Article December 21, 2009 ISSUE

BLESSINGS OF AN OVERSEAS NOEL

BY JENNIFER ROSEBRUGH

"NEWEST MEMBER OF THE TEAM? You'll be staffing the Embassy over Christmas. You can take a holiday next year!"

As a freshly minted foreign service officer on my first oversease posting, my heart sank when my boss said that. Somehow the excitement of the season didn't seem quite so great when I realized I'd be alone in a foreign country, trying to speak a language I'd yet to master. I hadn't even had time to make close friends. And while I'd known my commitment to the foreign service would require some sacrifices, this requirement to stay behind wasn't something I'd really anticipated. What about my small family—how would my parents and brother back in Canada feel when our usually very close foursome was reduced to three at this important time of the year?

About the author

Jennifer Rosebrugh is presently posted in Budapest, where she works helping Canadian companies do business in Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

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