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 →
After roughly six months of silence, I’m finally back with an update. Between work, two nights dedicated to Spanish lessons, three nights booked for basketball, boxing, and tennis, and being the only one with the will or ability to cook real dinners in the house (sorry Misha), I’ve been finding it difficult to allocate time to write. Luckily, the December slowdown and a few well-placed days off has allowed me some time to not only get a few posts written, but to actually do a few things worth writing about.
Misha, Mochi, and I have now been in Guatemala City for three weeks. Keeping with the formula I started in Israel, I'd like to start my Guatemala series with my first impressions of our new post here and then write several follow up pieces once I've gotten more chances to explore the city. We live... Continue Reading →
Home Leave is a State Department mandated vacation that occurs between tours. Our leave happened to be the maximum time allotted to us, or 30 days, plus a week of Annual Leave tacked on at the end. We used this time to travel around the country, visit with family, renew our licenses, attend medical appointments, and try to relax despite the near constant stream of activities we attempted to squeeze in. Here's a quick recap of our first home leave.
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.
In what was perhaps our last excursion from Israel, Misha and I had an absolute blast in Jordan, Israel's eastern neighbor. The country is currently only allowing those with diplomatic visas to cross the border by car, so we took advantage of our status once again. This may also be our last road trip in my car before we sell it to a fellow diplomat, so it was a nice final drive for my Jetta. This trip didn't have the bewildering brush with border patrol that our Belgium trip had, but it wasn't complete devoid of anxiety all the same. Namely, as the trip wore on, I felt more and more certain that I was coming down with covid.
After our first attempt to visit Belgium was nixed back in August, Misha and I regrouped for a second attempt during the Christmas season. I can't believe I'm saying this after only two years away from Massachusetts, but the trip actually made me miss winter weather....It wasn't all a nostalgic return to holiday cheer, though. As a matter of fact, it started as poorly as an international trip can start.
After several false starts due to ever-changing travel restrictions, Misha and I finally settled on an August vacation destination: Austria. We stayed at an Airbnb in a quiet little town near Krems an der Donau for two nights. Then, it was on to Vienna.
I doubt many people out there read these posts without also following one of our social media accounts, but if you are one of those people, sorry for keeping you in suspense. We found out only two weeks after submitting our bid list that our second destination with the State Department will be Guatemala City, which just so happened to be our top choice.
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.
Beer and Diplomacy 
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