Now that you have completed your first tour. What is the thing you like least about the Foreign Service? This is a tough question because it will be largely unique to the individual. While some folks might find the physical location of where they are to be difficult, others might dislike distance from family, or
After what seemed like a bajillion hours of travel, I finally made it to Yangon a few weeks ago to start my new assignment. First impressions: I am in love with this city. Lakes, lush trees, golden pagodas, monks bustling around in the streets, outdoor markets, old colonial building, and people walking everywhere. It all
A friend of mine recently asked me how I am able to consistently write a weekly blog since I got invited into the Foreign Service, and the simple answer is: excitement! A couple of weeks ago, I was reviewing a lot of old posts from the time I got my invite, through those first few
How do you keep track of all your things when you are constantly moving all over the world? Doesn’t it get exhausting? This is solid question with PCS season upon us and our family being dead smack in the middle of a move. Yes and no to it being exhausting. Life in the Foreign Service
A reader recently sent in the following question that really hit home: Now that you have gotten a tour under your belt, worked outside of your actual profession, returned back to your profession, returned home for a stretch, and have also had to alternate parenting solo, all within the first couple of years of your
It’s been a little over a month since the family and I departed Mauritania, and minus a bit of training I had to do away from home, it has been and interesting experience. I covered home leave rules and logistics a bit a couple of weeks back, but the reality of actually being back in
This blog is in its last year of being a toddler. It seems crazy I started out on this writing adventure 3 years ago. In that time span I have written over 150 posts, churning them out on a nearly weekly basis, with over 35,000 views in the time frame. Not earth shattering numbers, but
“The purpose of home leave is to ensure that employees who live abroad for an extended period undergo reorientation and re-exposure in the United States on a regular basis.” -Foreign Affairs Manual. Since I am on home leave for the very first time, I thought I would take an opportunity to explain exactly what it
Just when I thought I was going to PCS back home to El Paso as quickly and cleanly as possible, Angeli convinced me to take a couple of days off and take the kids to Disney Paris on our way back home. After digesting some of the costs, which were mercifully blunted due to us
A common expression in government work is don’t spend too much time hugging the government, because the government won’t hug you back. Basically, don’t kill yourself for your job, because at the end of the day, the government doesn’t see an individual, they see a replaceable position. Very early on in my time in Nouakchott
