Less than 2 months

In about seven weeks my first tour as a Foreign Service Officer will be complete. 

That seems both far away and so close at the same time. A number of people I've met while working in the Department are finishing their current tours and moving on. Some are headed to different offices in the building; others are going straight overseas (domestic tours don't get home leave); still others are like me, they will be headed to long-term training. I am really excited about the final group. 

While I have been learning the ins and outs of being a desk officer over the last year, most of my A-100 classmates have been in long-term language training together. 

At first I was bummed to be missing out on getting to know all of them better. They would see each other in the halls or the lunchroom, some even had class together. While they had each other I was in an environment where people had friends all over the building, while I could name the people I knew on one hand. I was worried that when I finally went to training I would be on my own there as well, since all my classmates will have moved on to their overseas postings. 

Now as I approach my training, I am looking forward to it not just because I'm thrilled to learn a new language, but also because I want to get to know all my current co-workers better. 

Almost everyday I find out someone else I work with now will be at FSI with me for the next year. As much as I wish I would have had all that extra time to get to know my A-100 classmates better, I am really looking forward to learning about my colleagues outside of the work place. It's going to be another fun year.