Hard Months

This past month has been pretty rough.  The next few months aren’t going to be any easier.  It has nothing to do with my work load (which is pretty rough and won’t be getting any easier until at least late August), but rather with the fact that so many people are on their way out of here.

This is most of my family in Liberia, at least my USAID family:

Due to the nature of the business - foreign service officers generally having two-year rotations, personal services contractors going anywhere from 1 to 4 years (lately only one) - people rotate in and out of the embassy all the time.  The exodus is usually between June and August, mirroring the school year for kids, but this year it started a bit earlier.  It’s not just USAID people, but State Department, Marines and others.  This photograph was taken early this year.  Already 5 of the people in the photograph have left.  In the next month two more will leave - the Mission Director and the first person I met when I arrived in Liberia.  By July . . . you get the point.

Perhaps I was just too new to realize it, or hadn’t formed bonds with people by the time they started leaving so it didn’t matter as much, but this year it is rather socking. I have been told that this year is seeing a particularly high turnover rate (mere coincidence), and the mission is lucky that several people (including me) have accepted short-term (PSCs) or one-year (FSOs) extensions, because otherwise the mission would have been really screwed.  Now I understand how our Liberian colleagues must feel with this steady rotation of Americans and ex-pats flowing through the mission every few years.  It’s not easy saying goodbye to friends.

So I’ve been to a lot of farewell parties lately.  

Some of them are small, intimate affairs where you spend hours talking with friends and drinking way too much beer.

Tammy’s was a particularly nice one because she had already had a formal mission party, and Kristin threw one with just a few close friends that was more pleasant relaxing (one last time) than party.  And it didn’t hurt that there was a stunning sunset that evening.

Then there are the more formal affairs - formal is relative.  As I mentioned, the Mission Director is leaving - tomorrow - and yesterday was the 5th farewell event held for her.  My trip to the Ambassador’s residence last week was one of them - very formal.  We had another one at Patricia's residence last Friday and yesterday the Foreign Service Nationals - our Liberian staff - gave her another goodbye (both casual, but large events).

Yesterday's was also outdoors at the palava hut by the pool - a place where you’ve seen before in this post.  This time, however, it was packed.  We had a band playing, and it seemed like everyone from the embassy showed up.

There were, of course, a few speeches.  Fortunately, pretty much everything good about Patricia that could be said has been said over the past couple of weeks and everybody kept it short.  And Patricia always keeps it short (part of why we love her!)  But Patricia had her final say, which was if she didn’t have to leave, she wouldn’t be leaving.  Washington wouldn’t let her stay for another year so . . . she’s saying goodbye (and that she has 2 extra bedrooms in her house in DC that folks are welcome to come and visit).

Folks keep telling me you get used to it - the people coming and going from your life.  I guess I too am a part of it.  But it’s not easy.  Not easy in a very different way than hard work.

I’ll be seeing a few more of these in the coming months.  And eventually one of them will be for me.  But as I said at Patricia’s farewell last Friday, it’s dawned on me that when it comes to be my turn to say thank you, so many of those that will deserve thanks won’t be around, so I have to make sure I take advantage of opportunities to do so publicly while I can.

So here’s an update on my status for everyone - I’ve accepted a 3-month extension until October 4.  Our team will be short handed until at least September (with one more departure in early June) and I’ve taken on the largest project on our team ($45million over 5 years dealing with public financial management, along with working on payroll reform [our flagship project, one that everyone says will look great on my resume . . . if I survive it), in addition to my continuing work on land and rule of law issues.  My work days have just gotten longer and much much busier.  Oh, yeah, and they’ve approved an extra R&R for me, which we’re trying to schedule for early July.  It's strange how the soonest possible dental appointment datess coincide with times that Devon, then Lauren and Brandon will be out to visit!