When I arrived in Eritrea, I was met at the airport by one of the most beautiful smiles. It was Jewel's smile and I saw it almost every day in Asmara. Jewel is her name and jewel she was, one of many gems during my stay in Asmara.
My assignment in Asmara was the result of the previous management officer becoming ill and being sent back to the U.S. for recovery, much as was the case in Zambia. Also like the situation in Zambia, I was not the first TDY management officer to fill in while the Department arranged for a successor. At least two different WAE TDY staff members had been sent to Asmara for a few weeks each, and both the general services officer, Jewel, and the regional security officer, Wendy, had filled in as acting management officer between TDYers. The information management officer complained to me that I was the fifth supervisor he had had in Asmara in the year he had been at the embassy. But since I was a rover, not a WAE staff member, we all expected that I would remain in Asmara until the new management officer arrived. That was the plan.
But plans change.
I never needed to know the address of the house I lived in because someone, usually Jewel, always picked me up in the morning and brought me home at the end of the day. I knew my way to a small grocery store on a corner of one of the main streets. And I knew my way to the embassy. Getting to the first was an easy walk. Getting to the second was a much longer trek, but it was doable. I didn't need to take taxis.
Jewel had been at the embassy for almost two years when I arrived. She planned to stay for three years, taking advantage of an incentive program the Department set up to get staff to stay in some of the most difficult to fill positions by adding 15% of salary at the end of each year if the employee agreed to remain for three years instead of just two. Jewel was a Civil Service employee who was filling the GSO position on an excursion tour. It was her second excursion tour, having served in Beijing as the housing officer previously. She hoped to convert from Civil Service to Foreign Service. That was her plan.
But plans change.
Jewel's background was in space planning and interior design, not the typical skills of a general services officer, although GSOs are responsible for allocating space, for equipping space, and for ensuring adequate equipment, furniture, and fixtures are available in both offices and residences. But most general services officers are generalists who rely on their local staff to be the specialists. So Jewel was an exception.
She was an exception in many other ways as well. She is an extrovert who makes friends easily. The Foreign Service has a disproportionately high number of introverts. Introverts often do very well on written exams because they are not distracted by people around them. Years ago, the written exam was given only once a year, on the first Saturday of December. It took months to receive the results. Those whose scores were high enough to be invited for an oral assessment then had to wait for that appointment. Again, it took months to receive the results. Those whose candidacies continued then had to obtain medical and security clearances, more months. Who else but an introvert is willing to apply for a job and then wait for years to get an offer without even being interviewed? The oral assessment is not by any stretch of the imagination an interview. It is an assessment. Introverts wait. Extroverts are too busy moving on to the next challenge.
Plans changed for both Jewel and me during my time in Eritrea. Fortunately for me, those changes made it possible for us to become more than just agreeable colleagues when we both found ourselves back in the U.S. before either of us expected. Jewel is my friend, an all too infrequent exception to what the Foreign Service usually deals out.
Jewel was the most important person for setting the tone for my Eritrean adventure. Her smile welcomed me on the first day and brightened each day afterwards.
My assignment in Asmara was the result of the previous management officer becoming ill and being sent back to the U.S. for recovery, much as was the case in Zambia. Also like the situation in Zambia, I was not the first TDY management officer to fill in while the Department arranged for a successor. At least two different WAE TDY staff members had been sent to Asmara for a few weeks each, and both the general services officer, Jewel, and the regional security officer, Wendy, had filled in as acting management officer between TDYers. The information management officer complained to me that I was the fifth supervisor he had had in Asmara in the year he had been at the embassy. But since I was a rover, not a WAE staff member, we all expected that I would remain in Asmara until the new management officer arrived. That was the plan.
But plans change.
I never needed to know the address of the house I lived in because someone, usually Jewel, always picked me up in the morning and brought me home at the end of the day. I knew my way to a small grocery store on a corner of one of the main streets. And I knew my way to the embassy. Getting to the first was an easy walk. Getting to the second was a much longer trek, but it was doable. I didn't need to take taxis.
Jewel had been at the embassy for almost two years when I arrived. She planned to stay for three years, taking advantage of an incentive program the Department set up to get staff to stay in some of the most difficult to fill positions by adding 15% of salary at the end of each year if the employee agreed to remain for three years instead of just two. Jewel was a Civil Service employee who was filling the GSO position on an excursion tour. It was her second excursion tour, having served in Beijing as the housing officer previously. She hoped to convert from Civil Service to Foreign Service. That was her plan.
But plans change.
 |
| Jewel at the camel market |
She was an exception in many other ways as well. She is an extrovert who makes friends easily. The Foreign Service has a disproportionately high number of introverts. Introverts often do very well on written exams because they are not distracted by people around them. Years ago, the written exam was given only once a year, on the first Saturday of December. It took months to receive the results. Those whose scores were high enough to be invited for an oral assessment then had to wait for that appointment. Again, it took months to receive the results. Those whose candidacies continued then had to obtain medical and security clearances, more months. Who else but an introvert is willing to apply for a job and then wait for years to get an offer without even being interviewed? The oral assessment is not by any stretch of the imagination an interview. It is an assessment. Introverts wait. Extroverts are too busy moving on to the next challenge.
Plans changed for both Jewel and me during my time in Eritrea. Fortunately for me, those changes made it possible for us to become more than just agreeable colleagues when we both found ourselves back in the U.S. before either of us expected. Jewel is my friend, an all too infrequent exception to what the Foreign Service usually deals out.
Jewel was the most important person for setting the tone for my Eritrean adventure. Her smile welcomed me on the first day and brightened each day afterwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment