- Jul 4
- 3 min
Unhappy customers
(Oops, I forgot to post this message so it’s a few weeks old, but better than nothing! Off on homeleave adventures now) Today marked a...
- Apr 13
- 3 min
So, how was Berlin?
How to describe Berlin, after living there for almost two years? Many say it's a “cool” city but in my opinion that’s a bit of a...
- Apr 11
- 5 min
Departure Denial
Less than three months left at post! I realize I haven’t been writing as much on this blog as I used to, but this might change soon. I’ve...
- Feb 9
- 4 min
Jobs and hiring at U.S. embassies
People often ask me how to get a job at the U.S. embassy as a diplomat or local hire. I covered the types of Embassy jobs for Americans...
- Feb 9
- 5 min
FAQ about diplomatic careers
What was an unexpected challenge when starting your career? Before I graduated I thought that finding a job afterwards would simply be a...
- Jan 16
- 2 min
Last winter in Berlin...
It's January so as far as I'm concerned the fun part of winter is over and the bad part has just begun. I never liked winters in Europe....
- Nov 14, 2021
- 12 min
Studying International Relations? These 40 jobs are the future
If you are studying International Relations (IR) you take classes in various disciplines like economics, politics, government, social...
- Nov 1, 2021
- 1 min
Podcast: American Modern Diplomacy
Another day, another podcast! No really, Modern American Diplomacy is only the third podcast I'm discussing slash recommending. This...
- Nov 1, 2021
- 5 min
How to beat your fear of public speaking and get good at it in 10 steps
Actor George Jessel once said: “The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in...
- Oct 27, 2021
- 2 min
Next assignment: Mumbai!
I just found out my next assignment after Berlin is going to be Mumbai. Yay! I’m very happy for although I don’t know much about the...
- Sep 21, 2021
- 3 min
Trip to Paris 4.0
Last weekend I made my fourth trip to Paris. Girls weekend! My BFF and I do a city trip most years. There are two constants: first, the...
- Sep 11, 2021
- 2 min
Evacuating Afghans
Last week I worked at Ramstein—the massive U.S. airbase in Germany receiving tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees from Kabul via the...
- Aug 29, 2021
- 3 min
Scam of the week
When you work in the American Citizen Service section, fascinating cases present themselves all the time. Among the most outlandish, I...
- Aug 18, 2021
- 2 min
Bidding as a tandem couple III: Mexico or India?
My bid list is almost due! Two weeks ago I received a list from my career development officer (CDO) with next year's available positions,...
- Aug 5, 2021
- 2 min
Vlieland: a Dutch island
Nope, not in the Caribbean or in some other tropical location—it’s right in the North Sea along with four other islands with...
- Jul 28, 2021
- 6 min
Biking the Berlin Wall
Last week I cycled the entire former Berlin Wall. The Berlin Mauerweg (Wall road) is about 100 miles long, or 160k. It’s not particularly...
- Jul 17, 2021
- 2 min
The summer of COVID consular ravages
Time to mark my first year as a consular officer and two years in the Foreign Service! While things are going well, it’s hard not to...
- Jul 12, 2021
- 2 min
Sightseeing in Bavaria
It’s been a year since I arrived in Germany and the first proper vacation is finally on the books! Although it was more of an...
- Jun 10, 2021
- 2 min
Dumpster diving for notarials
I’ve been working full time in ACS for a few weeks now. I still work in the visa section some days, to help process massive amounts of...
- Jun 1, 2021
- 2 min
Prison visits
I think few people know that all U.S. prisoners overseas are entitled to a monthly or bi-annual visit by a consular officer. In Berlin...
- May 3, 2021
- 3 min
Delivering a demarche
As I’m updating my work requirements, in anticipation of writing my yearly evaluation report, I realize I have to scratch something off...
- Apr 16, 2021
- 4 min
Joining together: tandems and timing
Joining the Foreign Service as a couple is increasingly common. The State Department doesn’t release official statistics but I heard many...
- Apr 5, 2021
- 3 min
The art of living
How to enjoy yourself? I must be a fairly serious person if I ask myself this question on a regular basis. Or at least, I used to ask...
- Mar 25, 2021
- 4 min
Get a job or a PhD?
What’s a better idea: pursuing a PhD or entering the job market after obtaining a bachelor or master degree? With all the alleged “degree...
- Mar 24, 2021
- 3 min
My academic exchange in Canada suuuuucked
How to put this mildly? Doing an academic exchange abroad can be… not as great as you might think. Personally, I hated it. No, this is...
