Collecting Postcards

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Foreign Service, U.S.

Bosnian (LSC100) Weeks 3-4: Training Wheels

by pennypostcard • October 3, 2026 • 0 Comments

The autumn equinox passed during week 3 of Bosnian and almost immediately, there was a marked change in the weather. The sunny days where I could get away with wearing the tank tops and summer dresses that comprised the majority of my year-round Rangoon wardrobe suddenly left me shivering in the classroom.

We had entered the transitional period before fall where the thermostats in office buildings were still set for Virginia’s humid, hot summer despite evidence the leaves are already starting to change. One day I’d be grabbing an umbrella and a jacket and the next day wearing a short-sleeved top.

We made a similar jump in Bosnian; almost out of nowhere we went from talking about our phone numbers and family compositions to learning how to discuss signing agreements, promoting economic development, and hosting diplomatic receptions.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Foreign Service, U.S.

Bosnian (LSC100) Weeks 1-2: Wild Enthusiasm

by pennypostcard • September 20, 2026 • 0 Comments

Two weeks ago, the day after the Labor Day holiday, more than 600 language students arrived at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) for orientation ahead of language training for their upcoming assignments.

I arrived early with a big grin on my face. I was nothing short of elated to be there. After 12 years in the Foreign Service, five tours, and three periods of long-term language study at NFATC—28 weeks of Russian in 2014–2015, 24 weeks of Spanish in 2019–2020, and 44 weeks of Burmese in 2024–2025—I was finally embarking on another 44 weeks of study in what would likely become my favorite language of all.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Foreign Service, U.S.

A Fresh Start

by pennypostcard • September 19, 2026 • 0 Comments

I arrived in Virginia on September 2 and joined V at the Airbnb where he’d been staying since we parted ways in Seoul—he’d continued on to the D.C. area to get back to work, while I’d headed to the west coast to see family on Congressionally mandated home leave.

As much as I wanted to rest once reaching Virginia after driving across the United States alone, I jumped actively into my to-do list. I stayed up late that first night to help V address an unexpected health issue, then arrived early in DC the next morning for my own 8:00 a.m. doctor’s visit. That launched a full Thursday and Friday of medical appointments, phone calls, and errands. My time during the business day was limited; after the Labor Day weekend, I would begin studying Bosnian, my fourth language course at FSI in 12 years.

Foreign Service, Travel, U.S.

Global Repositioning

by pennypostcard • September 13, 2026 • 0 Comments

The past month has been characterized by a lot of movement. Just how much movement has taken place at any given moment is difficult to see (and perhaps even harder to grasp) without placing it within the broader context of an international move.

Unlike my time in Rangoon, when I’m in the United States, I blend in. Or at least, I appear to, until someone scratches the surface by asking me an impossible question like “Where are you coming from?” or “What’s your billing zip code?” Suddenly, any illusions about belonging and being settled start to unravel.

Foreign Service, Travel, U.S., Burma

7,744 Miles Later

by pennypostcard • August 26, 2026 • 2 Comments

Two weeks ago today, I returned to the United States. V and I flew together with our cat from Rangoon to Seoul, where we parted ways. V continued on to Washington Dulles to return to work, while I headed to Portland, Oregon, via Seattle for Congressionally-mandated home leave.

Upon arriving, my dad picked me up at PDX, and we grabbed an early dinner. After nearly a full work day, followed by day-and-a-half travel and the 90-minute drive to his house, completely exhausted and drowning in jet lag, I proceeded to sleep for about 24 hours straight.

Burma, Foreign Service

Farewell, Burma

by pennypostcard • August 11, 2026 • 1 Comment

Later tonight we will head to the airport and fly to Seoul, effectively ending my fifth diplomatic tour in Burma (Myanmar). As excited as I am for what is before us, and as much as I am ready to move forward, I inextricably feel that this departure may be the most bittersweet since we left our beloved Australia in 2019.

Burma, Foreign Service

The Beginning of the End

by pennypostcard • July 25, 2026 • 2 Comments

In May, we entered the last quarter of our tour. All of the storylines — my work, our lives here, and what’s next — started to converge, signaling that the beginning of the end was underway.

Burma, Foreign Service

100-Day Countdown

by pennypostcard • July 22, 2026 • 0 Comments

We returned from our R&R to the United States in early May to a change in seasons. Burma’s hot, dry weather had given way rather abruptly to the equally hot but much rainier monsoon season, about a month earlier than I had expected. After just one day of overlap in the office, my boss departed for his own R&R in the United States for a few weeks. As I assumed the acting position, I was keenly aware that the countdown of our last 100 days at post was just getting underway.

Foreign Service, Travel, U.S.

Port in a Storm

by pennypostcard • July 16, 2026 • 0 Comments

As I wrote about in previous posts, we spent our April R&R in the United States: the first leg in northern Virginia tackling our to-do lists, the second in Georgia for a family wedding, and the third in Washington state with my dad.

