teamosweiler

As the day of departure approaches, I start to think about how much I’m going to miss my family.  Victor and I are very blessed to have amazing people in our lives who will admit in public to being related to us.  This past year we have done our best to spend some quality time with those we love the most.  Here are some photo highlights…

Can you name that bridge?  Better yet, do you know what Fort we are visiting?  This is my Grandpa NY and Grandma Judy on Staten Island.  This summer they were both able to visit us when we were in Ohio for the month of June.  It was glorious!

Our first weekend in DC we were visited by my dad and step-mom.  Living solely on air mattresses and folding chairs, we managed to have a good time anyway.  They came to help us unpack the apartment but alas, the movers were delayed.

In November we took a trip to the Canary Islands to meet up with Victor’s family.  His brother, who lives in Sweden, planned a vacation with his wife and kids (and in-laws!) so we decided to tag along.  His sister, who lives in Denver, flew out as well and it turned out to be a great birthday for me!  We had such a great time being together and it sure beats Sweden in the winter!

Here I am on the beach with Nicki, Julia and Veronica.

Thanksgiving last year was hosted by my cousin Doug.  He moved in to a new house and wanted to have everyone over for dinner.  It was outstanding!  We all pitched in for the meal but the best dish of the night was from Doug himself: green bean casserole.  It was the best thing I have ever eaten…well, it was really good.  Also, I love this photo of our family.

Also at Thanksgiving, I made a few family members run a 5K with me: Step-dad, niece and husband.  It was BRUTAL!  I hate running (as some of you may know).  This was the Amish Country 5K and at the end of the run we each earned a block of cheese.  It snowed most of the time and the hills were killer.  At the beginning of the race, we started out together but then got separated (as you do).  However, everyone thought I was ahead of them so they kept thinking, “Gee, Katie is really fast!” but really I was behind them the whole time.  But for about 3 mi, I was winning in their minds!  It was Carl and Victor’s first race, my third and Callie’s fifth…maybe tenth?  It got Carl into running and we did the Orrville Firecracker 5K this summer.  He’s crazy.

The Guthrie family visits Washington DC!  I keep telling my sister that if she comes to Africa for Spring Break next year it won’t be cold like all the other Spring Breaks she has visited me.  It was a great week and I always love hosting the ABC’s.  Unfortunately Victor was away again this year, but at least he wasn’t deployed like last time.  This photo really sums up the whole week.

We sort of coerced my cousin Molly into visiting us by begging her to drive from Ohio with me and the cats after Christmas.  Maybe I could have done it on my own, but what fun is that?!  She had a great time and we toured all the sights!  The most fun was on our bike ride when she sat on my bike rack as I rode around the Jefferson Memorial.  Yeah, good times.

When my mom and step dad came to visit the weather was gorgeous!  They stayed for a week and we packed in loads of sights. This photo is from the White House Garden Tour (twice a year, I highly recommend it) which we ran into by accident.  It was a beautiful accident.  I love it when these two come visit because they just love to see everything and and so easy going:)

Living far away from your family is not the easiest thing to do, especially if they are as awesome as ours.  And it’s not like we haven’t done it before but this time just seems different.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pick up the phone and call my sister or skype my grandparents.  They can’t come visit as if we lived in Boston, or England.  We may not be on the other side of the world but sometimes it feels like we are going to be on the other side of the moon.  But that’s what is so great about living this military life: everyone gets it.  Whenever we move, our family grows by the people we meet.  The embassy is small and has been described as very “family” like.  There will be a new group of people forced to live together and we may get along great, have arguments, cry on each other’s shoulders or laugh until we pee our pants.  Just like family.

For the past year we have been preparing to life in the country of Niger in West Africa.  It is one of the five poorest countries in the world.  Sometimes when I tell people where we are moving, their first questions is, “Are you going to be a missionary?”  While that is the reason I figured would bring me back to Africa, it is not our current situation.

As I have learned, to work at an embassy is to live the same life  you live in the USA but your surroundings may be drastically different.  For example, many of the people in Niger live in houses made of mud or straw.  Our house will be similar to a home in Florida, complete with swimming pool.  It is a very nice house with three bedrooms, spacious kitchen and a number of living spaces.  Perhaps it would even be on the modest side in the States.  In Africa, we will live like kings.

