careers

I have been collecting books on the Foreign Service ever since I became interested in joining. This was the first one I read and remains one of my favorites. It gives a brief glimpse into actually working for an embassy (it has a pro/con list of being a FSO at the beginning, which is both funny and useful), but concentrates mainly on personal life outside the embassy. While those who bought the book expecting a detailed assessment on the actual job of an FSO will be disappointed, it is clear even from the book jacket that actual FSO work is not the topic of the book. The short essays in the book cover everything from traveling with pets (I didn't even know you could have pets when you travel as a FSO) to dealing with crisis. It definitely is a reality check, because it is very easy to become caught up in the process of becoming a FSO and deciding which career track you would like to pursue, while forgetting about the lifestyle you will lead outside of work. I would recommend this book to anyone, of any age, who is considering the FSO as a career, or to anyone who will be living and traveling with a FSO relative.

If you're a female spouse of a foreign service officer, have never traveled abroad, let alone to somewhere with anything less than first world ammenities, and are used to being surrounded at all times by friends and family, then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Of the more than 35 anectodes of foreign service life, only perhaps five were written by men. I tired of the endless complaints of insects, heat, cold, limited work opportunities for spouses, broken house items, crazy driving, corrupt infrastructure,broken infrastructure, etc., etc., etc. Having lived, travelled, and owned property abroad, most of which in the Third World, I was really hoping to see some the of the brighter sides of this adventure. Where were the great relationships with locals and their families, the adventurous forays into the bush to see local flora and fauna, the interesting challenges of learning a new culture and language, the unique perspective that one gives to one's child by growing up in a foreign land, the fun, adventure, and excitement of...Going local? While some of the stories are insightful and somewhat telling, I found it somewhat misleading. I really expected that the authors would spend more time sharing the unique perspective of foreign service life as well as the common inconveniences that we often face right her in the USA. Is the common FSO family really this petty, displaced, and inexperienced? I'd hate to think that these are truly the "Realities of Foreign Service Life."

I just got through this book and got some great insight into the life of an FSO. I totally agree with the other reviews on this book, it is well written but doesn't deal much with the actual work of the foreign service. There came a point where if I had to read one more story about the spouse of an FSO having to deal with stuff at home, or writing letters, etc... I felt like I was going to puke. In short, there's lots of stuff about 'family life' and getting the kids to school, etc, but not so much on what it is like to work in the Foreign Service. Lots of useful information between all of that, though.