That Other Time I Thought I Had TB

Note: I do not have tuberculosis, latent or active. However, the results of my TB skin tests — yes, tests, plural — during my health unit outbrief (and follow-up) from Kabul indicated otherwise. Specifically, they indicated I was on the positive/negative border (just under 10 millimeters induration) but somewhat inconclusive because the induration (the swollen/hardened part reacting to the test) wasn’t

Filing U.S. Taxes with Foreign Income

I wrote last year about our first experience filing taxes in the Foreign Service. Tax year 2013 was a bit more complicated for us since I worked for a local (Salvadoran) NGO for about eight and a half months before starting my current job with the State Department. As such, we enlisted the help of a

Filing Taxes in the Foreign Service

What’s the deal with taxes?Kail and I finally filed our taxes last week — the latest I have ever filed my taxes (I’m not one to procrastinate). A little known fact (well, little known on the interwebs): Kail and I met while working at a tax policy organization in DC. Romantic, right?

Wordless Wednesday: We’re Moving to El Salvador

We Got Our Travel Orders

If all goes according to plan [knocks on wood], we will be living in El Salvador before the end of the month. The countdown has begun.Our packout has been scheduled. Plane tickets are hopefully being purchased today or tomorrow. Within a couple hours of receiving our travel orders yesterday, I had submitted my application for

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Tom Petty said it best. We are now three weeks past Kail’s successful Spanish exam, six weeks past my obtaining a medical clearance, 10+ weeks past my submitting my security clearance documents and we still don’t know when we are departing for post.

Truth and Lies in Spanish

It is hard to believe I am already at the halfway point of my Spanish education at FSI. Next week I have my evaluation, which is basically like a mock test session. Oh yeah — I don’t think I have mentioned that I am able to take the exam and receive an ILR score. And my exam

Fun with Vaccinations

One not-so-fun part about moving to a developing country is the myriad vaccinations you have to get to inoculate against various diseases. As soon as I figured out my regular class schedule, I dutifully scheduled an appointment for my immunizations at the FSI health unit.On the List of Posts That Require the Most Shots (Note: This

That Time I Thought I Had TB

Subtitle: And by “That Time” I Mean a Month Ago When I Went to State Med for My Medical Clearance AppointmentNote: I do not have TB. So don’t worry. But judging from the reaction I had to the skin test, I thought I did.

Goodbye, Workforce

Today is my last day of work. Well, last day of full-time, paid employment for who knows how long.I start Spanish at FSI on Monday. We’ll be packing out for San Salvador some time late this summer.