What Diplomats Do

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 another important reason.

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 and family, began: “Berlin, Germany….” I buried my face in my hands as I muttered “there is no way I’m getting this” before jumping out my chair when my name was called, stumbling past my classmates and generally acting like an idiot as I progressed towards the podium where I received a little German flag.

FOREIGN SERVICE EXAME ADVICE FOR COL

Foreign Service exam advice for students: where to start, what to know, and what to expect.

12 WAYS TO WORK AT THE US EMBASSY

Jobs at the US embassy are not just reserved for diplomats (I mean FSO Generalists) – the majority of American employees in embassies are actually something else. So what types of hires are they? And how do you get a job like that?

HOW TO BECOME A DIPLOMAT

LIFE AS A DIPLOMAT& WORLD CITIZEN

Iron Man training begins now

When it comes to my current job in the Foreign Service, I'm enjoying more freedom than I have in years. I still work full-time, but I don't have to commute to anywhere but my downstairs office, and I don't start at 8 AM. Because I'm working on a DETO and I'm in a different time zone from DC, my supervisor prefers I start at 10 AM so our hours have some overlap. The beauty of this, I soon realized, is that I have a nice chunk of time in the morning to work out. As it happens,

4 minutes ago3 min read

Chipped tooth: dental care in The Gambia

One of the least fun things about being me is my dental history. I've had just about every dental procedure imaginable, multiple times over. On the bright side, I've had the good fortune to be posted in several countries where dental care is not only affordable but also unexpectedly high quality. In fact, countries like Armenia and India are 'dental tourism' destinations! But The Gambia is a little different. Nobody comes here for the dental care, or any kind of medical care

6 days ago2 min read

Tourism in Rwanda: take it or leave it?

Traveling to Rwanda may not be everybody's dream, but it was certainly mine! It's located in the heart of Sub-Saharan Africa, so it's not overrun by tourists. It has a warm climate, friendly people, fabulous nauture, and it’s safer than almost anywhere in the world. My kind of place. Unfortunately, flying from The Gambia to Rwanda isn't as straightforward as you might expect. There are direct flights to Kigali from Europe and other places, but everyone who has been to Sub-Sah

Feb 46 min read

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Welcome to What Diplomats do!

Welcome to my site! Like the title says, this website is for everyone who wonders what diplomats do.

Just remember that everything on here is just my personal perspective, not the Department of State's perspective, and certainly not the absolute truth.