Last week, the packout for our PCS move to Burma began on Monday and lasted through Wednesday. It was longer and more nerve-wracking than I expected — probably our longest and most stressful packout ever… I’m glad it’s over!
Month: July 2025
It’s a FACT
V and I spent last week out of town at the five-day Foreign Affairs Counterthreat Training, otherwise known as FACT. Typically, FSOs attend FACT every five or six years. However, we had not been for 10 years — since spring 2015. When we last attempted to complete FACT in March 2020, our timing was unfortunate — the world was just beginning to shut down due to COVID-19. We had already unpacked and were relaxing in our hotel several hours away when, on a Sunday evening, we learned that the weeklong FACT session scheduled to begin the following morning had been canceled due to the emerging pandemic. We were so close, but missed out. We went to Ciudad Juárez on the same FACT waiver everyone received during that period. But in 2025, the stars finally aligned and we checked FACT off our list once more.
A Sad Day for Diplomacy
Friday was a mixed bag of emotions for me. On one hand, I was happily celebrating the successful end of 10 months of Burmese study. I was busy running errands around town, completing lab work, seeing my doctor to fill prescriptions before moving to Burma, using the official pouch to save my precious suitcase space and advance work-related materials to myself in Rangoon, and driving my husband V to his urgent dental surgery.
But on the other hand, as V and I were making every effort to deconstruct our lives in the United States and prepare to move ourselves and all our stuff on overseas government orders, we were paradoxically also both monitoring our work emails to see if we were losing our jobs. That’s right, losing our jobs. On Friday, the Department of State fired more than 1,300 U.S.-based employees via email, including almost 250 Foreign Service Officers (FSOs).
The Verdict: Learning Burmese, Week 45
After our 44th and final week of Burmese language class, last week consisted of three days of review. I attended class on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I missed Monday due to a minor dental emergency.
Throughout the week, I was full of nerves and felt my usual dread about taking an End of Training (EOT) test. On Thursday morning, I arrived at FSI early for one last solo review and my final preparations. After 10 months of study, it was finally EOT day.
A Proud Accomplishment: Learning Burmese, Weeks 43-44
Since last September when I began studying Burmese at FSI, I knew the finish line was at week 44. It seemed nearly impossible early on to imagine studying Burmese full-time for 44 weeks. Yet, I have. Imperfectly, but I have. I didn’t study as much as I should have. I missed too many days for health reasons. Maybe I didn’t spend my free time listening to Burmese language podcasts and daydreaming about different ways to say something. I definitely did not master the language in any impressive way.
However, I arrived at the end of the program. I didn’t give up, flame out, or quit, even though I thought about it during several rough patches. I felt dread, discouragement, even disinterest at times – but also elation, hope, and gratitude for the chance to receive training many others went to post lacking, and for the small wins I earned. Despite the curriculum or experience not being exactly what I expected, we are approaching the inevitable time to shift professional gears once more.
Collecting Postcards 