The Foreign Service Journal, June 2010

48 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 1 0 There is no happiness comparable to that of a dirty, hungry FS-3, embed- ded in the world. Suella Pipal Retired Consular Officer Pittsburgh, Pa. N OT T OO S HABBY You were destined for unemploy- ment in Ireland if, like me, you were an arts major who graduated during the “Hungry Eight- ies.” I worked as a house cleaner, a hat-check girl in a nightclub, and at a pirate radio station. Then I was offered a job as press assistant at the American embassy in Dublin. Permanent, pensionable employment. What a novelty! So before you could say security clearance, I was per- suading the Irish media to publish press releases on mat- ters of vital national interest — corn oil production in the Midwest, for example. In time, I found I got more satis- faction out of helping folks in trouble, so I moved to the embassy’s American Citizen Services Unit. I’m still in the business of imparting information, but it tends to be a lot less palatable than corn oil. In ACS, we spend our time notifying people that their relative has died, telling themwe can’t get them out of jail, or explaining that recovering a stolen child is slow and heartbreaking. We spend a lot of time saying: “I’m sorry this has happened to you. Here’s how we can help you.” Sometimes the kindest thing we do is lower unrealistic ex- pectations. We try to do some of the heavy lifting at a time when the burden is too much to carry. There are days when you really know that you’ve helped someone. And there are also a lot of days when ... well ... you just send out a lot of voting forms or answer questions about immigration. ACS has given me a chance to meet a broad spectrum of people — some of whom were even in their right mind at the time (as some may know, we attract our share of the world’s colorful characters in ACS). And the job has enabled me to go experience another country: I am currently working in Embassy Baghdad. Not too shabby for an arts major. And not a drop of corn oil in sight! Nollaig NiMhaolain Locally Engaged Staff Supervisor American Citizen Services Unit Embassy Dublin O NE M ORE H APPY C USTOMER They were right: I couldn’t miss her. At 5’10,” she towered over the Mayans who exited the bus before her. She was a big woman who had obviously seen a lot of life. It was my first day at my first post as a consular officer at the U.S. em- bassy in Guatemala City. I had ar- rived on an early morning flight, dropped my long-suffering wife at the hotel, and rushed to the office. The ACS unit chief had asked me to meet the distressed, easy-to-spot American woman at the bus sta- tion, put her in a hotel and tell her we would take her to the airport the next morning. Jorge, the embassy driver, and I picked her up and took her to a dollar-a-night hotel. We had ordered a pizza and were just getting ready to leave when she stiffened and fell onto the bed. She was having a grandmal seizure. Withmy limited Spanish, I ordered the driver to go find a doctor while I tried to dredge up first aidmemories of how to help the woman. Fortunately, Jorge and a doctor returned within min- utes. The doctor quickly pulled out a needle and filled it with a sedative. He motioned for us to pull her arm down so that he could inject it. Unfortunately, her arm was cov- ered in track marks and collapsed veins, so the doctor couldn’t find a vein to use. Jorge and I were trying to keep her arms open while avoiding the rapidly flying needle. Just as the doctor was about to give up, the needle hit home. We heard a loud sigh and the woman went com- pletely limp. We thought we had killed her. The doctor scrambled to find a pulse. Finally, he looked up with a big grin. She was alive! The three of us collapsed on the floor, leaning against a wall. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The pizza had arrived. As soon as we opened the door, the woman sat up and started eating. When I got back to the embassy, they asked, “How’d it go?” I said, “Seemed OK.” One more happy customer. And I was hooked. I knew I had chosen the right career! James Herman Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs and Consul General Embassy New Delhi ■ F O C U S I look forward to beginning my consular duties so I might one day be that helpful voice at the other end of a phone call.