Category: U.S.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Foreign Service, U.S.

Bosnian (LSC100) Weeks 3-4: Training Wheels

by pennypostcard • October 3, 2026 • 1 Comment

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.

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 • 2 Comments

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, 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.

Burma, Foreign Service, Travel, U.S.

15,259 Miles Later, Part I

by pennypostcard • August 11, 2025 • 2 Comments

Our PCS trip to Rangoon last week broke records for each of us, including longest consecutive air travel time and longest individual flight.

When you add up the 2,731 miles it took me to cross the United States by car, the additional 879 miles I motored around the west coast before dropping off my car at my dad’s, and the 11,649 miles traveled by plane, you get 15,259. Fifteen thousand, two hundred and fifty nine miles of total wear and tear on the body for what will be both our farthest-away and our shortest tour yet.

Foreign Service, U.S.

Wishing for Halcyon Days

by pennypostcard • August 10, 2025 • 1 Comment

In late July, after leaving Virginia and driving almost 2,800 miles by myself, I arrived in California. I think my friends and family used to be in disbelief when in 2022 I first started driving across the country alone to see them, but now my wild stunts have become almost expected.

My original plan had been to drive directly to the home of my nana in the San Francisco Bay Area. But when I’d looked at my route, I’d realized I would drive right by my mom’s in the Sierra Nevada Foothills on the way there. It made sense to stop at my mom’s to avoid arriving at my nana’s—about three hours farther away—at night. I got to my mom’s right around dinnertime, just as I’d planned.

Foreign Service, U.S.

Cannonball Run

by pennypostcard • August 8, 2025 • 1 Comment

After our grueling three-day packout ended late last month, I spent the following day preparing to drive across the United States by myself. Ideally I would have left first thing in the morning. But as the final day of our packout had stretched into the evening, I realized some tasks — like going to the bank and post office, returning newly purchased aerosols the movers wouldn’t pack, and making one last run to my private storage unit — would have to wait until the following morning. This would delay my departure until later in the day.

V spent the day cleaning the rental house where we had lived since early 2022, while I repacked all my suitcases at our temporary apartment. Once I finished, I loaded the car and ran a few last-minute errands before stopping by the house one final time to say goodbye. It was only a temporary goodbye to him, but a fond farewell to the only home we’ve known since we left Ciudad Juárez three and a half years ago.

Foreign Service, U.S.

Packout, Check

by pennypostcard • July 29, 2025 • 2 Comments

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!

Foreign Service, U.S.

It’s a FACT

by pennypostcard • July 19, 2025 • 2 Comments

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.

Foreign Service, U.S.

A Sad Day for Diplomacy

by pennypostcard • July 13, 2025 • 4 Comments

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).

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