Aspects of the Foreign Service Lifestyle

Now that we are getting ready to travel back to the States, reality is kind of catching up with me. I am looking forward to visiting with friends and family of course. But, I have heard much said that coming back home is sometimes more difficult than moving abroad. I have some suspicions about this phenomena.

Foreign Service life is like living in a bubble. No matter where you are in the world (I have had others share stories of their lives in other countries), you get set up in a sizable home depending on where you go. Each house is secured like a fortress and in some locations, guards are employed to keep you safe. Maids, nannies, gardeners, drivers, are a normal way of life. And not just someone who comes in once in a while. In some countries, you have a live in maid or nanny that pretty much runs your household for you.

There is a reason for it. Without the household staff, life would be much more difficult. Think about it. In the States, you may have to clean your own home, do your own laundry, shop for your own groceries, but chances are you are not trying to immerse yourself in a new culture, environment and language at the same time. Socially, you have to start from scratch and make new friends when you are abroad. This never stops because once you have established a friendship with someone, chances are they are leaving the post within the year.

You do tend to save lots of money when you accept these assignments. We did pay off alot of bills with the sale of our house last year, but we still have some of the same bills. The difference is that usually, goods and services in many places are cheaper and if they are not, the government adds a cost of living allowance (COLA) that adjusts to the strength of our dollar in any given country every pay period. We also find that we pay cash for almost everything here. Since you really can't charge alot of things, you end up saving. We'll see how true this is when spring arrives and we start traveling.

I have managed to temper my desire for assistance since I know that eventually, the clock will strike midnight, the ball will be over and I will have to go back to doing household chores myself. What will be very difficult to do for the two weeks being home is the the fact that I will now be responsible for my own laundry. To me, laundry piling up is as certain as death and taxes and as dreaded. Washing isn't necessarily tedious, but having to fold so many clothes...I hate it. You think you have lots of laundry as a single person. Then, it goes up when you marry. Add a couple of kids and you literally find yourself doing laundry round the clock. It never stops. At first, I was not going to have our housekeeper do laundry. But, one day she went ahead and washed some clothing and did a great job. She does about 3-4 loads while she is here in addition to the towels and bedding. I don't know how she does it all in one day.

Our housekeeper has been a blessing to us. Not just because she cleans our house and does our laundry. She is a very descent and kind person. The Cat and I like her and the kids like her very much. Despite the language barrier, we find a way to understand each other. I only wish that I could speak more Polish because I would love to get to know her more. When we come back, she is going to start coming over once a week to take care of the children in the evening so the Cat and I can go out. I feel very at ease with her and the kids seem to be very comfortable with her. Kids seem to have keener instincts sometimes. It will be difficult to find someone like her when we move back to the States.