Family

The families of USAID’s foreign service staff had a tough job. They moved every few years, to new schools, new houses, new cultures and climates. Spouses and kids had to reinvent themselves in every place, looking for employment and new friends, trying to figure out soccer or dance class in a language they hadn’t learned yet. And after all that work to find a place, usually after more than their share of tears and frustration, just when they figured out whatever place they were in, it was time for the next posting in the next country. Extended families back home visited to experience how different – or sometimes not so different – life abroad could be. USAID folks even convinced most of our people back home that we didn’t actually work for the CIA. So for as hard as it was, the bright side was awfully bright: USAID families speak languages, adapt to anything, and can find – or create – a community for themselves anywhere they go. We came away with a clearer picture of life in the USA, and gratitude for the many blessings this country offers us. Learn more and get it touch at www.itwasneverajob.com