The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

F E B R 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 53 tion with Wright and his Prairie Style buildings, she tentatively raised her hand, and was thrust into a rigorous monthlong training ses- sion designed to turn her into a competent docent for tours of the Home & Studio and the Wright Historic District. Those were new skills; but old Foreign Service skills have also proved highly desirable. The Home & Studio attracts some 80,000 visitors annually, many of them foreigners. Now, when German-speaking groups arrive, Kay gives the tour in their language. She also works in the museum shop, using commercial and marketing skills and greeting and assisting foreign visi- tors who arrive individually, using smatterings of the other languages she picked up during FS tours. Brian retired at the end of September and promptly entered the volunteer world, as well. Just as our State- Commerce tandemness kept us equal but separate, Brian’s decision on where to volunteer followed similar lines. He contacted Unity Temple, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1909 masterpiece, and the Hemingway Museum, to see if they needed volunteers. Both were thrilled. Now he greets visitors at both locations, Americans and foreign- ers, and interacts with the latter in his various Foreign Service–acquired languages. He also does tutoring and volunteer work with the Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois. There is yet another realm where we use our tandem status: mentoring prospective Foreign Service appli- cants. We have hosted several wine and cheese evenings for those interested in learning more about FS life, en- couraging those who have not yet taken the test to apply, and mentoring those who are farther along in the exam- ination and acceptance process (an offshoot of Brian’s last assignment as a Diplomat-in-Residence). Being able to recount our “war stories” to eager audiences is great fun. In short, for those who are so inclined, there are plenty of interesting — and useful — things to do out there. Life after retirement for this tandem couple is great! Brian Flora and Kay Kuhlman Oak Park, Ill. W ORKING AS A H UMAN R IGHTS R EPORT E DITOR Immediately after retiring from the Foreign Service in 2003, I went south to Tampa, Fla., to take a counterterrorism-related contractor position with the U.S. Special Op- erations Command. When I de- cided to stop year-round, full-time work in 2007, the lure of the familiar in Washington was strong, and we returned to our D.C.-area home. Now I am in my second year working as an editor of annual country human rights reports for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The work is gen- erally full-time for the period between late September/ early October and mid-February, because the congres- sionally mandated reports, initially drafted by U.S. em- bassies, are prepared and cleared for release by the Secretary of State by Feb. 25. I find the work to be intellectually stimulating, partic- ularly since most of the reports that I edit concern West- ern Hemisphere countries where I have never served. While the drudgery of proofreading and conforming gram- mar, punctuation and spelling constitutes a not-insignifi- cant part of my labors, the main task involves substantive research and fact-checking, knowledge of current events, familiarity with the law and practice of human rights from both governmental and NGO aspects, and common sense. I and my two fellow retirees on theWHA team, along with our full-time, active-duty colleagues in DRL’s Office of Asia andWestern Hemisphere Affairs, also help review the reports from the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs that have been edited by our counterparts (including WAEs) in the other half of the office. Another satisfying aspect of this work — beyond the pay, which is welcome — is the opportunity to maintain contacts within the department and polish online and word-processing skills, as well as keep up knowledge of current U.S. foreign policy in an important area. And my annual concentrated burst of WAE activity leaves more than half the year for other activities such as family visits, travel, part-time work and personal pursuits. How to be selected? I learned of this particular open- ing via networking (with another retiree already working in the bureau) and then interviewed for it. DRL has a WAE F O C U S There needs to be a central compilation of WAE opportunities that is transparent to job-seeking retirees.