Although we write about the ups and downs of the Foreign Service lifestyle with some regularity, we rarely delve into the specifics of our jobs. There are many reasons for this; one important one is a desire to avoid compounding the mental strain this career imposes. Think about the international issues dominating the news right now — wars, terrorism, mass displacement, natural disasters, etc. Whichever crisis came foremost to your mind, know that our colleagues covering these issues are up to their eyeballs dealing with the fallout — and that we've shouldered our fair share of these burdens also. And, of course, there are many smaller, more personal crises that don't make the newspapers but exact the same kind of emotional toll.
Whether it's helping fellow citizens in distress, as has been S's primary responsibility over the last year, or working on refugee issues, which has been D's job the last four years and counting — this career often provides an up-close-and-personal look at humankind's seemingly limitless capacity for cruelty. Don't get us wrong: we are optimists at heart and know from experience that good and kind people outnumber all others by thousands to one — if we didn't firmly believe this, we would have sought out a different line of work by now. Still, there is a certain accretion of psychological scar tissue that is an unspoken but integral aspect of this career.
D still remembers, for example, how his shoulders physically slumped with relief when our plane took off the tarmac after we wrapped our first overseas assignment in Nairobi. We had loved serving in Kenya: the work was interesting and meaningful, the travel opportunities boundless, and the friendships we made have stood the test of time. We have always wanted to return — and would sign up for another assignment in Nairobi in a heartbeat. And yet, work-related stress was so omnipresent and intense that it was difficult to recognize its cumulative effect until we had handed off our portfolios and closed the book on that assignment. The nature of diplomatic work is incredibly personal oftentimes. Even when we aim to set clear boundaries between the personal and professional aspects of our lives, they are difficult to disentangle. It is all too easy to become personally and emotionally invested.
This, in part, is why the pages of this blog are filled with bird photos, travel tales, our kids' adventures, and other diversions that bring us joy. It's not that we don't have a lot to say about current events, domestic politics, and various international crises. On the contrary, oftentimes we have too much to say and would prefer to let our minds wander elsewhere.
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