On Feb 15 I was thinking…

The FS called Peter and started to put some pressure on him to start the March class. And they told us the places to choose from:
Kosovo (then on second thought not Kosovo, as children can’t go to that post)
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Niamey, Niger
Asmara, Eritrea

So Peter and I walked around the house saying, “No way!” And, “Maybe later!” It’s her job to ask and Peter’s job to say no, I told him. We don’t want to go to any of those places! And especially we don’t want to ruin our lives and move out of the house before it’s all set up to rent. So he called and told her it took him 5 minutes to decide no. Maybe May. Maybe July. She said, “I had to ask.”

Sierra Leone is just not safe enough.

Niamey has a decent-looking–as much as you can tell from a website–french school, and it’s a francophone country so if I need to tell someone to cook the chicken all the way through I can. Downsides: hot and hotter weather, with blowing dust, anti-malarials, not much to do, second-poorest country IN THE WORLD. Upsides: francophony-ness, giraffes a few miles away, a wildlife park, and pools at every (american embassy-provided) house. The school, house and embassy are close together so there isn’t much of a commute.

Asmara is the cleanest city in Africa, you can ride your bike everywhere, there is a hotel with a gym and a pool we can join like a club. Downsides: no French, teeny school. Upsides: great weather, no anti-malarials.

Lots to think about.