Many people have asked so I thought I would answer....
The biggest reason for us leaving is a career change.  Troy wants to get out of IT and try home theater design.  I do not know what I want to do when I grow up. :-)
I never intended for this blog to be affiliated with the foreign service and have learned that it is on a yahoo group, not sure how it got there.  I think it is there for people to go to for a MOH perspective.  Knowing this now, I thought I would share my feelings on being a MOH in the foreign service.  This blog will eventually go private as it has been intended to only share our adventures with family and friends.

So, being a MOH... yes it is like being a 3rd class citizen.  I have heard stories of the difficulties spouses have with various aspects of the foreign service.  I know of women that have MBA's or other such degrees that have been relegated to basic office work.  It must be extremely frustrating for them.  When I left the US, I had a very nice job, making a very nice living but living overseas was too good to pass up.  So when I left I wasn't giving up a career ( I hadn't worked with my degree for a few years before that).   I was just excited to have this opportunity.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

When I moved to India I was under the impression that it would be difficult but not impossible to get a job at the Consulate.  The CLO at the time was very knowledgeable and helpful.  She did all she could to help me find a job.  When the first job she helped out with fell through, she worked her magic, along with Troy and I ruffling some feathers, and I was allowed to apply for a 2nd job.  Now, this was only after the job was advertised for 2 weeks and none of the spouses at post wanted it.  In the world of the foreign service jobs are offered to EFM's (elgible family members) first.  If an EFM does not want the job then it will be offered to MOH's.  Now, if you have an instance where you have an EFM and MOH at post and the MOH is better qualified for the job, the EFM will still get the job.  It took me 5 months to get a job at the Consulate.

If there are instances where a MOH got a job over an EFM, I would love to hear it.  

As a MOH you are NOT entitled to use the commissary or the medical unit.  Sometimes these regulations are post specific.  I was allowed to use the medical unit at the Consulate- India after I started working there.  In Paris I am not allowed to use either.  
If a MOH does get employement at post he/she is considered a contractor and is not elgible for health insurance or any other such benefits.  The consulate in India was nice enough to help me with my residence card and I did not need a work visa to work there (at the consulate).  In Paris we were misinformed regarding my residence card by HR at post, if we were informed correctly they would have helped with my residents card.  I have not tried to find employment at post because I was lucky enough to set up a job out of MN and work from our apartment in Paris.  What I have heard is that a MOH needs a work permit to work at the Embassy and in order to get that the MOH needs to be sponsored and the Embassy will not sponsor a MOH.  So, a MOH would find it almost impossible to get a job at post.  I am not aware of any MOH's at post working.  But, I do not have a lot to do with the Embassy so I could be wrong.

Also, I did not get help with travel benefits.  All of my moving expenses were on our dime.  Troy would get R&R out of India but we had to pay for my portion of the trip.  
Now, if we were with the British High Commission a MOH would get health insurance, help finding a job and a diplomatic passport.  They pretty much get the same rights as a spouse (this information is from a British management officer).

I have been given a badge at both posts, so I am free to come and go from the building as I please.  Although, once inside I need Troy to hold my hand to walk into the commissary  and I am not allowed to purchase anything.  I am also not allowed to use the APO mail room.  One of the mail room employees is a spouse of a collegue of Troy's, so she will give me our mail when Troy is out of town.

I enjoyed being in India but would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't worked at the Consulate.  It was probably the worst job experience I have ever had (and I worked fast food in college).  It did get better after you arrived, Colin! : -)  I was very happy to come to Paris and not have to worry about trying to find a job at the Embassy.

We also get asked, "Wouldn't it have just been easier to have gotten married?"  Ya, it probably would have been easier but we weren't about to get married just to "make it easier".  That's not why you get married.

For Troy, working for the State Department has not been an entirely positive experience.  There is an environment of segregation "Specialists vs Officers"  One of his colleagues was actually asked by an officer "How did you get such a nice apartment, you are JUST a specialist".
There is not a lot of career growth potential for specialists.  He also had a hard time with people not using technology to it's fullest potential and he hears a lot "it's not my job".  The thing that bothers me with the foreign service is the tenure system.    People can get away with not doing their job and the people with work ethics have to pick up their slack.

So we are leaving.  But not without a wrench being thrown into our plans.  His CDO (career development officer) did not fully inform him of certain things so Troy may be staying a couple of months longer than planned.  One thing we have learned, the hard way, is not to believe anything you are told by one person, verify what that person has said with as many people as possible (preferably with people that are higher up than that first person). 

It is very telling that when we have told people we are leaving the foreign service we do not hear "Why would you want to leave, it's such a great job" but hear "You are lucky you are getting out".

