Being a mom FSO in Santo Domingo

It has come to my attention that my blog has become a little boring. And I'm really ok with that. After all, it would be hard to top the drama of last year: getting the call, moving to VA, starting A-100, getting assigned to the DR, and moving here. Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it. It's nice to be settling into a routine and becoming used to things (of course, I must add that I still know nothing about moving about this big city, but I do know my daily routine and I have my driver, my dear husband, who can generally get us where we need to go).

But I was thinking about what I wanted to know before joining and which blogs I followed and it was all about being a mom in the FS. So I thought I would share some thoughts related to that topic. However, the truth is that I can really only talk about being a mom in this job, at this post. The FS unofficial motto "it depends" really applies to this topic.

Here in Santo Domingo, there are a ton of families, and the consular managers understand family needs. Everyone here has been incredibly accommodating. I was allowed to take off the first Friday after I arrived to take my son to his new school's open house. Because of our compressed schedule, I am able to pick the kids up every Friday, which is wonderful, because I otherwise would never see their schools or teachers. I do find that aspect difficult, but it's easier than when the kids were small (my husband and I have alternated kid drop off/pickup over the years based on our schedules).

Two of the things that have made this life easier on me as a mom are: 1) a 10 minute commute, and 2) household help. We love our apartment, but do wish we had a yard where the kids could run around. However, those yards come with a commute that we did not want to face, so overall we're happy with this housing assignment. I am usually home before 5pm (compared with 630ish in New Rochelle, and facing dinner and bedtime alone!). My housekeeper has dinner ready and we still have time to play after dinner.

My children definitely struggled when we arrived, but less than I expected. They rejected the housekeeper/nanny at first. I think she was kind of a symbol of all the change- she speaks Spanish, cooks food that is slightly different from what they were used to, and threatened to take them away from their parents. We decided to take it slow and not push them to stay alone with her, and it has worked...she is slowly winning them over. And luckily, my husband has been here as a steady presence for all of us and I want to express my gratitude to him.

The consular workload is heavy, but doesn't require much overtime. When I first arrived, I was surprised at all the extracurricular activities- requests to teach English at the Dominican-American institute, or speak on 9/11, or attend a musical performance on the Ambassador's behalf. I was hesitant to volunteer, as my family needed me around. But now that we are settled, I look forward to these activities to allow me to experience something other than the visa line. I have also learned that these activities are necessary to round us out and give us more material for our EERs (performance evaluations). I will be moving to IV soon (Immigrant visas) where the workload is a little heavier, but still is manageable. I think ACS (American Citizen Services) does require longer hours, and I'm grateful that it will be my last rotation. It would be hard to arrive and face that kind of schedule, though I'm sure I will do it at some future post. 

The community here is vibrant and active. There is always something going on, thanks to the CLO, and new people to meet. While Santo Domingo lacks outdoor playgrounds, we just joined a club with 3 pools, a playground, and tennis courts for RD500/month which equals about US$13!! Let me not get carried away- you know by now how much I love this post. But I wanted to share my thoughts about being a mom here. This change has been very good for our family, though it's hard to extrapolate to future posts. I can only hope we are as lucky going forward.

If any FS hopeful or bidder out there has any questions, I'm always happy to answer them.