The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 95 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT he could pass the Foreign Service exam. For others, their very national- ity is a question. One Swede feels that she could much better represent the U.S. as she has lived in the U.S. far more than her two years as a toddler in her native Sweden. Some have had many degrees and many careers as they search for stabili- ty and excitement. As one Thai nation- al put it, “I’d like to get married and start a new life here in the U.S. I have grown up overseas, moving from place to place. I haven’t any solid roots. I can’t commit to a solid career choice because I feel that if I do, I will be stuck. Yet, I yearn to settle down and start laying roots of my own because I am done with traveling for now. In my opinion, from traveling to Third World countries all my life, America is the best country, whether you agree with the politics or not. Therefore I have chosen the U.S. for this.” Often, it may sound like these internationally raised children are complaining about their fabulous lives. But actually most of them are aware of the privileges they have had. As one child acknowledged, I “lived too many lives, saw so much, was exposed to so many things. I think it can serve to confuse as well as enrich.” She may “change paths in five years’ time,” she admitted, due to what she terms the “been-there; done-that” attitude typical of interna- tionally raised individuals. Ultimately, the common thread amongst the internationally raised is wanderlust. For some the internal clock is set at six months, and for oth- ers it is four years. They may never settle down into a career for more than a decade. The stories are the same: “I think I moved around too much, maybe, when we were growing up. Although I had great experiences of other countries and I learnt a lot about other cultures, it has made me crave change all the time. I hate stay- ing in one place, as I feel like I am stagnating.” Or, as another candidly put it: “I must stress that I have a great hus- band, a very well-paying job and a great house, and I am healthy. I should be happy all the time just to live my life, which of course I do most of the time. I feel like I am missing something, though. I am almost bored because there is no major change in my life. I know that if I went to live in another country, it would be great, but only until the novelty wore off. I don’t know what I am looking for.” At the Fork in the Road When asked, “Did your high school experience determine your path in adult life?”, one respondent Continued from page 93 Continued on page 97