Life at Embassy Kabul is so bizarre that it's best not to try to make it seem normal. Except I'm still trying. I recently bought two small pieces of furniture at the mini-bazaar held on the compound once a week: a small end table and a footstool. Both are nice pieces and do a lot to make my hooch feel less like a storage container. But it is still a storage container.
I'm in a constant philosophical struggle between resignation and delusion. Should I resign myself to the fact that I live in a storage container and that life here is what it is; or should I delude myself into thinking I can make my storage container, ergo my life here, better than it is.
I usually end up resigning myself to reality, but somewhat comforted by the fact that this job is teaching me things I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. Ooh! That's a good line, I should remember to put that in my EER.
I'm in a constant philosophical struggle between resignation and delusion. Should I resign myself to the fact that I live in a storage container and that life here is what it is; or should I delude myself into thinking I can make my storage container, ergo my life here, better than it is.
I usually end up resigning myself to reality, but somewhat comforted by the fact that this job is teaching me things I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. Ooh! That's a good line, I should remember to put that in my EER.
3 comments:
Greetings!
I would like to say thank you for sharing your stories on this blog. I'm considering applying to become a foreign service officer and I while I understand that the stories are limited in details due to the nature of your position - I appreciate your openness.
Many other foreign service officers only share pretty vacation stories, images, foods etc in their blogs. With a brief mention of working or going to the office. As if the majority of their job is to hang out with friends and families, haha. Your blog is a refreshing shift because you actually talk about what you do in the foreign service and it's impact.
Thank you for the work you do to represent the US.
Tanishia,
Thank you for your supportive comment. A lot of future FSOs seem to read this blog, so I've tried to write about stuff that would be of interest to that audience.
Heather
Heather, I loved that you are attempting to "furnish" your storage container. And so happy that people like Tanishia are reading your blog.
BTW cheering Oscar win Argo tonight.
Your Mom
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