This news is a coming a bit late but based on the number of variables and the confusing nature of bidding at this stage of Misha’s career, I wanted to make sure I didn’t report news that would require a retraction later on down the line. With that in mind, I am happy to announce... Continue Reading →
We’re closing in on six months since our arrival in Guatemala. Normally at this point in our tour we would have seen and done enough things around our new city and country to give us a few blogs worth of material. Even with the pandemic, I still managed a blog a month during our early... Continue Reading →
After what feels like only two shakes of a lambs' tail (to quote Mia Wallace), our time in the DC area is quickly coming to an end. While we don't depart for Guatemala until mid-October, we are already planning our exit from Virginia.
Last fall, I wrote a blog about my first job as a family member in the State Department. I described some of my duties as ESTH Assistant and a bit about our work. I also described my official role of Roving Administrative Assistant and how this role involves being plugged into different openings around the embassy as needed. I held the ESTH position while someone waited for a security clearance, so once that clearance came through I was freed up for another role. Cue my second assignment: Office Management Specialist (OMS).
Just like back home, American FSO's in Israel enjoyed an extra day off for the holiday. Rather than celebrate it on the beach in Tel Aviv, a friend and I decided to take advantage of the loosened travel restrictions and fly to Germany for the long weekend. One of the things we've missed out on most with Covid restrictions is cheap travel around Europe and the Mediterranean, so we weren't going to let this opportunity pass us by.
After nearly 14 months in Israel, it's officially time to start looking ahead to our next post. In State Department lingo, this process is called "bidding." I've mentioned the term "bidding" in several previous posts and in many conversations with friends and family. When using the term in conversation, I'm almost always met with confusion. Hopefully, I can clear up some of the that here.
The main reason we haven't posted in a few months is because there hasn't been much to post about. All we do is work or relax around the apartment these days. There are other factors as well, such as colder weather and lockdown protocols, but we've reduced ourselves to working stiffs who use the weekends to watch Cobra Kai or the latest episode of The Stand.
After being unemployed for seven months, I'm finally back to work. With an office job, no less. No more showing up to work in shorts and beer shirts to throw beer kegs around for 8 hours. Don't get me wrong, I tried to work in the beer industry here, but COVID has severely limited job opportunities. Instead, I have an office with a computer, a work phone, and (eventually) a view.
A few weeks back, an electrical fire in our building caused smoke to flood the hallways and led to our rushed evacuation. I was only minutes away from finishing a batch of beer I was brewing, but abandoned that project as Misha tried to see where the sirens were coming from. A message from our... Continue Reading →
What a whirlwind the last year has been. It feels like only yesterday Misha got the call to join the Foreign Service. It's crazy to think that only a year ago Misha was going through A-100 in DC while I was planning my Massachusetts exit strategy.
Beer and Diplomacy 
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