The Foreign Service Journal, June 2003

66 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 3 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT he calls questions about “Africa: the land of the lost” such as: Do you speak Ethiopian? Do you have one big president telling everyone what to do? Do you speak African? Do you have cars? Do you have swim- ming pools in Africa? How do you know English if you’ve been living in Africa? Over time, he has come up with glib answers to this barrage. For instance, on the issue of cars in Africa, he retorts: “Well, there are only two cars in the whole country. One is the president’s. The other one is ours. So it all works out.” And to the question of swimming pools, he answers: “Why do we need swim- ming pools? We have the watering hole!” A child raised in the Foreign Service can retain a sense of tradi- tion while also appreciating new and diverse cultures, including their hol- idays. But while most FS children would agree that they enjoy holidays, it is the people with whom they spend these holidays that make all the difference. Schools come and go but one’s family and friends are the true source of stability. Family and celebrations, whether wearing can- dles on your head or eating marillen knoedel, can provide the rarest of gifts in a nomadic childhood — a tra- dition of continuity. ■ Continued from page 64 For some Foreign Service kids, holidays spent in the U.S. can seem at first just as foreign as a holiday on Pluto — and for some it’s no holiday at all.