Stuck in limbo waiting for a visa that may never come (153Cong.Rec.H5572)

My going-away party was more than a week ago, and yet, I have not actually gone away. I said goodbye to a bunch of people at a gathering at Courthaus Social, but I keep seeing them over and over, which is awkward, considering I was supposed to be out of here a while ago. Usually, I cause my own awkward situations, but in this case, it's bureaucracy's fault; I am awaiting my UK visa before I can hop a plane to cross the pond.

The party was not for naught, though, because TJ received his visa and passed his Russian test (exceeding expectations, of course), so he managed to get on his scheduled flight. I planned to depart before him -- mainly so he would be stuck with all the final cleaning-up and moving-out tasks -- but at least my failed attempt to deviously ditch domestic duties allowed us to spend one more weekend together.

In honor of his language-test achievement, we started with a celebratory dinner at Mari Vanna, which features cuisine from Russia and former Soviet countries. We shared a plate of Ukrainian salo, similar to Italian lardo; cured pork fat doesn't sound so good, but I swear, it's like bacon-flavored cheese. TJ chose two more dishes from the regular menu: Slovak machanka soup and Russian beef kotleti. I chose the rest of my meal from the featured Georgian menu: ispanakhi, or spinach balls, and chakhokhbili, or chicken stew.

TJ was able to make small talk with the Ukrainian waitress in Russian. I could read a majority of the menu, but I could barely manage a vocal "спасибо." This was a poor showing, considering that I recently learned my onward post after London will be Kyiv, Ukraine, where I will be expected to say more than "thank you" in Russian. I guess I have some studying to do once I finally get settled in the United Kingdom. 

On a lovely, sunny afternoon the next day, we headed, with a couple friends, to Bardo -- not to be confused with lardo -- a microbrewery a few blocks away from H Street in Northeast DC (top). The establishment distinguishes itself by brewing and serving its beer outdoors, which means it attracts a lot of mid-ride cyclists (bottom left). The beer garden's kitschy, hodgepodge ambiance might feel familiar (bottom right) because it is awfully similar to the owners' previous taphouse in Clarendon: Dr. Dremo's, an institution that offered brewed-on-site drafts and drinking-game options well before all the cool kids were doing it.

We packed up the leftovers from our picnic lunches, two jumbo fish sandwiches from Horace and Dickie's Seafood, and headed to an evening taping of  A Prairie Home Companion. Host Garrison Keillor walked through the crowd singing before he officially started the show, called “A Spring That Love Remembers” (left). It was a little easier to see him on stage, as he sang "Stars and Stripes Forever" with the U.S. Navy Band backing him up (right).

Ensuring that I will have appreciation for the Tube, the Metro made it take way too long to get to the Filene Center in the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (there's a shuttle from the West Falls Church stop). We made it just in time for the opening, but of course, the lawn was already packed, so we had a less-than-ideal view (left). But the powerful voices of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan -- who formed the trio I'm With Her after meeting at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival -- required only ears, not eyes, to appreciate (right).

 

Their songs were a blend of heartbreak and hope, an entirely apropos mixture when I dropped TJ off at the airport the next day. He made it to Tashkent safe and sound. Hopefully, I'll make it to London before his first R&R rolls around.