This is week 14 of my Russian class, LRU100. This week marks the halfway point of the 28 week language program that many in my new Foreign Service Officer cohort (the “too big to fail 178th”) embarked upon in September. Fourteen weeks in, we are in the thick of it – regardless of whether we are…
Category: U.S.
Autumn Bleeds Towards Winter
In the last four weeks since my most recent post, it seems that a lot has happened, so this entry will probably be less thematic and more of a mixed bag.
It’s Official
For the last 11.5 weeks, I have been eager to get going on all of the arrangements that must precede my first posting in Tashkent. I’m talking about things like obtaining diplomatic passports and visas for my husband and I, trying to figure out travel dates and housing needs, and of course, the small matter…
Which is Tougher: Russian Grammar, or Russian Standard Vodka?
I find myself in week six of studying Russian, and preparing for a brief presentation tomorrow afternoon. I will be discussing (if you can call it that) my educational background, professional experience, hometown, and normal weekly schedule.
First Wedding Anniversary
Seven years and nine months ago tonight, I went on my first date with a guy who I didn’t really know, but from whom I soon would become inseparable. And then one year ago today, I donned an enormous dress. I walked down the aisle of Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Matthäus-Kirche in San Francisco, California, and pledged to…
Cчастье
The Russian word “счастье” (pronounced schast’ye) means happiness, bliss or luck. That is honestly the way I would summarize both my thoughts and feelings about studying the Russian language.
First Uzbek Celebration
On Sunday, August 31, my husband and I celebrated Uzbekistan’s twenty-third Independence Day (1991) by visiting a Russian/Uzbek restaurant in Arlington, VA called Rus Uz.
First Day of Russian Language Class (LRU100)
On Friday, August 22, my AR281 Russia/Eurasia Regional Intensive Area Studies came to a close. On Monday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 26 I sat for a two day safety and security overseas briefing, and for the remaining three days of last week, I conducted distance learning from home. It was a fantastic opportunity to…
Area Studies: Russia/Eurasia (AR281)
Over the last week and a half since A-100 ended, I’ve been immersed in AR281, otherwise known as Russia/Eurasia Regional Intensive Area Studies. My classes are held at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA, which is the same location where A-100, my Flag Day and Swearing In took place.
Swearing In Recap
I opened my eyes on the morning of Friday, August 8. A big smile spread across my face as I thought, “Today is the day!”
Our last day had arrived, the day when we would get up and officially swear in as diplomats during a formal ceremony. For months and even years I’d wished to join an A-100 class. Now I was smiling because, incredibly, not only had I made it in, but I’d made it through. Those six weeks of A-100 were finally about to end. A-100: I’d laughed, I’d cried, I’d graduated.
A-100: Week 6 in Review
The sixth and final week of A-100 arrived suddenly on August 4 and there was a new energy in the air. The thrills of week 5 and Flag Day were finally behind us. The knowledge of where we would all be posted generated a kind of “senioritis” which I would describe as a heady blend of elation…
Federal Service Anniversary
Today I celebrate nine years of federal service to the U.S. Government.
Flag Day Recap
On August 1, I started counting down the hours until our Flag Day ceremony as soon as I arrived at the Foreign Service Institute. Eight and a half hours until 15:30. Just eight and a half more hours until I find out where my first assignment as a U.S. diplomat will be. Despite my best…
Flag Day Announcement
Today I learned the location where I’ll serve my first tour as a Foreign Service Officer…
A-100: Weeks 4 and 5 in Review
It’s Flag Day Eve. Yes, as anyone who has entered the Foreign Service knows, that’s a thing. Tomorrow at 15:30 EDT, in front of friends, family, and classmates, each member of the 178th Generalist Class of new diplomats will be called one by one to the front of a large room and handed a flag,…
Collecting Postcards 