I HAVE A HOME!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to get wrapped up in the details of things....I think that's part of what makes me a decent investigator! I like to know every little thing as soon as I possibly can. Unfortunately, now that I work for the Big Government, I've had to relinquish a lot of that control and "semper gumby" as I was taught early on. But this transfer, this PCS (or Permanent Change of Station), this whole moving across an ocean, while routine and normal for many people, is new to me. And whoa, scary!!!

But, in theory, it's easy. Right? Someone tells the post I'm going to (Pristina, Kosovo), that I'm coming. At some point in time, the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) reaches out to me and sends me a warm, welcoming email telling me everything I need to know about my new city and country. They assign a social sponsor, someone who will help me get things set up ahead of my arrival so my transition will be as smooth as possible. Luckily, I met my boss during language training, so I've been in contact with him pretty regularly. And at some point, a set group of people called the Housing Board meets to decide which Embassy-leased or -owned residence I will occupy for my 2 year stay. They make the decision based on a few factors; what position in the embassy I will fill (some positions have a lot of social responsibilities and do a lot of entertaining), how big my family is, what pay grade I am, and if there are any requirements as to how close to the embassy I need to be. All the residences in Pristina are furnished, so my big furniture will go into storage, but I can bring whatever I like, whatever will fit into the space.

So here I am, less than two months before I leave, and I haven't heard anything from ANYONE listed above. Except my boss. For anyone else in the Foreign Service, this is par for the course. No big deal. This is just how it works. For Katie, this means I will be living in a cardboard box under a bridge somewhere. And I'll try to bring a second one, because Hobbes likes to take up as much space as possible in boxes. Oh yeah, he's totally coming with me. So when I got my housing assignment this week, I got REALLY excited!!! It even came with pictures!!! So I've been planning things in my head all week.

I will be living in the bottom half of a house; a 2 bedroom apartment, essentially. It's a short walk to the Embassy and I think I'll be pretty much surrounded by other employees. The place looks really cute, and my living space is listed as bigger even than the house I owned in Caroline! The name of the house is Orange because the exterior is, well, orange. Luckily, the interior is not. It is filled with FS-typical Drexel Heritage furniture (a long-fought battle by Foreign Service members due to its outdated and somewhat ugly style, and truthfully, if it's all I ever lived it, I'd hate it too), but for 2 years, I can't really complain. I will be bringing plenty of my own decorations to add my personal touches, for sure!

As I get closer to departure, I will add my address here so you guys acn send me pounds of peanut butter, because I fear that's going to be my ultimate weakness.

How Time Flies

I never was very good at keeping a diary....

Here I am, another 2 years later, preparing for another move, and deciding, again, to try this blog thing. This time, though, I think I may have more interesting things to write about.

Herein starts my first "real" move. Overseas. To Kosovo. Pristina, to be precise.  The reactions I get vary:

"That's AWESOME!!!"
"Cool!! Where exactly is that?"
"Oooh, you got a good post!!"
"Is that in Africa?"
"Why?"

You can tell who the other Foreign Service people are from the reactions :)   Kosovo is a small land-locked country in East Europe. It also has the distinction of being Europe's newest country, declaring it's independence from Serbia in 2008 (on my birthday, no less!)  It's still an area of dispute, as not many UN member states recognize it, but the relations with the US are extremely good. So I think it will be a great first tour! Plus, geographically, it really can't be beat! Although it's a small country, Kosovo is within a stone's throw to Albania, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Macedonia.... I can't wait to start exploring!

I spent a few months learning Albanian, the prevailing language in Kosovo, and now I have some work-specific training that I will finish the first week of October. Then, a few days of wrapping things up, a quick vacation with Mom, and off I go! Luckily, I will have a furry travel companion with me, so the trip will be anything but boring.

I promise I will try to keep this up during my adventures; this format is easier than Facebook or Instagram, and allows me to babble a bit more. In the meantime, if anyone wants to help me sort, purge and pack, let me know!