The Journey Begins!

Thanks for following our adventure! Our story starts several months back on December 3rd, 2018. It’s a Monday. I have the day off. Sometime in the late morning/ early afternoon I get a frantic call from Misha while she’s at work. She has just received a call from the State Department to become a Foreign Service Officer (FSO), offering her a coveted spot that starts in little over one month. Holy crap…

Although our journey into this new lifestyle began that day, for Misha it really started years earlier. Even if you pass the three-staged application process on the first try, it can be years before getting an offer. You can apply as many times as you want, and most people must apply several times before receiving an offer. Even if you do pass everything, there is no guarantee you will be offered a job. Misha had passed the final stage of testing in 2017 but hadn’t heard anything in over a year. When she last applied, she was going for her Doctorate in Criminology at Northeastern University. She dropped out of the program for reasons I won’t get into here, but was still able to receive a Masters’ Degree (her second graduate degree). She landed a job with UTEC in Lowell, Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization that helps young adults with a criminal history get job training and finish their education.

Misha had been with UTEC for about one year and was feeling quite fulfilled with this new job; she was making a positive impact on lives and enjoying the challenging work. Most days. She was beginning to think of her dream job in the Foreign Service as just that, a dream. She was weighing the decision to go through the application process (which takes about two years) one more time or to just move on and commit to her work with UTEC. But before she could make that decision, the call came. In so many words, it went something like this:

Government Lady-“Hello, Ms. McDonald? I’m calling from the United States Department of State. We are hiring a new class of Foreign Service Officers beginning on January 7th. Would you like the position?”

Misha- “Oh my god, that’s incredible! That’s a really fast turnaround. Can I think about it?”

Government Lady- “I can call you back in an hour. If you don’t have an answer for me then, I have to keep moving down the list.”

Keep in mind, it’s December 3rd! They were asking Misha to make a decision to uproot her life in an hour, and then move from Massachusetts to Virginia/DC (where the training takes place) in one month. Wow. Talk about a lot to digest.

Misha called me, her mom, and a former supervisor who worked for the State Department. We all said the same thing: TAKE THE JOB! This was a dream she had worked towards for years. Just because the timing was inconvenient, it was no excuse to turn it down. Oftentimes the best things come when you least expect them, and that was exactly what happened here. Needless to say, she took the job. This is where our life of travel, excitement, diligence, and commitment really begins. I look forward to sharing this with you and we hope you enjoy our story!