Useless Air Baggage (UAB)

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is two full weeks after it arrived in India (five weeks total), our Unaccompanied Air Baggage (UAB) cleared customs and was delivered this week! The bad news is that we did a terrible job choosing what pack in it. In our defense, our pack-out was backwards. Rather than packing our UAB on the first day and our House Hold Effects (HHE) on the second day... we had to guess what would fit in our UAB because our HHE was packed and taken away first. This brings us to:

Mistake #1: Not using our full allowance.

• We were allotted 600 lbs of UAB. We used <250 lbs. Mainly because we're terrible at estimating weights and were terrified of being overweight.

Of course we also did what (we've heard) is common for first tour officers and that is:

Mistake #2: Terrible pre-packing planning.

• Call us cocky, call us naive, but in our minds we saw this as any other overseas expedition we've taken. More specifically, we didn't think we'd need anything outside of what was in our suitcases. We were even less concerned because we knew we'd have the "welcome kit" at post, which has all the necessities, right? And... they do sell stuff in India.

Mistake #3: The welcome kit is awesome, but it doesn't have everything.

I guess you live and you learn. We've started a spreadsheet of things to make sure we pack in our UAB for our next move. It's a long ways off, but this way we don't have to try to remember in two years what we miss now. What's on the list, you ask? Well, it's still in progress, but here's a teaser.

• Choice kitchen supplies (I miss you, fancy cookware)
• Extra toiletries (for those that you care about the brand - or softness, in the case of toiletpaper)
• TOYS (HOW DID WE NOT PACK TOYS IN OUR UAB?)
• (More) Cat food and litter
• (More) Diapers and wipes
• Pillows, sheets, and blankets (Sorry welcome kit, but we don't want 1ft thick pillows)
• Board games (you know, if you're into that)

What did we actually pack? 

• The 'rest' of my clothes
• Cat litter (but not enough to hold us over until our HHE arrives)
• Diapers (see above)
• A stroller (I guess this qualifies as a toy, since my son never sits in it, just pushes it)
• Extra shoes (...)
• The cover for the bread knife and one chopstick (kitchen items somehow left behind by the HHE packer)
• Toilet Paper (small victory)
• Aerosol Sunblock and Bug Spray (Deemed too dangerous to ship via boat, go figure)
• Candy
   

I will give a quick shout out to my social sponsor... we arrived at our house on our first night to two big boxes of loaner toys. That was pretty much the best thing that could happen, because without those I'm pretty sure my son (or wife) would have gone insane by now. (And something to note if you do become a sponsor, since every parent we talked to here would have LOVED if their sponsors had done the same!)

Two Years in India, Week 1

There are huge trees all over the place.
(even in the street!)

Well, it's official. One week down, 103ish to go. That makes it sound like I can't wait to leave, which isn't right. I just was surprised when I realized that I'm pretty much 1% done with my first post. Really makes me think I can't waste a moment here!

I've had a number of first weeks at a new job, in my career, but this one was pretty different from all the others. First of all, I've never started a new job while at the same time combating jet lag. I've never really had a problem with adjusting my sleep schedule in the past, but I've also never had to do so while also caring for a not-yet-two-year-old. My son is completely oblivious to the concept of jet lag, so he pretty much sleeps whenever he wants. Fortunately, (for me) my wife has been playing with him when he's up in the middle of the night so that I would be awake and functioning for work. Of course, sleep is only one of the differences at this job. There's also taking a shuttle, living in a new place, meeting a workforce that is about to turn over by 50%, and heck, even experiencing new foods! Let's not get too far ahead though. 

I have just a three week overlap with the IMS I'm replacing here in Chennai. Since his boss, the IPO, left a week before I arrived, he's been showing me the ropes. It has been very interesting to see the similarities and differences between our training and what actually seems to be happening at post. The biggest difference I've noticed (especially when compared to my pre-Foreign Service jobs) is that almost all of the day-to-day work is handled quite capably by the Locally Employed Staff (LES) here. This means that the IMS, such as myself, tend to roam from project to project, working on whatever unusual or one-off problem that arises. A good example from this week: our AC units for the server room broke, leading us to spend a couple hours on the roof with the repair crew (a real pleasure in the Chennai heat!). 

Another shot of the crazy amount of trees.

