Sts

After three years of focused effort, this July 5th, I will be taking the Oath of Office as a Foreign Service Specialist. Super thrilled! The last twelve months has been crazy busy with lots of travel amidst heavy uncertainty. And our PCS move last week has been nothing different. We’re still waiting on Travel Order amendments but we were able to cost-construct our travel with some timely help from the GSO at the Chennai Consulate. A week of festivities in the family and we should be moving to Virginia for the next several weeks. Can’t wait to know my posting on Flag-day! ...

Today marks my last day as a Certifying officer with USAID. Quite typical with my previous career moves, there was a fair share of uncertainty when I signed up for this position. I wasn’t very sure what exactly I was getting into and I guess that was likely the draw too. It’s been a terrific year and a half - Timing our relocation amidst the pandemic, Sifting between remote and on-premises, moving from the States and between the States, Balancing team and personality dynamics and over the last couple months - making the most of our time in Delhi. I’ll cherish my time here over the next several years and walk out having met and worked with some awesome colleagues. ...

[caption id=“attachment_37938” align=“aligncenter” width=“1200”] Sinhagad at a distance. This picture is from on of my previous hikes.[/caption] Sharp at 0600 as we finally reach the road that winds up to Sinhagad, Ankur and I take a moment to savor the twilight chill. The last 7.5 hours has been nothing short of mesmerizing and rewarding. Just as it was twelve years ago when I did this hike with a much larger group. ...