One of the best things about working in an embassy overseas is double-dipping holidays — we get both the local holidays and U.S. holidays. This month, it happened to give us two three-day weekends in a row! We have stuck close to home and just enjoyed having a lot of down time for a change. Bonus is that it rained today and cooled off the already summer-like temperatures. I popped out for a good visit with Lea over a delicious lunch today at Cafe Saenz. John and I attended a Veteran’s Day ceremony Friday afternoon at the embassy.
Last Sunday night we went out to dinner with Dr. Gina, who was a temporary doctor at the embassy in Monrovia when we were there during COVID. She was in South America and made it a point to come to Buenos Aires for a day and have dinner with us! When we picked her up at her hotel, John and I donned surgical masks — a nod to the fact that she had never seen us without a mask nor we, her since we worked together at the height of COVID in 2020! It made her laugh and we all enjoyed actually seeing each other’s faces for the first time! She is absolutely incredible. After traveling with the Secretary of State and the U.S. UN Ambassador for several years as their doctor, she ultimately left State and is now working with the medical clinics in Kabul, Doha, and Islamabad where the special Afghan refugees are being processed. She’s really inspirational and we were delighted to visit with her and hear about her life.
This photo doesn’t do justice to the gorgeous jacarandas that are in bloom right now – this was a quick photo from the car on my way to work one day.
