So I will come clean, my dears. Some of you already know the details of this whole fiasco, but many of you don’t. Last year, I was a contender for a position in a country I referred to as Farflungland. That country was Egypt. Really. At the time, as you’ll recall, I was sad that the position evaporated. I was excited to go there and see things improve in the wake of the Arab Spring and the first democratic elections in lord-knows-how-long. Since my research focused a lot on the intersections of development, political participation, and belief systems, this would have been an amazing opportunity. Or so I thought…

As it turns out, things didn’t go quite according to plan. Now there seems to be a military coup underway, and the entire situation is quite the opposite of stable. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to live there now. With each new development, the spouse says, “Really glad I’m not living there right now.” You and me both, pal. It’s funny how something so heartbreaking may have been the biggest gift I ever received. I am not religious in the least, but it feels like something or someone was looking out for me.

I really hope things resolve peacefully and quickly, but my realistic self knows that isn’t likely to happen.