Troy and I are finally leaving the foreign service.  Our last day in Paris is February 1st and we'll be in MN/WI area for a couple of weeks.  Then we are off to Seattle!  Troy went out to Seattle a couple of weeks ago and found us a cute house to rent in a suburb of Seattle called Renton.
I am sad to leave Paris but excited to start our new adventure!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! 

 My friend Jill introduced us to meetup.com and I joined thinking it would be a great way to meet people.  Troy and I went to one of the happy hours that was set up through the American expat meetup group.  It was not what we expected, very segregated and the organizer was not exactly welcoming.  Anyway, I still receive the e-mails and review them for something interesting.  An interesting event did come up and we decided to do it.  It was a Paris Scavenger hunt and we got a couple of friends to go with us.  It was put on by Ravenchase (www.ravenchase.com).  
It started off fun...started in a pub and we had a couple of pints and chatted.  Then we got our clues and rules and headed off...
Here is part of our team "The Diplotards"

Troy, Amber and Wes

After about 90 minutes and still not having answered any of the clues we were not having much fun anymore.  The clues were very hard!  We ran into another group at one point (probably 2 hours into it) and they asked us how many clues we had figured out..."2"..."ya us too"  So we didn't feel too stupid at that point.

Here is the team again after finding our first clue...



I don't have anymore pictures after this.  We were hungry, frustrated and thirsty!  So after 3 hours of running around Paris and still only 2 clues down (out of 7 and you are only allowed 4 hours to finish) we decided to call it a night and head to Fajitas for dinner and drinks.  We never made it to the end point of the scavenger hunt.  I think the Canadians won.

Since Troy was sick on our first trip to Dublin we decided to make another trip and actually see Dublin.  Our first night there was not fun due to priceline.com (I will NEVER use them again, e-mail if you'd like to know why) but once we had a pint and got some sleep we were ready to go!  Friday was a day of drinking tours.  Our first stop was the Guinness Brewery tour.   It was an interesting tour but the best part was....






A gentlemen was nice enough to stop and ask if we wanted him to take a picture of us (would never happen in Paris!)

Then after lunch and a couple more pints we headed to the Jameson Distillery.  While we waited for our tour to start we sat in the Jameson bar and a couple of drinks, Troy of course Jameson and Diet Coke and I had a wonderful Irish Coffee.


This was a guided tour (Guinness was not) and our guide asked for 3 male volunteers and 3 female volunteers for a tasting.  One other woman and myself half volunteered and were half pushed to volunteer by our significant others and were the only female volunteers.  Once we were done with the tour we were lead into the tasting room where all the non-volunteers got to choose from a nice selection of Jameson cocktails.  Those of us that volunteered were sat down at a table with 5 different shots.  3 Irish whiskeys, 1 scotch and 1 American whiskey (Jack Daniels of course).  I was regretting volunteering at this point.  I do not like whiskey or scotch straight.  I was looking longingly at the cocktails and cringing with every sip of my shots, especially the scotch!  Troy took pictures of this and they are not on the computer yet, I will add them here as soon as I can.

 Saturday we were up early to join a tour.  We typically don't do tours but this was recommended by our friend Heider and his girlfriend Lynn and we had a lot of fun with it.  If you are ever in Dublin try the Wild Wicklow tour...
http://www.discoverdublin.ie/wildcoachtours_wicklow.html

We got to see some Irish countryside, do some shopping and have a nice Irish lunch.  We made one stop to look at a lake and when you got to the edge of the cliff the window was so incredibly strong that it could have knocked you over.  Everyone stood at the edge or near the edge and let the wind push them back.  Here is a picture of Troy and I apologize for it being blurry but it was impossible to hold still with that wind..


All you could hear was the wind and everyone laughing.

The tour ends with a walk through a monastery...



Our last day was spent shopping, lunch of fish and chips and flying home.

More pictures to come...
 

 Yesterday, my friend Amber and I went to Salon du Chocolat - The Chocolate Show ( http://www.chocolateshow.com/ ).  There was chocolate from Mexico, Belgium, France and most of it was delicious!  We weren't crazy about the chocolates from Latin America but found many chocolates we loved.  We both bought a box of chocolates from Mademoiselle de Margaux (http://www.mademoiselle-de-margaux-33.com/ ).  Amber bought a box of milk chocolate caramel and I bought a box of milk chocolate/praline/hazelnut.  The woman there was nice enough to bring out a special treat for us....a grape soaked in rum and then covered in chocolate.  It was fabulous!  We also tried fruit kebabs dipped in chocolate, very good but very filling.  There was also booths with samples of Bailey's, wine, Grand Marnier and other chocolate liqueurs.  We hit some of them a couple of times!
There was chocolate for days.....


