animals never need a passport

it difficult to find the right mix of what to do with free time overseas.  whenever i devote too much time to one pursuit, the others start to make me feel guilty.  if i spent time with friends over the weekend, then i  think about work.  if i work, then i'm thinking about studying.  if i study, i crave time with friends.  and then there are the hobbies that patiently wait for me until i tired of all of the above.  i can see it in other people that i work with also.  they have their desires, goals and needs.  when someone breaks off and does something new, you admire them for their adventuresome spirit, but also envy them for doing it and not getting to join in.  it seems like everyday there's an invitation to some function, activity or get together.  i tend to join when i can, but there are times when i'm just to exhausted to participate.  this may fall on deaf ears for someone that envys the life abroad.  but it's not all ballroom dancing and dinner parties as one might suspect for the diplomatic corps.  even as i write this, i received an invite by a russian friend for chinese food and a nightclub afterwards. but this is why i joined the foreign service.  i wanted to experience life in other countries and learn more about people that live in them.  the more i learn the more questions i tend to have.  what similarities we have and don't have.  it's not just my age group either, i've learned alot about those that are older and those that are younger.  more often than not, i've learned people are the same where ever i go.  they all want security in their jobs, someone to love, and the pursuit of happiness.  all of them complain about their politicians, love their families, wish they were making more money, and want to have fun. 

its really a gamble on finding a post that you will enjoy.  i've been fortunate enough to find pleasure in all my tours. i've made friends, experienced the culture and have hopefully represented myself well enough to change some of the sterotypes americans have overseas.  i've talked to friends that have ended up in a post where they thought it would be their last one.  mainly due to the fact they couldn't stand some of their co-workers.  the best thing i've learned in the short span of three tours is that working with people that gets along with is not worth spending any time dwelling on.  address the problem, move on and try not to let it bother you.  you feel better taking the high road in the long run and a few years later you can barely remember their name. 

it seems like every summer that approaches brings with it a changing of the guard.  you quickly make friends upon your arrival and then start counting the days until those friends have to move on to their next assignment or back to the states.  this post is no different.  and i'm going to miss everyone that's leaving like i usually do.  but one thing is strikingly different.  this time, i'm going to slowly become the one that's been here the longest while everyone else will be fresh off the plane.  there's a certain solice in that, with being comfortably settled.  but there also the constant reminder of friends that have left you.

Comments

[mom]

Nice picture of you Dan! waiting for your arrival soon. Loveya Mom