P, S, M, and now R (and a Bonus Career Update) February 5, 2010
Posted by KG in Blog, FS Life, State.add a comment
Yesterday we hosted another high-ranking State Department official in Mumbai, Judith McHale, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Like the Undersecretaries who had visited before her, she took some time to have a town hall in our “lovely” visa waiting hall, to talk a bit about her vision of Public Diplomacy.
(Department nerds: that leaves trips from T, E, G, and the two Ds for Mumbai. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be getting them during my time here.)
The strange thing about these town halls is our community’s reluctance to ask questions, in stark contrast with my hyper-inquisitive A-100 class. So for the last two meetings with bigwigs, I’ve tried to come prepared with some thoughts relevant to the speaker. It’s not always you can ask a policy-maker a question directly. Since the U/S’s shop has been at the forefront of using new media in our diplomatic efforts, I (naturally) asked about blogging. And more specifically: where she stood on the ongoing debate over personal blogs maintained by members of the Foreign Service community.
Her answer was very encouraging, touching on how as representatives of the USG we need to be careful with what we say in public, but how at the same time we should be treated as adults with the intellectual skills to be able to differentiate what we could write from what we should not blog about. I did make a special point to bring up recent stories about A-100 classes being told they should shut their blogs down, anecdotes she found unfortunate. Considering the paternalistic feeling of that particular message “shut your blog down!,” her take on the issue was appreciated.
Speaking of discrection: initially I thought it would be great to ask Ambassador McHale how I could live every week like it was Shark Week.
*****
In more late-breaking news: if you’re in the Department and reading this, both my wife and I are named in STATE 011771. We’re very happy, and very, very relieved.
No One Told You It Was Going to be Easy January 25, 2010
Posted by KG in FS Life, State.1 comment so far
The hardest part of this job is when you see the worst in people. I’ve had to do that for the last five months. And in spades, today.
Apologies to Liam Schwartz, who would enjoy greater detail, but I can’t get too into the weeds without giving too much information out. Let’s leave it at the fact that today was, from 8:30 to 4, chock full of liars, ranging from tales of facepalm worthy ridiculousness to a gentleman whose deception was of the most odious kind possible in our little world without being outright evil. By the time the day ended, I was feeling Hobbesian, like the consular line was the last redoubt against an endless flood of people bent on breaking the law to make a better life for themselves — or to make a few quick bucks.
For the last five months, that’s been the gig. The fun part, the Hardy Boys-glee of pattern recognition and putting together dots worlds apart. And the hard part, the reality of facing that “dot” and realizing they are people — and then telling that person that they’re caught.
No one believes me when I tell them I miss being on the straight NIV line.
More on Haiti January 14, 2010
Posted by KG in FS Life.1 comment so far
There’s an official State Department page on how to help. This page also has the latest Department briefings, as well as other developing information.
The first I heard of the crisis was from my boss. Sadly, she’s one of the ones that lost a friend; the Department has confirmed that one of our own died in the earthquake.
One of the more sobering elements of this peripatetic life has been the way it has changed my perspective on tragedies half a world away. When events like these occur, our first questions to each other are always “Do you know anyone there?”
And the answer, almost always, is yes.
Haiti January 13, 2010
Posted by KG in State.add a comment
I’ve got many friends of friends who are in Port-au-Prince. My Consul General served their a few years ago. We’re thousands of miles away, but…
If you’re so inclined, here’s State’s info on how to help — or who to call if you’re affected: http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/haiti_earthquake_information.
Good luck to everyone there, and everyone heading over to assist.
Movement Forward, Goals January 9, 2010
Posted by KG in DC, Mumbai, Running, Yoga.1 comment so far
Fully cognizant of the fact that I’m jinxing it, it looks like our future plans are coming together and the wife and I will be returning to the District in mid-2010. Its what we both wanted and needed, and it’ll be the first time we’ll be living as a married couple back home.
In a spirit of solidarity with Catherine, whose 30 while 30 is admirable enough to be mimicked, I’ve been thinking of goals for when we get back to the States. Nowhere near 30, but, here’s a few things I want to accomplish by year’s end. This list isn’t exhaustive, but I’m intentionally avoiding joint goals with me and my wife (“travel more”), generic goals everyone has (“save more money”) or goals that are just way to general (“take life less seriously”) in favor of concrete objectives I can achieve on my own.
One of the things I’m most looking forward to doing once back home is hitting the pavement, literally. I went on a few runs when we were in Australia, reminding me how much I miss the solitary, minimalist feeling of running a few miles, early in the morning. Life in Bombay has been many things for us. Solitary and minimalist, however, it hasn’t been. Of course I’m also a little nervous that after two years of rickety cab rides, bad posture, loosening my hips through yoga, and no running my poor legs won’t be able to take it, but that’s what ibuprofen is for. Since i’ve taken so much time off, and I’m a bit older than back when I ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, I’m ready to accept I won’t be as fast as I once was. Goal: Run the Army 10 Miler, October 24, in less than 1′40″.
Speaking of yoga: DC has yoga studios! Multiple ones! I’m hoping by the time I get back to the States I’ll be able to devote a couple hours a week to regular practice, and work on developing a stronger pincha and a decent scorpion. Is getting a full split in one year a bit too ambitious? Probably, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Goal: Work on splits all year. Nail vrschikasana. Widen my yoga practice, and try out new postures and styles whenever possible.
