Kindness of Strangers

Lest you think that I am perpetually happy because I never encounter hardship, let me reassure you that I am as normal as anyone else. Still given the following story I am still happy just to be here!

With a rare afternoon free I needed to get our VISAs for entry into the UAE. It was11:15 and I need to get to the UAE Embassy before 1:00. I had to first go to the Main State Building in DC proper (I spend most of my time in Arlington) to get a special letter. I get the letter and try to get direction on how to fill out a form from the UAE that ask much more than just name and address. But alas, I find out the information on the letter is incorrect and it must be retyped. Well, I had to wait forty minutes for the secretary to come back because "no one else does that."

She comes back, corrects the letter and I'm off to find this embassy. All I have is an address. Half the elevators are shut down, but I finally find a bank that will take me down to street level and now I must find a taxi. I come from TN! I don't know how to hail a taxi!

I ask security and they point me to a taxi stand, Lots of taxis just sitting there waiting on me!! I tell the cabbie where I need to go and wait. I have no idea how long it will take or where I'm going. I think to myself that I should not even worry about HOW to get there, just ride. Honking horns, crazy stop signs and crooked roads, but low and behold the embassy is...THERE! I am so pleased that I will make the 1:00 deadline and look to pay the cabbie.

No Wallet. Look more, still no wallet. My blood pressure goes up, the street workers are yelling at the cabbie to move and I have absolutely no way under the sun to pay this man his $14 fee. Finally I pull out a business card with my email and cell phone number-I knew those things were important to have. I profusely promise to pay him, he agrees and gives me his name and address. I feel so badly that this man has no idea whatsoever if I will really pay him. Afterall, this is how he makes his living.

After he leaves, I'm standing in front of the locked gates of this Embassy, in the drizzling rain. I call my husband who has also just had an extremely frustrating morning. I can be of no help to him, I just want to know if my wallet is there. Yes. Well that is one situation settled. I am miles away from home and have no way to pay for transportation, but I cannot worry about that right now. I've got to get my VISA papers turned in within the next 15 minutes.

The guard lets me through the gate, but takes my Passport as it is the only identification I have. Half way through the process I have to go back to the guard and get my passport, which they will keep until my VISA arrives.

Finally, I walk out with my business concluded and wonder just how much rain we will get this afternoon. I start walking. I think I spotted a Metro Station a few blocks away-good thing I was looking. Sure am glad I wore my flats today. I could call my husband, but he's already had a bad day and it would take him 2 hours to map where I am and get here with all the traffic. I keep walking determined that this will not beat me.

At the train station I find that $2 will pay my fare back to a station where I can catch a free shuttle to FSI. So I start looking for friendly faces and begging for money. A couple of nice people do give me a dollar each after sizing me up. You know they have to be wondering if I am scamming them. Sometimes you simply must rely on the kindness of strangers.

It did all work out. I sent the cabbie an $11 tip and he called to say thank you. But you know these things happen from time to time. I'm still just happy to be here.

Bike the Sights

We love to ride our bikes and it is the most fun when you are actually going somewhere. For this 3 day weekend we finally took the ride I have wanted to take since we got here to see all the sights on the National Mall. For 4 hours we cruised from Arlington Cemetery, around the Tidal Basin, up the the Capitol Building and back again. We saw the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, the National Arboretum, the WW II memorial as well as the memorials for Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln and the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was invigorating and moving.

What Does the Title Mean?

I'm sure some are wondering why the name Jacksonian Realist for our blog. I am a political science major. My education teaches me to categorize ideas, policy and people. When I read this review, I realized that I also fit into a category. The review is on Walter Russel Mead’s book "Jacksonian Tradition" that discusses the major foundations of American foreign policy. I have the book, but have not yet had time to read it. Perhaps when I get to post.

Not only do I see my own beliefs reflected in the text, but I understand that my values color the way I view the world and analyze events. I thought that would be a good starting place for blogging about how we experience life from this point forward.

Life's an Adventure.

Distinguished Service Award

I can't really blog about what happens every day, partly because it is boring (read work) and partly because security is such an overriding issue. I have worked entirely too hard to get here, to lose it because I violated security protocol. But I can blog about "being there when..."

Monday was the first day I did not have class all day and we went to Main State to take care of some administrative things. Secretary Condoleezza Rice scheduled an event to speak about Military-Diplomatic Cooperation. It was a full house, standing room only, when she surprised everyone including the recipients of the Distinguished Service Award. Secretary Rice awarded General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker with the highest honor that the State Department confers. Both gentlemen were caught off guard.

For those who don't know, General Petraeus formerly commanded the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles) stationed at Fort Campbell. While it is officially addressed in KY, Fort Campbell is actually in TN. And it is a group we are very proud of.

Congratulations to Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus. I was honored to be present.

I'm now Official

The little saying goes "One for the dough and one for the show." We are sworn in day one to make our entry on duty official and allow us to receive a paycheck (for the dough). But after several grueling weeks of information overload, wrestling with bureaucracy, and general all around exhaustion, you really do feel that you have at least earned your spot. It all culminated in our official Swearing-in Ceremony, and what a show!

The setting was Diplomatic Reception rooms on the top Floor of Main State. The rooms are filled with historic antique furnishings and artwork. Several rooms have fireplaces and all are awe-inspiring. Respect and decorum are particularly prized by diplomats. It was a properly somber and dignified event as one by one 79 of us stood when our names were called. Undersecretary Pat Kennedy administered the oath of office, and the official photographer took our class photo.

Afterward, I treated my husband and mother-in-law to lunch in the nearby Diplomatic Dining Room. It was a great day to relax and smile.

First Post - Abu Dhabi

We finally have the answer...we are going to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was our top choice and we are so excited! I have included a link above to the Middle East Partnership Initiative, to which I will be posted.

I know very little about the post myself, so I will be doing considerable research in the coming weeks.

We are scheduled to depart Washington near the end of November. Will blog again later!