During the first week of our one-year posting in Islamabad, TJ found out his onward assignment. Although we told close family, we held off sharing the news with others because many factors can cause an assignment to be changed. But now that TJ has been "panelled" and has received his official "cable," we feel comfortable going public with the news: Our next assignment is -- drum roll, please -- Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Why not Europe?
So, you might be asking: What happened to getting a plumb post as a reward for volunteering to go to Pakistan? This means you are old enough for us to finally have "the talk." It's mainly this: There are no guarantees in the Foreign Service; a diplomat agrees to "worldwide availability" for a reason. This is something TJ and I are well aware of. Although it would've been nice to land in Europe, that is not the reason TJ applied to come to Islamabad, nor is it the reason that I supported his decision. Obviously, the reason was the money. I kid, I kid. It was because of the chance to witness the complex nature of global relationships in Pakistan, as I explained in a previous post.
There are two ways a diplomat can get a leg up after going to a less desirable post. First of all, he or she can bargain for a linked assignment, basically arranging his or her onward assignment in conjunction with the next assignment. However, there are only so many linked assignments available, and by the time TJ was bidding, they were all used up. The second way is to lobby for an early handshake, in which, during the regular bidding cycle, a consulate or embassy is allowed to offer the position to someone before everyone has even submitted bids for assignments.
Why Uzbekistan?
TJ actually received an early handshake for Tashkent. He found out well before others in his bidding cycle, the winter cycle, that he would be given the job. Speaking of bidding cycle, linked assignments can be used to obtain any position, as long as it matches up with the person's schedule for posting and training; on the other hand, early handshakes can be used only with those positions on a person's bid list. And therein lies the rub: TJ's bid list did not include many posts that people would consider "plumb." The closest one to Europe was in Kiev, Ukraine (incidentally, although the city appealed to us, the position did not fit).
We looked at a lot at posts in South America. Many of them fit TJ's schedule because, with his Spanish, he would not require much training before proceeding to his onward assignment. He considered many posts in Washington, DC, for the same reason. But in the end, he decided to take a chance on Tashkent because it was mix of a fascinating place to live and an interesting position to work. And there are absolutely no concerns or complications about whether Sage and I can go with him. And yet still, I'm sure you have more questions ...
No really, why -- wait -- what -stan was it again?
Uzbekistan, which won its independence from Russia in 1991. Originally, it joined the Commonwealth of Independent States with the surrounding "Stans," but it withdrew in 1999 after opposing re-integration. It has had a hot-and-cold relationship with the United States; Uzbekistan opened an airbase to U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, which also threatened its security and stability, but ended the relationship after the United States accused it of human-rights violations, specifically during the Andijan massacre of 2005. Because of its history, the main language remains Russian, with its Cyrillic alphabet, but there is also an Uzbek language, with a Latin alphabet. Most Uzbeks speak both languages, and most read both as well; the literacy rate of the country is over 95 percent. The primary religion is Islam, but not the fundamental kind; it will be especially interesting to compare its brand of secular Islam to the Islam of Pakistan. For example, there is a growing wine industry, and it seems former Russians haven't given up their vodka.
So really, why Tashkent?
Well, besides the wine and the vodka, the city has some other great things going for it. It actually has a decent public-transportation framework, which will make travel in the city and beyond better. The historic Silk Road ran through Uzbekistan, and there are four UNESCO World Heritage sites in the country. Plus, Uzbeks have their own fallen Tour de France hero, the Tashkent Terror, but there is still respect for cycling, so I might be able to do some touring on two wheels as well as four. The national cuisine will be great fuel for riding; we ordered palov and lagman from Khiva Restaurant in Islambad, and they were both unique, filling, and delicious. But what it really boils down to is: Why not?
When and how long will you go there?
TJ's position requires Russian, so after leaving Islamabad and going on home leave, we will be in Washington for about nine months while TJ has language training (and I might, too, if there's room in the class). We will not get to Uzbekistan until the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015, and we will be there for two years. And yes, it is utterly weird to know where we will be three or four years from now, considering we rarely know what we will be doing next weekend.
What will you do there?
You'll have to ask TJ for more details about his job, as they allude me, but I do know he will be working in a different section than he has in the past (consular). As for me, unlike Tijuana and Islamabad, there are international schools in Tashkent where I am allowed to teach, the primary one being Tashkent International School, so I might get back into secondary education. The school is based on the International Baccalaureate program, so I am already thinking about taking some IB training while I'm back in DC.
But then again, I'm showing up in the middle of a school year, so I might have to look for something else, if only temporarily. I might even end up working for the federal government again. My current position as an English language instructor gives me some experience to help in the embassy's Regional English Language Office, and the embassy also has an EducationUSA Advising Center for Uzbeks who want to study in the United States, which is a field I've often considered entering. And of course, I can always see what being a native English speaker can get me into. Or, if all else fails, maybe I'll just find a way to help contribute to the burgeoning wine industry.
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