Yes, after training here in Arlington, I will be the newest accredited US diplomat to the lovely island nation of Sri Lanka. I’ve been waiting eighteen months and we got our assignments today.
I’m stoked. I’m also a little drunk, so I’m going to go sleep it off and will post more later. In closing, all I have to say is: Sri Lanka’s flag can beat up your flag. It has a lion with a sword. That will be all.
Congratulations!
Look up Arthur Clarke when you get there-LOL! he doesn’t get out much, I’m afraid. At least, I think he’s still kicking… Sri Lanka “the Resplendant land” is supposed to be quite beautiful.
I like the sig, by the way, never noticed it before and my latin is way rusty, but marmota monax is woodchuck, right? so how much wood, etc…?
Nice.
B.
Passed through the place around 6 years ago. Absolutely beautiful. You must do the standard drive - up from Colombo to Kandy (dropping in at the elephant orphanage en route). Next day, Kandy to Nuwara Eliya (spelling? pronounced “nyoora leah” - an uphill trip that takes you from a tropical zone to a temperate one, with stunning scenery.
The food is great, if you like spicy, coconut type food. And the place is dirt cheap.
Sri Lanka?
Is that in Canada somewhere?
Yes, it’s in Canada somewhere. Right next to Myanmar in Canada.
Ya hoser.
Anyway, the post is for two years, I will be the US Political Officer for the first year, and the Assistant Public Affairs officer for the second. I get twenty holidays on the local schedule, and thirty days of annual and personal leave. I also get a differential because it’s so far below the standards of Washington DC, so that’s twenty percent of my salary again. The gov’t pays my housing, and we’re going from a one-bedroom apartment to a furnished three-to four-bedroom house with domestic help.
Oh, and the official US representation is “The US ission to the Democratic Socialistic Republic of Sri Lanka and the Maldives Islands”. So I’ll have to go to the Maldives for,ummm, political concerns. That and world-class diving. Tough life, I know.