Welcome to the Archives
- About Us
- Our Foreign Service Experience
- On the Job as a Foreign Service Construction Engineer
- Assignments
- State Assignment #3: Nicosia, Cyprus
- State Assignment #2: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- State Assignment #1: Washington, D.C.
- USAF Assignment #4: HQ Air Force Special Operations Command
- USAF Assignment #3: Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany
- USAF Assignment #2: Osan Air Base, South Korea
- USAF Assignment #1: RED HORSE, Hurlburt Field, Florida
- Travel Summaries
- Our American Southwest Trip
- Our Excursions to Oman
- Our Adventures in Sri Lanka
- Our Nile Cruise
- Our Expedition to Jordan
- TDY to Turkmenistan
- Discovering Turkey
- Gulf of Mexico Cruise
- Greek Island Cruise
- Baltic Sea Cruise
- Australia
- New Zealand
- South American Tour
- Deployment #1
- Road Trip USA
- Europe 2002 (E02)
- Europe 2001 (E01)
- Asia 1999 (A99)
- Europe 1999 (E99)
- Europe 1997 (E97)
- SEA Semester
The Passport Stamp Collector Blog
Archive List
Shown in descending order, most current post on top#PassportStampCollectorBlog #PSCBlog
- FSCE Promotion Statistics 2023
- FSCE Job Description in Real Terms
- Employee Evaluation Report Process
- Foreign Service Salary and Benefits
- Vientiane, Laos
- FSCE Career Progression and Assignments
- Intro to OBO - Your First Two FSCE Tours
- Washington DC, Second Tour and FSCE career info
- End of Tour Summary - Nairobi, Kenya
- Sheldrick's Elephant orphanage
- Kenyan Safari Parks
- End of Tour Summary - Nicosia, Cyprus
- Assignment: Nairobi
- OceanMan Cyprus
- Dragon Boat Training - Torrevieja
- Two Years In: Nicosia, Cyprus
- Karpaz Peninsula and Kantara Castle
- Bellapais Abbey
- Karsiyaka Sea Turtle Hatching
- Breaking & Fixing Things
- Starry Owl
- Jamestown Settlement
- Plovdiv
- Agia Napa Triathlon
- Priorities
- One Year In: Nicosia, Cyprus
- Rejoining the Group
- Day 4: Great Sand Dunes
- Day 3: Capulin Volcano National Monument and the Great Sand Dunes (Barely)
- Day 2: West Across Texas
- Day 1: The Long Haul West
- What Happened to Bertie (Corinne's first blog post)
- What It Means to Love a Dog (and Cat) in the Foreign Service
- Great American Western Road Trip: Summer 2018
- Father's Day 2018
- Cooking with Gas - International Adapters
- Spring Break 2018 Summary - Lebanon and Israel
- Shabat in Caesarea
- Northern Israeli coast - Rosh Hanikra Grottoes and Baha'i Gardens
- Yom HaShoah and Tel Aviv
- Jerusalem
- Lebanon Cedars Besharreh Kahlil Gibran Kozhaya
- Lebanon Byblos Jeita Grotto Harissa
- Lebanon - Baalbek, Anjar, and Ksara
- The 2018 Federal Shutdown for FSCEs
- Tech - dual networks over a single cable
- Return to Adana
- Adventures in Monotony
- Museo Nacional Del Prado
- Plaza de España
- Plaza Mayor Christmas Market
- Thanksgiving in Madrid
- Green Line Tour
- In Memory of Our Beloved Chip
- Our First Week in Cyprus
- Start of Tour: Nicosia, Cyprus
- American Southwest Family Vacation 2017
- The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert
- Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon
- Grand Canyon Adventures
- Driving through Zuni country
- The Badlands of El Malpais