Normally, my dad’s house is a port in a storm. This visit was no exception. Because it was the last stop on our trip before returning to Burma for the final quarter of our diplomatic tour, however, our time with my dad also had to be divided between enjoying his company and running errands.

Foreign Service, Travel, U.S.

Milestones

by pennypostcard • July 13, 2026 • 1 Comment

We spent the second part of our April R&R to the United States from Burma (Myanmar) in the state of Georgia attending the wedding festivities of my eldest stepdaughter, A.

The wedding had been planned for a relatively long time. At only 27, A and her partner B had already been together since 2018 and engaged since 2024. It probably would have been easier for us had they decided to wed in the late summertime, after our tour in Burma ended. However, a spring wedding in Georgia was better aligned with their wishes (and who wants to be outside in the south during late summer!?), so we were happy to make the trip.

Burma, Foreign Service, Travel, U.S.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

by pennypostcard • July 9, 2026 • 1 Comment

As the Thingyan water festival wound down in mid-April, V and I departed on the second of the two R&Rs afforded to us during our Burma tour. During our January R&R, we had visited Vietnam and Indonesia. This time, we traveled to the United States for two and a half weeks for medical appointments, family visits, and the wedding of my eldest stepdaughter, A. It was a wonderful trip despite the long-haul travel from Asia and a domestic itinerary that took us across the country.

Our R&R unfolded in three distinct segments. First, the two of us spent several days in the Washington, DC, area. Next, we road-tripped to Georgia, where we stayed in an Airbnb with family, including my mom who’d flown out for A’s wedding. Finally, we flew to Washington state to visit my dad before beginning the long journey back to Burma.

At one point, while battling jet lag and exhaustion and noticing how quickly the days were slipping by, I found myself wondering, “Is traveling so far to ‘rest’ and ‘recuperate’ really worth it, just to have to fly all the way back?” The answer I ultimately arrived at was an unequivocal yes. Yes, it was worth it to fly all the way to the United States just four months before we leave Burma for good: to enjoy our lives, be there for our families and friends during important moments, and enjoy a little bit of good old ‘merica.

Burma, Foreign Service

Thingyan (Water Holiday)

by pennypostcard • July 2, 2026 • 1 Comment

Thingyan is one of Myanmar’s most important holidays and marks the traditional Burmese New Year. Celebrated over several days each April, it is a time of renewal, reflection, and community.

The festival is best known for its joyful water-throwing traditions, in which people splash each another with water as a symbolic act of washing away the misfortunes and impurities of the past year. In real life, this looks like a street festival in which everyone is happy to be thoroughly drenched. Beyond the festivities, many Burmese people observe Thingyan through acts of merit-making, including visits to pagodas, donations to monasteries and charitable causes, and time spent with family. Traditional music, dance, and foods are also central to the celebration. Combining both exuberant public festivities and deeply rooted spiritual practices, Thingyan reflects values of generosity, reconciliation, and hopes for a prosperous and peaceful year ahead.

Burma, Foreign Service, Health

Not Your Content: A Complicated Witness

by pennypostcard • June 24, 2026 • 2 Comments

For the past six months, I have been cooperating with the reckless driving case against the truck driver who hit and severely injured me last November. While as a victim I have appreciated having an opportunity to be heard, the process has — perhaps unsurprisingly — required me to repeatedly present my trauma for examination, documentation, and validation, often with unclear results.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burma, Foreign Service

Sixth Tour Bidding: Postscript

by pennypostcard • May 29, 2026 • 2 Comments

In January, while V and I were on R&R in Vietnam, I received the excellent news that my assignment following the end of my tour in Rangoon would be as consular chief in Sarajevo. I could not have been happier, as Sarajevo had been my top choice during bidding the previous fall.

After receiving the handshake, I wrote here on the blog that I would tell the story of how it went down; four months on, I am finally getting around to that.

Burma, Foreign Service, Leadership & Work Culture, Travel, U.S.

Year in Review: 2025 Blog Stats and Recap

by pennypostcard • May 28, 2026 • 1 Comment

I have both been writing this post for months and procrastinating finishing it. I normally publish my annual recap and blog stats in January, or at least earlier in the year.

But I hesitated to relive the personal and professional difficulties I experienced in 2025. A stressful international move, a life-threatening accident, family illness, job insecurity, work-related chaos, and policy whiplash were all lowlights in 2025. It’s a lot of work to dig through it all and think about how to organize and convey the details in a way that’s interesting to people aside from me.

Upon reflection, though, in characteristic form, I decided that feels like all the more reason to write this post — even if it took me a while to find the words, and even if no one else particularly notices whether I keep up what has quietly become an annual tradition. I would notice. And as the memories slowly fade around the edges, I think in the future I would regret letting a year like this pass without summary.

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