Feb 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM: After a long weekend, have you ever thought- 'if only every work week lasted only four days?' Flex time and four 10-hour day work weeks are becoming more common, but most of us are still stuck working at least five days a week.
I wouldn't advise joining the Foreign Service solely because you want more vacation time and travel opportunities, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that these are two ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
atravelerintheforeignservice posts
A Traveler in the Foreign Service: where paid time off is taken seriously
Feb 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM: After a long weekend, have you ever thought- 'if only every work week lasted only four days?' Flex time and four 10-hour day work weeks are becoming more common, but most of us are still stuck working at least five days a week.
I wouldn't advise joining the Foreign Service solely because you want more vacation time and travel opportunities, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that these are two ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: A birthday that went up in smoke in Belgrade
Feb 6th, 2012 at 10:00AM: There's nothing like having a sealed train compartment full of Serbian farmers blowing smoke in your face on your 30th birthday. One of the strangest elements of expatriate life is that you sometimes find yourself celebrating major occasions with people you just met, rather than friends and family.
I had just started a tour as an American Foreign Service Officer in Macedonia right before my ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: (Not so) sexy time
Jan 30th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Hugh Hefner wouldn't make a very good Foreign Service Officer (FSO). FSO's serving overseas need to disclose information about their lovers to the embassy's Regional Security Officer (RSO), who in turn conduct investigations on foreign-born romantic partners to ensure that they aren't likely to blackmail or manipulate them. There are no secrets and playboys tend to crash and burn before their ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Ding Dongs and danger pay in Kosovo
Jan 20th, 2012 at 10:00AM: When I worked at the American Embassy in Skopje, I looked forward to visiting Kosovo. Not because I liked the place, but because I wanted junk food. American junk food. I'm talking Hostess cupcakes, Chips Ahoy, Jif Peanut Butter and the like. And trips to Kosovo, if you were crafty, meant a visit to Camp Bondsteel, a huge American military base with a P.X. that was sort of like a mini Wal-Mart.
...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Ciao macho man (or how to help Albanian breakdancers win a grammy)
Jan 13th, 2012 at 12:00PM: I was standing on a stage in an auditorium in front of about 500 people frozen in terror at Nota Fest, which is like the Grammy awards for Macedonia's ethnic-Albanian community. The organizers of the event had invited our Ambassador, Larry Butler, to present a lifetime achievement award and when he, and several other more important people at the embassy declined, the duty was punted down to me, a ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Escape from a rock-star elevator in Skopje
Jan 9th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Trapped in a private, "rock-star" elevator in a seemingly half-finished apartment building on my first day in Macedonia, I turned, in desperation, to a phrase book. I had spent the previous six months in language training at the Foreign Service Institute, studying full time in a class of two, to prepare for an assignment at the American embassy in Skopje. But I didn't know how to say, "HELP!"
I ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: My rock-star elevator in Skopje
Jan 2nd, 2012 at 12:30PM:
The first thing I noticed about Macedonia was the Marlboro man and a group of short men smoking cheap alternatives. Six months after being handed the country's distinctive yellow and red flag, signifying a two year assignment to the American Embassy in Skopje, I'd finally landed in the city's forlorn little airport.
I was standing by the lone baggage carousel, looking at the Marlboro billboard ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: The list, the call, the flag- assignments in the Foreign Service
Dec 28th, 2011 at 10:00AM: The most common question I get from people who have a passing interest in joining the Foreign Service is: how hard is to get posted to Rome, Paris, Prague, Sydney and other popular vacation destinations. The best way to get a feel for your chances is to have a look at the complete list of U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
There are more than 200 posts in the Foreign Service and for every ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Can a guy who didn't get high get a security clearance?
Dec 22nd, 2011 at 12:00PM: I was sitting at my kitchen table with a former law-enforcement official feeling nervous about the fact that I'd never taken any illegal drugs.
"In the last seven years, have you illegally used any controlled substance- cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, hash, narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, steroids, inhalants or prescription drugs?" the man asked, reading from a list of ...A Traveler in the Foreign Service: Not much of a diplomat
Dec 20th, 2011 at 10:00AM: My journey into the U.S. Foreign Service started as a Colonel Muammar Gaddafi impersonator in a school auditorium near Buffalo, New York in 1986. I was taking part in an 8th grade Model U.N. assembly, and had been given the difficult brief of dressing up like a citizen of Malta and delivering a speech advocating Maltese interests, whatever those were during the Cold War.
According to my trusty ...
