And finally something is for certain!

Well, well, well. June 17 finally came: Flag Day! (No, silly, not the holiday—the day when Foreign Service Officers receive their assignments!)

I am pleased to announce that Jeff Collett has been assigned to serve as a Foreign Service Specialist—Facility Manager at the consulate in Ciudad Juárez, México.

We don't have our pack out date yet, but based on the training schedule, we are expecting to leave sometime in the beginning or middle of January. We will live there for two years.

I think it is appropriate to post this 2005 photo of me in a Mexico shirt with my roommate Diana.

Here is another good picture. Jeff and I stopped in Mexico during our honeymoon in 2006. It was Jeff's first time out of the country, and I remember him saying how much he loved being in Mexico, the food, the people, and speaking Spanish. He casually said that he wouldn't mind living there someday. Well, someday has arrived!

Some of you may be worried about us going to Juárez, because you remember the stories that have been in the media, but the city is gradually getting safer and safer. It is no longer the murder capital of the world; it has fallen to number 37 on the list of most violent cities in the world. And the Foreign Service takes a lot of precautions to keep us safe, and Mexicans (for the most part) like Americans (in general).

We do not feel unsafe. We are excited! I am relieved to finally have something set in stone. I can try to push my Portuguese back in my brain and start focusing on Spanish. We can figure out what school Jill will go to. (There is no American or international school there, but there are some good private bilingual schools.) We can get ready to move forward instead of waiting, waiting, waiting.

I am looking forward to learning how to cook tamales. And I know it is a Mexico City speciality, but maybe someone there can teach me how to cook pambazos, too. Delicious. If Jeff is really lucky, I may learn how to make that soup he likes. I can't even remember its name right now! And maybe I will learn the secret to homemade tortillas!

And maybe my Spanish will finally get better, so I no longer have to almost always speak in first person present tense. ;)

We are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the culture of our post country!