- Mar 19, 2021
- 5 min
Why being an actress is not glamorous
Before I was a diplomat, and before I even went to college, I was an actress in theater, TV, and in movies. In the Netherlands though,...
- Mar 13, 2021
- 2 min
American Diplomat podcast
Because I promoted the How Did We Not Know That podcast I should probably also mention the American Diplomat podcast. It’s hosted by a...
- Mar 5, 2021
- 3 min
That time I was stuck on a mountain
Look, I’m not the queen of disastrous vacations. Most of the time my trips turn out fine, or better than fine. But I like to reminisce,...
- Mar 5, 2021
- 2 min
That time I had a worm in my leg
Travel isn’t everything. Sure, it’s one of my favorite hobbies (along with reading, shopping, cooking and, since recently, working out),...
- Feb 24, 2021
- 3 min
The 6-month rule of settling in
After six months of living in a foreign country, you may feel a shift. Suddenly, everything looks and feels a bit different. You worry...
- Feb 18, 2021
- 2 min
Just when I thought passports were boring
As I mentioned before, there are many different sides to consular work. I explained in a previous post that I work mostly on...
- Feb 6, 2021
- 2 min
How the kids pick up a foreign language
We’ve been posted in Germany for six months now. While life and work have been weird for me under COVID, the kids have a had a fairly...
- Jan 31, 2021
- 10 min
International Relations Career Checklist
I often get asked how to get started in the field of international relations. I’ve written many lengthy blogposts—essentially a small...
- Jan 26, 2021
- 2 min
FS Career tracks: best & worst
Of the five career tracks within the general Foreign Service I chose consular because I realized it was my best chance of never being...
- Jan 25, 2021
- 2 min
Recap 2020
Well. I think we all had more or less the same 2020, didn’t we? We stayed home a lot. We drank more than usual. We explored old and new...
- Dec 29, 2020
- 3 min
Rich people, ugh
Today it occurred to me that of all groups of people, I probably like rich people the least. And that rich people behave similarly all...
- Dec 7, 2020
- 3 min
Career advice with journalist Aisha Chowdhry
Aisha Chowdhry is my awesome international journalist friend, currently working freelance out of Southern Africa. I met her in Pakistan,...
- Nov 23, 2020
- 4 min
Tips for high school students: what to study for the FS?
If you’re in high school right now and you already know you want to be a Foreign Service Officer I say: good for you! Many FSOs will...
- Nov 18, 2020
- 5 min
Career Advice with Entrepreneur Gertje Vanhoutte
Gertje is an experienced Human Resources professional who worked in the private sector, public sector, and now as an entrepreneur. She’s...
- Nov 12, 2020
- 3 min
You are extraordinary enough to be a FSO!
Yes, you over there! There are many people who read my blog and then email me to say they want an international career but doubt their...
- Nov 10, 2020
- 4 min
When your dream job is a nightmare
Some six years ago I thought I’d found my dream job. It had everything I wanted: working on a variety of international issues (migration,...
- Nov 6, 2020
- 4 min
It doesn’t have to be this way
As I’m writing this, the presidential election is in full swing. It looks like Biden is going to win but it’s still a nail-biter. Yet all...
- Nov 3, 2020
- 6 min
How to ask for career advice
The more people ask me for career advice, the more I realize it’s an art in itself. Or maybe not an art, exactly. Frankly, there’s a...
- Nov 2, 2020
- 2 min
The human side of consular work
Before I started, I thought consular work would be first and foremost about applying the law. And that consular officers get their...
- Nov 2, 2020
- 1 min
FSOT studying tool podcast!
Two aspiring Foreign Services Officers, one cool podcast. I'm happy to present this new tool to study world history and culture. Even...
- Oct 25, 2020
- 2 min
Technology in our office
Anytime you ask a bunch of diplomats what they would like to improve in the State Department the answer includes: technology. We simply...
- Oct 23, 2020
- 3 min
Travel by book
Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic I decided that if I couldn’t travel physically, I’d travel with my mind. I started reading books about...
- Oct 22, 2020
- 3 min
On dual citizenship and passing the Foreign Service test
Having dual citizenship is not a source of pride in the Foreign Service. How could it be, when patriotism and representing American...
- Sep 29, 2020
- 4 min
A day in the life of a diplomat
I’ve been in Berlin for over two months. I haven’t been anywhere outside of the city limits, thanks to COVID, and I’ve adjudicated about...
- Sep 19, 2020
- 2 min
The new consular work
Okay, maybe my conclusion was a little rash in my last post on visa work—there’s no lack of visa applications after all. While COVID-19...
