The Other Carnell

In non-Foreign Service related news... we thought we would post some pics of the "other" Carnell, Rugby.



Look at that profile


Polo is a little too small. And she hated it!


Dog days of Summer




First camping trip. She loves the great outdoors.


A little firednly match of tug-o-war at the bulldog meetup group.

A little taste of South Africa

We heard that there was a fast food chain restaurant from South Africa in downtown DC! So we decided to go check it out with our best buds Mike and Courtney. Nando's is a worldwide chain, but was started in South Africa. It is an African-Portugese grilled chicken joint. They use a chile (peri-peri) found in Africa in their marinade and you can get it in several different "heats." Lee and Mike had HOT, which is the 2nd hottest and it was definitely a sinus cleaner. But for a fast food place, the inside is really nice and cool. It wasnt the best food I have ever had in my life, but it was a fun experience and at least now I know that there will be one place in South Africa I will like to eat!

The Fronces!

mmm! Peri-Peri sauce

Nando's decor

FLAG DAY!!!!

We have been waiting for what seems like forever for this day to come. Today, the "Flag Day" ceremony for my class was held. Which means, we now know where we will be living for the next 2 years.

To build up the suspense, I'll tell you about the ceremony before I tell you where we are being sent. There are 87 people in my class, which means there were a lot of people getting there orders along with us. Within the first three minutes, three of our top choices were taken. This stressed us both out. So when it was announced that Lee Carnell will be going to PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA it was a pleasant surprise. This whole experience has been quite surreal, but we are very excited and very happy. Pretoria was our #3 choice out of 20. So that's not too shabby!!

I'm sure we will be having plenty of visitors interested in going on safaris. Book your trips now. The hotel Carnell is booking up fast.

I should not be allowed to blog

Today as I was trying to update the blog, I accidentally deleted one of Lee's posts. I was trying to change the picture, but instead I lost the entire entry. So I am recreating the post. Idiot.

POSTED BY LEE JULY 31st:

This is what happens to me when I don't work for a month.

Work starts Monday so I will most likely be shaving off this mess some time tomorrow afternoon.

This one is for you Mom. I just know how much you want to see pictures of your handsome son ;).

Anticipation

A few months ago we thought this day would never arrive. Now it is here and I might be freaking out a little bit! I have been waiting in anticipation to find out where in the world we are going to be living. It's all we talk about at work. My co-worker Shawn jokes that Chad is definitely where we will be going. Then when we did the office drawing, he randomly picked Chad. I really hope he doesn't win. But it has been fun to speculate.

I am a bit worried that while I have been very open to all of the places on our list, I have really been hoping for one in particular... Rome. I have told myself time after time to not get my hopes up. We only have 1 in 20 chance of actually getting it, and I dont know that we are that lucky! But last night I saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love and she spends a lot of time in Rome and I started fantasizing about living there. I realized at that moment it was a bad idea for me to see this movie. So I had a bit of a breakdown, but am doing much better this morning.

It is a big step. One that I have not been nervous about for one minute. But as the Flag Day Countdown on the blog gets smaller and smaller, my lungs feel a bit like they are closing in on me. I am sure that the moment they call our post and Lee goes up there to get the flag, it will be a relief and time of celebration. Like I have said from the beginning, it will be an adventure no matter where we go. I just hope it is somewhere that some of you will want to come visit.

Ugh! More Changes

The experience of applying, interviewing, and on boarding with the State Department is a unique one, and as we now know, the confusion and sometimes frustration doesn't end once you finally become a State Dept. employee.

Back in June, when I received the initial offer letter, I was told the training was going to total 19 weeks. A few weeks later we got an email informing us that the training had been shortened to 10 weeks. That is a big difference! We figured, with only 10 weeks of training we could be shipped out as early as November. Katie decided to notify her boss that she would be leaving her job in the middle of September to focus on the things necessary to make the move overseas.

Two weeks before orientation started, I got another email reversing the last notification, making the training period 19 weeks again. This was disappointing. The lack of details and the ever-changing schedule is a bit frustrating.

We got our bid list Tuesday afternoon with the initial 20 posts listed. Tuesday morning they made some changes, which were fine because the new posts seemed much more desirable. The estimated time of arrival for the posts were listed as December of this year. So this week we have been making our plans according to what we were told. What we are learning now about the State Department is the only thing that is certain here is uncertainty.

Last night I received another list revision. Stockholm Sweden has been removed from the list and replaced with Lagos Nigeria (which was on the original list). The estimated dates of departure are now between the months of February to June of 2011. We are coming to terms with the fact that we should be patient and expect changes to occur.

