What is Supplied at Oakwood Falls Church

Two weeks until departure and I have shifted from -what to get rid of- to -what do we pack in our suitcases and UAB-. The last time we headed to language training at FSI, I was able to get a specific list of items provided by Oakwood Falls Church, directly from our contact at HRPCSLODGING or from Oakwood's National Account Coordinator.

Here is the list of items that were in the Oakwood Apartment:
1. Bed including: pillows, sheets, quilted blanket, duvet set and mattress topper
2. "Stunning photographic art captured from around the globe" by Chairman, Howard Ruby [quotes not added by me]
3. Television and DVD player in living room
4. Clock radio
5. Television in every bedroom
6. Cordless telephone
7. Answering machine or voice mail
8. Decorator accessories
9. Fully equipped kitchen (see below)
10. Microwave oven
11. Designer vanity set
12. Hair dryer
13. Bath towels
14. Iron and ironing board
15. Laundry basket
16. Vacuum cleaner

Kitchen (one bedroom or two bedroom):
1. Dishes (four or six 4-piece settings)
2. Flatware (four or six 5-piece settings)
3. Beverage glasses (eight or twelve)
4. Wine glasses (four or six)
5. Can opener
6. Coffee maker
7. Toaster
8. Baking dish (two-quart)
9. Casserole dish
10. Ceramic utensil holder
11. Colander
12. Cookie sheet
13. Cookware set (eight pieces)
14. Cutlery tray
15. Cutting board
16. Grater
17. Juice pitcher
18. Mixing/serving bowls (three)
19. Storage containers (three)
20. Barbeque brush
21. Corkscrew
22. Knife block

Can customize with these items:
1. Stereo with CD player
2. Fax/copy/scan machine
3. Roll-away bed
4. Crib with linens
5. High chair
6. Blender
7. Patio furniture
8. Asian Kitchen Package
9. Asian Stir Fry Package

Looking at the Oakwood website today, here is the listing of items provided in another format:
The Oakwood Signature Apartment provides the highest standards in accommodations, adding four-star luxury to your Oakwood stay. It includes the following:

Oakwood Dream Bed
Television with DVD player
Additional television in bedroom
A collection of images from Oakwood Chairman Howard Ruby's own photo collection
Fully equipped kitchen
Deluxe bathroom accessories

An Oakwood Dream Bed, offering a sumptuous night's sleep to rival any top-of-the-line hotel. It includes fourluxurious pillows, down blanket, lush duvets, a signature 'Oakwood' decorative pillow, and high thread-count first quality sheets.

Color television and DVD player
Picture and plant packages
Decorator accessory package
Linen package
Clock radio
Bathroom accessories
Vacuum cleaner
Iron and ironing board
Dust pan and brush

Fully equipped kitchens have everything you need to cook meals as if you were in your own home, including:
Dish settings, glasses, and flatware
Cookware and baking dishes
Cooking tools and serving utensils
Knife block set
Coffee maker
Microwave oven and toaster

Basic utilities include:
Local telephone service, including answering machine or voice mail
Optional long distance service (additional charge)
Cable television service
In-unit or on-site laundry facilities
Parking (at most locations)
Professional weekly housekeeping service

Additional Items: The following items are available at an additional cost
Blender
Crib (with linens)
Electric Fan
High Chair
Patio Furniture (two chairs, one table)
Patio Chair - additional
Roll-Away Bed
Stereo with CD Player
Telephone - Cordless

Looks like a long list, but we ended up bringing or buying extra items for our 10 month stay last time. Items were:
1. Hooks, those removal sticky ones
2. Better bath mat for when kneeling to bathe kids
3. More hangers, they provide some
4. Extra food storage containers
5. Shower caddy for shampoos, etc
6. Sponge holder for sink
7. Key rings
8. Blender
9. Small bucket to hold recycling under sink
10. Coasters
11. Reusable bags, and more bags
12. Cupcake pan
13. Bigger frying pan
14. Bigger pot
15. Extra serving bowls
16. Salad spinner
17. Our good parring and chef's knife
18. Small tray for keys, change, etc
19. Toy organizers
20. Small table and chair for kids

These items were in addition to the toys, DVDs, clothes, books and other various items packed in our UAB and suitcases. Probably not necessary for a couple of months but once you pass 4 or 5, some of these items make living there a little easier. There is a BJs, Target and a Goodwill store about a mile walk away; and a Saturday shuttle from Oakwood to the shopping area.

If you are in the area in March or September, I highly recommend the kids consignment sale at St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Arlington. I was able to pick up a bunch of toys for the kids for our stay.

Saying "Good Bye" to the Ambassador (our car) in Kolkata

[I found this old post that I forgot to publish before we left Kolkata. We are currently trying to figure out what to do for transportation with a six month TDY in Falls Church, VA for language training, and then a three year post in Astana, Kazakhstan, so the topic is at the top of our minds...]

