Welcome Home: Who Are You?

By Gene and Kathryn Schmiel

"All members of the American Foreign Service have dozens of stories about the humorous, compelling, tragicomic, ridiculous, or even occasionally serious experiences they’ve had while living abroad or working in ‘the Department.’ Tales of a faux pas at a state dinner; a ridiculous visa application; the meeting with a national leader that led to a change in policy; dealing with dead or imprisoned Americans; escape from the clutches of potential terrorists; the enduring of a hostage situation and hundreds more punctuate and enrich memories of their careers. The vignettes are the human side of those who are all too often stereotyped as an up-tight corps of establishment mandarins. However, foreign service people are in reality just normal human beings chosen (and proud) to represent their nation in its dealings with other nations who happen to have had particularly unusual and unique experiences.

From the bizarre and unpredictable (a Polish visa applicant swallowing his own application) to the peaceful and reassuring (learning how to knit a Icelandic sweater), these vignettes offer vivid portrayals of the life of a Foreign Service family living and working on the three continents.

This collection of essays and narratives puts a face on the skilled, dedicated, and highly motivated people who compose the U.S. Foreign Service. With humor and charm, the authors write from personal experience about the work Foreign Service people do, day after day, all over the world, on behalf of Americans."

– Ambassador T. Frank Crigler (ret.)

"I recommend highly the authors’ lively treatment of topics that are not familiar to most readers. Their work contributes to an enhanced understanding of the Foreign Service."

– Henry E. Mattox, Editor
American Diplomac