Hi! My name is Kathryn and I live in Windhoek, Namibia with my husband, Nate, and our son, M.
In May 2015 we packed up our worldly belongings, including our lovable bossy dog Athena (who we adopted in 2010), and moved to our first post with the Foreign Service: Dhaka, Bangladesh. M and I lived in Dhaka until July 2016, when we were evacuated out following a terrorist attack. Nate finished up his Dhaka tour in May 2017, and we moved to Muscat, Oman in August 2017. We finished an incredible two years in Oman in July 2019 and we arrived in Windhoek, Namibia in September 2019.
When we left Muscat, we left Athena at a kennel rather than taking her back to the US since the travel would have been difficult on her and we were only going back for seven weeks. Sadly, five days before she was supposed to travel to Windhoek, she died in an electrical fire at the kennel.
In February 2020 we adopted Artemis, AKA Artie, a sweet collie mix from the Windhoek SPCA.
I created this blog initially to keep our family and friends updated on our adventures around the world, and as a personal journal-of-sorts to document our lives during this time. At this point it’s also morphed into a travel resource, with the aim of helping and encouraging others to explore some really great places off the beaten path. I hope that According to Athena is a helpful and humorous resource for fellow travelers and those joining/thinking about joining the Foreign Service, especially those with dogs! Thanks for reading!
According to Athena 
Hi Kathryn…Just found your blog…we’re an American family that just arrived in Dhaka on Saturday. The dog arrives later this week. I have enjoyed reading your entries this morning as we start trying to get used to our new surroundings while battling serious jet lag. Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen, welcome to Dhaka! Hope you get comfortable (though that’s hard, I admit) with your new surroundings. 🙂 Have you considered starting a blog of your own to share your thoughts? Would be interesting to read how you like it in here. 🙂
Welcome, Karen! I hope your family and pup are doing well in Dhaka 🙂 Let me know if you need any suggestions for good places to walk your dog!
Glad to have found your blog! It’s always interesting to read what visiting guests think of our city. 🙂
Thank you! I love living in Dhaka and can’t wait to return in a couple of months 🙂
Glad you like it here. 🙂
Hi there. My wife and I arrived in Muscat w our golden retriever a few weeks ago (doing the second year of FSI Arabic). I wondered if you had found any good short hikes w your dog relatively close to Muscat? Or general tips on good places to take your dog? Thanks
Hi, and yes! If you’re going west on Sultan Qaboos highway, take the exit after the Nizwa/clocktower exit, before you reach City Center Muscat. After you exited turn right down the dirt road and eventually you’ll find yourself at a grassy area with a path. GPS coordinates are 23.5897978, 58.2538847. If you look at the location in Google Maps with the satellite view it might make more sense. It’s a fairly common dog walking area, but be careful because there can be packs of feral dogs on the other side of the fence. They never gave us trouble, but heads up in case you let your dog off-leash. Apparently wadi al Khoud is also good for dog walking, but we never took our dog there. Hope that helps, and enjoy your year in Muscat! We absolutely loved our tour there and we miss Oman terribly!
Thanks for the reply and so deeply sorry to read that your dog was among those who died in the fire. What a tragedy for all involved.