The Foreign Service Journal, May 2016

50 may 2016 | the foreign Service journal A Passion for Environmental and Life Design By deborah hart T o be honest, I have never thought about retirement as a goal. What do I wish I had known earlier about retirement? I can’t really say…maybe, how much fun it would be. So far, I don’t have any regrets about how my “retirement” has proceeded. I am surprised that I am so much busier than I have ever been in my life. My younger self might have been surprised about that, but I am not sure that knowing it would have made any difference! The first third of my Foreign Service career was spent as a consular officer and I relished the opportunity to develop sys- tems to improve customer service as well as effec- tiveness and efficiency. However, the second third was spent trying desper- ately to change my cone to what became my true love—public diplomacy. Fortunately, I finally was able to reach my goal and become a public diplo- macy officer. I wish I had known more about the cones before I joined the Foreign Service! Right now is a very exciting time of my life because I have been able to delve deeper into some lifelong passions that revolve around personal health and the health of the environment. Since retiring I have become certified in permaculture design and as a primal blueprint expert. I have developed a holistic approach to lifestyle design known as PermaPaleo, which employs the complementary approaches of permaculture (or restorative agriculture, if you will) and primal/paleo to help me live a life that supports my health and that of our earth. The same social media skills that I practiced in the Foreign Service serve me well—I am still a bit of a geek and an early adopter of whatever is the newest way to communicate. My lat- est love is Periscope and live video using my smartphone. My advice to the newly retired? Keep learning! Check out programs like the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. There is probably one near you. Never miss a chance to learn something new, and you will enjoy every day. Deborah S. Hart-Serafini served in Liberia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq (Kirkuk and Baghdad), New York, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt from 1998-2013. She held political-military positions, was a nonimmigrant visa section chief, deputy principal officer, provincial affairs officer, cultural affairs officer, Middle East Partnership Initiative coordinator and public affairs officer. Deborah Hart attends to chickens as part of her volunteer work with Interfaith Food Shuttle in Raleigh, North Carolina. She frequently volunteers with local food security nonprofits. COURTESYOFDEBORAHHART