Being Smart and Stayin' Alive.

When you apply to the State Department there are things that they don’t talk about much.  They don’t talk about all the smart people you’ll meet.  I guess you should expect it from what they want you to do to get in.  

There’s a test.  They tell you to study by reading The Economist and Foreign Affairs magazines.  There is an essay.  Actually, I think there were seven essays.  Some people have to participate in a day-long interview to see how you interact with other applicants.

I didn’t have to do that part.  I had to take another test and then I was put in a room with 5 unnamed, unsmiling peers and asked questions for an hour.  I rambled and sweated. Mostly I rambled. and I didn’t think was was too articulate.  But, I must have rambled smartly, because here I am.

But they don’t really talk about the other smart people you meet. But, you see and feel it the moment you walk in. Wander the halls and the snippets of conversations are right out of the news.  What are we doing about Ukraine, or Crimea or the Ebola outbreak?

I work with a man who invented his own style of cardiac catheter. And, another who developed a simple and efficient electronic health record that actually only asks for information that is required.  The reason it is not in use?  “It didn't cost enough to implement.”   

You also get to hear about other smart things as well. For instance, one of the ways to lift a society out of poverty is to have educated women and girls.  Folks in the State Department have found that one leading cause of girls dropping out of school is that boys and girls have to share the same toilets in many rural schools.   When they reach puberty, it becomes a privacy and modesty issue and, so they drop out.

So, there is a program being implemented to try and provide separate bath facilities for young girls in rural areas. A separate hole in the ground opens the world to half the population.  I think that is pretty cool.

The other thing they don’t talk much about is all the danger you’ll face when you head out into the world.  In the last week and a half of our orientation there have been hours of classes, telling us all the different ways we could be injured or killed.  Or raped. There was that too.

All that plus kidnapping, and fire and earthquakes and radioactivity and biological weapons and pandemics and more!  One class taught us how to use a personal, single use gas mask. “Don’t use this in a fire or it will melt to your face.”  Also, “make sure the little red light is on or it’s like putting a plastic bag on your head.”

Another segment taught us when we’ll know to use our nerve gas antidote.  “The room will go dark and you’ll be drooling like crazy, if you see someone convulsing, give them three injections.”

It’s all been enough to give one second thoughts, until they showed a slide at the end of one day demonstrating how most people working overseas get hurt or die.

80% of US employees are hurt or killed in car accidents or are hit by cars. The smartest way to stay alive is to look both ways when you cross the street and don’t drive too fast.

Astound and Amaze Your Fellow Travelers, Vol I

Secret Agent Man will be travelling a lot and is considering a segment called "Astound and Amaze Your Fellow Travellers"   Feel free to contribute.  I'm sure we all have a story.

Like the gentleman pictured above.  This is a bit early in the waiting period, but believe me, he laid right here as the waiting area filled up and was still lying here when I boarded my plane.

What's he doing?  It may be a bit tough to see.  There is a bench of 4 seats.  He has his brief case on the end closest to us.  The second seat is open.  The third seat has his tablet and his carry on suit bag is draped over the fourth seat.

He has taken off his shoes and is lying in front of his possessions.  He has hi-grade, noise cancelling head phones connected to his phone and is using his wait time to call hotel and rental car companies to complain loudly about services he's missed on his travels. We all know now how Hertz has done him wrong with their lack of an upgrade.  I wish I'd video taped this generous use of personal space.

The Icebreaker

Some brief background.

In 1992 or so, a friend and I made an impassioned and impulsive decision to try to make the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team.  We were in our 20s, fit and had no money. Why not?

                                  

Back then, the U.S Bobsled Organization was a pretty loose organization.  They offered classes at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid.  They provided lodging and food and a great gym. All for free.

We booked in and took the Bobsledding Introductory class which consisted of a brief walk down the course, a video showing many of the more severe accidents and deaths, and a tour of the sled which is a very simple machine.  Then they took us up to the halfway point, stuck us in a training sled and away we went.

It was truly the most frightening activity I have ever done.  At the end, I felt I’d cheated death

But, I did complete the rest of the three day course and got my Bobsledding Driver’s License from the ½ mile point.  We went back the following year, by which time they had significantly increased their monitoring.  When we arrived they essentially said, “Sorry, we don’t care what sort of driver’s license you have, you can’t learn to drive the rest of the course without your own sled.”  Sleds cost around $20,000.

Thus ended my brief career as a pre-Olympian. 

But, I got the t-shirt and the little piece of paper and thus, I believe, the right to claim my membership to the US Bobsled Federation as a miscellaneous fact on the bottom of my resume. This makes for interesting conversation at job interviews.

I give you this background, only to tell you this further bit of info.

Fast forward 22 years. 

In addition to my resume, I also use the bobsled story for those little icebreaker games we all play at parties or work events .  “Tell us a little known or fun fact about yourself.”  This being orientation, of course we play this game at the State Department on the very first day.  And, of course, I use my story.  How else can I compete with a man who tripped Nancy Pelosi, or the female Gold Medalists in the Tae Kwan Do World Championship or the former Special Forces people?   It gets a good response until I tell them the rest of the story, and then the conversation drifts back to those with really big achievements.

Fast forward, yet again, to today.

Our three weeks in orientation is coming to a close and we are due for our official swearing in at noon.  On Wednesday, we received a surprise announcement that the ceremony has been pushed back until 1:45 pm because the Secretary of State, himself, wants to do the swearing in.  Apparently, he likes to do this when he’s in town, which is sort of a rare event if you watch the news.  He flew some 275,000 miles last year.

