My Small Tribute

I am writing this blog post for two reasons: 1) I want my family and friends in the U.S. to know how much we value our work and how much we value each other and 2) I want my "Caracas Crew" to know how much I've been thinking of all of you.  Looking at pictures and remembering good times with Anne brings back so many memories of spending time with all of you.  You were my family in Caracas; it was my first time living overseas, and you all were the best friends I could have asked for.  I hope in telling a few of my memories, you all will say "Oh yeah, that reminds me of when....." and have more memories of your own to treasure.  They're just little things, but they mean a lot to me.

I volunteered through the embassy to sponsor a new officer arriving at post.  They assigned me to sponsor Anne.  I sent her an e-mail, and we friended each other on Facebook.  I had just added some pictures of a recent trip to Angel Falls, and she was so excited to get there and see the country.  I remember seeing on Facebook that she had graduated in 2005.  I couldn't believe it, she was my little brother's age!  I was really worried that I was going to have to keep a constant eye on her and watch out for her, in such a dangerous city (yeah, because I was so much older, 24 :).  But I was amazed at her maturity when we finally met.  She just really had her act together.  I offered to get a ticket to the Marine Ball for her before she came, so she could go with the rest of us.  Not only did she go, but she somehow got a gorgeous ball gown down to Caracas before the rest of her stuff arrived.  She spent several months in the Tamanaco hotel, waiting for her housing assignment, and finally she moved into my building!  I remember running into her in the garage in the mornings or after work, and she always had her great aviator glasses on, driving her gray Pontiac.  

The rest of my memories are at work, house parties, and birthday dinners.  I remember seeing her catch a ride in the evenings to play soccer.  It sounds not-as-significant after reading it in the news so many times, but I will repeat it because it is true: she always had a smile and something funny to say to me, she always made me feel welcome, like I was one of her closest friends even though we had just met.  For the next year and a half, I knew I could call my neighbor Anne anytime if I needed something.  At work (where there was plenty of tough work to go around) she never shied away from it.  And for those of us who were exhausted by all the hard work we were putting in, and were thinking about how we needed a break, she was signing up to go to Afghanistan.  Anne didn't join the Foreign Service to live in nice apartments and serve in cushy assignments.  She came to work.  And since she wasn't able to finish her work, I will try (and I know each of us will) every day to make a little bit more of a difference in what I do.  Put in a little more effort, give a few more smiles.  Mike said it best when he wrote on her Facebook page: "Anne -- We all know how excited you were to do work that would change the world. Know that you changed us all for the better."