Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Hop, Skip, and a Jump

Nils took a quick trip back to the United States a few weeks ago. Why would he make such a trip in the middle of our Peace Corps service... without his WIFE? For a job interview!

When it comes to preparing for the future, Nils is always one step ahead. He submitted an application to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) last Fall and was invited to interview with them in January. Nils and Emily carefully considered purchasing an international plane ticket on our small Peace Corps budget for a short 1-week trip and decided that regardless of the outcome, it would be a worthwhile investment. As luck would have it, the trip was actually paid for by the agency, so our Peace Corps budget is back to normal (no need to continue the food storage regimen). It did feel good, during the period in which we thought the trip was coming out of our own pocket, to realize that we were not only willing to make such an investment in the future, but that we could.

The trip was successful (and packed full!). He got to spend a day in Madrid on the way over and a few days in Utah with his family (thanks Mom and Dad Bergeson!!). Since the interview was in Washington, DC, Toby and Sharole (Emily's brother/sister-in-law) were kind enough to host Nils in exchange for a few hours alone without the kids (as I understand those hours were spent doing errands??). Upon Nils' return he made sure to stock up on contraband (the best of which were tortillas and salsa!!).

For some lovely pictures of the Toby and Sharole O'Hara family, click here.

We'll be sure to keep you posted as we find out the results of the interview and our plans for the future. As always, we feel so blessed to be where we are, right now, and intend to make the most of what we're given (which is a lot!).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We did do errands, but we talked about heavy stuff. I think. My memory is pretty fuzzy. Also we bought chocolate. Man, I could sure use some chocolate right now. Nils was a great babysitter, and the kids had tons of fun with him. I think it helped that he was fresh meat so to speak.

Anonymous said...

Yikes! was it a few weeks ago already, time sure does fly by.

We sure enjoyed having Nils around, always nice to see a friendly face :)

Sad huh that a married couple not even married for quite 4 years spends a few hours doing errands and talking for a date. Being sick didn't help.

For me even just peace and quiet is nice for a change.

As you know you guys are always welcome in our home.

Love Ya...

Roxana said...

Good luck Nils!!I'm sure you will get the job.you already look like a fed:))

Tara said...

I made my own tortillas and salsa in Romania. Cilantro, tomatoes and onion are very easy to come by. I only saw limes once, but I used lemon juice as a good substitute. I also make a mean fruit salsa. Tortillas are a pain to make because it takes time to roll them out. Homemade is best anyways and the husband LOVES it all. My favorite item to import from the US is chocolate chips. I don't know where in Europe you can get those! Good luck with the job search!

Sarah said...

Hey Emily! That's great about Nils' interview. I hope it went well. Erik's interviewing for jobs these days too. Wish us luck! Sure miss you. I'm glad everything is going well.