At my most recent pedicure, I chose a deep cranberry shade—even though my toes still spend most weekends poolside or in strappy sandals. The signs of autumn flooding my social media feeds and podcast ads from home feel distant here in Burma, where my tan is still going strong. There are no cardigans, pumpkin spice lattes, or even jeans for me. I’ve worn a long-sleeved shirt only once since arriving in Rangoon. But if I close my eyes, I can almost smell the fall leaves of Virginia and the crisp evening air tinged with woodsmoke a world away.
Tag: Courage
15,259 Miles Later, Part II
When V and I deplaned in Seoul after the longest flight we’d ever taken, we had one goal: to find a pet relief station for our poor cat. He had already been holding it for exactly 24 hours since V had packed him into the carrier for the taxi ride to Dulles. Since then, they’d flown to Atlanta, where they met me, and we’d flown together on to Seoul.
We weren’t sure how much longer the cat could hold it. We’d tried to get him to pee in Atlanta, but he’s a cat. It’s not like we could explain to him, “Hey, we know there’s no litter in this makeshift box. But this is your last chance for a very long time, so at least give it a try.”
And still, before we could search for a pet relief area, we had to proceed through Incheon Airport’s international transfer security check — a surprisingly chaotic process.
15,259 Miles Later, Part I
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.
Wishing for Halcyon Days
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.
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.
Quickly Clockwise: Learning Burmese, Weeks 41-42
For the last two weeks, it has felt like time is moving more quickly by the day towards our upcoming PCS. An international move requires an annoying blend of small detail management and big picture perspective, all of which eats up extra time and energy you don’t have while working full-time.
During the final stages of our 2013 wedding planning, I would often awake from nightmares of walls covered with clocks, their hands spinning clockwise out of sync and with absurd rapidity. I don’t think I could ever care as much about a PCS as I did our wedding, nor do I think the stresses are equivalent.
But my strategy of trying to keep on top of a myriad of details — lest they pile up and overwhelm me later — generally serves me well.
Moving Ahead: Learning Burmese, Week 40
Week 40 was the week where we could finally say, “We’re moving to Burma next month.”
And also, “Less than five weeks left of language class.”
Psychologically, each time we’ve advanced to a new stage in the program—moving from single-digit to double-digit weeks, hitting week 20, week 30, and so on—has felt like a milestone. And none more so yet than week 40.
If I Must: Learning Burmese, Weeks 36-37
During the past couple of weeks, I hit some exciting milestones in our PCS move preparations, while simultaneously seeming to backslide in my acquisition of Burmese.
Talking Points: Learning Burmese, Weeks 34-35
Last week and the week before, I was struggling with burnout in Burmese class while also trying to focus on preparing for our upcoming move overseas. Now that we’ve entered the final stretch—with only single-digit weeks remaining in the program—two acronyms have begun to loom larger: the EOT (End of Training) test and our PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move.
A Message From Beyond, Part II
This post is the second half of a story from 2023 that I began to write last week. If you haven’t read the first half, I recommend you do so first so this post will make sense.
A Message From Beyond, Part I
I want to take a break from the intensity of Burmese study-related posts and tell a story I’ve been meaning to share since 2023. It’s an emotional story, sad, and long, but I think important, so I will tell it in two parts. This is the first part.
It’s fair to say I am the type of person who relies more on science than I do faith to explain what I experience in life. Most people who know me would probably describe me with words like serious, rational, skeptical, judicious, and methodical.
However, I have also long believed there are things we don’t understand about the human experience. In my opinion, sometimes things happen that we cannot simply explain (or explain away) with facts. Some things we simply feel, and intuitively believe to be true, even if we cannot prove it. This is a story about something like that. It’s a story about a message from beyond.
Changing Times: Learning Burmese, Weeks 32-33
We’ve now completed 75 percent of our Burmese training, and times they are a‑changin’. Half of our classmates have tested out with their scores and moved on, leaving only the two of us—as it was in the beginning. The seasons have shifted from summer to fall, then winter, and now spring. With about three months left before we depart for Post, the sense that we’re coming full circle grows ever stronger.
Collecting Postcards 