There is nothing like a nearly month long vacation to celebrate the 1 year mark of being in Mauritania. All the overtime, comp time, and work trips has afforded me quite a bit of time off to enjoy this summer, and with the embassy population at an all-time low during PCS season (it will be
I feel like I have been highlighting a lot of the cool benefits joining the Foreign Service entails, and this week adds to that. The Bureau of Medical Services has a mentorship program where new providers are paired with a like minded more senior provider, who they can go to for questions, career advice, and
Paris is hard. There’s a common joke in the Foreign Service that people serving in Paris often complain about the difficulty of living there, only to be met by rolled eyes or a scornful look. After navigating the RER with some large pieces of luggage and two young kids, I can confirm, Paris is hard.
As I mentioned last week, the entirety of the State Department medical world descended on central Florida last month for a continuing education conference. Seeing as how they conveniently located us 10 minutes away from Disney World and my youngest sister lives 45 minutes away in Daytona, I seized the opportunity to take my family
Jeez, it feels like every other week I am reporting on some sort of trip. My first 6 months in Mauritania I barely left Nouakchott, but my second 6 months has been jam packed with travel, both domestic and abroad. Honestly, I have been loving it. I took this job for a lot of reasons,
The recent holiday weekend afforded me a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a trip into the heart of Mauritania, visiting the oasis village of Terjit, the Holy City of Chinguetti, the ancient trading post of Ouadane, and camping out in the Eye of Richat (AKA the Eye of Africa). With the recent trip
After nearly 8 months in Mauritania, I finally found myself setting foot in the Canary Islands for a wonderful 1 week getaway. As some may recall, back in the fall, my wife and kids took a trip to Gran Canaria with some embassy friends, and came back singing its praises. It was all the more
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
I first want to start by thanking my wife Angeli for guest writing the last couple of weeks while I have been hoofing it around West Africa. No surprise that her posts seem to already be some of the most popular on the website in terms of views and comments. I really appreciate her viewpoint
