One year ago this week I formally accepted my offer to join the Foreign Service, and it feels like it was yesterday. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, I felt like I was waiting an eternity going through the hiring process. From application to sitting in orientation was over 20 months. The shroud of the whole process to join really wears on you, so I guess I’m not surprised that once that burden of uncertainty is lifted, it seems like everything moves so quickly.

I talked a lot about this to some degree in my “Leveling Up” post a couple of weeks back, but once you are actually in, it feels like you are always looking forward to something. At first it was looking forward to “Flag Day”, then looking forward to moving, then looking forward to all our things arriving. In between all of that there are a plethora of social functions and trips (both work related and private) to focus your attention on. It really makes things fly by.

As we near 8 months in Mauritania, I still have so much to look forward to. Soon, I will take my family on our first R&R. A month after we get back from R&R, I will get a working trip to Frankfurt, and around that same time will also be receiving my bid list for my 2nd post. None of this includes the various trips in country I will be taking, or all the Embassy events happening between it all.

Getting my second bid list so soon is the real mind trip. It feels like we just got here and it’s already getting close to time to start planning for our next post. Because I am in such a high hardship post, I will have pretty high priority in choosing my next post, and with great power comes great responsibility.

Many of the countries that interest me are pretty high hardship, so my dilemma is whether or not to cash in all this equity and choose a city that some would consider “cushier”, or keep myself off the beaten path. I have no clue what options I will have so it’s all just wish-listing and projecting at this point, but something fun to think about. If anything, although I do want to come back to Africa in the future, for my next post I probably will go for something off continent to diversify things a bit.

I wonder if I eventually will hit a wall and feel like things are moving slowly or become disinterested in the whole process. Fortunately, so far this job and lifestyle always seems to have something fun and exciting to look forward to. If anything, I feel like I have to remind myself to enjoy and live in the moment. Here’s to the moment! -Nick