Unfortunately we missed the chocolate fashion show but they did have the dresses on display.  Some looked a little sad since some chocolate had melted off...





And I couldn't resist having a picture of a chocolate champagne bottle and Eiffel Tower...
 

 The first week they were in Paris they went to the Louvre, Picasso Museum, Fountainebleau and shopping.  We did our usual picnicking on the Champ de Mars...








Troy and Sherry at Fountainebleau


Dave and Sherry at Fountainebleau
 

While Sherry and Dave were visiting the four of us made a trip to London.  Our first night we walked around Covent Garden and stopped for drinks and people watching.


One of the street performers we saw.

Our second day, Sherry and Dave went to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc... Troy and I went to see Harry Potter at the Imax.  It was pretty cool to see the last 20 minutes in 3D but not worth the money.  

Our third day in London we decided to take a trip out to Stonehenge.

Troy and Sherry in front of Stonehenge

Was kind of disappointed with Stonehenge.  It is something to see but the mystery of it all is slightly ruined by the ropes and all the tourists.

Our fourth day in London Sherry and Dave went on a guided tour of English Gardens and Troy and I did a whole lot of walking around London.
Our last day the 4 of us went to the Tower of London ( http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/index.html ).  It was cool to see the royal family jewels but wasn't worth the $32 per person to see.  We did get to see their torture tower (think that is what it was called).  Morbid, yes but interesting to see.  After walking through as much of the tower as we could stand we walked around looking for a place to eat.  We accidentally ended up in the crowded streets for the Thames Festival ( http://www.thamesfestival.org/ ).  It was crazy and took a very long time to get through.  We stopped at a tavern and had a nice lunch and then off to the train station.


Sherry and Dave with the Tower Bridge in the background.


Troy and I with the Tower Bridge in the background.

For more pictures of London, click here.
 

Friday was a quiet day.  We spent a lot of time by the pool and while Sherry, Dave and Troy went into Beynac I decided to stay by the pool, enjoying the last day of peace and quiet before returning to the hustle and bustle of Paris.
That evening we went into Beynac for dinner.  We went to a restaurant that was recommended from our guide book by Rick Steves.  All was well but the steak - it was the worst steak I have ever had in France.  Luckily we weren't the only ones that complained, according to the owner he got bad beef from his supplier.  Other than the steak it was a pleasant evening.

Saturday was an early day, we had a long drive ahead of us.  On the way to Paris we stopped at a town called Oradour-sur-Glane.  It is a small French village that was destroyed by the Nazis.  On June 10, 1944 Nazi soldiers came into Oradour-sur-Glane and executed the men, women and children and burned down the village.  In all, 642 people were killed.  The village has been left basically untouched since then.  It is now a memorial.




Here a group of men were killed and burned by the Nazis. 


 

On Thursday, Troy and I went off by ourselves to the Pyrenees.  It was a long drive and we only made it into the foothills but it was very pretty.



Saw a number of cows just hanging out on the side of the roads.

 

On Wednesday we went to the open air market in Sarlot.  It was very busy but saw all sorts of delicious food.  Here are a couple of pictures of the huge cheese we saw...


 

After lunch in Sarlot we went to Castlenaud - it is a castle across the river from the Beynac castle.
http://www.castelnaud.com/castelnaud/htmgb/historiq.html


Troy with the armor


View of the Beynac castle from Castlenaud

On Tuesday we went to Les Jardins du Manoir d'Eyrignac - The Eyrignac Manor Gardens.  The house and gardens have been in the family for 500 years and are gorgeous.





Here is more info on the Manor and Gardens...
 http://www.eyrignac.com/htmgb/historique.html

For more pictures of the Gardens click here.

After the gardens we had lunch and then went to visit the Grotte de Rouffignac - Cromagnan caves.  Unfortunately we don't have any pictures, not allowed, so this is the best I can do....
http://www.grottederouffignac.fr/default_an.asp
The tour was guided and in French but being in the cave was cool and seeing the drawings was interesting.

Monday we drove to St. Emilion, another medieval village but well known for one of my favorite red wines.  We had lunch at a little pizzeria and then walked around the village.  We stopped at a couple of wine shops for wine tasting and found some great wines.  Unfortunately, the prices of the wines there are ridiculous, we found the exact wines onine for less than half the price.  It's a very tourist area so they can get away with it.


Troy and I in the wine caves


Sherry and Dave

 

Troy's Mom and step Dad arrived on Tuesday and they spent the week doing some sightseeing in Paris and then Saturday we headed down to our rented Villa in Dordogne region.  It was a long drive and as soon as we unpacked we hit the pool....





That evening we grilled and sat in front of the fire.