In keeping with the yogic-ness, I want to reduce my consumption of meat. Ezra Klein wrote a well reasoned piece for the Post about the environmental impact of meat back in July, and I started working on shifting the focus of my diet to vegetables and fish back then. Unfortunately, almost immediately thereafter I got malaria, and then anemia. Reducing meat consumption while your blood’s iron content is dangerously low? Bad idea. But I’ve been all better for a while now, so no more excuses. I think the key will be changing basic habits. To start, a Goal: cook at least two vegetarian meals a week. Once back in DC, eat more fish.
A short list, I admit, but achievable. Let’s see how much I can do in the time I’m still in India. The real test, however, starts when we’re back in DC.
Belated Thanks December 9, 2009
Posted by KG in Etc., FS Life, Family, Food, Friends, Travels, Yoga.2 comments
Crazy time — parents and sister in town, then out of town with my parents and sister, then arranging for the parents to travel while staying in town, all the while transitioning to a new position in the office. Deep breath.
In the madness I forgot to give thanks this year, quite literally. Despite hosting two lovely strangers and my family for Thanksgiving, we forgot to go around the table and give thanks. Despite the chance to be with my nuclear and extended family, all at the same time, in our ancestral city for the first time in years, I didn’t think to thank anyone. Despite being able to show my family my workplace, introduce them to my coworkers, and take them to a rather unique local holiday celebration, not once did I think “I need to feel grateful for this.”
Here’s a corrective, banking on the spiritually evergreen nature of thanks.
Thank you Orville and Wilbur Wright, Otto Lilienthal, Samuel Langley, and all the other parents of modern aviation, for making the two week holiday half way across the world possible.
Thank you random farm in Pune, for providing amazing Thanksgiving turkeys two years running.
Thank you Michael Graglia for being the best yoga teacher I’ve had, ever. (we’ll miss you!)
Thank you cell phone deregulation and competitive market, for making it so darn cheap to call home.
Thank you Bandra for your ample bounty of cheap and delicious food, just a phone call away.
And thank you to all the family and friends who have visited us in Mumbai over the last year and a half, for making India feel a little bit like home.
I Fully Admit: I am a Suit November 18, 2009
Posted by KG in Etc..5 comments
I’m upgrading my wristwear. For years, I’ve worn a $50 Fossil watch — accurate, aesthetically unoffensive, and generally acceptable. For the first few years of having a real job, the watch admirably told me when I was on time, and more often when I was running late. But now the face is scratched and the band is looking increasingly cruddy. It’s time for something new.
Here’s the problem: when it comes to businesswear, I’m still terribly cheap. And the prices of nice watches have thrown me for a loop. The math just doesn’t make sense!
A cheap, utilitarian, but ultimately mediocre dress shirt costs around $20. After much agonizing, I’ve finally come around to spending four times that ($80) on occasion for something really, really nice. Shoes work out about the same — dropping a bit of money for a nice pair of shoes buys some nice footwear. That 4x multiplier has been applicable to most of my work wardrobe. Thus I thought nice watches — whoops, I mean timepiece — would run me, at most, around $300. Clearly, I’m an idiot.
So now I’m stuck. I’ve been complaining about my watch for months and the wife is sick of it. At the same time, we’ve been watch shopping in Singapore, Australia, in India and on the ‘net, and I’ve come up empty. I’m about to give up and just get a G Shock.
Am I in an intractable position? Is my wife just dragging me into really expensive places? Advice from fellow suits, or from watch connoisseurs, is appreciated.
66 Years Later, It Still Works October 28, 2009
Posted by KG in Etc..add a comment
It’s a stressful time for a significant proportion of my Foreign Service colleagues, and to lighten the mood, here’s record of a great moment in the history of diplomatic correspondence:
Best read along with the awesome valedictory despatch story, which has already made the diploblog rounds.
I Have Never Seen So Many Prayer Flags October 21, 2009
Posted by KG in Travels.1 comment so far
We spent five days total in Nepal, stretching Columbus Day weekend on either end to put together a mini-vacation. The trip was good, but it felt as if we didn’t give Nepal enough time. Time restrictions meant we didn’t get out of the Kathmandu Valley, which was the biggest bummer. It’s difficult to do justice to a country so rich in culture — and so very different from where we call home — in five days
Not that the Valley wasn’t itself amazing. We saw more temples than I’ve seen during all my time in India, representing Hinduism, Buddhism, and everything in between; got to smell clean, fresh mountain air; and combined predictable outings like a day’s hike to a hilltop with things a bit more inexplicable — specifically, going to a performance that was part of the annual Kathmandu Jazz Festival (aka “Jazzmandu”). I’m not even that big of a jazz fan, but the chance to watch live jazz under starlight in Nepal was just one of those things we couldn’t pass up. Our last day was spent on a mountain flight, circling the Himalayas to get a look at Mt. Everest. I can now confirm that Everest is indeed very, very large.
A few photographic highlights: faces, temples, mountains, and prayer flags from The Roof of the World. For all my pictures from Nepal, click here.
Mountains! October 10, 2009
Posted by KG in Travels.add a comment
Prayer flags! Momos! Stupas! Backpackers! Iconoclastic headwear! A fifteen minute time difference!
We’re in Nepal and in case you were wondering: absolutely, postively, totally nothing like India.
