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...

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...

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...

What was an unexpected challenge when starting your career? Before I graduated I thought that finding a job afterwards would simply be a...

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....

If you are studying International Relations (IR) you take classes in various disciplines like economics, politics, government, social...

Another day, another podcast! No really, Modern American Diplomacy is only the third podcast I'm discussing slash recommending. This...

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...

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...

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...

Last week I worked at Ramstein—the massive U.S. airbase in Germany receiving tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees from Kabul via the...

When you work in the American Citizen Service section, fascinating cases present themselves all the time. Among the most outlandish, I...

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,...

Nope, not in the Caribbean or in some other tropical location—it’s right in the North Sea along with four other islands with...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

As I’m updating my work requirements, in anticipation of writing my yearly evaluation report, I realize I have to scratch something off...