Sunday was a day of relaxing.  Troy and I went into Sarlot to get some groceries and then spent the rest of the day by the pool.  We did go to Beynac for just a bit while Sherry and Dave took a nap.  Beynac is a medieval village with "Chateau de Beynac" (castle) at the top of a cliff.   Pictures of that castle to come.

For more pictures of the Villa, click here.

Last weekend our friends, Matt and Jill from Zurich, were in town to see Paris.  They did their own thing Thursday and Friday.  Friday night the four of us went to dinner in the Latin Quarter.  We had a great time and can you believe it, I forgot my camera?  So no pictures from me but Jill has one up on her blog...
Saturday while they went to Versailles, Troy and I prepared for picnicking at the Champ de Mars.  Last year for Bastille Day Troy was in Iceland and Loki and I just watched the fireworks from the Arch de Triomphe, so we thought it would be fun to be down at the Eiffel Tower this year.  After Versailles, naps and packing up the grocery caddy and several bags, we headed to The Eiffel Tower.  Now, typically this takes me about 35 minutes to the Trocadero it was closed off so we had to walk around.  Another 45 minutes later....We are at Champ de mars and spreading out our blankets as close to the shade as possible (we think it had to be in the 90's that day).  So with 7 hours to spare before the fireworks started we put out all the food, opened the first of 8 bottles of wine and played yahtzee.
Now you may ask "Why 7 hours before the fireworks started?"  This is why....

When we arrived, half of these people were not there.

They had a stage at the other end of Champ de Mars and music.  It took us a while to figure out it was actually Nelly Furtado on stage and not just a dj playing her music.  She sang a few songs, not too familiar with her.
We took Loki with us since we didn't know how long we were going to be gone and I don't like to crate him for too long.  He did surprisingly well.  He only hid under Troy's legs a couple times, oh and Jill's legs.


More pictures...



Jill and Matt





Just in case you were wondering, we did not go through all 8 bottles of wine and the bottle of champagne between the 4 of us.  A few other people joined us later in the day and we went through 7 bottles of wine and the one bottle of champagne.

For those of you who do not know what Bastille Day is about, here is a bit of information I took from wikipedia

Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called "Fête Nationale" ("National Holiday"), in official parlance, or more commonly "quatorze juillet" ("14th of July"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French "nation", and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

For Troy's birthday weekend we originally planned to go camping but a couple of days before we were to leave we decided to go to the airbase in Germany instead.  We needed groceries but we also wanted to go golfing and bowling.  Going to the base is like being in the States for a few days.  The weather wasn't the best, we ended up golfing in the rain, but it didn't dampen our excitement of golfing.  Golfing badly dampened our excitement of golfing. ;-)  The base had events planned for the 4th.  Fair food, beer tent, bands and fireworks.  The best part, for me, was the "U2 Tribute band"  I thought they would just play U2 songs but to my surprise they dressed like U2, talked like U2, referred to each other as U2 names.  I laughed so hard.  I have never seen U2 in concert so I am not sure if they copied U2's antics on stage as well.  We didn't stick around very long, they weren't very good.
Anyway, Troy's birthday was a quiet day.  I made his fave breakfast and he opend his present (there were suppose to be more but of course the order did not arrive on time).
Here he is with part of his present....


That night I took him to his favorite restaurant but it was closed for the whole month of July, so we headed to it's sister restaurant to give it a try.  It's owned by the same family and they serve the same thing, steak and fries, but we think the first one is better.  Highly recommended it if you come to Paris, Le Relais de Venise "L'Entrecote".  Here is some information on it from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Entrec%C3%B4te
After dinner we headed to see Shrek the Third (cute movie) and then back home for birthday cake.


Troy blowing out the candles on his cake.

It was also my Dad and brother's birthday over the weekend.  They went golfing and relaxed over the weekend.  Here is my Dad with the Penzey's grill gift box I sent him. 



I love Penzey's, my friend turned me on to it.  One of our favorites is the Bold Taco Seasoning, so much better than the store bought envelope stuff.  www.penzeys.com  Hope my Dad enjoys it, he got a new smoker from Mom so I am sure he'll use a couple of the rubs in the box.


Off the subject,  Troy brought to my attention that in our Scotland entry, I forgot to mention the Edinburgh Dungeons tour we went on.  It was LAME, so maybe that is why I didn't mention it.  Anyway it was about 30 minutes long and the brochure has this picture of these people on a boat in a tunnel type thing and so it looked like it might be OK.  It honestly was one of the saddest tours I have ever been on, not scary, not funny and the boat portion was the most pathetic part of it.  (http://www.thedungeons.com/en/edinburgh-dungeon/index.html)