What I did when I was away / at the Mothership / on bridge

One of the wonderful things about my job with the State Department is how supportive they are.  Most other jobs -  if you had to be gone for 9 weeks -  you’d just be out of luck.  You’d use up all your sick and vacation time and then you’d really be in a bind.

But – not only did the wonderful MED Foreign Programs facilitate my returning to the US for treatment, they also facilitated my doctor’s appointments in DC.  And since my treatment (after surgery) was in DC, I was able to work when I wasn’t getting treatment.

The folks at MED are very supportive of people working while on Medical Leave if they feel up to it.  It helps you stay connected, stay involved, and it also can preserve some of your precious leave.

My CDO (Career Development Officer), helped me find a bridge assignment – it’s what they call temporary assignments that are between two other assignments.  He found me a spot in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

What is that you ask?

The mission of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is to protect the lives and interests of American citizens abroad and to strengthen the security of United States borders through the vigilant adjudication of visas and passports. CA contributes significantly to the USG goal of promoting international exchange and understanding. Our vision is to help American citizens engage the world. The Bureau issues the travel documents that allow Americans to travel the globe and lawful immigrants and visitors to travel to America and provides essential cycle of life services to American citizens overseas.

There is a really good website http://travel.state.gov/ that has tons of information.  It’s the first place you should go when you’re thinking of travelling internationally. 

I got to work in the Crisis Management section helping the folks who help you when there’s a crisis overseas.  Here’s some more information about what that can entail:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_1212.html

One of the best ways you can help take care of yourself is by enrolling in the STEP (Smart Traveller Enrollment Program). http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html   By enrolling in STEP, you get all the travel alerts and updates – really important information – especially in a crisis.

There are a lot of people working really hard to make sure that US citizens have the freedom to travel the world, and the information and support to stay as safe as possible.  I wish more people out there knew how many folks there are watching out for them when they’re overseas.  It’s like having a whole set of aunties and uncles who just want to make sure you have a nice time and are safe.  It’s a good feeling.