- End Of Tour Summary - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Five Pros and Cons of Living in Jeddah
- Al Ula Desert Safari
- Mada'in Saleh - Al Ula
- Bahrain
- Legoland Dubai
- Khasab, Oman
- Dhow Cruise - Fjords of Musandam
- Jebel Harim - The Mountain of Women
- Oman Excursions
- Red Sea Safari - Al Lith
- Via Roma & Cassino War Cemetery
- The Amalfi Coast
- Pompeii
- Sorrento
- FSCE Certifications
- Doha
- Our second year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Assignment: Nicosia
- Christmas Break in NYC
- Canyoneering in Wadi Shab, Oman
- Muscat, Oman
- En route: via Riyadh to Oman
- Bedouin Night in the Arabian Desert
- Backlogged
- Sri Lanka Family Vacation Summary
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
- Kandy
- Nanu Oya to Nuwara Eliya
- Ella
- Arugam Bay Beach Day
- Sigiriya Fortress and Traditional Sri Lankan Village
- Anuradhapura & an Elephant Safari in Minneriya
- Leopard Safari in Wilpattu
- Abu Dhabi
- R&R 2016 - Ireland
- R&R 2016 - Florida
- R&R 2016 - Kentucky Horse Park
- R&R 2016 - Canada
- R&R 2016 - California
- Aircraft Carrier Parenting
- A New Family Member: Bertie
- Nile Cruise Summary
- Flight Out of Egypt
- Aswan
- Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples
- Luxor - West Bank
- Luxor - East Bank
- Cairo with Kids
- Easter in Saudi Arabia
- Return to Moon Mountain
- Diving in Yanbu
- Carpets and Culture
- Hejazi Angawi House Tour
- Jordan Trip Summary
- The Dead Sea
- Kerak Castle
- Wadi Rum
- Petra
- Day Trip to Taif
- Jeddah Festival 2016
- One Year In: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Year in Review: 2015
- Partnach Gorge
- Sledding in the Alps
- Garmisch and the Zugspitz
- TDY to Turkmenistan
- Parting Thoughts from the Parthian Empire
- The Horses of Ashgabat
- Riding an Akhal-Teke Horse
- The Gates of Hell
- Like the Deserts Miss the Rain
- Ashgabat and the Silk Road
- Calling all Engineers!
- Wandering around Ashgabat
- Transiting Iranian Airspace
- Get Your Coffee Fix While Living Abroad
- Our Family Vacation to Turkey
- Going Home (DNZ-JED)
- Roman Ruins: Hierapolis and Cleopatra's Baths
- Laodikeia and Kaklik Caverns
- The Pamukkale Travertines
- Istanbul - Golden Horn
- Istanbul - Taksim Square
- Istanbul - Sultan Ahmet
- Old Town Jeddah (Al-Balad)
- Over-Scheduled or Under-Resourced?
- Al-Naseef House
- Time for a little R&R
- R & R in Paris
- R & R in Florida
- Eid al-Fitr in al Balad
- R & R in Canada
- Realities of Foreign Service Life for Families with Young Children
- My First Iftar Experience
- Overthinking Time Pressure Anxiety
- Ramadan & Summer Work Hours in Saudi Arabia
- Beirut
- A Long Weekend in Dubai, UAE (with kids)
- Are Foreign Service Specialists Diplomats?
- Moon Mountain at Sunset
- Ottoman Fortress at Usfan
- DiploPundit vs. OBO
- My first Zipcar Experience
- TDY to DC
- Production Controls, Easter Style
- Foreign Service Construction Engineer FAQs
- International Phones and Devices: Spring 2015 Update (Samsung S6)
- Making Tenure as a Foreign Service Specialist
- Greek Independence Day
- Daylight Savings Time in Saudi Arabia
- UAB & HHE (aka HHG)
- Commissary Shopping in Saudi Arabia
- How to Improve Your Foreign Service Blog
- Happy Fourth of July, Ash Wednesday, and Chinese New Year!
