criplomats

This will be a quick post, because John and I are headed to the airport to go to Ecuador for our Spanish immersion. We’ll be back on Feb. 2. We have a friend here at the apartment complex who will take care of the cats, but we really hate to leave them! We’ve never left them for this long before.

We spent last Sunday evening with our good friend Richard, on his last night in DC before flying off to his post in New Delhi, India. We had a great dinner at Lebanese Taverna, the first place we had dinner with him many months ago.

Our friends Rob and Della are leaving for their post in the Dominican Republic next week, so the four of us went out for Vietnamese food on Tuesday night. They had a great party at their apartment (here at the Oakwood) last night. Della just found out that she was accepted into the March class of Foreign Service Officers, so we’ll get to see her again before we go to Mexico.

I don’t know if I have mentioned it, but I’ve been going to yoga twice a week here at the apartment complex. I always forget how much I love yoga until I start doing it again. This instructor is OK, but it makes me realize what great instruction I got at Barefoot Studios in Little Rock.

OK, we’re off to the airport! We should have internet access, so I’ll try to write a post while we’re gone.

It was great to get to visit with Leslie while she was in Baltimore this past Wednesday night – we got caught up on all the Nuvell news. It’s always wonderful to see a familiar face, especially hers!

Spanish is much better this week because I got a fabulous new teacher from Venezuela – I’m quite happy. I also met with my Spanish buddy Manuel for the first time since the Christmas break; he brought his wife, too – she is trying to learn English. They are both really nice folks and he is a good teacher, too. The more I learn, though, the more I realize how very far I have to go!

We went to a good tapas restaurant Friday night with Jimmi, Della and Robert – we always enjoy visiting with them. I had a couple of eggplant and lamb dishes, while John went for the interesting choices of octopus and rabbit. We skipped happy hour Thursday night because it was cold and rainy, and opted for take-out Vietnamese soup instead – the pho here has become one of my favorite things, especially on cold nights.

Here’s a cute photo of John and Noodle, taken last night after John got home from a magic workshop – he’s really enjoyed meeting some of the local magicians here.

It was great to get back to DC on New Year’s Eve. John and I spent a quiet evening at home, since I had flown all day. We also stayed home for New Year’s Day which was really nice – I enjoyed just hanging out with John and the cats and a couple of Mexican movies.

Back to school on Wednesday – it was tough to get back in the swing of Spanish. Even though I had read a lot and done a lot of homework over the break, I had not spoken in Spanish much. Plus, it was hard to get up when the alarm went off! Our big Spanish news is that we are planning a trip to Quito, Ecuador, for an immersion the last two weeks of January. Some of our classmates went recently and really recommended it, so we are getting our reservations in order.

We went to a happy hour at Old Ebbitt Grill on Thursday night for our friend Richard, who’s about to move to India. Last night, we went to a really great party at our classmate Tom Dalton’s place – it was fun to see everyone after the break.

On the cat front, Noodle has discovered the heating pad – I had it on the bed because my neck had been bothering me. Luckily I don’t need it anymore, because he has taken it over. We’ve also been cat-sitting for the neighbor across the hall – she has two cats we’ve been feeding while she’s away for a few days. Her younger cat is the kitten that John found in the hallway several months ago – she is the most playful thing I’ve ever seen!

John and I celebrated Christmas morning with our traditional champagne (this year mixed with pomegranate juice) then later in the afternoon I flew home to Hot Springs. John went to a classmate’s house for dinner that afternoon and said it was a lot of fun. Mom and I spent Wednesday shopping for more things for her new house, then she had surgery on her carotid artery on Thursday. Luckily, it went well, and I was able to bring her home on Friday morning. She’s been a good patient, and it was a good opportunity to visit with my good friends Ann and Pamela. We also had a great visit with my cousin Alison, who came over Friday night for a nice visit.

Besides taking care of Mom, I’ve been running errands and trying to get things put away at the new house, etc. Lots to do, and I’m anxious to get back to DC to rest! But I’m glad I was able to be here to help some.

Before I left DC, John and I went to see the movie, The Kite Runner. It was an incredible book and the movie was wonderful, too.

John and Jimmi at the Spanish department party

We had a couple of holiday parties this week, starting with our Spanish department party on Wednesday afternoon – a huge potluck with lots to eat and drink. I had to miss a party at a classmate’s house on Saturday night because I wasn’t feeling well (just a cold – John did go to the party and had a great time), but I rallied to go to a wonderful dinner party last night.

The dinner last night was interesting because it was given by two Senior Foreign Service Officers (also a tandem couple, like John and me). The woman was one of my examiners when I took the oral assessment in Chicago last year – we’ve run into them several times recently and sort of hit it off. It was a fun party and delicious food. The men were in suits or tuxes and the women had on sparkly things – it was fun to get dressed up and go to a “grown up” party. She had the table set with more crystal and silverware than I knew what to do with, but at the same time it was very comfortable and fun.

I’ve been trying to make it to the twice-a-week free yoga classes that our apartment complex has (I really need it after all I ate last night). I’ve missed yoga with my Nuvell friends. It’s really made me feel better, especially since I’m sitting in class so much during the day.

Tuesday was a marathon Spanish day. I had a progress evaluation in the afternoon, so that was basically a one-on-one two-hour class (I’m on track to finish in February, thank goodness). Afterwards, I met my Spanish buddy near the Rosslyn Metro and spent over an hour with him (he speaks English to me, and I reply in Spanish). Then John picked me up and we went with Jimmi to dinner at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant – we spoke in Spanish through dinner to help Jimmi practice for her final evaluation later in the week (she passed). By the end of the night, my brain was pooped.

Dave and Ramona at the Spanish party