The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

A P R I L 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 27 attend a very early morning class, while Peter attended an all-day course. That way, he could watch Caitlin in the morning until I re- lieved him. But at least we could both get the training we needed for our time in Caracas. Our plan was marvelous — until the first day of class. An un- expected location change was so impractical that it made it impossible for me to attend and make it back in time to take over for Peter. With no other choice, I dropped the class and took a self-study course at home. Undaunted, I still planned to work at the embassy. I just needed to find a position that did not require fluency in Spanish until I could develop my skills. While I am glad I felt so confident at the time, reality soon set in. There were few jobs for Eligible Family Members (in State Department-speak) at Embassy Cara- cas, and those that existed were hotly sought after. Still, I felt sure I would easily land my first-choice job of newsletter editor. After all, I had plenty of editorial ex- perience, was a good writer and had the computer skills. Why wouldn’t they hire me? It turned out that several other EFMs at post felt the same way — and also had time, talents and experience. As a result, I did not get the job on the first go-round. Rather than dwell on what could have been, I used the time to explore my new environment, enroll in Spanish classes at the embassy, expand my circle of friends and volunteer in the community. Lo and behold, six months later the job opened up again, and I was the only applicant. Since I was well- qualified, I was welcomed with open arms. I jumped into a part-time job that I loved until I felt the need for a big- ger challenge. Just prior to taking the job, I had also applied for the Community Liaison Coordinator position. This involved a wide range of duties, from assisting families newly transferred to post to creating events the entire embassy community could enjoy. Remember my description of the interview process above? Exact same scenario: I was pitted against (pun intended) another EFM at post, and while I was quali- fied, she had worked as a CLO at her previous post. So she got the job. However, within six months she left the position, and by then I could easily fill her shoes. I worked as the CLO coordi- nator quite happily until I re- signed in February 2002 to fly back to the States to give birth to our second daughter, Kelsey. Al- though I returned to post, I did not resume the position since we were moving back to the United States in late August of that year. Working Hard to Find Work Upon our return to Northern Virginia, Peter was as- signed to the Secretary of State’s protective detail. While it was an enormously exciting opportunity for him, the travel was constant. And with two small children at home, even part-time work would have required real sac- rifice. I consoled myself with the hope that our next post would offer me the employment I might crave by then. Peter ended up working a full three years on the de- tail, and the bidding process came when his assignment was drawing to a close. We thought we had a post in the bag (I was already planning vacations around its school schedules), but then everything changed. One day, we were planning to live in the tropics; the next, we were heading to L.L. Bean for winter gear. Embassy Reykjavik was much smaller than Embassy Caracas, with only 13 officers. We were assured it was family-friendly and had a U.S. Navy base not far away. But it was not until we got there in 2005 that we realized just why we’d gotten so little information on spousal em- ployment options: jobs for EFMs were nearly non-exis- tent. We were at a tiny embassy on a small island where not even a CLO was needed, as everyone was immersed in the local culture. There was no embassy “bubble” be- cause the place was simply too small. Everything from doctor visits to grocery shopping was done on the local economy, especially once the Navy base closed in Octo- ber 2006. Once both girls were in school, I wanted to work, but could not find anything other than occasional contract jobs. The tragedy of my mother’s unexpected death just then jolted me out of the job hunt, and I did not recon- sider working until the following year, in the fall of 2006. The only question was: where to apply? I eventually decided to volunteer at the International School, where I was already in constant contact with the principal (the school had only 11 students at the time), of- F OCUS Our family’s plan to juggle work, school and child care was marvelous — until the first day of class.