- Choosing the Right Adapter for International Travel
- One Month In
- A Western Woman in Saudi Arabia: The Basics
- Getting Mail Overseas
- Children's TV for Ex-Pats in Saudi Arabia
- The Art of Participation
- A Field Full of Horses at the Trio Ranch
- The Iqama
- My First Souk Night with Bonus Mutaween (Religious Police) Encounter
- Initial Impressions of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- The Paperwork for a Permanent Change of Station (PCS)
- Start of Tour Summary - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- End of Tour Summary - Washington, DC
- Traveling Internationally with Pets
- Downsize and Safeguard Your Digital Documents
- Year in Review: 2014
- Moving Day - Pack Out Day
- Moving Day - Tips &Tricks for Pre-move Preparation
- Mrs. Spearman: A Remembrance and Commitment
- We're still hiring Foreign Service Construction Engineers!
- How to Declutter Before Moving (aka PCS)
- The FSCE Assignment Process
- How I organize my digital photos for multiple photo streams
- Downton Abbey at Winterthur
- Crash Bang!
- Productivity Tactics: Applying the Eisenhower Method on your Desktop
- Staying Connected: International Phones (GSM, 4G-LTE, etc)
- For Former Military Members Looking to Join the Foreign Service
- Kid-Friendly Baltimore
- Study Abroad and Internship Programs
- Officially Listed as a Foreign Service Blog
- Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Reception
- Monuments Men Day Trip to Bruges and Ghent
- Traveling with Kids: Child Carriers
- Salmon Fishing on Lake Huron
- Bridal Veil Falls and the Cup and Saucer Trail
- Meldrum Bay and Little Current
- Cottaging on Manitoulin Island
- 4th of July on the National Mall
- Traveling with Kids: Headphones
- A Day in Oslo
- Rocking Out in Baltimore
- Assignment: Jeddah
- Anticipating Memorial Day Weekend in Washington D.C.
- Civil War Reenactment at New Market
- Shenandoah National Park
- Rejected by Amazon
- May Day - Vienna
- Vienna in Spring
- Work-Life Balance with International Travel
- The Eighth Guardian
- Cherry Blossoms in DC
- Douthat State Park
- Bid Season is Now Open
- Touring Boston with Kids
- Brussels: The Art of the Brick
- Brussels Without Plans (Again)
- Adana, General Impressions
- My First Week as a Project Director
- Frankfurt to Adana
- DC to Frankfurt
- Asheville, NC
- Snow Days
- How To Break The Internet
- New Places, 2013
- Zoo Lights at the National Zoo
- A United States Botanical Gardens Christmas
- Mount Vernon Night Tour
- Touring DC - White House & Pentagon
- 48 Hours in NYC - The Second Day
- 48 Hours in NYC - The First Day
- Another long flight home
- Dusting things up in Turkey
- Denmark to Turkey
- Copenhagen in December
- More time at LHR
- One of those days...
- Marine Corps Marathon - 10K
- London Layover
- Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival
- Reliving Vienna
- Vilnius
- Dining in DC: Zengo
- How Apropos...priated.
- A New Commute
- Steppin' Up!
- Telework
- DC is unpleasant w/o A/C
- Welcome to the Dollhouse (that I built)
- Kulturhavn 2013
- Pageviews
- An Outer Banks 4th of July
- Westmoreland State Park
- Bike to Work
- Istanbul
- Getting to Adana, Turkey
- Buying Good Suits at Goodwill
- I'm not that thirsty
- Brussels without plans
- Cherry Blossoms
- The Cherry Blossom 5k That Wasn't
- Family Vacation at Douthat State Park
- Snowquester
- Diplomacy Through Architecture
- VA Math & Separation Pay
- Work-life balance
- Inauguration Day 2013
- Leadership Training
- My first trip as a diplomat: Copenhagen
- Lego Table Upgrade, Version 4
- Breaking out the patterns
- Sold the Car!
- Mount Vernon
- A Parting of Ways: Choosing a post-military hairstyle
- 50 Shades of Gray
- Veteran's Day (Observed) at Arlington
- HHE Delivery Bingo
- HHE delivery during Hurricane Sandy
- Now that's a job description
- Faith in Humanity: Restored
- Lots of Lanyards
- My Military to Civilian Transition Summary
- My Air Force Experience: I am a Veteran (11 of 11)
- Flag Day!
- Organization is key!
