I’m a journalist, turned lawyer, turned “trailing” spouse. We’re giving up the world we know for the world at large, following my foreign service officer husband, B, into the unknown. Our 7-year-old, C, and our big brown dog, Miller, are along for the ride as well. We hope you will join us too.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is intended to give a personal insight into our life in the U.S. Foreign Service. It is not associated in any way with the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed here are our own and do not necessarily reflect those of U.S. government or any of its agencies/departments.
a B, C, D Adventure 
I’m about to embark on this whole biz myself (January A-100) and would love some advice. Would you please email me? Thanks.
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Congratulations! I’d be happy to offer whatever advice I can – we’ll still be in DC so I hope we’ll get an opportunity to meet in person as well. Let me know where I can email you directly.
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Spent a day last week with B’s family in Leland MI last week and am glad to be following you now. So excited for you all and praying for your safe travels. Enjoy the journey and do good work!
Love,
Tim
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I love following your blog! My husband just received an offer for the January class, so FS is quickly becoming a reality. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in answering some questions?! I’m trying to navigate through it all – physically and emotionally – and would love your perspective. Thanks for sharing your stories with the world!
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I’d be happy to answer any questions you have – and congratulations to you and your husband – welcome to the adventure!
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Hi! I just came across your blog because I am doing research on Kinshasa. I am a new USAID FSO, and I have a short list of countries that I’ve been asked to rank preference for to help determine where my first post will be. DRC is on the list that also includes Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bangkok, Thailand; and Lusaka, Zambia. If you had to rate Kinshasa on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best, 1 the worst) how would your husband, yourself, and your dog rate the city as a FS post? I’m interested in the post, but I’m also interested in how my fiance and my 60 lb. dog may like it! Thanks!
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Hi Nate – first welcome! In the interest of full disclosure we are not USAID so our work experience will be different and probably not terribly helpful. However, from our dogs perspective (70 lbs and furry) he has seemed very happy here. There are lots of dogs in the US community – so play dates are common. We have a yard and pool – so he spends lots of time in both. It’s hot, but we came from the southern US, so I’m not sure he has noticed the difference. I think he (the dog) would rate Kinshasa a 6-7. My husband is a consular officer so his job probably makes his rating of Kinshasa a 5 or less. But without the job I’d guess he’d be in the 6+ range. For me Kin has been around 8 – I’ve never been bored, I love the heat, I had my pick of jobs (and had plenty to keep me busy before I took a job). For our daughter it’s probably a 9 – only point off would be for having to go to French school. If your finance is not giving up a job or career she loves (and might not be ready to give up) and either has (or is willing to learn) French, then this can be a vey rewarding place and your social life will be full and fun. But the people without any French (or any spouse or children – someone single in other words) life can be pretty hard here. Hopefully that helps!
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Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate it. Sounds like my furry friend would enjoy life there, especially if he can go on long walks. I’m glad that there are a lot of job opportunities there for EFMs. My fiance currently works at USAID too, so if she could do something development related she’ll be happy. I’ll be happy anywhere as long as I enjoy my colleagues and have places to explore outside of work. I’m really intrigued by how much your daughter loves it. We don’t have any kids yet, but I like that the DRC is a good post for them. If we don’t go on this tour, maybe we’ll have to consider it in the future when we have our own kids!
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