Coming face to face with a Confederate soldiers' cemetery. I wish I weren't in Dixie...
Time continues on its inexorable march, much like Sherman's soldiers to the sea. Our departure for Addis Ababa is fewer than a dozen days away, and that time will be spent sorting through our possessions trying to determine which objects go in which kinds of shipments. That is, if my waiver is approved and/or I do better on the reading part of the Amharic exam. Because to no one's surprise, especially my own, I muffed it. I did well enough on the speaking component, but when it came time to read a few short passages in Amharic, I froze. It took some bureaucratic wrangling, but I've been granted a last-minute reprieve to do better, even if it's only a tad bit. The Amharic sword of Damocles is hanging over my head...
In the meantime, I was busy this past week with a mandatory security-related training in the West Virginian countryside. I can't/won't go into the details, but suffice it to say I passed while learning a few things about my physical limitations, namely that I can, in fact, crawl on my medically-suspect knees when necessary, but that at the same time I am prone to motion sickness when riding as a passenger in a fast-moving vehicle. I was housed in a hotel in the small burg of Shepherdstown, population less than 1800. On my first night there, I went out for a walk and soon found myself standing in the grounds of the historic Elmwood Cemetery. One section of the cemetery is home to the remains of two hundred-plus Confederate troops killed in the Battle of Antietam, which took place not far from Shepherdstown, across the Potomac River in Maryland:
A bit of Revolutionary War history as well in the cemetery:
This house reminded me of Lithuania for some reason:
Shepherdstown is small, but West German Street, the town's main drag, makes for an interesting walk:
The origins of St. Agnes Catholic Church may date back to 1795 (according to a couple of signs), but the church building itself is clearly of more recent origin:
Being the home of Shepherd University, Shepherdstown has a liberal, tolerant vibe. Think pride flags, dyed hair and tattoos, used record stores, people addressing you as "bro" and so on. I went out on a couple of evenings for dinner, and can recommend Maria's Taqueria...:
...and The Green Pineapple:
West Virginia, or at the least the small part of it where I stayed, is a land of contrasts. The rural scenery is beautiful, but like many places in America, the homes of the well-to-do coexist uneasily with the rundown residences of those struggling to get by. Shepherdstown might be a liberal college town, but I also saw several Confederate flags being flown, including one pickup truck-driving idiot who had both the Stars and Bars and the Stars and Stripes flying from the back of his vehicle (suggesting the duality of man?). Which is somewhat surprising, considering that West Virginia broke off from the rest of Virginia and sided with the Union during the Civil War.
I've had enough of Confederate symbols during my brief stays in Virginia (care for a drive on the Jefferson Davis Highway, anyone?). I've also had enough of training and am looking forward to getting back overseas. In the meantime...
We had a spectacular lightning storm one late evening:
Addis Ababa will be our first post where we are authorized a shipment of consumables from home to bring with us. We're allowed to bring up to 2000 pounds (907 kilograms), but other than toilet paper and Asian-style white rice, there isn't much that we actually couldn't live without, and our final purchase from the local Costco was on the comparatively slim side:
One thing that will be missed is enjoying ice cream on a warm summer afternoon at Lil City Creamery:
A bunny either enjoying the weather or trying to blend in at the local cemetery:
My daughter is old enough now to start making dining recommendations based on what she's heard from her friends and classmates. Which is how we ended up taking a dessert break from last-minute shopping at Magnolia Dessert Bar & Coffee:
This may or may not be the last dispatch from the DMV before we ship out to the Horn of Africa. Stay tuned...
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