- End Of Tour Summary: My Air Force Career
- Orienteering at the State Department
- My Air Force Experience: The Next Sortie (10 of 11)
- An extra-ordinary life
- One week to go!
- SeaWorld Orlando
- Legoland Florida
- End of Tour Summary: Air Force Special Operations Command
- My Air Force Experience: Final Out-Processing (9 of 11)
- Closing up shop
- Back to work...for a week.
- Getting in Step
- Road Hazard
- An offer to join the U.S. Foreign Service
- And more waiting...
- The Foreign Service clearance process
- Backstop 25 Application Submitted
- The Manitoulin Island
- YYZ
- Office Humor - Notable Meeting Quotes
- My Foreign Service Specialist Oral Assessment Experience
- Date of Separation Established (8 of 11)
- The Promotion Board Field Message (7 of 11)
- Passing the Foreign Service QEP
- Not a sprint, not a marathon.
- My Air Force Experience: A Future Decided Behind Closed Doors (6 of 11)
- Considering my Options: USAID (5 of 11)
- The world outside the hotel door
- A Toddler's birthday party: Organized Chaos
- Backstop 76 applications submitted
- Future Career Path Discussions with the Colonel (4 of 11)
- Quote of the Day
- Stop & Go in Severe Weather
- It Begins Today!
- Towel Animals!
- Snokelling in Chankanaab Park
- Lamanai, the Submerged Crocodile
- My Air Force Experience: Appeal Denied (3 of 11)
- Where on earth is Roatan?
- Mayan Ruins at Kohunlich
- Cruising around the Gulf of Mexico
- Pike's Peak
- Cave of the Winds
- Considering my Options: U.S. Foreign Service Officer (2 of 11)
- My Air Force Experience: An extended metaphor (1 of 11)
- End of Tour Summary: Germany
- End of Tour Summary: France
- Ring of Kerry
- Day Trip to Tangier, Morocco
- Gibraltar
- AndalucÃa
- The Paris-Roubaix Incident
- Caves at Lascaux & the Millau Viaduct
- Prague in Winter
- My VW died on the Autobahn
- Legoland Denmark
- Bernkastel-Kues
- Tour de France Finish in Paris
- Niagara Falls
- A great welcome back...
- Port of Call: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Port of Call: Tallinn, Estonia
- Port of Call: Saint Petersburg, Russia (Day 2)
- Port of Call: Saint Petersburg, Russia (Day 1)
- Port of Call: Helsinki, Finland
- Port of Call: Stockholm, Sweden
- Port of Call: Warnemunde, Germany
- Not the way to start a cruise.
- Baltic Cruise
- Italy
- Dubrovnik
- Rhodes
- Santorini & Mikonos
- Venice
- Cruising the Adriatic and Aegean
- Fasching 2009
- Graceland
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber
- Pisa
- Carrara & Cinque Terra
- Florence
- The Pyramids of Giza
- Diving the Red Sea at Sharm El-Sheikh
- Berlin Marathon 2008
- Born in a Belgian Orphanage for dogs
- Weekend in Scotland
- Tour de France, Mountain Stage
- Hiking around Spain
- The Running of the Bulls
- Pamplona & Castillo
- Liechtenstein
- Hydra, Our first Greek Isle
- Athens
- Olympus and Delphi
- This Is Sparta!
- The Peloponnesus
- Trains, Planes, and Automobiles
- Doha
- Snowboarding at Zell am See
- Brugge (Bruges)
- Budapest
- Schützenschnur
- Amsterdam
- Oktoberfest!
- Munich, pre-festival
- Zugspitze
- Innsbruck Mountain Bike Race
- Dachau
- Neuschwanstein, again.
- The Eagle's Nest & a Salt Mine near Salzburg
- The Sound of Music
- When in Rome...
