Possible trade-offs to helping out in the office: learning about how an embassy functions, meeting neat people, being treated like a professional and not a toubab tourist, acquiring good tips on places worth checking out…and most importantly, traveling to far-reaching and exotic places that I don’t have to pay for.

So next week, the last of those bennies will be realized as I journey to one of the most culturally-rich cities in Europe….and guess where I’ll be staying for the week?