One Year in Blogging

One year ago today, I wrote my first post on this blog, called Something Blog-Worthy…Maybe. Now, 52 weeks and 40 blog posts later, I am amazed to report that Collecting Postcards has received a staggering 10,957 page visits from readers in 97 different countries! I counted the list of countries twice, just because I could hardly believe it.

I am very happy to see that what I’m writing about here is interesting to so many people, even if just in passing. Even though my posts are word-heavy and mostly stream-of-consciousness rambling as I process my own thoughts, I’m grateful that someone, and in particular someone who doesn’t even know me, would take the time to sit down and read my posts.

So what are the readers interested in? My series on becoming a Foreign Service Officer by passing the FSOT, QEP, and FSOA and making it off the register have definitely been some of the most-visited posts. Lots of people visited my posts about getting my offer to join the 178th A-100 Generalist Class, reminiscing about where I was on September 11, 2001, and recapping my A-100 experience here, here, here, and here. The summary of my Flag Day when I got my first consular assignment to Tashkent also got a lot of traffic, and the posts where I talked quite a bit about studying Russian, here, here, here, here and here, among others.

I plan to continue posting about my consular training and last month in the U.S. before I head to Tashkent, and I promise to include more photos in the coming year, especially once I start experiencing all the beauty that Uzbekistan has to offer.

Wherever you are, and wherever you’re going, I wish you health and happiness. Thanks for the support!