My Diplomatic Life
The author seems to have a penchant for taking the most dangerous assignments.<p>I&#x27;m a &quot;diplomat brat&quot; and most diplomatic careers are much more boring and pedestrian.  I (US citizen) grew up in Japan, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.<p>I echo the other current top level commenter&#x27;s sentiment that diplomacy should not be a family business.  I recognize many of the advantages I have in terms of having a broad worldview and understanding, as well as language skills.  However I would trade it all to grow up in a stable suburb and graduate from high school with a few handfuls of folks I&#x27;d been to primary school with.<p>Being uprooted every few years has led to an inability to form long-term relationships.  I was essentially trained to have a timer on my friendships: approximately 3-5 years.  In my time we didn&#x27;t have the internet so once I moved it was over.<p>Not a fun time.  I do not recall my childhood very fondly.  In my case it was especially hard because I&#x27;m an only child.  I often wondered, as a child, why it was so hard for me but not my peers.  When I was in high school I realized that all of the &quot;better adjusted&quot; kids I was comparing myself to had siblings similar in age.<p>To those of you thinking of a diplomatic career: don&#x27;t try to raise a family and be a diplomat.  Just don&#x27;t.  It&#x27;s not worth it.  Do it while you&#x27;re single for as long as you can, but the term &quot;settle down&quot; exists for a reason.