I-phone blogging

I bought a keyboard for my i-phone and I'll see how well I do using it.  I left my laptop at home this trip and brought my phone and Kindle.  It is an experiment to see what I use when I travel, and what can be left at home.  Unfortunately, I'll have to add in the pictures later, because I can't figure out how to add them in now.

I'm back in Washington DC for a week of training at FSI.  You can't see it very well from this photo, but just to the right of the plane's wing is the United States Air Force Memorial.  It is hard make out, but it is the silver spot an inch or so to the right of the wing.

Packing for pre-winter travel is much harder than summer weather.  My suitcase is heavier and I have to stick to my wardrobe choices.  I have one extra outfit, but that is it.  So far, I've done pretty well and am happy  with what I brought.

Yesterday after class I went out for an evening walk and dinner with a colleague.  That is a change for me because in the past, I've been on my own.  We walked across the Key Bridge into Georgetown.

The destination was my favorite Turkish restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue, Cafe Divan.  What is super fun for me, is that she is vegan.  For the first time, I don't have the most restrictive diet.  The good thing is that if she can eat it, I can too.  Our meal started with a creamy lentil soup.  We followed that with a meze platter for two: dolma, feta cheese, lentil kofta, hummus, borek, and cucumber slices.  We also had falafel and warm bread.  So tasty.  At the end, I had a cup of tea and we shared an order of baklava.

We walked along M street, window shopping until we reached Dean and Deluca.  The lure of their candy and pastry counter was too much for us to resist...and we did not walk out empty handed.  We stopped in DC Cupcakes and who knew they had a vegan option?  But they did.

I really enjoyed having a debrief of the day with somebody.  Instead of going out by myself, and processing all the information of the day, I was able to go through it and have a conversation about the day.  It was so pleasurable.  And a surprise.

I came back to the hotel room and used face time on the phone to review Selim's homework.  What a treat.  I love this technology that enables me to see my guys while I am away.  I feel much more connected.

Today was another great day of training.  Yesterday I ran into a woman who works at the London Embassy and another woman that I met in ConGen.  Today at lunch, I spotted another woman that I met in ConGen and again in London last summer.  How fun is that, to revisit these connections!  I'm realizing that I'm not alone in a professional sense.  I have made contacts and friendships that do last, even though we don't see each other very often.  It is expansive and gratifying.

After work today we hit up the gift shop at Main State and then walked up 19th street to Dupont Circle.  Bangkok Thai had been recommended and we found it on P street.  It was delicious.  They were flexible with substituting veggies and it was a great meal.