The Surge
For the past month, I’ve been part of coordinating a massive visa surge in Mumbai. The demand for visas here is enormous, and because of...
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- Feb 6
Goa and chill
I’m feeling very spoilt as I’m looking at my winter calendar. No more long cold months like I had in Berlin, Washington, Armenia and the...
- Feb 1
Lollapalooza Mumbai
Last weekend I went to a major music festival for this first time in... forever? It was the first edition of Lollapalooza in Mumbai and...
- Jan 25
Book club India
I joined another book club! I think at every diplomatic post so far I've had the chance to join one and this is the third time I did. I...
- Jan 15
Tata marathon in Mumbai
The past week has been all about the Tata race, where in ran a half marathon today along with 55,000 other runners. It’s the largest run...
- Jan 9
Is Mumbai really “the New York of India”?
I’ve been living in Mumbai for about six months now and I feel ready to make a bit of a pro-cons list. It’s only a subjective snapshot in...
- Jan 2
Tenure!
I became a tenured Foreign Service Officer this month! It was unexpected, which made it all the more sweet. It was the first year I was...
- Dec 6, 2022
Playing cricket and running races in Mumbai
I’m not really a sporty person. I don’t enjoy repetitive activities or making myself physically uncomfortable and besides I’m too short,...
- Nov 5, 2022
Venturing out further: Udaipur
After sightseeing in Mumbai, a weekend getaway in Lonavola and a work trip to Delhi, we wanted something even more adventurous for our...
- Oct 25, 2022
Diwali & representational events
The week before Diwali was an exceptionally busy week at work. I was on regular duty at the consulate but all the work had to be crammed...
- Sep 30, 2022
FastCon in New Delhi
Last weekend I finally felt like India embraced me, and I was hugging it right back. I spent a weekend in India’s capital for work and...
- Sep 20, 2022
Weekend trip to Lonavala
Since arriving in Mumbai a month ago I've had a lot of days off: Labor Day of course, but also Indian holidays like the Ganesh Chaturthi,...
- Sep 3, 2022
Cultural Mumbai
One of the most repeated cliches about Mumbai is that it’s “an assault on the senses.” It’s true that none of the serene, polished images...
- Aug 27, 2022
Musical chairs
It was around 2:30 PM and I was in a work meeting when I noticed that I was, in fact, wearing two different shoes. I quickly drew my feet...
- Aug 22, 2022
Arrival in Mumbai
My second tour has officially begun! I arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday morning via Paris. Entering India on my diplomatic passport was about...
- Jul 4, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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, 2022
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...
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