Pirates and Tigers and Maoists - oh my!

Well, our bid list came out yesterday and reality really is a humdinger.  The infamous bid list, in our case, has about 100 locations that we need to organize into high, medium, and low preference.  Along with the prioritized list we need to submit a list of preferences that have informed our choices and will hopefully inform the choices of those above who actually get to select where we go :)

Max and I have been working out our "preferences" and they mostly have to do with quality of work life for him.  What type of job will he be doing? Will he get to learn a new language or practice his Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese or Spanish?  How will this effect his career?  What is the general morale like at post...is that even determinable before casting our lots?  We've been told that unaccompanied posts are not an option for first timers (can I get a yay!?) so with that out of the way my only real preference would be a place where any of the following are reasonable accessible to me: history/archeology/nature/museums/people/wonder in general.  I don't really care if I have to wear a head scarf, or say goodbye to hamburgers and spices for two years, or bring a fur hat or a lava lava, or go without television, paved roads, and to some extent modern health care. (Don't tell Shawn I said that, Jenn.)  But I am interesting in learning about another culture and another place.  So those are my only two cents really.   I'm not set on working, but I would if the opportunity presented itself.  I'll have my Masters to finish and the world of books to make and read. 

Having signed on to be "worldwide available" and Max's uncanny ability to pick up languages - Arabic included - will put us in some precarious situations, I understand that.  So I think we are keeping pretty realistic about things.  You get an idea of glamor and adventure then you read something like this from a possible post:        

"Pirate attacks and armed robbery against ships occur in coastal waters. Mariners should take appropriate precautions."

Adventure? Yes.  Glamor? Maybe not.  But then again I'm no Mariner.

So all in all we are excited, but I think we are also as aware of the realities of what being a foreign service officer means as we can be at this point.  I was in a similar place before we went to the Middle East for the first time.  I wasn't stuck in Lawrence-of-Arabia-Land, but I was very much looking forward to new experiences and challenges.  It's a bit of optimistic pessimism, if there can be such a thing.  I've said this before, but preparing for the worst has left me with almost entirely positive experiences abroad.  When I heard people complain about a late bus in Jerusalem I thought instead "Wow, these buses are actually taking me where I want to go!  That's awesome."  When  I got ripped off in by a taxi driver in Jordan I thought "Well, I only lost about 5 dollars and not 10.  What could be nicer?"  It's kind of silly, I know.  I can call a spade a spade, but traveling requires a certain level of flexibility and...well, insanity.  To be elated when things are pleasant and prepared when they are not has been a very successful travel philosophy for me so far.  It has made me more grateful.  But enough of that mushy stuff for today.