As I'm sure you know now (or maybe you don't) the Secretary of State visited us here Sunday Night, Monday and Tuesday of last week. Big visit, and one that will be very important for the bilateral relationship between the US and South Africa. While very exciting, it's also very difficult on the home front due to the long hours that need to be worked to ensure that the visit is a success. Especially as a Management Officer. Let's walk through it, shall we?
All week we've had count-down meetings to discuss issues that have or might come up, look at the schedule, and see if anyone has problems or questions that need to be answered prior to the arrival of the Secretary. A tentative schedule is shown, but everyone knows that's pie in the sky, so no one really pays attention to the times on the schedule. Even the events are subject to change at the last minute. So basically we sit around and try to get ourselves ready for the event not knowing exactly what we're going to do.
This visit is worse for us as Lovely English Lass now works at the Consulate as the Community Liaison Officer. This means she is in charge of the Meet and Greet that is going to happen here at the Consulate. So very busy here. Add in that we have to keep the kids busy and it was difficult.
One of the issues is that we kept the Consulate open on Saturday and Sunday for regular business hours. Being the Duty-Officer and the Management Officer means that for Saturday I was in charge of opening and closing the building. So, 9-5 I'm at the office. The day was punctuated with a walk-through of the building, a dvc meeting to discuss final issues (but no final schedule) and a lot of discussion on how things will work. Oh yeah, and a trip to the hospital for LEL and Lovely Little Girl. Seems she got some sauce on her fingers that had Cashew nuts, and it ended up causing quite the allergic reaction. She's fine, but a good reminder that things can go bad very quickly.
Sunday was pick up at the airport for the Secretary. We trooped out to Waterkloof AFB (their version of Andrews AFB) and waited. And waited. And Waited. The South African Government was negotiating her arrival until about 20 minutes before she landed. Sounds crazy, right? Not as crazy as it actually was, I can assure you. Luckily for me, I wasn't involved in that discussion. I was waiting to pickup one of the members on the plane, watch him get everyone cleared through Customs, and then watch the bags be unloaded and checked by security. It was very late when we returned to the hotel, and much later still when I returned from the hotel to my home. Where I was promptly awakened by an American Citizen checking to make sure I had her psasport details for when she arrived at the Consulate the next day.
Monday was frantic, as we got ready for the arrival of the Secretary at the Consulate for the meet and greet. I had to make sure my staff were helping the site officer for the event, which was LEL. The people from Pretoria had to arrive 2 hours early, since we weren't sure when she was going to arrive (see paragraph above about the schedule) and we had to find things for the kids and adults to do in the meantime. Workstations were set up for those who wanted to work, and a movie was played in the multi-purpose room for the kids and adults who wanted to watch. ("The Muppets" in case you were wondering.) The Locally Employed Staff Association sold drinks and snacks to make the time go fast, and everyone had a good time.
Finally the Secretary arrived, and she spoke for about 5 minutes before shaking hands. Crazy Little Man, in a vest/tie combo, handed her flowers which was met with an, "Oh my goodness isn't he adorable" from the Secretary. She took some photos, and then she was gone.
The event was a success, and the next day the Secretary met with the South African government. (You may have seen the video of her dancing.) While she was cutting a rug, I was just cutting myself with a very sharp knife. Accidentally. Almost toom my finger tip off. Didn't get stitches, because I'm an idiot like that.
Wednesday was Lovely Little Girls first day in a main-stream school. And it couldn't have gone better. She loved it, and her teacher is very excited to have her in class. Even said that LLG isn't, by far, the most difficult child to handle, as there is a girl that just moved from Korea that speaks no English. So, bonus!
Thursday was Women's Day, which is an actual holiday here in South Africa. So, day off for us! Very nice, but also difficult for a holiday on Thursday. Friday was slow, as days after holidays usually are.
The weekend was busy, as we had a party to celebrate wheels up for the Secretary, and Welcomed the new comers to the Consulate.
So, busy week, and one I don't relish re-living anytime soon. But, once in a while it's nice to get to see the head of our Department come through and say thanks for all we do. It's the little things. And 5 years from now, we can point to pictures at the event, and try to get CLM and LLG to remember the time they met the Secretary of State. It probably won't be the last time, though.
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