All Posts | whatdiplomatsdo

4 days ago

India Travel Tips 2: near Mumbai

Close to Mumbai there are a number of popular tourist destinations within 1-3 hours by car, train, or ferry. Unlike most travel...

Dec 4

India Travel Tips 1: Best Places

If you’re curious about exploring India and need some travel tips, you could simply open up a Lonely Planet. But wait, did you know the...

Nov 21

My next assignment: PRM!

Six weeks ago I received an email from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. I wasn’t surprised, because during the preceding...

Nov 19

Banjul: the ideal diplomatic posting?

It’s official: we’re moving to Banjul next year! Where?! Banjul is the capital of The Gambia, and The Gambia is a tiny country inside...

Oct 8

3-Week TDY in Dushanbe

I just went to Tajikistan—a country I never imagined visiting. I couldn’t even locate it on a map—the “stans” have always been a bit of a...

Sep 15

Tandem bidding 3

Uh-oh, it’s almost time to move on again! As much as I enjoy living in Mumbai, every Foreign Service tour meets its inevitable end. We...

Sep 6

Bucharest highlights & lowlights

Need a random city trip recommendation? How about Bucharest! Having confused Bucharest with Budapest and Belgrade all my life, Romania’s...

Jul 6

Promoted and leaning in

So, I’m a manager now! I’m still posted in Mumbai for another year, but my job here has changed dramatically. Bottom line: no more visa...

Jun 2

Maldives Getaway

BLUF: this was the best five-day vacation ever! Though the Maldives were never on my list of must-see destinations. There was something...

Apr 30

50 Work Outfits Challenge

Dressing for work has become somewhat of a hobby. My bright blazers rarely go unnoticed by my colleagues and I’ve been asked more than...

Apr 24

6-Week Marathon Journey (Part 3)

Final installment! Here are Part 1 and Part 2. Race Day The NN Rotterdam marathon 2024 started at 10:00 AM for elite runners, and at...

Apr 20

6-Week Marathon Journey (Part 2)

While consistent and thorough training obviously matters, a big part of running long distance is getting into the right mental state of...

Apr 17

6-Week Marathon Journey (Part 1)

Oops, I did it again! My second full marathon is officially on the books. It felt like a mission impossible, but I managed. This is a...

Apr 13

Sri Lanka Trip

We just spent our spring family vacation in Sri Lanka: nine days of beach, hills, and cities. Our first stop after landing in Colombo was...

Mar 28

Getting my scuba diving certification

Last week I took a week long trip with my family to Sri Lanka. We stayed in several places (Colombo, Unawatuna beach, Ella, Kandy) but my...

Feb 24

11 Running Principles I Swear By

To celebrate 15 years of running, completing 3 half marathons in 2024 so far, and not having knee pain anymore, I’m making a list of my...

Feb 17

Fear of change

I recently started intermittent fasting. It’s partially an experiment (my husband is really into health and nutrition) and partially due...

Feb 10

Working in a visa mill

Mumbai has one of the biggest U.S. consular sections in the world and is referred to as a “visa mill” among officers. So far, I’ve...

Feb 3

TDY in Kolkata

Kolkata is India’s third largest city, located in the northeast of India near the border with Bangladesh. I should have checked a map or...

Feb 1

Why I love running and 21k (half marathon) is the perfect distance

This weekend I completed a half marathon in exactly two hours. Is that a good time? Depends, I guess. Objectively speaking it’s a good,...