Although the pictures may look like a specimen from the History Detectives, above and below is the car title and registration for our (and others before us) Ambassador. Another reason to be fond of owning one in West Bengal. It reads like a passport for its decade plus service for those posted at the American Consulate.

From our brief experience in the Foreign Service, owning a car is tricky financially. The import rules for bringing in a car can change even after all the research and your orders, sometimes you can only bring right-hand drive cars into right-hand car countries, and the same with left-hand cars in left-hand car countries. It may be best to have a vehicle for rough terrain, a small car for congested city or no car for one with great public transportation and little parking.

The road of least resistance seems to be to buy when getting to post (or training in D.C.); and then selling when you leave a post. You may loose money or break even (not ever allowed to make a profit), so hopefully it evens out in the long run. Buying from another diplomat at post, American or another country, also seems to be the path of least resistance for registration and having it available soon after arrival.

As we head back to D.C. for training before Prague, we have decided to look for another Mazda 5 (our car in D.C. that we transferred the lease to another foreign service officer before we left for Kolkata) at either CarMax or Hertz Rent2Buy, even though it drives me crazy when "2" is used in that way. We will use the car in D.C. and then hopefully send to Prague (crossing fingers that the import rules don't change before then). Others have said that they have successfully purchased and then sold at Ballston Auto Center in Falls Church, when in long-term training in D.C.

A Tribute to Kolkata: Buffalo Boy’s Calcutta Crush!

 

Yesterday in The Telegraph, the departing political officer in Kolkata beautifully captured what it is like to live in "Calcutta," a unique city that you either fall in love with or dread. An excerpt:

"When people ask me what I will miss most about Calcutta, I have a hard time explaining the loss I already feel when I think of leaving. I will miss the dosas at Jyoti Vihar and the pan-fried momos at Blue Poppy. I will miss the slow, seemingly prehistoric rumble of the trams and the incongruous orderliness of the Metro, even at rush hour. I will miss the Hooghly, swirling chai brown in the wake of a Howrah-bound ferry boat, with the view framed by two iconic bridges and the Calcutta skyline. I will miss the orange and gold radiance of the krishnachura trees in bloom and the other-worldly colours that take over the Calcutta sky when a storm approaches. I will miss the vibrancy of Calcutta’s art, from heart-wrenching photojournalism to age-old tales retold on patachitra scrolls from the Jungle Mahal. The roaring drums and frenetic flips of chhau dancers and the saccharine tones of a sangeet recital."

Read more here.

That Arlington/Falls Church State of Mind

As we start our countdown to leaving post, I can't help but once again sing the Arlington Rap while sorting stuff. Need to remember to put our brown flip flops in our UAB to fit in.

May Day in Dresden

Early May brings two national holidays in the Czech Republic, each one typically falling in the middle of a week. It is a good time to take a day trip or head to the commissary in Grafenwoehr, since the crowds are smaller during the week. We decided to head to Dresden for the day, since it is a scenic two hour drive away.

Using our favorite series of European maps, USE-IT Europe, for Dresden, we plotted a series of things to do, mostly kid-friendly. USE-IT Europe is a collection of guides put together by local, "young people." It shows a different perspective than the typical travel guide.

Things We Thought We Could Do in Dresden with Kids:
1. Visit a Historic Cheese Shop
("cheese" would be our kids' middle names, if they could name themselves)
2. Go to the Dresden Castle Grounds
3. Take a Boat Ride on the Elbe
4. Ride the Train in Tivoli Gardens
5. Go to the Zoo in Tivoli Gardens
6. Go to the Deutsche Hygiene Museum
(or the better sounding Museum of Man)
7. Go to the Transportation Museum

Things we Ended Up Doing:
1. Ate Curry Wurst
2. Went to the May Day Festival

Dresden has a good Christmas Market, but we were surprised and happy to see a May Day festival in the center of town, complete with May Day pole dancing. We started off the day with an early lunch at Curry & Co in the Neustadt area of town. Sicily was fascinated by the holes in the table for the cones of fries. Alani was just fascinated by the fries.

Then the -festivaling- began with a children's ride area. "Festivaling" should really be a word, especially in this part of the world. In the Spring and Fall, it seems like you could almost find one every weekend.

The May Day festival is smaller than the Christmas Market, and less crowded as well. We were able to park right under Altmarkt Square, use the very clean public bathroom in the parking deck and take an elevator right up to the festival. Those conveniences are magic when you have two small kids.

Ferris wheel on the main square. You can barely see the festival booths behind it. I forgot to take pictures of the four rows of booths, main stage and may day pole.

Many people were enjoying wurst, fish and wine on the square. Sicily's choices were ice cream and running though a fountain. We did get to walk around the area a little. One of the most impressive sights was the Fürstenzug mural, a large mural with a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony.

As in most tourist areas throughout Europe, there were several men posing as statues and dressed up as silver clowns, kings and what-not around the Dresden castle. One guy had a little more flair than normal. After Sicily dropped some coins in his hat, he combined an old school mime routine with a split and moon walking. Made the history a little more fun for the kids.