Over this past three day weekend (Happy 4th!), I have noticed two predominant types of posts on my Facebook newsfeed: those of my friends in the United States barbecuing and enjoying fireworks while decked out in red, white, and blue, and those of my Foreign Service colleagues taking the opportunity granted by an extra day…
Tag: Settling In
Additional Cylinders Begin to Fire Up
I was fortunate when I arrived here in Tashkent last month that the consular officers and local staff already working in the section facilitated a great orientation training and familiarization period for me. This helped me quickly learn what consular work looks like relevant to conditions in Uzbekistan; it was a specific and fine-tuned addendum to my ConGen…
Small Wins
As those who know me well would attest, I’ve never been much for competition. I used to work for someone whose top strength, according to StrengthsFinder 2.0, was Competition, with a capital C. I wasn’t surprised to discover this fact during a staff retreat/training because it described her perfectly. Her competitive nature was an incredibly…
Observations Written As Facts
And now, some of my observations that may – or may not – also be facts!
Holy Air Freight, Batman!
Thursday, May 21, the night I arrived in Uzbekistan, I heard that my UAB (otherwise known as unaccompanied air baggage, or “air freight”) had beat me here. This was totally shocking for me (in a good way), as my air freight had only been packed out less than two weeks before. I’ve heard dozens of…
First 24 Hours in Uzbekistan
Thursday, May 21 was a day I intersected the sun while flying thousands of miles east. As midnight struck on the east coast of the United States, I had already set my watch six hours ahead and arrived in Frankfurt, the only time during that day that I held still for a few hours.
Collecting Postcards 