3 weeks and counting

Sitting at home waiting for the pre-move surveyor to come. We pack out in 2 weeks. ACK! Before writing that, I didn't actually realize. Deep breaths.

My family left for Oregon yesterday. We usually go there every summer to visit with D's parents and 3 sisters, one of whom lives in Alaska w/ her husband and 3 kids. They will be gone for 11 days, which is the longest I've ever been separated from my babies. I'm sad I couldn't go with them- I am one of those lucky people who loves her husband's family and enjoys spending time with them. I also love Oregon and especially Sunriver, OR,  where they are renting a home. My kids are going to enjoy some good old-fashioned American fun with their cousins- bike-riding, walking on trails, playing in the woodsy playgrounds...as we like to say in the B household, 'doesn't get much better than that.'

But the good news is that 1) I'll have uninterrupted time to get ready for packout, and 2) I love my job! I'm not sad in the least about having to go to school every day.

Consular training continues to be awesome. We have been doing interview role plays to prepare for the real thing, and although the first day was mildly terrifying, by the third, I felt pretty good. We finished non-immigrant visas and will soon start learning about American Citizen Services, i.e. all the ways we can help (or are unable to help) Americans in trouble abroad. I'm really hoping to be able to do a rotation in ACS while I'm in Santo Domingo.

Let's see, what else? We sold our little car in about 1.5 days. Nice work, D! Goodbye, Goldie...we will miss you. You were our first car and brought our little M home from the hospital. Thanks.

Still trying to ship the new one. What a nightmare of a process!

We have some 158th classmates leaving this week- goodbye and good luck, friends! See you next time!

Ok, off to review my to-do list!

Need car advice, please!

Update: I called Toyota and they let me extend for 6 more months! I am so surprised but it goes to show that you don't know until you ask. So I'll know where I'm going when we have to make a decision, but I still look forward your comments on car purchases. thanks!

Original Post: 
So we have a little car dilemma and I really need some advice. I know it's better to wait and see where I am assigned before making a car decision, but our lease (and its 6 mos extension) on our Toyota Sienna minivan ends next month. I always thought I would prefer to avoid the hassle of shipping a POV (privately owned vehicle) and the wait in country for it to arrive, but then I realized that buying a car in country would probably involve paying cash. Am I wrong in that assumption? I know I could be assigned anywhere, but I am assuming that we will go to a developing country where it might be difficult to finance.

So if we don't have the resources to buy a car with cash at post, I'm thinking we'd be better off either buying the minivan now (which is kind of a little beat up on the outside, but runs great, so maybe that makes sense) or buying something else that we can finance.

So the next question is: is a minivan a bad car to have? Will it be wiser to go for an SUV in case we're in a weather challenged country where we will need the 4 wheel drive? Are there standard cars like Toyota 4-runners that FS people generally buy? 

Please, please comment and tell me your thoughts...thank you!