A newsLETTER blog about life for Sarah, Stephen and Alexandria Padre in Our Nation's Capital

May 30, 2009

Typical D.C.?


Today we were down near the White House (how cool is that??) on a walking tour. There was a lot going on: protesters on Pennsylvania Avenue: "Free the Tamil Tigers" (but we think Obama is out of the country), a woman across the street who has lived in a tent for years protesting nuclear war (or maybe it was weapons); thousands of tour groups - on foot, going in and out of tour buses; people sitting in the park enjoying the nice weather; guys playing street hockey on skates on Pennsylvania Avenue where the cars can no longer go.

In addition to Sri Lankans protesting about the Tamil Tigers, Stephen donned his "Free the donuts!" t-shirt and demanded that Obama use his power and influence to stop the oppression in this vital area of national security (only after realizing that the U.N. had been totally ineffective in this area).

Stephen learned lots of things on both tours we went on. The one near the White House was on Lafayette Park and White House architecture. We had gone on one in the morning at Rock Creek Cemetery. It is a beautiful place - very peaceful. The first person buried there was buried before 1776. We have to go back and explore it further. Lexi and I didn't learn as much as Stephen. She was more interested in running around in the cemetery where we also found a small pond with lily pads, 1 live raccoon and 1 dead raccoon. Down near the White House, Lexi was more interested in crying that she wanted OUT of the stroller and watching the various people around us.

The grave markers at the cemetary were extremely varied and ranged from Celtic crosses to a Japanese lantern, and from its 95 mausoleums to flat-on-the-ground headstones.

The cemetary's most famous attraction is the memorial by Gaudens nicknamed "Grief." It was a place that Eleanor Roosevelt visited on occasion.

May 29, 2009

Little in the way of clothing

It has been an adjustment for me to just wear shorts out of the house and not think that I am going to stand out. At least compared to Europe and Kenya, Americans wear a lot less clothing - and show a lot more skin. Short (very!) dresses, short skirts, short shorts, short sleeves, no sleeves, low cut blouses....I feel like I haven't seen this much skin in years! But I think it is VERY nice to be able to wear shorts in this hotter weather and not feel that I standing out or likely to offend anyone (don't worry, my shorts aren't all that short!). In Kenya, you would still see people in sweaters, even when it was quite warm and we would be in short sleeves.

In general, I would say people are more casual in their dress than Europeans in particular. Jeans are common, many people wear sandals and I have seen few suits (though maybe I haven't been to the right part of town). You still see a fair number of interesting outfits: there was a woman at the DMV wearing a baby blue felt cowboy hat and the other day, we saw a woman with a very short dress that reminded me of a pumpkin in shape and color.

May 26, 2009

My job hunt by the numbers

My long journey of looking for a new job has finally reached its end. Last week I was offered a full-time position, and today I accepted it. On Monday, June 1, I will start as the Communications Specialist for the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc. The posting for the position describes the organization like this:

RCAP, Inc. is a federally-funded nonprofit nationwide network comprised of a national office and six regional partners that provide direct technical assistance, training, and financial assistance to water and wastewater systems in small rural communities, many of which are economically disadvantaged. Through its work, RCAP strives to improve environmental and community health; help rural communities comply with federal and state regulations and operate their infrastructure in a sustainable manner; and increase the capability of rural people to undertake other community development activities.

As someone who is a paid communications professional, one of my philosophies is that there is more than one way to tell a story. So, as an account of my job hunt, I will give you many numbers. You may draw your own conclusions from them, although certainly by my choice of numbers (and a few other facts) that I am including here, I am obviously trying to paint a picture.

  • Months I was unemployed/underemployed until I received a job offer (from the time I quit my full-time job in Geneva): 28
  • Months before I actually quit my job in Geneva that I had been applying for jobs: 26
  • Weeks I had been in D.C. before receiving a job offer: 10 (to the day)
  • Weeks I left Nairobi in advance of Sarah and Lexi in order to get a head start on finding a job: 9 1/2
  • Nationwide unemployment rate: 8.5 percent (March, unadjusted)
  • D.C. unemployment rate: 9.9 percent (April)
  • Jobs I applied for since arriving in D.C.: 56
  • Career fairs I attended: 1
  • Networking events I attended: 1
  • University programs that I considered before the job offer – to attend full-time in place of working: 3 (I still may enroll in one part-time now)
  • Job boards/listing services I checked regularly for openings: 7
  • Interviews I was granted for jobs I applied for strictly from D.C. before I received an offer: 1
  • Job listing area I discovered late in the game and expected to be the least likely to contain good jobs: craigslist
  • Place where I found the position listed that I got an offer for: craigslist
  • Place where I found both of my/our temporary apartments in D.C.: craigslist
  • Only classifieds known to have an alleged serial killer: craigslist
  • University of the alleged craigslist killer: Boston University
  • My alma mater: Boston University
  • Applicants who saw the ad on craigslist for the job and sent in their resumes: 300
  • Applicants who sent in their resumes who were granted interviews: 10
  • Amount over the high end of my desired salary range that my new salary will be: $3,000 (with the possibility of getting $2,000 more after 6 months)
  • Vacation days I will get: 15
  • Standard vacation days Americans get when new to a job: 10
  • Vacation days I got when employed in Switzerland: 24 (plus the week between Christmas and New Year’s off)
  • Blocks from the White House of my new workplace: 2
I would give you the website of the organization I am going to be working for if you'd like to learn more about it, but really it's just a web page. This should tell you how much this organization needs a person like me. In addition to creating a whole new website for this organization, I'll be producing a bimonthly magazine and maybe later doing some media relations.

