Bidding on the future...

The summer bid list is finally out and we need to choose wisely. Especially if we want to go overseas, which has been our goal since the very beginning. Out of 150 current available posts, we need to narrow our search down to 15. Then let the politicking and paneling for a particular city/post begin. Rank, language training, evaluations and letters of recommendation from supervisors play a big part in the paneling process which then leads to a final hand shake from the higher ups. Once we get the hand shake there's no turning back, unless there's a life threatening emergency, otherwise we're going to that country. So, it's vital to do as much research on a country before placing a bid and hope that a 2 year post is not a regrettable one. But how does someone truly know until they get there? It's a leap of faith. And even though, such places as Prague, Paris, Bern, and The Hague are options which entice us, realistically we will not be wasting our bids on them because we will not get such places, especially it being our first post overseas.

With all that being said, we've decided since we're healthy, have no children and don't mind roughing it for a couple years (I always wanted to be in the Peace Corps). We're narrowing our list to primarily African countries with a splash of South Asian and a dash of 1 South American country. No sipping Caipirinhas on Corcovado Beach for me this time around. Instead, an eye opening, self reflecting experience with an exposure to seeing what true hardship is. If we don't get paneled for places, such as the Ivory Cost, Congo, Bujumbura, etc...then the gods are truly telling us to stay put for a little while longer.