Happy anniversary!
John and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on Monday! We went out for sushi to celebrate. It really is hard to believe we’ve been together that long! We sure have had a lot of fun and look forward to many more!
I took my Spanish test Wednesday night and am still waiting for the results. Normally they tell you at the end of the test, but because this format was a bit different, they told me I would not get my score at the end. I expected to have heard by now, but I haven’t! It’s agony. I felt like it went better than the first test, but it was still on the telephone (not DVC) and there’s just nothing like face-to-face. So, I think it could go either way. Hopefully I will know something soon!
Meanwhile, it feels great to not study, or not feel guilty about not studying!
We braved a thunderstorm and went to dinner with Howie and Petit Thursday night, along with Mike L. – we were all together in Tel Aviv and here in Pakistan. We had a great Thai meal and Jack did an awesome magic trick. After spending every tour of ours with Petit, it’s going to be so strange not to have her here or at our next post!
With Mike L., Howie and Petit
Friday was Consular Leadership Day, so we closed up shop and spent the day at the DCM’s residence. It’s a good day to recharge your batteries; we did team-building exercises and things like that. One highlight was listening to three young Pakistanis who had gone to the U.S. as part of a U.S. government-funded program for international visitors. They had traveled all over the U.S. for three weeks, meeting with folks in their field of technology and social media. It was fun to listen to their impressions of Americans – overall very positive. They especially commented on the openness of American society and how friendly people are.
At the end of the day, a bunch of us went to Brad’s for a happy hour. John joined in, then we moved on to a going-away party for Petit and Howie. Our intention was just to drop by, but when we left at midnight we were some of the last people there! Fun party!
Saturday my photography class took a field trip to Saidpur Village, the original little village before they build Islamabad. It was a lovely outing. To be basically in the middle of Islamabad, it feels isolated and rather primitive, including tiny walking paths through the “commercial center” that includes butchers, barbers, and tailors. As I was photographing, one vendor thought I would likely enjoy him cutting the head off a live chicken – I ran away but heard the squawk and subsequent THUNK behind me. The people are shy but don’t mind being photographed since it’s become something of a tourist attraction.
Reading the Paper
Shadow
Saidpur Village
The distemper we found in that one poor little kitty last week seems to have (so far) been isolated. We’ve gotten most of the rest of them vaccinated. Reeses, the one with the respiratory infection, seems to be doing fine and is back on our compound. Hopefully they will all go back to being fat, happy and lazy again!