Anyway, my predecessor arranged a "going away/welcome" lunch with me and all the LES working in our department. It was a great opportunity to meet everyone and I'm now planning to do the same thing when the new IPO arrives. Other than that, I've been eating lunch in the canteen. The lunch combo there costs 50 rupees (rs, approximately 85 cents) and consists of rice, chapati,  raita, and two gravies (which we'd call curry back in the States) that change daily. Everything is vegetarian and tastes alright, but you really can't beat the price! In the afternoon, I normally swing back down for chai to the tune of 7 rs (~12 cents). 

I ended up working a lot of extra hours this week, mostly due to my incredibly early shuttle-dictated arrival time. I don't mind the extra work, but it did kind of stink to get out right around when it was getting dark - really put a damper on my ability to take photos to send home. Of course, on the flip side, I also spent most of the week without internet (except at work), so I guess it didn't really matter!

Traffic on July 4th.
Fortunately, the jam only lasted half an hour.

Friday was the 4th of July, so we had the day off. The Consul General hosted a party at her residence with burgers, hot dogs, and a pie bake-off. I don't know about the pies' owners, but I'd say everyone that got to eat them was a winner. We also saw our future car (my son fully approved!) and met our soon-to-be driver. I had originally hesitated getting a driver, but after spending a week in traffic here... I'm glad we pre-arranged one. I'll post more about traffic later. 

Enjoy some random pictures of Chennai!

Small shrine in Alwarpet.

First Day of Work

This week started like any other, except: Oh yeah! It was my first day at my first post! My sponsor picked me up for a moderately early arrival time (I guess he likes to get a bunch of visas done before people start showing up in the morning). Once at the consulate, it became readily apparent that I was one of the first new people for the summer transfer season (in my case THE first person). I could tell because almost every one I ran into knew I was new. This was nice, because people regularly just walked up and introduced themselves. Of course, the downside to this is that many of them then immediately told me they were on their way out the door. So now my mind is cluttered with tons of names and faces that will shortly be disappearing from Chennai.

Anyway, my first day was busy with meeting people, administrative paperwork, and trying to memorize combinations to doors and safes. I got several short tours of different parts of the consulate, including (but not limited to) the consular section, HR, the canteen (that's cafeteria, in the US), the commisary, and the space I'll be working.

Midway through the afternoon, the GSO arranged a car for me to go home, pick up my cats, and take them to the government of India quarantine facility. This was one of the two "inspections" required to allow my cats to stay in the country without having to actually be quarantined. The facility was a 45 minute drive from my house and the inspection consisted of approximately 2.5 hours of waiting with 5 minutes of showing the cats to a veterinarian. I'm not complaining though, the cats passed...

All-in-all, it wasn't a bad first day!

Week 5 of Training: COMSEC and Crypto

Great example of a crypto device that nobody uses anymore.

This week my quarter-of-the-class group was reunited with another quarter. So with twice the people we learned the magical arts of Communication Security (COMSEC) and Crypto(logy). The course is listed in the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Catalog as:

"...a basic overview of Communications Security, proper handling, accounting and destruction of COMSEC material using the CARDS system. Emergency Destruction procedures, audits and the proper operation of various types of cryptographic equipment are also covered."

That pretty much sums up the class. It was relatively enjoyable, considering the material. Like all security related training, it was both vitally important and extremely dry. Apparently this job generally falls to the new hires at post, so we all have that to look forward to. On the plus side, we got to take a field trip... so I'll call it a win!

Colossus, used to break the Enigma.

PS: If you're ever in and around the Washington DC area and are interested in cryptology, you should check out the National Cryptological Museum!

Flag Day

Finally! They day we've all been waiting for has arrived. That's right, it's FLAG DAY! Today we received sweet, sweet resolution to the giant question looming over our head for the last week. Would we get our first choice post? What about our second...? Tenth!? Well, good news; I got my first choice! Chennai, India!!!

Being called relatively early in the ceremony was a mixed blessing, because it was difficult to maintain interest in all of my classmates posting assignments... when I really wanted to be running back to my family to exult in our upcoming move. That being said, I powered through and watched the rest of my classmates learn their fate. The majority I spoke with got their top choice, with a small handful getting their second or third (and one getting their fourth). I didn't memorize everyone's bid list, nor did I speak to everyone, but on a whole I'd say we did pretty well! The last bit of good news I received today is that my estimated departure date is June 26th, which our Career Development Officer (CDO) said was the earliest date for any post!

Time to furiously research my upcoming new home... in the mean time, enjoy these random pictures from the internet.

US Consulate Chennai.

Chennai Panorama.