Mumbai 2017

Dave has been officially offered and has accepted a position in Mumbai, India following the conclusion of our time here in Jakarta.  We will transfer next summer.  The whole family is feeling excited about this, for loads of reasons.

Dave is feeling excited in large part because the bidding process is over.  In the State Department, a person finds their next job through a mishmash process of lobbying and official assignment called bidding.  Jobs are centrally posted, individuals make contact to apply for the job.  This is followed by interviews and searching your contacts to see who you know that may know someone who knows someone who could make a decision about you.  In a field where people make new hiring decisions every year and the entire office turns over completely every 3 years, personal references are invaluable.  Dave was in the enviable position of being able to choose between two jobs.  In the current State Department climate, this was good luck and (I believe) a testament to Dave's good work.

I wrote about our decision a few weeks ago, the point where we decided not to return to Washington for the next four years.  But I thought you might enjoy the thought process from the day.

We chatted with the girls about the two cities over dinner that night.  They felt excited about DC, even though they seemed serious about me returning to work and living on a very tight budget.  They also felt excited about Mumbai - the food, the clothes, the friends, the new adventure.  That list has since grown to include the school and the opportunity to live in a high rise.  Over dinner, they could not decide which city they would prefer.  And then Sophia said, I think Mumbai would be great because there will be no garbage on the street. I'm sure people pick up their trash and the skies are blue.

Um, sorry kiddo, I said.  I think Mumbai will be even worse than Jakarta on that front.

All three looked at me with disbelief.  And then each of them echoed, Well then, we should go to Washington!

Prepared for the garbage and the smells and the abundance of poverty, I am not excited about moving into another massive Asian city with hyper pollution and nasty traffic.  I miss parks and relaxing outside.  But I am otherwise way excited about Mumbai, which looks to be a vibrant city in an ancient country rich with culture.