices left, I breathed a sigh of relief: all of the postings still available I would be happy and comfortable with, and dogs were allowed in-country.  (We didn't want to have to get rid of our two puppies!)  From that point on in the ceremony, I was just waiting for the familiar name to be called and to accept our fate gracefully.

Romeo says: Take me with you, please!

Lola breathes a sigh of relief!

                                                Here's a few clues:
                                               1) the flag they showed us is striped orange, white, and green;
                                               2) the country's name has three vowels, two consonants;
                                               3) the city we are posted to changed its name in the past 15 years;                                                 4) this highly populous entertainment city is the city of dreams
                                                    that never sleeps.

Guess I won't be wearing this sweater for a while...

                                                                                What's your guess???
                                                      The place we are going to is, drum roll please.....

                                                                             M-U-M-B-A-I.  
                                                                        We are going to INDIA!!!!!!!

Trekking About DC

Summer's end

 The last few days I have been keeping myself busy meeting new friends, visiting family, playing tennis, and trekking about DC.  At U Street and 13th we found an amazing borough that has an entire city block of Ethiopian restaurants.  Ethiopian food differs from most other African cuisines because it combines Italian propensities with Mediterranean, Arabian, and East African spices.  (Try the sour Injera bread with lots o' dipping side dishes and you will not be disappointed.)  Around Clarendon we found a local pub hotspot, Harry's, and a Mexican restaurant with bangin' guacamole in Ballston.  In Falls Church is Eden Center, a Vietnamese food haven with loads of restaurants carrying pho, boba tea, and market stalls selling jack fruit, durian, lychee, and the small sweet bananas that I get a hankering for every few weeks.  Durian is a pointy, long-developing east Asian fruit that is likable to rotting flesh or extraordinarily stinky cheese: my great aunt Leeta had a taste for the fruit after living in Indonesia for three decades.  She regaled us with tales of tourists getting kicked out of hotels for opening durian in their rooms and permeating the filter system with its uncanny pungency.  Mmmm.... not for the light hearted. 

DC Religious Sites

National Cathedral, DC

 Anyhow, it's good to back on the DC stomping grounds, especially while the weather gives off its last warm rays of a still straggling summer.  The DC metro, amazingly, is spotlessly clean, at least in comparison to NYC subways.  This is mostly due to the more recently constructed infrastructure and the strictly followed rules of no eating or drinking on the metro--I heard someone got kicked off once for (gasp!) chewing gum.  In NYC, conversely, I sat on subway cars that exploded into all-out food fights, with french fries turning into teenage rocket launchers.  Needless to say, I am thrilled to be back in a city where international food predominates and mixed fashion, religious fusions, and multiple languages litter the open spaces with a frenetic hybridity that begs the onlooker to stretch her own sensibilities. 

An architectural dream: lots o' chiseling

 

I am also curious to see how my own sense of style, speech, dress, and demeanor will shift to match new community expectations.  I am looking forward to representing America abroad, as well, which should be an educational experience.  Having to explain your own cultural norms and mythos (like a big old dude being magically transported worldwide overnight to children's households by flying reindeer) always puts things into perspective.  Just because I don't know about it, or am not used to it, doesn't mean that it isn't meaningful for a large majority.  That's one of the reasons why I find cultural relations so fascinating: norms and the expected are constantly questioned and evaluated.  Who says hot pepper fish and rabbit stew isn't a great breakfast snack?  (Well, besides the rabbit and fish?)

Waiting on Tomorrow...

Minarets with attached audio system for Muslim call to prayer, Southern Ghana

Tomorrow we find out which country we will be sent to for the next two (2) years.  Two years is also known as: 24 months; 104 weeks; 730 days; 17,520 hours; 1,051,200 minutes.  That's right, a million.  What would you do in just over a million minutes?  (And does anyone else have the Rent song stuck in your head--"525,600 minutes, How do you measure a year in [daylights, sunsets, midnights, cups of coffee, laughter]"?)  My plan for the million is to eat lots of food, explore local sites, dance to good music, travel, hike, trek, write, paint, cook, learn a new language and, if I am feeling up to it, get my Nobel Peace Prize.  You know, save the universe, make world peace, create the pill for immortality, end cancer, world hunger, the AIDS pandemic, and general suffering as we know it--basically a cake walk.  (Then what else will I do with ALL of my free time???) 

Trekking about Cape Coast, Ghana

Two years seem like a long time.  In retrospect, however, I have noticed with age that years fly by more quickly.  It's funny the way time works: when you are waiting for something to happen (as in tapping your foot impatiently in a queue at the bank) ten minutes can feel like hours.  The weekend, a hundred times as long, nearly always goes away in a flash.  Where is my time-stopping machine when I need it, hmm?  
 
Over the last few days I have been imagining all of the potential country options and am optimistic that no matter the outcome we will have an adventure, though where and what kind of adventure I cannot say... for another 24+ hours.  The phrase, "be careful what you wish for 'cause you just might get it," is running amok in my head: all of the places I have hoped to see, breathe, and engross myself within are coming to the forefront.  I am now faced with the potential reality of living in Country X in four to five short months.  Fortunately, foreign service spouses are able to take immersion language classes when available so I am looking forward to taking a foreign tongue and working to pronounce all of the words that just a few weeks ago were off my radar and out of mind.  So please, cross your fingers, send good vibes, and let's hope for the best.  I am, most definitely, intrigued and emboldened by the possible country outcomes. 

