Just like that, we are packed up and on a plane to the Dominican Republic. Last week I was in Chicago shipping the remainder of my life there to Washington for it to be unpacked and blended with the rest of our belongings. Three days later, the movers arrived to help us sort, pack, and store our even more co-mingled lives. Now, here we sit (though I will post this later), at 35,000 feet and on our way to warmer environs (although I'll head back to DC next week for some training and to wrap up some last bits of business).

How we got to this point can be an involved story. The bottom line is that when it came time for Larina to select overseas posts for her next assignment, she put at the top of the list the three countries that are the focus of my current work: the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. Being in the region, while not absolutely necessary, makes my research easier. Although it will make managing my project team in DC more reliant on telecommunications.

We will be there for the next two years and already have a list of potential visitors. We have no idea what life will be like vis-à-vis downtime and weekend trips, but I suspect it will be similar previous overseas experiences. We’ve heard good things about the embassy community being tight knit and helpful, plus I’ve had a few trips here already for work and have a cursory knowledge of the city layout and such.

Still, this is larger in scale than previous overseas ventures for both of us. Our respective experiences have comprised living out of a suitcase or two for a year at most. This time, our luggage outnumbers us 4 to 1, and we have a recently-bought car and nearly all of our home furnishings in transit.

So begins our next adventure. We're glad to have you along, at least electronically until you come visit. The door is open!

-.-