criplomats

Before my presentation at Governor’s School

I gave my presentation at Governor’s School on Tuesday and had so much fun! I think the kids enjoyed it and I had a blast. Afterward they asked a bunch of questions, then I got more questions when I attended a class. The questions ranged from “how much money do you make” to “what do you think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”! Really cute, bright kids, and I met the daughter of a dear old friend from high school – and a really nice young man whose father was one of the Vietnamese “Boat People.” It was such and interesting and fun day, and I’m so tickled that my friend Lyle asked me to speak.

I flew to Little Rock on Sunday and had a great time visiting with Mary. We spent a lot of quality time on her front porch, sitting in chairs made by Mike Bobo’s sweet dad Ray Von. We also took several long walks with her dog Tina. I ran into several old friends – so fun to go home and see familiar faces. I had coffee with Muffy before I went to the airport on Wednesday to fly back.

Mary’s relaxing porch

John returned home to Guadalajara last night after being gone for three weeks. The last two weeks he was at Army War College for the summer residence program. He had a great time with his Army buddies and got to do some cool things, including going to the National Security Council.

And I’m happy to report he got us a cool apartment in DC! It’s on L Street, about a 15 minute walk to our offices – perfect!

The goodbyes have started already. Today we had to say goodbye to our wonderful masseuse Valeria. She’s heading off to Europe for a couple of months, and we’ll leave while she is gone. She has become a friend over the last couple of years and we will miss her. She definitely made our time here more relaxed!

With Valeria

I’m also going to miss my weekly English class for our local guard force that I’ve been helping with the last two years. They are so cute and work so hard. Here are a couple of them, advertising for my replacement.

Guards’ English class

So now, no more excuses. I spent yesterday cleaning more out of my closet. I went from 53 pairs of shoes to 25 – and I don’t even care that much about shoes! Lots of clothes going to charity here, as well. It feels good!

I continue down the road of denial, so much so that I left Mexico altogether this weekend to avoid the thought of organizing the pantry. I’m en route to Arkansas to visit Hendrix and speak to the students at Governor’s School, which i am excited about. It’ll be fun to see some old friends and be on campus a bit. Governor’s School started after I graduated from high school, but John attended the second year of it in 1981 – pretty cool!

John is enjoying his residence program at Army War College. He made a quick trip back down to D.C. On Saturday to look at some more apartments – exciting!

I did manage to check a couple of things off of my to-do list this week: I went to the dentist and got Flavie started on her shots. The vet made a house call yesterday for the first of two shots she needs. I love that so many people make house calls in this country – I will miss that. And my total vet bill for two visits and three shots is a whopping $40, if you can believe that!

I am firmly in denial about leaving, and pretty much doing everything I can not to start organizing for packout. I am giving a speech next week, and I’ve spent a lot of time working on it during the last few weekends – it’s a great excuse for not tackling the kitchen pantry. And the new season of “House of Cards” is out, so who can blame me for not venturing into the guest bedroom closet, where unused items go to die?

The move to D.C. is a lot more complicated because we will be moving into a smaller apartment than where we are now (this place is ginormous)…so that means we need to organize stuff to be packed into what goes to the new place and what gets shoved into storage. That’s a lot of mental calculus for me! And at this point, we don’t know where we will be living, and how much cabinet space we’ll have, for example. So, it’s way easier to watch “House of Cards”!

We had this lovely bench made, and it was delivered to us this week from Tlaquepaque. The fabric is Guatemalan, and the design is a woman standing arms akimbo. Love it. (And yes, I did just say that we are moving into a much smaller apartment, thank you.)

Our new bench

John left this week for his residence course at Army War College. He flew up on Sunday with a stop in Arkansas first to see Pete and Ginger, then he spent a few days in Washington DC for consultations with his new office. He met with a realtor and toured several apartment buildings that are candidates for us to live in, so we spent a lot of time yesterday talking on the phone and looking at apartment websites. It looks like there are some good options for the area we want to live in.

I went out Wednesday evening after teaching the guards’ English class for happy hour with my boss and his wife and two other women I work with. We had a great time sitting outdoors looking over the busy street below and having a drink together. I’ve met some really great people here and I’m going to miss working with them, especially my boss Pete.

Yesterday was Pete and Ginger’s 56th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary to the best in-laws a girl could have!

Rainy season officially started this week, with several late afternoon showers and nighttime storms. I just love it. We were at a going-away party yesterday for our law enforcement colleagues and we had an incredible storm, including hail – fun!

We hosted book club on Thursday to discuss “The Billion Dollar Spy,” a true story set during the Cold War. It is an incredible story, and we had a lively discussion about it. At the end of the evening, John treated us to a spy-themed magic trick that was a big hit!

John at book club

John left this morning for his three-city tour – Fayetteville, Arkansas, to see his parents; Washington D.C. for a few days of work; and Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for a two-week War College program.

I was excited to get a surprise in the mail this week – a book just published by my photography teacher in Tel Aviv, Rinat Halon. I have no idea how she got my address, but I was happy to get a copy of her book! Thanks, Rinat!

Thanks, Rinat!

Evil trees

May is the hottest month in Guadalajara, right before rainy season, and boy, am I ready for rain! My car showed the temp at 96 degrees yesterday. To top it off these beautiful yellow trees are blooming, and I am allergic to them, so I’ve been sneezing and generally uncomfortable the last few days. This photo was actually taken in Pakistan, but they are abundant here, too. So pretty, but so evil!

We were sad to leave Oaxaca Monday afternoon. We did some last minute shopping and had lunch on the zocolo before we left. My lunch was beautiful! I also want to point out my favorite handbag to take shopping. It was given to me by my dear friend Cathy when she was in Burundi. It’s big and hands-free – perfect for shopping!

Winner, best food presentation

Serious shopping bag

We love Oaxaca!