The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2016

84 JULY-AUGUST 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS 20 16 AFSA MER I T AWARDS—BEST ESSAY From the Classroom to the Field: My Journey as a Foreign Service Child BY ADELE BIRKENES My classmates faced the front of the room, right hands placed over their hearts. I looked around, certain that someone else would be as confused as I was, but everyone’s eyes were fixed on the American flag. It was the morning of my first day of fifth grade, and I had just moved to the United States after eight years of living overseas. As my classmates recited the Pledge of Allegiance, I mouthed the unfamiliar words, hoping no one would look my way. I promised myself I would memorize the pledge later that day so that I would no longer stand out. On paper, my life as a third-culture kid seemed glamorous. I experienced new cultures in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Carib- bean, but, in reality, I resented my family’s lifestyle. I envied other kids who grew up in one place while I was forced to leave behind my school, home, and friendships every few years. Eventually, I became used to adapting to new environ- ments and the upheaval that accompanied moving. But this time was different; I felt like a stranger in the country that was supposed to be my home. I worried I would never belong anywhere. Then, last year, my per- spective suddenly changed. We had again moved over- seas, and I was in my junior year of high school in Bang- kok, Thailand. Our school ser- vice group traveled to a rural community in Cambodia. We interviewed villagers with the aid of a Khmer translator, and I was deeply moved by the story of a woman named Lorn. She had spent her child- hood hungry because her parents, who earned less than $4 a day selling rice noodles, could rarely afford to feed their family of 12. Lorn hoped her children would not experi- ence the hardships she had endured. As she told us this, she broke down and struggled to continue speaking. Lorn’s story resonated with me. Even though I had lived in develop- ing countries for most of my life, I had considered poverty a statistic; now, I saw firsthand how it affected real individu- als. My parents’ careers at the U.S. Agency for Interna- tional Development suddenly shifted from a conversation at the dinner table to something tangible that touches the lives of people like Lorn. I, like my parents, believed that Lorn’s children deserved a better future. It dawned on me that the struggles I had faced adapting to new cultures were worthwhile because they had allowed my parents to devote their lives to helping the poor. This experience not only put my past into perspective, it also gave me a new outlook on my future. That real world exposure allowed me to see the connection between developing my academic interest in biology and sup- porting people in the developing world through environmental science. Although I once could not recite the Pledge of Alle- giance, I now know that helping others is what it truly means to be American, and I am proud to be a child of the Foreign Service. n MERIT AWARD ART WINNER “Self-Portrait,” one of the entries by Helen Reynolds, winner of the merit award for art. Please visit http:// bit.ly/21d2V6e to view Helen’s other submissions, as well as those of the applicants receiving honorable mentions. COURTESYOFHELENREYNOLDS