We are all honored and excited and we gather early.  He has so little time that we practice getting our picture taken before he gets there.  We are able to get from our seats to the stage and set for pictures in under 30 seconds.

He’s a few minutes late having put some foreign dignitary on hold. We all stand and clap as he breezes in.  He’s introduced and then he gives a few brief remarks about the world and how we in the Foreign Service will fit in.

He closes with a few remarks about our class.  He notes the Krav Maga black belt, and the Tae Kwan Do World Champion.  He thanks the former Military personnel for volunteering further service to their country.  And, then he says, “We even have someone here who tried out for the U.S Bobsled team.  Where are you?”  I raised my hand sheepishly.  “What, were you inspired by the Jamaicans or something?”

How can I work this into a new icebreaker story?

Cherry Blossoms

Since Flag Day, I've been facing an ever growing To Do List.  I took some time out today wander along the Tidal Basin for a couple hours.  The cherry blossoms are in peak bloom and it was calming to watch them turn from white to pink in the evening sun.  Even amongst some 70% of the nation's 8th graders.

Flag Day

All 47 of us in the 133rd Specialist Class, are winding up our orientation this week.  Orientation for generalists is 6 weeks.  For us, it is condensed to 3 weeks.  It is the State Department’s equivalent of the military’s basic training, but in our basic training we dress up in uniforms (Suits and ties) and perform as little physical exercise as possible.  

We try to absorb all we can about what it takes to become an officer in the foreign service from how to get paid to managing others, and even effective use of the Oxford comma.  Look it up.  I did.

They do their level best to make it as interesting and interactive as possible, but really we aren't out of our chairs much, save for a day of team building at a local park.  I was skeptical, but actually came away impressed with how they tied these activities into what we’d been learning in the classroom.  

Since Day One, in addition to learning all the basics, most of the class has been focused on where they’re headed after orientation.  We’re provided a list of open post locations and some details about those locations.  Given that, we’re sent to research posts and find out all we can about certain locations.  The housing options. The school options.  Do they accept pets? Can my spouse work?  Can my spouse even come along?  We talk with our families.  We talk with each other and at the end, we make a rank order of our choices.

All this in anticipation of Flag Day where we find out where a selection committee has placed us. Families and Friends can come watch. The staff do a great job of building suspense. There is no order to the list.  They bring out a rack with a small flag for each country offered to the class, then read off a scrambled list while projecting the country’s flag on a screen. You grab your flag, you shake a hand, you grab your folder with your travel orders and info for your future posting, and (note appropriate use of the Oxford comma here) BOOM!  your posted to……

Jakarta, Indonesia

That’s right,I’ll be in Indonesia for the next two years starting in late summer. Home of volcanoes, gamelan music and Bali!    Read more here….

http://www.factmonster.com/country/indonesia.html  

and here…

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia

It seems to be either hot and dry, or hot and wet.  Dry Season is April to September.  Wet Season is October to March.  My preliminary search for winter airfares next year showed flights from the Midwest from around $1300.  So, start saving! Hope to see you soon.

The Big Reveal

Hi, Family and Friends,

Recently you may have seen some postings or heard some news about me and my family that have caused you to wonder just what is going on at the Mak household? The downsizing of houses. The last packing of lunches. Giving away belongings. What gives?

If you haven’t already heard, here’s the big reveal.

I’ve joined the US Foreign Service.

You may be wondering what that means.  Here are some frequently asked questions that I’ve heard.

Q: What?

A:  I’ll be working abroad for the State Department.

Q: You’re really going to prison, aren’t you?

A: No, trust me.

Q: Will you be a Diplomat?

A:  Not directly. I am coming in as a Specialist. Which means I’m there to support the general staff in their diplomatic missions.  I’m a psychiatrist and I’ll be treating US overseas employees and their families in the State Department,  as well as other government organizations, like USAID, or Agriculture or Defense.

    We’ve been frequently reminded this week that being a part of the Foreign Service means that we all represent the US all the time. But, we all  really should be diplomats whenever we travel, right?  So, I’ll behave accordingly and ask my family to do the same.

Q: How about a spy? Will you be a spy?

A: Again, no.

Q: Where will you go?

A:  Right now, we’re not sure.  My options are Washington, DC, Pretoria, South Africa or Jakarta Indonesia.  We find out officially on Flag Day which is this Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Q: What about your family?

A:  They are all on board.  I wouldn’t do this if they weren’t

Q: What made you decide to do this?

A: I guess it started out as a mid-life reflection about whether I could keep doing the same thing I had been doing for the next 20 years or not.  This job offers an opportunity to travel and be immersed in other cultures, as well as, serve my country in a unique manner.

Q: Your Dog?

A:  It’s our plan to bring her along, as stressful as that may be for all of us.

Q: What about languages?

A:  Since nearly all my clients will be US citizens, I likely won’t receive formal language training.  However, there are a number of options available for language training, both before and after I depart.

Q: Will your wife work?

A:  That is up in the air.  Hopefully, once we’re settled into this new life, she’ll be able to find some meaningful employment. Or, at least something to keep her in shoe money.

Q: What about schools?

A:  There are usually pretty good international schools available.  So, my youngest will go there. My son can start college in the US and maybe work in an embassy during the summer.

Q: When will you go?

A: Well, I’m two weeks into a three week orientation training in DC. After that, I’ll have some medical training and some other classes to take..   This will go on into the summer some time.  Hopefully, we’ll be on our way before the start of next school year.  I may go early and everyone else will join me in dribs and drabs.

I’ll post more missives and photos about all the places we see, so keep checking back or subscribe for updates.