Drum roll please.....

I'm thinking this post might need a little backstory before we make the grand announcement.

Let's start with Nils' job. I have been a little behind with posting on the goings on in our lives lately so for those of you who may not be aware, Nils is currently employed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a Junior Foreign Service Officer for Crisis Stabilization and Governance (DCHA/DG). He started training in mid July. On August 21st, they announced to all of the employees in his training class where their next post would be in the coming year. Some of Nils' colleagues will head to their post country within the next few months. Others may not go til early to mid next year.

Now, how does USAID decide where to send their first-year junior foreign service officers? Well, to be honest, as far as I know, decisions where to send officers for their first assignment is primarily based on what ambassador is accepting new officers into their embassy and what post is large enough to provide hands-on training without throwing the new officer into a full-throttle learn-as-you-go position. Needless to say, when the people at USAID were deciding where to send Nils, they didn't put much weight on his current language knowledge (Russian and Romanian). But, they did take into account his family situation, which was quite flattering.

So.... on August 21st, they announced where we would be sent for our first two-year assignment!
But before I go into that... Let's see, what else can I talk about? Oh, yes. So the other day we were talking to another junior officer from an earlier training class who gave me some very good advice about what to bring and some things to keep in mind when preparing for our overseas service. She had also brought with her a new born baby to her first overseas assignment (well, it was actually her husband's assignment because he is in the State department and she only just joined USAID and her son is now 4 years old, so this was a few years ago). She mentioned things like loading up on baby food and diapers.

Okay, enough of the stories and stuff... So, Nils and I will be going to.....

COLOBMIA! That's right, South America's beautiful mountainous and beachy Colombia! Personally, I had wanted to go somewhere in South America, so I got my wish!

As a follow up to this announcement, it should be mentioned here that Nils and I won't be leaving for Bogota, Colombia until after the baby is born (so sometime after February). There is, of course, a slight possibility that they will request that Nils go early, but he has a pretty good case for staying here longer. Learning Spanish at the language institute, having a heavily pregnant wife (though there's not much to see yet), and plenty to do here can all add up to being able to stay til hopefully sometime in April. Either way, I plan on staying in the US until after the baby is born.

I do intend to follow up with a post about what we think it's going to be like living overseas. I hear it's going to be drastically different from our Peace Corps experience. Anyway, feel free to ask any questions, heap praise and feelings of jealousy....

And finally, here is a little commercial I found on YouTube... For your viewing pleasure.... and maybe a little propaganda ;)

[Voice over - Nice male voice with a slight Spanish accent]

There is a place where people never believed "impossible" was a word. A place where the rivers wanted to be an ocean and the ocean grew weary of its solitude to join the waterfall, the moutain, the snow peaks, and even another ocean. A place where the past lives harmoniously with the future and the word "infinity" is written on the colors of the beach, the mountains, the jungle, and the sky. A place that challenges the imagination every single day. A place called... Colombia.

Comments in Spanish....

[Voice over]

A place where you will be surprised every day in a different way. Where reality can be magical and where happiness is just around the corner.

Colombia, Colombia, Colombia