The Foreign Service Journal, May 2011

M A Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 21 While community liaison officers regularly organize weekend excur- sions to enable families to bond, even purely social interactions can morph at any time into a discus- sion of work. Foreign Service employees spend a lot of time together and, ideally, that can lead to close friendships. But they aren’t easy to keep up. As Hirsch says, “Some people I’ve known for 30 years and consider very good friends, but I may not see them for five or six years at a time.” And while employees may find much in common at certain posts, they may find nothing to link them with colleagues at their next assignment. Just as close quar- ters can lead to good friendships, they can just as easily lead to anger, resentment and frustration when employ- ees don’t click, but are forced to live and work in close proximity. Hirsch recalls finding himself at one such embassy. “I had a post where of every single person at post, not one came from my edu- cational or regional background, so I was the odd man out in that entire community.” When parties were thrown, he was often the only employee left out. He got hints that people were whispering about him, and not in a nice way. “People laughed about me as the college boy behind my back. In their view, I was the guy who never really had to deal with real life. It stank.” Such travails can be all the more difficult for Foreign Service employees with unusual backgrounds, who aren’t of the same race or sexual orientation as their col- leagues, or who are married to foreigners. F O C U S One supervisor took an FSO aside to say he needed to carve out a better work-life balance — and he did not mean spending more time with the family. A time of service…a time of need Help for Seniors May Be Just a Phone Call Away— Home Health Care Adult Day Care & Respite Care Prescription Drug Copayments Transportation to Medical Appointments Durable Medical Equipment For more information, please contact the SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE 1716 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2902 Phone: (202) 887-8170 Fax: (202) 872-9320 E-Mail: info@SLFoundation.org Web Site: www.SLFoundation.org The Senior Living Foundation may be able to help you or someone you know. Some examples of assistance are: SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION Dear Readers: In order to produce a high- quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org You Are Our Eyes & Ears!