The Foreign Service Journal, April 2006

A P R I L 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 61 ne of the more surreal experiences I remember from my first year in the Foreign Service (over 12 years ago now) took place following a Hash House Harriers run in Guatemala City. Not long after the drinking had begun, I found myself observing a discussion among a group of (mostly) men about my age who were, of all things, complaining about their maids. I didn’t take active part in the discussion, a rather pro- longed exchange that (as I recall) turned on the problems of tardiness, imperfect vacuuming and a less-than-enthu- siastic washing of dishes. At that time I was still stunned I could even afford a maid (she cleaned my apartment twice a week). Just before joining the Service, I could barely pay my rent. Since that long-ago late afternoon, I’ve come to accept that I, too, could be liberated from the burden of mun- dane daily chores, which can grow nearly all-encompass- ing if you throw kids into the mix. With a maid, I would not have to worry about dishes or laundry, vacuuming or ironing, cleaning the toilets or taking out the trash. Nor would I ever again have to shop for food or cook dinner while serving overseas if I wasn’t in the mood. In that sense, I’ve taken full advantage of an undeniable facet of the Foreign Service experience: when posted abroad, particularly to a “developing” country, many of us (I include myself in this majority) are catapulted from the obscure ranks of the American middle and upper-middle classes to the highest social rungs of the societies that receive us, even if we are only honorary members while there. Having a maid, and sometimes more than one, along with other house- hold assistants such as a nanny, gardener and driver, is often de rigueur in the new situation. It comes with the territory, and the class. I got over the initial hump of reluctance in Guatemala when I was still single and didn’t really need a maid, even as I realized how convenient it was for a person with my level of (non) commitment to housework to have one. Newly mar- ried in Tokyo, where most Japanese people go it alone, we had a young woman from the Philippines come to help with the household chores. Returning to D.C., we were plunged back into the mundane obscurity of my class of origin, des- tined to sweep our own floors, wash our own dishes and do our own laundry. (My wife, who is from Latin America, con- tinued to hold me in high regard even as she realized that I was not as well-off as she first thought.) When we left for Malaysia, it was with a newborn in tow. There, for the first time in my life, I had a maid full time, as I have had since. How quickly things change! Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Roy Jenkins’ bril- liant biography of Winston Churchill. I was naturally impressed by the great man’s energy and gusto, by his broad T HE P OLITICS OF H AVING A M AID T HE DECISION TO HIRE HOUSEHOLD HELP WHEN POSTED OVERSEAS MAY SEEM A NO - BRAINER . B UT FOR MANY FSO S , IT IS QUITE COMPLEX . O Alexis Ludwig, an FSO since 1994, has served in Guate- mala City, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Washington. He is currently deputy economic-political section chief and labor officer in La Paz. B Y A LEXIS L UDWIG