- Manderscheid Medieval Burgenfest
- Wittlich Pigfest
- Normandy Beaches & Bayeux Tapestry
- Mont-St-Michel and Sainte-Mère-Église
- The Treat of Versailles
- Paris - Museum Day (d'Orsay and Louvre)
- The Swiss Alps
- Tour De France, 2007
- Bridge over the River Cam
- A Bike Race in Southern France
- A weekend in Vienna
- Liege-Bastogne-Liege
- Heidelberg
- Home of the Hamburger
- Tivoli Gardens
- Gothenburg: That's the Way I Roll
- Tulips at Keukenhof
- Lindt Chocolate Factory in Koln
- Carnival in Maastricht
- Pottery Shopping in Poland
- Dublin
- Trier Christmas Market
- End of Tour Summary: Korea
- Last Day in Korea
- Promotion to Captain!
- Halloween in Korea
- Playing against the Black Widow
- Climbing Mount Fuji
- Mud Fest!
- Kuranda and Tjapukai Aboriginal Center
- Daintree Tour
- Diving the Great Barrier Reef
- Alice Springs to Cairns
- Driving through the Outback to Alice Springs
- Sunset on Uluru
- Out and about in Sydney
- New Zealand to Australia
- Milford Sound
- Onward to Queenstown!
- Franz Joseph Glacier
- The Trans-Alpine Express
- The drive to Christchurch
- Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park
- Island Hopping
- Wellington
- On to Wellington
- Touring Taupo
- Rotorua Thermal Springs
- Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley
- Glowworm caves of Waitomo
- Arrival at Auckland
- Mid-Tour Vacation
- Adventures in New Zealand and Australia
- Our New Zealand Adventure Summary
- Volunteering at Father Paul's
- Shark Tank Dive
- Cherry Blossoms in Gyeong Ju
- Guamish?
- The DMZ
- Adventures in the Land Down Under
- Snowboarding in South Korea
- A Wrong Turn on Hooker Hill
- Settling into my Korean surroundings
- End of Tour Summary: RED HORSE
- Iguazu Falls
- Buenos Aires to Iguazu
- Day trip to Colonia
- Buenos Aires
- Buenos Aires Tango & Theater
- Mendoza to Buenos Aires
- Mendoza Wine Tasting
- Rafting in Mendoza
- The Bus Ride Across the Andes: Santiago to Mendoza
- Santiago Redo
- Strolling around Punta Arenas
- The Penguins of Punta Arenas
- Punta Arenas, Chilean Patagonia
- A visit to Neruda's La Chascona
- Arrival in Santiago
- Our South American Adventure Begins!
- End of Tour Summary: Deployment #1
- Wheels Up!
- Headed home!
- A Sunday in Doha
- SAME old thing
- Exploring an abandoned chemical weapons lab?
- Ziggurat of Ur
- Getting down to business
- Into Iraq
- Desert Safari in Qatar
- Turkey Day, Central Asian style
- Wrapping up in K2
- Karshi-Khanabad Site Survey
- Karshi-Khanabad batch plant visit
- A day off in Karshi-Khanabad
- Into Uzbekistan
- Groundhog's Day
- Weather, or not.
- Lessons in Septics
- Quick trip to the Embassy
- A day off in Doha
- The Middle East is kind of like West Texas
- Off We Go! A New Adventure Begins
- Third Lieutenant?
- USAF Officer Training School
- Road Trip USA - Day 24: Chicago, IL to Knoxville, TN
- Road Trip USA - Day 23: Chicago, IL
- Road Trip USA - Day 22: Topeka, KS to Chicago, IL
- Road Trip USA - Day 21: Denver, CO to Topeka, KS
- Road Trip USA - Day 20: Denver, CO
- Road Trip USA - Day 19: Salt Lake City, UT to Denver, CO
- Road Trip USA - Day 18: San Francisco, CA to Salt Lake City, UT
- Road Trip USA - Day 17: Napa Valley Wine Tasting
- Road Trip USA - Day 16: San Francisco, CA
- Road Trip USA - Day 15: Death Valley, CA to San Francisco,CA
- Road Trip USA - Day 14: Grand Canyon, AZ to Death Valley, CA
- Road Trip USA - Day 13: Albuquerque, NM to Grand Canyon, AZ
- Road Trip USA - Day 12: Albuquerque, NM
- Road Trip USA - Day 11: North Texas to Albuquerque, NM
- Road Trip USA - Day 10: Houston, TX to North Texas
- Road Trip USA - Day 9: New Orleans, LA to Houston, TX
- Road Trip USA - Day 8: New Orleans, LA (Day 3)
- Road Trip USA - Day 7: New Orleans, LA (Day 2)
- Road Trip USA - Day 6: New Orleans, LA
- Road Trip USA - Day 5: Knoxville,TN to New Orleans, LA
- Road Trip USA - Day 4: Knoxville, TN
- Road Trip USA - Day 3: Washington, D.C. to Knoxville, TN
- Road Trip USA - Day 2: Washington, D.C.
