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...

Joining the Foreign Service as a couple is increasingly common. The State Department doesn’t release official statistics but I heard many...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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,...

Travel isn’t everything. Sure, it’s one of my favorite hobbies (along with reading, shopping, cooking and, since recently, working out),...

After six months of living in a foreign country, you may feel a shift. Suddenly, everything looks and feels a bit different. You worry...

As I mentioned before, there are many different sides to consular work. I explained in a previous post that I work mostly on...

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...

I often get asked how to get started in the field of international relations. I’ve written many lengthy blogposts—essentially a small...