Our top five options are on four different continents, so perhaps it is apropos to say the world is our oyster?

Sunset in Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africa

   

Long Live Country X!

Market Vendors and Hot Peppers in Ghana, West Africa

The foreign service invites a life of travel, a sense of adventure, and the ability to see and engage the world through multiple creative mediums.  I envision a life that will be filled with tremendous highs and lows, a sacrilege combination of mundane and marvelous, boring and frenetic, appalling and appealing, awful and awesome.  Basically, I imagine my upcoming life of travel as a way to encounter and experience the full spectrum of life on this beautifully imperfect planet o' blue.  

Market at Akatsi in Volta Region, Ghana 2009: raffia and gourd bowls.

In the coming future I imagine avenues of culture shock intersecting with moments of bliss and epiphany.  I imagine there will be countries I love, times I will love to hate, and scenarios where I will only be able to lift my hands magnanimously and shout to the sky, "Why universe, why?"  (Or perhaps that is a bit too dramatic?)  Needless to say, I am absorbed and enthralled with the expectation of world travel.  Whether my idealistic and theoretical visions will match, surpass, or clearly underwhelm the actual, feet-on-the-ground realities, well, I cannot yet say.  But I can tell you that as I write this lil' blog here my heart thumps deliriously as I conjure up all of the happy, crazy, socially awkward, physically fantastical, hopelessly unreachable, and culturally unimaginable moments that may spring forward and eventually become tangible, actual experiences.  

The amazing view from the public transport trotro on the way from Klikor to Aflao, Ghana.

Klikor, Volta region, Ghana, 2008

My life thus far has been blessed: I am a happily married seasoned traveler who has taught and trained in universities, loves reading, chuckling with good friends, and howling at the moonlight generally.  (If you howl at the moonlight 'specifically,' it means trouble!)  I have lived and studied in Ghana, West Africa; Salzburg, Austria; southern and central California; South Carolina; New York City; Connecticut; and Virginia.  I have visited over a dozen countries in Europe, a few countries in Africa, the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, and nearly all of the contiguous United States.  I have come to recognize from these experiences that it is in the moments where I am pushed to my limits and am challenged to step beyond my self-imposed, liminally-defined thresholds that I have grown the most as an individual intellectually, relationally, and personally.  You come to know that who you are is indubitably connected to where you are at, whom you are with, and what you envision yourself to ultimately become. 

Good for soups and (my favorite) groundnut stews.

Being in a comfortable bubble of the familiar is nice, easy, pleasurable.  I respect the life that this sense of stability has to offer: there is substantive power in building long term relationships contextually embedded within the cultural continuity and local specificity of community.  There is also something quite magical about knowing a place, its movements and ticks, potholes and best-kept secrets.  To have a place where everyone knows your name, your story, your struggles, your history and where your own sense of personhood is enmeshed within community values and memories often makes for a happy, rewarding life.  Finding your niche in community is a rare and immeasurable gift.

Living in Nogokpo, Ghana 2008

That being said, my hope in choosing this chapter of exploration and experience of the new, the other, and the different culturally, linguistically, socially, and regionally, is to step outside of the 'myself' created within the confines and construction of assimilated cultural boundaries.  In other words, to see who 'I' am beyond the scope of the familiar, the known, and the expected.  Also, I would like to make a positive mark on this world in this life and I think travel will facilitate this developmental process.  I enjoy the potential to be challenged, to re-think cultural assumptions and community expectations, to step into scenarios where the skills I have previously acquired must be adapted and adopted to meet this yet-to-be-known encounter.  Plus, I am excited about the art (ooh la la!), the food (deelish), the sights, sounds, and smells (touche), the people (alas), the temples, shrines, and sacred monuments (aha), commemorations, celebrations, and community festivals (hurrah!) and the excursions, adventures, and inevitable daily surprises (oh my!). 

The local mascot for the Denu artist cooperative, Ghana.

Of course, I am nervous, thrilled, and anxious about letting go of the control and expectations over my own fate, social location, country of residence, language of interaction, availability of foodstuffs, accessibility to activities, and all of the other things encapsulated within externally-chosen world travel locations.  As a foreign service plus one I think it is an adventure in itself bidding on (and then living in) country X for the first two years and country Y for the next, all the while crossing our fingers as we reform and adjust travel bid lists over and over again for many years to come.  

An all-night walking procession, Klikor, Ghana

Dancers & Performers at the Sankofa Youth Inauguration ceremony, 2008.

Contemplating man after Muslim call to prayer, Lome, Togo.

Turtle Cove, Ghana January 2009: Breathtaking!

Village life in a western Ghanaian coastal town, 2009.

Visiting the mangroves and seeing our first toucan!

It is both liberating and exhilarating (as well as a bit fear-inducing) to accept travel orders under the auspices of worldwide availability.  So go ahead and close your eyes, take a deep breath, and see where the chips fall when, like a jester pulling your destiny from a tarnished bowler hat, you imagine hearing your name attached to country X or country Y for the next 700+ days.  Just put your finger across the globe and see where it lands.  Would you go there?  Would you like it?  I am sure when we hear the name of our first posting there will be a good laugh and a proper cry as we learn whether we will need to bring a scuba pack or anorak, flowers or combat boots.  At any rate, this is what I am currently dreaming about, thinking about, and envisioning.  And in just a few days, I can't wait to hear those two little words that will forever alter our destinies and current life trajectories: capital and country name of the notorious Country X.