The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 49 A F S A N E W S I n mid-November, a newly minted FSO logged onto Livelines, a Foreign- Service e-mail group that has more than 3,000 members, and asked for some advice about shipping her beloved old Mazda to her new assignment in Cairo. It wasn’t long before Betty Snow, a veteran FS spouse, responded. She ad- vised the new officer not to ship the car, but to consider ordering a new one from Europe or Japan, and to check with the Community Liaison Officer at post for current regulations. Soon after, someone else who had recently lived in Cairo chimed in, suggesting sending a new SUV, for which she could get a very good price when selling it upon depar- ture. An added bonus, she said, is that the price of filling one’s tank in Egypt is low. It didn’t take long before the new officer began to rethink the wisdom of bringing an old car to post. This now-common way of getting information didn’t exist a generation ago. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that e- mail groups, generally known as list- servs, began to gain popularity. Now, members of the Foreign Service have an array of e-mail groups to choose from, where users can send a message out and get information or support withinmin- utes. A simple query about how to en- tertain a child on long-haul flights will usually net many different answers and opinions. Sometimes users just need someone to listen as they navigate a rocky transi- tion period at a new post, or try to help a special-needs child get a complete ed- ucation far from home. In fact, many smaller e-mail groups have become vir- tual communities, where members feel close to one another even though they have never met in person. E-mail and the Internet have not only changed the way FS personnel and their family members receive support and information. They have also changed the nature of relationships and friendships over the course of an FS ca- reer. Some would even argue that the pain of leaving posts and friendships every few years is mitigated through the ease of maintaining e-mail contact. Livelines, sponsored by the Associ- ates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, was one of the very first e- mail groups geared solely to Foreign Service members. Its utility and con- venience helped it catch on quickly and become one of the most active listservs in existence. It is considered by many to be an invaluable source of FS-related in- formation, especially because quite a few department officials are also mem- bers, such as the Overseas Briefing Cen- ter’s “pet shipping maven” Maureen Johnston and the State Department’s award-winning travel expert, Mette Beecroft. These and other officials will often take the time to speak up and pa- tiently answer queries about regula- tions. Other e-mail groups have sprung up in recent years to support more special- ized communities within the Foreign Service. Groups for officers posted to Iraq, for those who are homeschooling their children, and for people preparing for the Foreign Service exam are among the groups available. Foreign Service spouse Mari O’Con- nor, currently posted in Ireland, has been the founder or moderator of at least two of these — FSSpecialneeds and FSPar- enting. She started FSSpecialneeds be- cause of her own difficulties in finding support and much-needed information and resources for her severely disabled son, Christopher. “E-mail groups can help smooth the way to a new post,”says O’Connor, recalling an e-mail message from an online friend offering to help her get services for her son in Dublin after his medical clearance was re- scinded. “My husband was able to get a job in Dublin at the last minute, so here we are, all thanks to this wonderful Irish friend I first met through an e-mail group.” FSO John Dinkelman, also a mem- ber of FSSpecialneeds, adds,“Just know- ing that there were others out there desperately trying to cobble together a life that balances a Foreign Service career with a child’s complicated special needs has given me great hope and resolve at times when it all seemed impossible.” Here is an annotated directory of some of the more popular e-mail groups available to FS community members. All of them have been set up under Yahoogroups, so you can also search for groups at www.yahoogroups. com. Livelines (sponsored by theAssoci- ates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide): Active-duty and retired FSOs and their family members may join. Join on the Web at http://groups. yahoo.com/group/livelines/ or by send- ing an e-mail to livelines-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com. Youmay also e-mail Livelines@aafsw.org for more informa- tion. A-100-2002 (and later years): For people who have passed both the writ- ten and oral FS assessments. Join on the Web at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ A-100-2002/ or by sending an e-mail to A-100-2002-subscribe@yahoogroups. com. FSWE: For those preparing to take the FS written assessment. Join on the FOREIGN SERVICE E-MAIL GROUPS Finding Support and Community While Far from Home BY FRANCESCA KELLY E-mail and the Internet have not only changed the way FS personnel and their family members receive support and information. They have also changed the nature of relationships and friendships over the course of an FS career. Continued on page 50