Flashing back to the present, last week our little Bosnian class of three students made it through a short but eventful fifth week of our 44-week course—eventful at least for me.
Tag: Arlington
Bosnian (LSC100) Weeks 3-4: Training Wheels
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.
Bosnian (LSC100) Weeks 1-2: Wild Enthusiasm
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.
A Fresh Start
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 Housing, Part II
One of the most popular and widely-read posts I’ve ever published to this blog is the prequel to this post, Foreign Service Housing. If you haven’t checked it out, please do! There I shared photos and stories about our housing assignments during our first two diplomatic postings to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2015-2017) and Canberra, Australia (2017-2019). I published the post over four years ago in May 2019, and it’s already been viewed over 6,100 times. What this tells me is people are very interested to see where FSOs live. I can tell you the fascination and curiosity about housing is the same even after you’re in the Foreign Service, too!
I have been meaning for literally a couple of years now to write a follow-up to that article, because since then, we’ve also been assigned to domestic Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Lodging during long-term Spanish language training in Arlington, Virginia (2019-2020) and to a consulate house for my tour in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (2020-2022).
We had more issues with each of those housing assignments than we’d ever had in Tashkent or Canberra, so perhaps I’ve delayed writing this post to avoid some of the bad memories. However, I’ve always strived in this blog to be as honest and balanced as possible about my experiences as an FSO, and I think it’s time to talk about housing when things aren’t as awesome. So let’s do it.