- Road Trip USA - Day 1: Boston, MA to Washington, D.C.
- The Great American Road Trip 2002: 7,700 Miles, 26 States, and 24 Days
- Europe Trip 2002 Summary
- A quick trip to the Tate Modern
- Neuschwanstein Castle
- A drinking tour of Munich
- From Vienna to Munich, via Salzburg
- A lap around Vienna
- From Prague to Vienna
- In Prague, without a camera
- If it ain't Baroque...
- From Berlin to Prague
- On the Go in Berlin
- Running down Lola in Berlin
- Tegel? My, fancy.
- Eurotrip, 2002
- Europe Trip 2001 Summary
- Reykjavik, the Smoky Bay City
- Driving around Iceland's Golden Circle
- The Land of Fire and Ice
- Rendezvous in Brussels
- The Treat of Maastricht
- This could be Rotterdam, or anywhere
- Euro Trip 2001
- A tour of Bali
- A Day of Adventure in Bali
- Kuta Beach
- Vacation in Bali
- Sunday in Beijing
- Out and About in the North Capital
- The Great Wall at Simatai
- Beijing
- The Fourth of July in Macau
- The International Dragon Boat Festival
- Hong Kong Dragon Boat Race
- Hong Kong, for real this time
- Strolling through Singapore
- Is it Melaka or Malacca?
- Will I ever make it to Kuala Lumpur?
- Breakfast in Thailand, Lunch in Singapore, Dinner in Malaysia
- Bumming in Bangkok
- Central Bangkok
- Bangkok, Day 2
- En route to Bangkok
- A Full Day of Travel
- A Summer in Asia
- Europe Trip 1999 Summary (E99)
- Getting out of England awake
- On to Oxford!
- D-Day Beaches
- My invasion of Normandy at Bayeaux
- Along the Med to Marseilles
- Out and about in Genoa
- Milan, the Fashion Capital
- We don't need no water, let the Swiss capital Bern!
- Paris in Sunlight
- Navigating Paris at Night
- Winter Break in Europe
- Europe Trip 1997 Summary (E97)
- 5 countries in 22 hours?
- One Amsterdam Busy Day!
- Good Friday in England
- Southern England
- The Wye Valley
- The Land of Wales
- Tower Time
- London on a Sunday
- Top of the morning to you, too!
- Britannia Bound!
- SEA Semester Voyage Summary
- SEA May 1: Key West Airport
- SEA April 26: North of Cuba, sailing for the Dry Tortugas
- SEA April 24: Rounding the eastern edge of Cuba
- SEA April 22: Yucatan Straits
- SEA April 21: South of Cuba, heading into the Yucatan Straits
- SEA April 20: Alongside in Grand Cayman
- SEA April 19: Little Cayman to Grand Cayman
- SEA April 18: At anchor, Little Cayman
- SEA April 10: Hogsty Reef, Bahamas
- SEA April 6: In port at Rum Cay, Bahamas
- SEA April 3: Somewhere in northern Bahamian Waters
- SEA March 31: Leaving Bimini, Bahamas
- SEA March 28: The Florida Straits, rounding Florida
- SEA March 27: Stymied in the Florida Straits, north of Cuba
- SEA March 25 (Day 4): Somewhere in the Gulf Loop Current
- SEA March 23 (Day 2): Leaving Tampa Bay