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
As luck would have it, I was offered a great opportunity at the end of November to attend a Foreign Service housing conference in Johannesburg. When I heard a close colleague that was previously in Nouakchott would be attending, we quickly connected and planned a girls adventure to compliment our work related activities. Having never
Finally, it’s my turn to write one of these. Since moving to Mauritania, Nick has gotten to go on half a dozen work related trips (also known as a TDY-Temporary Duty). I am not going to lie, it has always made me a bit jealous seeing him go to all these far flung places across
A few family members and now one reader have asked me if there have been any pleasant surprises to this lifestyle. Although we are still early in this journey, roughly a year in, there have indeed been a few things that have been nice aspects to this lifestyle that we didn’t really account for or
A reader recently reached out asking me if there was anything from my perspective as a trailing spouse that causes stress that I would not have necessarily experienced in my life before the Foreign Service. The answer is a BIG yes: Driving and the unknown. Right off the bat, I really hate driving or being
Nearly a year to the day that Nick learned he had finally received his security clearance and was added on the Foreign Service register, I too was notified that I have received my security clearance. As a result, I have been onboarded at U.S. Embassy Nouakchott and am wrapping up my first month on the
Recently, our family had a great opportunity to take an embassy trip out to Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania. Banc d’Arguin is a large UNSECO World Heritage site located on the coast between Nouakchott and Mauritania’s second largest city Nouadhibou. It is a major breeding site for over 108 migratory bird species such a pelicans and flamingos,
This week Nick has given me free reign to discuss our Thanksgiving trip we took last week with several embassy friends to Pointe Serene, Senegal. I was so kind that I even let him tag along with us. A couple of months ago, the Community Liaison Office (CLO) at the embassy sent out a feeler
This week Nick is on a TDY (temporary duty) assignment abroad, so he was once again kind enough to let me take the wheel. I am going chat a little bit about what employment is like in the Foreign Service, and the process for getting hired as an eligible family member (which is basically any
This week I am handing over the reins to my lovely wife Angeli. Last week she was kind enough to leave me in Nouakchott and travel with some of our embassy friends to the Canary Islands. I thought the best way of rubbing it in my face in a lasting fashion would be to have