Thanks to all of you who offered your encouragement, support and prayers along the way. It has truly been a long, long process and one of the most difficult of my life – not only in the unknown of a job search, but in the very challenging and unpleasant environment where I worked in Geneva. Now I look forward to moving onward and upward with my career again!

May 25, 2009

Memorial Day activities


Today was the first Memorial Day that I ever remember doing anything patriotic. There was a parade in downtown D.C. (I don't remember any other place I have lived having a parade on this day) and so after joining a friend and her friends for a picnic lunch on the Washington Mall in view of the Lincoln Memorial, we walked over to Constitution Avenue and sat on a curb to view the parade. Lexi had never been to a parade before that she can remember and she seemed to think it was a lot of fun. Especially after U-Haul (don't ask me what U-Haul was doing in the parade - advertising, I think) handed out flags. Our family ended up with two and she happily waved them, sometimes at the same time. She also enjoyed pointing out the horses (which she called donkeys at first) and waving in general.

The parade had a lot of marching bands in it from all over the U.S. I was surprised that so many of them came all that way and that they couldn't march in straight lines! My high school band director would have had a fit! I also couldn't believe that the band uniforms hadn't changed much - you would think that they would become a bit more modernized.

We also saw the WWII memorial which is new since the last time I was in D.C. sometime in the late 90s. It was quite impressive and had lots of granite and water.

Getting stuff out of storage

We rented a pick up truck for a few hours and went out to the place in the suburbs where our stuff from Geneva is being stored. We got there successfully without getting lost and looked through many of the boxes. It was quite a job. When the movers loaded the stuff into the storage unit, I guess that they had to try three times to get everything to fit. The space was jam packed. We moved a lot of boxes out but didn't look in all of them by far. And we didn't find everything we were looking for but that was to be expected. The one thing Stephen really wanted to find was the bread machine and we didn't find that.

Lexi thought it was fun at first but did grow tired of it after a while.

May 23, 2009

Flea Markets and Yard Sales

I don't remember that people in Kenya had much in the way of yard or garage sales and we didn't go to any in Switzerland. Today, we went to a flea market - basically, 'vendors' paid $10 to set up a table in the yard of an elementary school and try to sell their items. The $10/table went to the school and the proceeds of anything that was sold by the people they got to keep for themselves. The signs we saw said '9-1' and since we had other things planned, we got there about 9:15. To find about 6 people in the process of setting up/already set up. We were told we were 'early' - I asked what time it was - nope, we weren't early, they just weren't organized enough. We didn't see anything we needed and weren't going to stick around to see what else showed up. In the midwest, if you show up late, all of the good stuff is gone.

On the way home, we saw a sign for a yard sale so we cut over 1 block to find the smallest yard sale I had ever experienced. It was mostly toys and games; from a distance, Stephen asked 'Is that it? It looks like a lemonade stand." Yup, that was it and a mighty small pile too.

May 22, 2009

'Plastic Society'

I have been struggling with the idea that I do not have to have cash on me. It's amazing what I can pay for with some type of plastic here. To not have to be carrying bills seems like a relief but at the same time, I feel a bit like I am missing something.

I have also noticed how many food items are pre-packacked/prepared/cooked. There was an advertisement for chicken breasts that came individually wrapped AND pre-seasoned so you could just put them on a grill. Have we truly lost the ability to season our own meat??

Public Transportation

It is so nice to be back in a country - and a city - with public transportation that I can understand. We can check the schedules online, the fares are set, things run mostly on time. They aren't on Swiss time but the schedules are closely kept, if not exactly. Lexi was scared the first time that we went on the Metro but now she is very excited to see the train. Her arms start flapping and she is screaming at the top of her lungs "Train, Train". She is also quite happy to go on the bus. Unlike in Switzerland, we have to fold up the stroller on the bus which is a bit of a hassle, especially since our stroller isn't small when it folds up - smaller, but not small.

May 20, 2009

Our Neighborhood

We are currently living in a furnished sublet in the Brookland neighborhood. For those of you who know D.C., the nearest Metro stop is the CUA-Brookland stop on the Red line. This neighborhood has lots of large houses and most have a fairly large lawn as well. While you don't see a lot of kids out and about, after going to play group twice, I would say there are a lot of kids in the 0-4 year-old bracket. It is nice to be able to see the houses again after not being able to see them from the street in Kenya. There are lots of trees and other green foliage. The street we live on is fairly busy with a number of cars passing each day. There is a bus that runs on our street as well.

The post office is within easy walking distance and we can walk to a larger shopping area in about 25 minutes. There are also take-out restaurants and a CVS around the block.

People out walking greet us as they pass about half the time, I would say. Overall, people seem friendly and willing to help you. It seems like a pretty nice neighborhood.