So I’ve been taking a self-imposed hiatus of sorts from blogging over the past few months, decided it was time to start updating it again. We’ll see how long it lasts, but hoping to post things on at least a somewhat regular basis!
First off, bidding. For various reasons, I ended up getting extended on my current tour for another year. Fortunately I like DC, have plenty of friends here, plenty to do, etc – still hope to get back out there eventually but for now I don’t mind 🙂 I’ll be re-bidding this upcoming summer, will certainly be interesting to see how it turns out.
I also had the chance to take a few trips near the end of last year. In September, I traveled to Budapest to visit a few friends and enjoy a week of well-deserved vacation. Also used the chance to hone my photography skills a bit. Here’s some pics:


As you can see, I’ve been toying with black & white photography a bit – kind of cool what you can do with it!
In late October, I had the chance to visit Dakar, Senegal for work. It was an interesting experience, certainly different from other places I’ve visited but I still had a pretty good time. Gave me a little of a well-needed intro to the “Africa Experience”, assuming I stay in the Foreign Service long-term I’m sure I’ll end up there again someday! Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip:


First pic is of westernmost Dakar, the part jutting out to the left is Pointe des Almadies (might be misspelling that) – it juts into the Atlantic and is the westernmost point in mainland Africa. Second pic is a fishing boat – I saw quite a few similar boats in Dakar.
Last picture! This is one of two giant tortoises that some of the embassy employees in Dakar keep as pets (they’ve gotten pretty big, the shoes give you some idea of size). They’re “free range” and quite friendly, mostly living off the grass and the occasional piece of fruit. Quiet, not likely to run away, and they mow your lawn for free – I wouldn’t mind having a pet like that 🙂
Posted in Foreign Service, Washington, DC