The DipNotes

After my consultations I split my home-leave* up into some time with my family in New England, and then my daughter in New Mexico.

I went up to Vermont and New Hampshire and spent a week visiting my mother, brothers and sister.   While the foliage was just changing colors, I arrived just a few weeks before peak color, something I miss a lot from my childhood as I have only been home once since 1980 during peak color change.  New England is spectacular in the fall – and is my favorite time to be there.  If you think the following photos show a lot of color, this is nothing compared to what New Hampshire and Vermont is like at peak foliage!

New Hampshire on Fire!

This is the old mill dam is located in my home town of Claremont, NH, and is a place I used to play around as a child.  Why I never drowned I’ll never know!  I would be terrified if my 10 year old child was using this area as play ground, but I guess things were different back in the early ’70s.  Most likely my mother just never knew!  Anyways, this was an old woolen mill and was built in the 1850s.  By the early 1900′s it was producing the finest cotton “Monadnock” style linen in the world; the White House was a customer as well as the Waldorf (Astoria) hotel in NYC, while in 1918 the mill produced army bandages and blankets for our troops during WWI. When I was a child it was a cotton label factory and was an exciting and adventurous place to play for a kid, so I stopped by just to relive some distant memories.  It is now a classy (for Claremont) restaurant and hotel.

New England Mills

While home, I was able to relax and get back into the normal routines again and go out in public without being nervous.  In Pakistan every time I drove past a parked vehicle I would turn my face away to avoid getting glass shards in my eyes from the impending explosion.  I watched every person on bridges to see if they were carrying an RPG.  It’s nice to be back home!

After 2 weeks in Vermont, I fly out to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

* Home Leave: Home Leave (paid vacation time) is special leave-time accrued while we are overseas.  We generally earn 15 workdays a year, so after a two-year tour of duty overseas we would have earned 30 days of Home-Leave.  Home-Leave is not Annual Leave, which is accrued at a different rate depending on rank.  While Annual Leave can be used anywhere in the world, Home-leave must only be used in the 50 United States (or its territories, if that is your home).  Also, Home-Leave is usually granted only after a tour overseas, but can be deferred to a later date with a waiver.  30 work-days mean that you do not use it on weekends and holidays.  As an example, if I had just completed an overseas two-year assignment and started leave on February 1st, 2010, I would be able to take off all of February and not have to end the vacation until the 16th of March!  30 days goes a long ways, and many members take a full 45 workdays after a 3 year assignment.  The State Department also pays for travel for you and your dependent family members to your designated Home-Leave address, and then on to your next assignment.  This is something to think about if you do not have a home, as you MUST take Home-Leave, and the State Department does not pay for lodging or meals – all of that comes out of your own pay check.  At least you do get paid while on these extended vacations!

Well, I landed in DC on the 11th of September, and checked into my hotel, directly across the street from the State Department.  It’s a decent hotel, but the meals are priced way above anything I want to pay.  Foreign Service members come back to Washington between assignments for a few days of duty called “Consultations”.  This is a time we can check in with our career development officer, meet with colleagues who we will communicate with at the new post, and take care of other business such as our bank, long-term storage, and any other issues that are best handled in Washington in person.  We can also take some courses at FSI if any are available during our transition.  I’ll be here for a total of 7 days, and then I’m taking a few weeks of Home-Leave up to my mothers home in Vermont and out in New Mexico to visit my daughter.

Tonight I just got back from watching one of the funniest movies I have seen in years! It’s a smart comedy from Britain and has the highest critic and viewer ratings of any movie playing this week – but sadly is only in a few theaters as the subject may be too political for our corporate cinemas. It’s called “In the Loop” and while the language is certainly rough, if you enjoy Foreign Affairs and British Humor then you should find this movie a riot. Those who work for the State Dept. will especially love it, as half the movie takes place at Main State in D.C..

Tomorrow I have to check-in with the State Department, update my contact details, and then visit my Career Development Officer. It’s so wonderful to get out and move about and eat at restaurants without the constant worry that someone may blow me up!

I just departed Pakistan and landed in one of my all-time favorite cities, London, and boy do love this city!    I’m taking an authorized “rest-stop” which is a free night in a hotel we are authorized to receive to break up long trips over 13 hours.  Since the flight from Islamabad to Washington DC fits that rule, I opted for a rest-stop in London.  Many Foreign Service members do not use this benefit, as you have to grab all your luggage, and haul it to a hotel, and then go through the check-in procedure again the next day.  But I always take it, which I admit is not as difficult than if I had pets or children to care for.  I also asked that my flight to Washington continue an extra day later, giving me an additional night in London (at my own expense of course, however I do receive the first night’s lodging and transportation to/from the airport, plus one day’s meals paid by the State Department).

By the way – as I headed into the city, I realized that it’s impossible to think of “Paddington Station” without thinking of a bear in a large hat.  It just can’t be done.

Anyway, I took the train from Heathrow airport to my hotel, showered, and went to the West End where there are a lot of street artists and great food.   The city is filled with so much to see and do!   Later I walked down this one street that was lined on both sides by French sidewalk cafes and restaurants. I sat down and ordered a nice baked halibut on top of seasonal ratatouille. Man was that good!   The weather here is fantastic.

Later in the evening I saw the play “Oliver Twist”, which was surprising quite good.

The next day I spent several hours at Westminster Abbey to pay my respects to the tombs of Henry V, Elizabeth I, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, and many others in the most incredible building in England, which is impossible to describe. To call Westminster Abbey a “beautiful church” is like calling the Grand Canyon a nice valley. No words do it justice. It must be seen to be appreciated.  later I headed over to the Imperial British War Museum, which was a lot of fun for an old WWII buff like me.

Westminster Abbey