There is an intersection about 3 blocks from our house that we drive by every day where there are several military guards standing around with guns.  It took us several months to figure out why there were always at that intersection, 24/7.  We eventually figured out that the Defense Minister lives there.  And you can imagine that in a country that is aggresively trying to eradicate the FARC, the defense minister might be a high value target.

Last night I was checking CNN and saw this story.  It was scary because he lives so close to us.  And also his family’s finca is in the same area where we go for our weekend trips (which is also where the picture at the top of our blog was taken).

It’s yet another reminder that as much as the security situation has improved here, we live in a very dangerous country.

On a different note, it was great to get back to the States.  It was suprising how much I had missed the familiarity of the US.  And it was especially nice to not have to speak in a different language (although for the first day, I wanted to address most people in Spanish).  The trip was short, but fun.  I got to meet some new people in the Foreign Service, got to eat some great food, and got to hang out with Seckingers.  Unfortunately Kristen and Jackson didn’t come because of the cost and the timing.  But the good part is we’ll be back in Texas (as Kristen mentioned) in less than a week.  We’ll be flying into DFW, going directly to The Farm for a few days (we can’t wait to see his reaction to the farm animals and to getting to run free through the pasture), then back to DFW, then down to Houston.  All over a 9-day period.

I also had the chance to check out a house we’ll likely be renting during our 8 months in DC.  The nice part is the house is about 5 minutes from my training site and about a half block from a great park.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll know for sure where we’ll be living.

All in all, it was a good trip, but I’m glad to be back with my family.  When I got home last night, Jackson was already asleep but I was able to peek in on him in his crib.  And it was great to see my beautiful wife.  Skype just isn’t the same as sitting next to your wife on the couch and talking.

BusinessWeek recently published a list of the worst places in the world for expats to work.

The fact that I’m blogging about this should tip you off that Bogota is on the list.  #8.

Which means that the recent post about frustrations with Colombia could easily have been amended to include this post.

Actually, I really like my job.  I have great co-workers and great bosses.  The work is very challenging, even when I’m doing 100+ visa interviews a day.  When you consider that each decision you make has a very real and direct impact on the security and economic well-being of the US, it helps you focus and find ways to do your job better.  Embassy Bogota is the 2nd largest in the world, behind Baghdad.  Which means that there are always interesting things going on.  Whether attending an art show featuring West Texas paitings and photos the Ambassador hosted at his residence, working on visits by American delegations, helping arrest narcotraffickers, or working on the 4th of July.

And, speaking of work, Bogota has been the perfect place for Kristen to do part-time speech therapy.  When we arrived, I never would have guessed that her services would have been in such high demand.  I mean, an English-speaking speech therapist in Bogota?  Again, due to the embassy communtiy being so large, she has had more patients than she can handle.  Since we only want her to work a few hours a week, she has had to turn away many referrals, and even found another therapist in the embassy that can take some of her patients.  While she is looking forward to being done working, none of it would have been possible if we had been in Bern (due to the high cost of child care and the smaller embassy).

While the reasons listed in the article are reasons we’re looking forward to leaving Bogota and arriving in Bern, we are still enjoying our jobs.  I think Bern will be a totally different work experience for all of us.  Kristen likely won’t work.  I’ll be 1 of 3 Americans in the Consular section in Bern instead of 1 of 40 here.  The embassy will be so much smaller, which will mean I’ll likely get to do many things that aren’t possible here.

I won’t argue about Bogota being #8, but I also think it’s been a great place for us, workwise.

Kuddos to the Seckingers.  Yep, it’s Frankfurt, the delicacy being the frankfurter, or perro caliente as we say here.

Drum roll please….#16

This country’s coast stretches over 1,700 miles.  It is the only country in the world with 3 capital cities.  One of the main langauges spoken in this city is Tswana, which is close to a potentially new name for the city, Tshwane. (The government and others are in the process of changing it.) Rugby Union is is one of the most popular sports in the city. The city’s main street, Church Street, is one of the longest straight streets in the world. Many of the city’s streets are linked with jacaranda trees that blossom mauve in spring, giving rise to the city’s nickname “Jacaranda City.”

#14 was a tough one, apparently.  Caracas, Venezeula.  I doubt we’ll end up here.  The government doesn’t like Americans much.

For #15, we’ll go ahead and give you the country, Germany.

This city is the 5th largest in Germany and is located on the Main River.  It is only behind Paris for the largest financial center in Europe.  The world’s largest auto and book show are here.  It also has the two tallest skyscrapers in the European Union.  One of its delicacies is world famous, especially in the U.S.