Corona virus II: positive test result (!)
Brief update: I took an antibody test at LabCorp last week and got a positive result. I wasn’t surprised. Although I never had a fever or...
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May 18, 2020
First post-lock down trip: Ocean City
On the first day Maryland relaxed its COVID-related restrictions we found ourselves in Ocean City. It’s a three-hour drive from DC, but...
May 12, 2020
Language Test Anti-Climax
German language training is over! Just like that—no dreaded test, no fretting over scores—I was told I “met the required level” and that...
Apr 26, 2020
Improve your writing for the FSOT
Writing is an important part of the Foreign Service exam because it’s an important part of being a diplomat. I would argue that, if...
Apr 23, 2020
Corona virus I - Staying at home
It’s been quite a month! Staying home with my husband and two kids while continuing to work “full-time” has been a challenge. Especially...
Jan 27, 2020
Losing the Bilingual Battle
I try to speak Dutch with my kids, while my husband usually sticks to English. That way we both speak our native languages and,...
Jan 13, 2020
What to learn at the Smithsonian
There are a bunch of massive, amazing, free museums in Washington DC called the "Smithsonian." There's one for American History, Art, Air...
Jan 7, 2020
2019 Recap
It never occurred to me to recap a calendar year. I think a lot about my past—especially about how it influences the present, but...
Jan 1, 2020
Holidays in DC & Winter blues
I recently wrote in a post that I never liked living in or around DC. But when I moved here in June, I decided this was going to change....
Dec 30, 2019
Oops, I moved again
We had to switch apartments last month. No big deal. I just got a few boxes from the supermarket, borrowed a luggage cart, and the whole...
Nov 16, 2019
Reliving the nightmare: testing new FSOA materials
This week I did something pretty interesting: I was part of a small group of diplomats testing out new materials for the Foreign Service...
Nov 11, 2019
Bidding as a tandem couple II: the telework option
The past month has been all about bidding—in other words, we’ve been looking for jobs. Not for me, obviously, because I’ll be assigned to...
Oct 31, 2019
Oakwood
What’s diplomatic life like when working domestically? Well, when we’re back, we’re not really diplomats. We don’t have immunity, or talk...
Oct 1, 2019
Unorthodox Language Learning Techniques
How to learn a foreign language? It’s a question everyone has probably asked at least once—and some many, many times. Yet there’s no...
Sep 23, 2019
German language training at FSI: the beginning
I’ve been in fulltime German language training for three weeks now, and I’m having fun. Yet I feel like I should stop telling people...
Sep 14, 2019
What’s there to like about DC?
Now that I'm assigned to a year of language training, it’s time to settle in. I live in North Virginia, within the DC Metropolitan Area,...
Aug 19, 2019
Mastering diplomacy, one week at a time
So, now that the orientation period (aka A-100) is over, what does my life look like? Well, I wake up at 6:45 every morning to go through...
Aug 19, 2019
First assignment: Berlin!
I could hardly contain myself as the announcer, speaking to a room filled with newly minted diplomats and 300 of their closest friends...
Jul 10, 2019
Introduction into the Foreign Service: my A-100 experience
You may have noticed that I haven’t written a word on this blog since I joined A-100. Because I’m too busy, right? Well, there’s actually...
Jul 4, 2019
Thwine Thursday
When I first moved to Yerevan two years ago, I didn’t really like my house (too big) or my neighborhood (lots of stray dogs, trash, no...
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