The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

C O V E R S T O R Y 26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 Ho Chi Minh City. Great morale, great staff, high qual- ity of life, great leadership from front office. I served in Ghana for two years and loved the country, the people and the wonderful culture. To me, Africa is the Foreign Service! In terms of creature comforts, Sydney. In terms of intellectual challenge, Bishkek. Jerusalem: Good post cohesion, great CLO and nice community feeling. Kathmandu. The city is not overwhelmingly large and is relatively safe. The Nepali people are warm and friend- ly. The country is full of amazing beauty and lots of sight- seeing opportunities, and is relatively safe to travel around. The climate has four distinct but mild seasons. The American school (Lincoln) is welcoming and caring, making all students feel at home; and the school has a high level of parent involvement. One feature that makes Kathmandu a particularly wonderful post — and an espe- cially great family post — is the embassy’s fantastic recreation club (Phora Durbar) which offers lots of activ- ities in a safe and beautiful setting at an affordable price. I would serve there again. Kigali. Great people, American and Rwandan; exciting circumstances; interesting work. Kuala Lumpur has it all — and what it doesn’t have, the management actively seeks to provide. La Paz had the best mix of traits (job, housing, schooling, travel, expenses). Lilongwe, because it was good for the family and the employees. London. Even if your job stinks, it’s London! Ljubliana. Everything worked and people, both inside and outside the embassy, appreciated what we did. Manila, because of the competence of the FSNs and the overall efficient manner in which things function in the embassy. Mexico City. Crime and polution are huge issues, but the country and work are facinating and accessible. We loved traveling in the country and both got two promotions out of our tour. Minsk, because the work was very interesting and morale was good. The infrastructure of the city and its location made it possible to enjoy the tour, despite the hos- tile policies of the host government. Moscow. The quality of life and schooling is pretty good; demanding, challenging job keeps me on my toes. Muscat. Best blend of job satisfaction and quality of life conditions. My wife and I say Paris, but my children say Yaounde. Small and cozy African schools cannot be matched in the developed world. New Delhi and Maputo were the two best. Delhi had so much to offer for off-duty activities and sporting events. Maputo is well located for the beach, mountains and game parks. Both had great food. None of the IBB posts have been bad; all have been good for different reasons. Ouagadougou offers lots of good restaurants, good household help, caring management, and lots to do. It should not be the joke of the Foreign Service! Paris, for all the obvious reasons and one more: the FSNs and Americans socialized together more than at any other post I’ve been. There wasn’t the barrier between FSNs and the American community that there is at most posts. Prague: Wonderful city, lovely country. The embassy was well-organized and well-run. Issues were interesting enough, but without being so important as to make work all-consuming (like Moscow). Quito, for its vast offerings of outdoor trips (mountains, jungle, cloud forest, seaside, etc.) at affordable prices. Riyadh! I love the wide open spaces, the big cars and appliances, the souks and the exotic “call to prayer.” Sarajevo has the best FSNs in the world. Seoul, because the work was challenging, visible and important, and the culture was fascinating. Shenyang was a great post, with challenging work and great people. I found it personally fulfilling. Still, any post is a combination of the physical environment and the peo- ple. It’s never the same place, good or bad, even two years later. Tunis is the all-around best post I’ve served at due to the housing, safety, availability of goods and services, excellent telecommunications and infrastructure. Excellent international school. The country and living experience is excellent. The workload keeps you busy, but not so much as to drain you daily. Vatican City, one of the oldest institutions in the world, is a unique diplomatic posting. It is intellectually chal- lenging, in a culturally rich city, with an extraordinary range of official visitors and challenging work. Best Posts • Continued from page 24