So we have narrowed the list considerably since we got the list. Here are the cities that we are now considering. It doesn’t mean we really want to go to these cities, it means that these are our only options that fit within the date range that we need, in other words these posts start after August 2007.

Astana (2)

Belgrade

Bogota

Bucharest

Caracas

Chengdu

Dhaka

Guangzhou

Jakarta

Kuala Lumpur

Mexico City

New Delhi

Nogales

Port Au Prince

San Jose

Seoul

Shanghai

Tel Aviv (2)

Tijuana

Tirana

We know some of you are enjoying living vicariously through our current experiences.  So in order to prevent any outcry over us not sharing the bid list, the 76 posts are listed below.  Note that some have multiple openings and some are reserved for Foreign Service employed couples, i.e. tandems.

While we have to bid High, Medium or Low on every single one of these posts, there are other limits and qualifications that go along with them, particularly the start date (i.e. July or November) and the language proficiency needed (i.e. professional proficiency in Russian or Urdu).

We have already narrowed the list considerably since we don’t want to go to post until after the baby is born, which is July 20th.  That requirement knocks out approximately 60% of the posts.

We’ll keep you updated as we narrow our posts and rank them.  Until then, break out your globe and enjoy!

Abidjan Ashgabat Astana (2)
Baghdad (2) Beirut Belgrade
Bogota (tandem) Bogota Bridgetown
Bucharest Caracas Chengdu
Chennai (3) Ciudad Juarez (3) Conakry
Dhaka Guadalajara Guangzhou
Guatemala City Iraq Islamabad (2)
Jakarta Jeddah (2) Jerusalem
Khartoum Kinshasa Kuala Lumpur
La Paz Lima (2) Majuro Matamoros
Mbabane Mexico City (2) Monrovia
Monterrey (3) Moscow Mumbai
New Delhi Nogales Mouakchott
Neuvo Laredo Ouagadougou Panama
Paris Port Au Prince Port of Spain
Rabat Riyadh (2) San Jose
San Salvador Sanaa (2) Santo Domingo
Seoul Shanghai Suva
Tashkent (tandem) (2) Tegucigalpa Tel Aviv (2)
Tijuana Tirana

Turns  out that it is impossible to find a fan in the city of DC until sometime in March. We know this because we live in an apt where the complex either turns on heat or AC. Yes, it is January so you would assume heat would be the norm. We happen to have arrived during an unseasonably warm time when an oscillating fan would be wonderful! We hunted at a few stores for a fan and thought that maybe the use of the word “oscillating” was confusing because how could then not sell us a fan?!  The word may have still been too complex for some people, however the bottom line was we had no success finding a fan. We thought we would be dodging the Texas heat and bundling up to face the cold. Oh well. We’ll have to wait until March for a fan.

Today we drove up to our temporary home in Falls Church, VA. There were tears shed as we pulled up the hill and our new home became visible through the trees. Coming from Dallas where things at least appear to be nice we were slightly disappointed by the outer appearance. In addition, it backs up to a cemetery. I am not a superstitious person but really who wants to live next to a cemetery. At least they’ll be quiet neighbors!

The inside of our apartment happens to be much nicer than it appears on the outside. It feels as though we are living in a hotel which will take some getting used to. We hung a wreath on our front door so that I could at least pretend to make it “homey”! Foreign Service training starts on Monday and then the bidding begins.