The last time I visited Africa was 2005 with a class from Seminary and we spent most of our time with university students.  We pretty much lived how they lived down to showering in the same stall as the toilet which was a hole in the floor.  I dressed like everyone else in the country: t-shirt, kanga (wrap skirt) and flip flops.  It was glorious and I loved every second of it.  This time around there will be expectations to play a bit more of the part of a diplomat.  Dress nice, drive a car, hire a maid, and all that comes with the status.

Maybe  you can tell, I am feeling a bit uneasy with this new life we will have for two years.  The fact that some people have to walk for miles to get water and I have a swimming pool in my back yard seems a bit unfair.  Balancing first world life in a third world country just might be the hardest part of living in Africa.

However, last week I met a gentleman who grew up in Congo and he brought to my attention something I’ve heard before, but in a different context.  I had a friend in seminary who worked with the homeless and she had a hard time balancing her privilege with the people who needed her help.  Someone told her that to help the homeless the most, she needed to be professional in dress, manners and lifestyle.

As I discussed the different situations in Africa with my new friend, I confessed that I was troubled by the disparity between the local population and myself.  I told him that while I live in Africa, I would love to be part of the culture and perhaps teach, volunteer or be involved some way in making the little corner of my world a better place.  But I couldn’t get over the pool in the backyard.  He said to me, “How can you help , by understanding the poor by being  poor or being rich enough to have a pool in your backyard?”

Give me the pool.  The next challenge will be to find the best way my gifts can meet the greatest needs.

Good news!  We get to bring our kitties to Africa with us!  We are flying Air France and they have a great pet policy for pet traveling in the hold of the aircraft: climate control.  Today we picked them up after a week of boarding and we sure did miss them.  I’m glad they get to come with us because they are such great pets to have around.

I never had pets growing up (well, a hamster and hermit crab but they don’t really count) and now that I’ve lived with these cats for 6 years, I can’t imagine what I’ll do when they’re not around anymore.  I don’t even want to think about it.

On that happy note, I only hope we move them overseas with no problem and the most comfort possible.  Bon voyage, mes petits chats!

So maybe I haven’t updated our blog in a year but it’s been crazy.  But we’re back online and ready to keep you updated on the happenings of Team Osweiler.

After 6 months of French training we entered 3 months of diplomatic training.  Since the beginning of April it’s been a roller coaster of insanity.  Our move date to Niger was pushed back from July to August and we spent most of the summer in Ohio with my family.

Our new leave date is August 28th and this week we will have one more week of training with the Department of State.  So many things have been last minute that I wouldn’t be surprised if they told us today that we actually have another month of something else and then we can leave in September.  Hahaha!!

I’m sure I will have more time to update the good old blog when I’m stuck in the house for a few weeks.

Peace out, yo.

Today was our second day of French Language training.  Perhaps you are wondering why we are learning French.  In this post I will explain it all. It all started on a dark and stormy night…

Not really, but doesn’t that sound exciting?

It all started when Victor and I spent two years stationed in England.  He worked for the Ministry of Defense for two years and we pretty much had the time of our lives.  This put a bit of a travel bug in our…well, where ever travel bugs go…and we decided that we would try for another over seas assignment.  After we landed back in the States, Victor got picked up for an over seas assignment a year later but I had to stay home since it was not possible for me to follow him to Afghanistan.

About a month or so into his deployment a friend emailed him a posting for jobs opening up in a variety of US Embassies around the world.  After asking my permission to put his name in the hat, he applied but getting a slot would be a long shot.  Apparently, the long shot hit the bulls-eye and by February he was informed that he would be the Defense Attache and Senior Defense Officer at the US Embassy in Niger.

And just incase you were wondering,”where the heck is Niger?”, here’s a map:

Don’t worry, I wondered the same thing.  I did, however, know that it is located in Africa.

So after a short 18 months in the greater Boston area, we packed up and moved to Washington DC.  For the next year we will be learning French for the first six months and then off to Embassy training.

And that’s all you need to know for today.