We are frustrated, but we are learning to expect changes and not to rely on any decision to be final. This whole environment is new for us, but we know that we are very blessed to be able to have the opportunity to experience the new places and adventures that lie ahead of us. We are just ready to get this show on the road!!!!

The List Just got Better!!!

Today, we received an update of the bid list for the available posts for my position. A few changes. All of which are great!

Stockholm Sweden

Dubai UAE

Dushanbe Tajikistan

Frankfurt Germany

Guangzhou China

Asuncion paraguay

Luanda Angola

Manila Philippines

Mexico City Mexico

Monterrey Mexico

Montevideo Uruguay

N'Djamena Chad

New Delhi, India

Pretoria, South Africa

Rome, Italy

Seoul, Korea

Tokyo, Japan

Tripoli, Libya

Chennai, India

Berlin, Germany

THE LIST IS HERE!!!!!!!

Its been a busy week so far. I started work on Monday and they have been trying to cram information into my head ever since. It really has been great and I am really excited about working for the State Department so far. There have been a lot of speakers telling of the rewarding and challenging experiences of working for the Foreign Service. I am really glad I was able to land this job. But enough of the small talk. Its time to get down to business. We should start a pool or something. There are 20 facility managers in my group and there are 20 posts listed. Where do you think we should go???

Doha Qatar

Dubai UAE

Dushanbe Tajikistan

Frankfurt Germany

Lagos Nigeria

Lome Togo

Luanda Angola

Manila Philippines

Mexico City Mexico

Monterrey Mexico

Montevideo Uruguay

N'Djamena Chad

New Delhi, India

Pretoria, South Africa

Rome, Italy

Seoul, Korea

Tokyo, Japan

Tripoli, Libya

Chennai, India

Berlin, Germany

Thought.

Official Orientation News

Lee recieved an email today with a bunch of information about his upcoming Orientation. Most importantly we found out that we will not get the bid list until his 2nd day, which will be August 3rd. And the official Flag Day Ceremony will be AUGUST 17th at 3:00pm! The day I have been waiting for will finally arrive in 25 days. Not that I am counting.

We also found out about several orientation classes for spouses and families, so I am getting pretty excited about that. My first orientation will be August 5th and lasts all day long! I havent been a "student" in awhile, so I hope I can be attentive and stay awake for that long.

There was a lot of other random information that isnt exciting enough to share, but while reading it I became giddy! Some people think we are crazy to volunteer to be sent anywhere in the world, but I am so excited for the adventures that are soon to come. And there is no one in the world I would rather do it with, than Lee. (Sorry Lee. I had to get sappy for just a second). I promise it wont happen too often!

So keep August 17th on your calendar. I am sure we will be broadcasting to the world the location of our new home.

Welcome

The blogging craze crescendo appears to have passed and we have taken pride in our ability and willpower to break with the trends and not succumb to the apparent pressures to develop a "Newlywed Blog". You know exactly what I mean. It seams that every couple, once engaged or married, feels they have to start a blog and chronicle the everyday experiences of a relationship climaxing usually with the "Bun in the Oven" announcement. This usually is followed months later with never ending pictures of the "Cutest Baby in the World".

Katie and I hope to provide a slightly different blogging experience. We've been married for a year and a half, well, actually more than that now. We have had a blast and have had some really fun adventures along the way. Don't worry, we haven't created this blog to just skipped to the "bun in the oven" announcement. That is still down the road a bit, and I'm sure at some point we will, depending on how well we maintain this blog, make such announcement when the time comes.

Many already know, but I will take a few minutes to give you the backstory, which gives this blog its purpose. I am currently "Voluntarily Unemployed"; which means I quit my job. I'm taking a little summer vacation. High Schoolers really take such a luxury for granted. We all should take at least a month off every year to do whatever we want. I quit my job at a really well regarded consulting firm to take on a new challenge working in the Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State. So, starting August 2nd I will begin training for an adventure which will take us mostly likely to a far away land. Every time we tell anyone about my new job, the first question they ask is, "Where are you going?" and the answer is, "We have no clue".

On August 2nd or 3rd, I will get a list of the available post which will ultimately include where we will be living for the next 2 years. Once we have the list, we will be ranking the post according to our preferences and on August 20th we will get the news of where in the world we are moving to. We are sooo excited! We are sick of waiting. We want the list now!!!!

We will be updating this blog to give all the updates about the process and our thought and discoveries along the way.

Thanks for checking out our blog. If you are interested in being updated on what is going on in regard to the whirlwind adventure that lies before us, check back often.

L