ConGen (PC 530): Week 5 in Review

This past week was my favorite yet during consular training. Partly because we worked on passports, nationality and citizenship, and I got a perfect score on my exam. Plus we started our final module on special consular services, which to me is fascinating (i.e. prison visits and death notifications).

But also because the Foreign Service Institute looks like this right now:

Here’s a closer look:

Gorgeous!

And last but certainly not least, this week was fantastic because one of my best friends and sorority sisters from college flew out from California to see me for almost four days.

Ten years ago she flew out to Sydney, Australia to see me and we had some epic adventures. I watched her marry her husband in 2007, and in 2013 she stood up as a bridesmaid in my wedding.

Although I couldn’t take time off, she still got to see a lot of DC and we managed to have quality fun and food together after hours. We had dinner at one of my favorite Thai places in Shirlington her first night in town, and the next night an excellent steak dinner at the Tabard Inn.

She managed to get to Arlington Cemetery and the National Museum of American History while I was at work, and on the weekend we went to the White House.

We also went to the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam and Korean War Memorials.

We even divided up a few hours between the Library of Congress, the National Air & Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian being as outstanding as it is (and free!) never gets old.

Then we went home (as my MyFitnessPal step counter app informed me we’d logged more than 21,000 steps, or approximately 10.5 miles) and my husband prepared a Balkan feast for us:

We capped off the weekend this morning with brunch at The Heights in northwest DC, where I had a goat cheese omelet, a bellini and a slice of pecan french toast straight out of heaven.

All in all, an outstanding weekend!

This week other good things happened too: I pay my car insurance six months at a time, so I got a refund for the portion that falls after I leave (my car will already be covered by a separate transit insurance as it makes its way to Tashkent via container ship.)

I successfully worked with AT&T to freeze my cell service for one cent a month while I’m overseas so I can keep my number plus got them to unlock my iPhone. I also changed my address with the post office, and bought the rest of the cosmetics I need.

I even said goodbye to my rheumatologist, which was a little sad. He has been my doctor since 2009 and has been with me through some hard times. I will miss his straight talk. He prescribed all my meds for six months, and they’re safely bundled and ready to go.

Progress!! Hard to believe three weeks from today I’ll be getting on a plane. In the meanwhile, I still get to see this a lot: