The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 F O C U S O N F S R E F L E C T I O N S A S PECIAL R ELATIONSHIP : T HE FSN-FSO B OND hen I left my job as a correspondent for Reuters in 2003 to join the U.S. embassy in Sofia as a political assistant, I had only a vague idea of what to expect. A glossy job description in the local news- paper, coupled withmy ownmisperceptions about embassy work, led me to believe that I had landed an important, if not glamorous, job at the heart of international diplomacy. I knew very little then about the ups and downs of working as a Foreign Service National (also known as Locally Em- ployed Staff), a term used for the local employees working for U.S. missions abroad. I was given a tiny desk in the embassy basement, with no access to the classified area. A set of complex security in- structions and a long list of acronyms added to my confu- sion. An FSN colleague, who had worked at the embassy for more than 10 years, offered what was meant as sooth- ing advice: “Once you get over the strange rules, it can ac- tually be quite interesting.” It was the deputy chief of mission, an energetic former journalist for USA Today , who gave me a clear perspective of what working as an FSN in an American embassy would be like. I’d probably have a hard time getting used to the protocol-conscious environment, he said, and I would have neither the visibility nor the access of my previous job. “These limitations aside, the job is rather exciting,” he added. His comments capture the essence of the FSN job. There are certain limitations, but also opportunities — it’s up to each individual employee to accept the former and explore the latter. Why the U.S. Embassy? Strange as it may sound, not all locally employed staff join the embassy out of concern for competitive pay, work benefits and job security. Consecutive post–World War II American administra- tions have pursued policies aimed at spreading democracy, and the U.S. diplomatic service has played a key role in ad- vancing these policies. As a locally hired employee in an American embassy, one has the unique chance to observe the inner workings of the diplomatic machine of this global superpower. FSNs get to observe howU.S. bilateral diplo- macy is conducted on a day-to-day basis and, albeit largely in supporting functions, to be part of this system. I joined the U.S. embassy at a time when working for America wasn’t exactly prestigious. Washington was in- volved in a highly unpopular war in Iraq, and anti-Ameri- canism was peaking in Europe and around the world. B EING A F OREIGN S ERVICE NATIONAL EMPLOYEE BRINGS LIMITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES . T HE TRICK IS TO ACCEPT THE FORMER AND EXPLORE THE LATTER . B Y G ALINA S ABEVA W Galina Sabeva, a former Reuters correspondent, is a polit- ical specialist at Embassy Sofia. This article is adapted from one she wrote for the forthcoming new edition of In- side a U.S. Embassy.