Another meagre update. Orientation hums along and I get another week closer to learning my first overseas posting. We are just a little over a week away, and the feeling in the class as a whole is that it can’t come soon enough. I’m just glad I’m in MED at this point. Since we don’t
Not much to update. Another week has gone by, and at this point the general orientation is halfway over. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know my classmates better, and all of our instructors/speakers have been wonderful. It’s somewhat daunting when you join such a large bureaucracy, but it is so comforting knowing that the
Week 2 kicked off with a bang. To start the week, everyone met with their “Career Development Officer”, talked about the country bidding process, and then in short order, we were given our “bid list”. What this essentially means is we were all given a list of countries that we could/will move to. From there,
The first week is complete, and boy was it a whirlwind of information. I have to admit that compared to actual patient care, it’s been quite easy, but even learning the basics about a large bureaucracy like the State Department can be pretty overwhelming. It definitely gives you a sense of scale in terms of
After a hectic last week of work and a really fast move to Arlington (all within the last 72 hours), I can officially say that I am an employee of the US Department of State. This morning, I took the Oath of Office, which is the last step of the hiring process. Once that’s over,
As I begin my move to the DC area, and make my way to the airport in just a few short hours for FS orientation, I find myself reflecting on just how much I love and will miss my hometown of El Paso. Located in the far tip of West Texas, El Paso is where
One week from today I will be sitting in orientation, beginning my journey with the Foreign Service. I honestly still can’t believe it’s happening. Part of it might be that I am still working my current position in New Mexico until the bitter end, literally giving myself a single day off between my last day
Well, my transfer orders finally came in this week, and with them came my first taste of government fun. I had informed State that I would be going to my orientation solo, so wouldn’t need tickets/lodging for my family. This was confirmed by them in an email, and all my lodging was set up on
Pun intended. Sorry, not sorry. Just a quick update as there has been some movement over the last couple of weeks. I have continued to steadily pack out my stuff. Last week I basically got all my clothes separated into a UAB pile, or packed in luggage I will be taking with me, saving just
It still feels surreal that exactly one month from today I’ll be sitting at orientation in the DC area. Sure it might be virtual to start, all done remotely (but we still have to be physically in the DC Metro), and I might have shorts on below my suit and tie that the camera can’t
