It’s been a while since I completed the Boho Bar project, and we’ve been enjoying the heck out of our home bar. (Even more so these past few days as we just received our second consumables shipment, which contained beaucoup booze). But almost as soon as the bar was set up, I could see that […]
Tag: Algeria
Weekend Trip to Tipaza
Adam and I talked this week about how every Foreign Service Officer posted abroad is having a not normal tour and will forever look back at this time as say “Oh, that was my corona tour” as an excuse for why she didn’t see much of France/Kazakhstan/Nicaragua/Senegal, or wherever the posting is. No exception here […]
From Snow to Sun, Another Return to Algeria
Happy Valentines Day from Algiers! Yes, I’m back home in Algeria and it feels good. We have nothing specifically romantic planned for the day. But it does feel holiday-ish because while Sunday is normally the start of the work week, we have today off for President’s Day. I’m spending the day getting dosed with sunshine […]
Best of 2020
2021 was supposed to be the new year/fresh start we all hoped for, but so far it’s pretty shit. Here we are with the coronavirus still lingering (but a vaccine, yay!); still working from home; I just received pretty bad personal news (more on that when I’m ready to share it); and then what happened […]
Happy New Year, or Jet-lagged in Algiers
Happy 2020 Is Over! Or, Happy New Year! Whatever you call it. I need to admit something: I woke up today at 4pm. I am still sitting here, sun starting to set, in total shock. Mostly that my husband let me sleep until 4pm – something I’ve never in my life done. Hadn’t he the […]
Dramatic, Large-Scale Dining Room Gallery Wall
Hello from Algiers, where the number of coronavirus infections continue to rise. There are some new restrictions, like most shops will be closing at 3pm now, and there’s an 8pm curfew for everyone. We’re still safe and cozy in our Algiers house, seeing friends in socially distanced gatherings, and working almost exclusively from home. This […]
An Algiers Walking Tour
Hi readers! I published, shamefully, just one blog post in October. Not sure what happened there, and now it’s already mid-November and we’re deep into a resurgence of COVID-19 and on the precipice of the certain plummet of our current president. I’ve been advised to keep politics off this blog, but lemme say I’m depressed […]
One Year in Algiers
One year ago today — on July 1, 2019 — we landed in Algiers to start our three-year tour. Back then, we thought we’d be here for two years, but we quickly extended for an additional year. I’m glad we did, because otherwise we’d be trying to figure out where to go next right now, […]
Who Had It Better: Diplomats of the Present or the Past?
I drove to the garden store in Algiers the other day, and it was the first time in months I’ve driven more than a few kilometers. (Seriously, I last filled the tank in our car about 60 days ago and it’s still at least half full!) On the drive back, I was trying to figure […]
Why Learning French is So Fun (For Me)
Have I mentioned how much I love French? I have never before had this much fun learning a language. Not in high school when I was the most consistently tardy, unmotivated, yet energetic student in Mrs. Belanger’s Spanish class; not when I did a seven-week Spanish immersion course at the Foreign Service Institute, or when […]