Life in the Foreign Service extends far beyond the office, following its officers into all realms of existence abroad, at…
Do You Hear the People Sing?—Democratic Promotion in Haiti, Mozambique, and Iraq
E Pluribus Unum. The average American will unwittingly encounter these very words on a daily basis and hardly give them…
A Not-So-Quiet Arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) must constantly be on alert for security threats, which can sneak up during the most unexpected…
The Emperor’s New Year’s Day Party
With brightly colored clothes and impeccable attention to protocol, Foreign Service spouse Hilda Lewis hoped to impress at the Japanese…
Food for Thought: A Woman in African Agricultural Development
In 2003, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated up to $650 million worth of food aid to…
FLOTUS For a Night—USAID Employee Stands in at First Ladies Conference
When USAID employee Judith Gilmore was asked to play First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), it wasn’t because a…
Jakarta on Fire: The May 1998 Riots and Indonesian Revolution
Shawn Dorman watched as Jakarta descended into violent chaos and destruction overtook the city. At the conclusion of the May…
“Encouraging” Soviet Workmen in 1984—Vodka, Cigarettes, and Snow Plowing in Soviet Russia
The currency of Soviet Russia was the ruble—or was it? When General Services Officer Robert Weisberg was posted to the…
“She’s Not a Woman, She’s a Diplomat”—Navigating Saudi Arabia in the 1980s
A car full of armed guards trailed after Janice Bay as she defiantly walked down the gate-lined road away from…
Diamonds, Coal, and the Dutch Queen—NBC’s First Female Broadcaster Escapes The Netherlands in 1940
Reporting live from a shortwave radio station near the German border at the beginning of World War II, NBC’s first…