GreenDragon

Re-read marigross' post - she is FOR any country that is predominantly Buddhist -- most likely for the reason it's a peace-loving religion. I agree

elina

OK, now I see it, too. That happens when one is not a native speaker and reads too fast without thinking.

RufusTFirefly

Anybody remember the movie Air America? Mel Gibson (when he was still a good guy) is a Buddhist, but he is selling munitions to the highest bidder. Robert Downey, Jr. says something like "I thought you were a Buddhist." Gibson replies, "I didn't say I was a good Buddhist."

Q: What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor?
A: Make me one with everything.

gabrieltraian

You say she is a strong woman and she really wants to HELP.

This eliminates from the start the tourist destinations, as she doesn't need to go and enjoy the place as much as she wants to help people in need.

Tourist destinations are not really the places where you find the most people in need.

OK, even in tourist destinations you find people in need, but there are places where you find ONLY such people.

Now I don't think that she doesn't care about the general situation there, in terms of safety a.s.o.

She has already been to Africa - does this mean that she would like to try somewhere else as well?

I eliminated Africa and some obvious tourist destinations.

Jakarta is too risky, too many bombings lately. Even in Afghanistan there are still asfety issues.

After this kind of judgement, I can find on my list the following:

Chennai, India
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Islamabad, Pakistan
Kathmandu, Nepal
Kolonia, Micronesia
Manila, Philippines
Peshawar, Pakistan
Rangoon, Burma

I think that India, Bangladesh, Burma and Nepal need the most of any help offered.
And there are some tourist destinations there as well.

I didn't include Pakistan because of the way muslims regard western women in this part of the world.

Manila is too easy. I mean if your daughter really wants to HELP, then go where it is difficult.

Micronesia... The beach temptation is too strong.

Now indeed, I don't know the character of your daughter.

Good luck with a good advice to her.

suze

People also need help in more pleasant destinations. I don't believe she has to pick the one with the most hardship brought on herself in order to do some good in the world.

ira

Hi SJ,

>She simply wants to HELP.<

Who do what?

She isn't in the Peace Corps anymore. This is the FS. Does she have any idea about a career path or what part of the world she would want to specialize in?

Does she have any language skills, particular talents?

Odds are that she will be sent where they "need" her anyway.

Let us know what she decides.

W9London

marigros, My sincerest apologies for misunderstanding. I got it totally wrong.

Christina

gads, they all sound pretty awful to me.

Why did someone say Thailand is so safe, didn't they just have a coup there a couple hours ago?

Well, the only one I know is Burkina Faso where a friend's daughter was in the Peace Corps, but I think they've had some unrest there in the last couple years. They speak French there, and I still might consider that. I don't know Mauritius, but trust others on that one as a possibility.

I don't care how brave she is, etc., I wouldn't let anyone I cared about go to some of these places, it's too risky even for state dept. employees.

I have a friend who works for Germany embassy and she was in Vietnam a couple years, now has been in Berlin a year or so but got shipped out again to Tanzania. Now I would like to go to Vietnam, and have friends in Kenya, but those aren't on your list. She didn't like Vietnam, though, so am not sure how much she's going to love Tanzania.

Too bad no South America, I'd like to go there.

artlover

I've been to several of these places YEARS (and I do mean YEARS) ago, and things change, including the name of Burma, but I wouldn't want to spend too much time there anyway, whereas Kathmandu was fascinating, though with today's political climate, I don't know that I'd go back, you couldn't pay me to go back to Kabul, especially today, and I thought Chiang Mai was lovely when I was there, but I hear it's not so charming these days.

My daughter just got back from Israel and I have several more gray hairs to show for it, but she really liked Tel Aviv which I didn't like so much (too much like L.A. to me, but I loved Jerusalem), but boy am I glad she's BACK! But if you and DD can handle that stressful political situation, Israel is a fascinating place. Well, I guess that's true of many of the places you've mentioned.

Good luck to her...(and you!) let us know what she decides.

angorapatty

Hi,

Congratulations to your daughter! I work for a gov't agency overseas. If this were my bid list, this is how it would look. A lot will depend on the work she will be doing. I only have experience in Ethiopia and Turkey, so take it for what its worth

Kathmandu, Nepal
Kigali, Rwanda
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Kolonia, Micronesia
Asmara, Eritrea
Chennai, India
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Port Louis, Mauritius
Rangoon, Burma
Tel Aviv, Israel
Manila, Philippines
Islamabad, Pakistan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Kabul, Afghanistan
Lagos, Nigeria
Peshawar, Pakistan

She may decide she doesn't want to go back to Africa. I spent two years in East Africa and in spite of the hardship, truly enjoyed it. I would go back depending on the country and the job.

Best of luck to your daugher and I wish her well in her new career.

Patty

elina

"Why did someone say Thailand is so safe, didn't they just have a coup there a couple hours ago?"

Thailand is safe. That coup was just to throw the corrupt prime minister aside (good timing, he was in New York). Even the Thais themselves don´t understand how they voted for him in the first place, they have complained about him the whole time he has been in office. And for a good reason. Nobody was hurt, and the military & police are going to step down as soon as the situation clears. Plus people stay calm, to ensure that their beloved king seems to back the coup.

Prime minister for example sold the national telecompany to Indonesia, and rolled the money into his and his family´s bank accounts.

People are not cancelling their Thailand-holidays.

sallyjane3

Great responses. I thank you all and encourage others to add their opinions.

I meant my original post line re: respecting many of the people on this board. Others...well, there are several who use this forum as a way to disperse their anger and arrogance instead of getting the therapy they need.

Therefore, ira, I hesitated to give much info on DD. Inviting people to peer into her views may rouse those aforementioned hostile beasts...people who have built themselves such little boxes in which to live that they are threatened by people who can build big boxes. Picking on my baby...even though she's 35 and a tad bigger than I am...well, I'm not sure whether I'd crawl thru my laptop screen and peel their skin off OR decide to un-Bookmark this site and move on.

That said,since you're one of the people I respect, I'm gonna attempt to answer some of your questions:

She knows there is a difference between the FS and the Peace Corps.

DD has been a journalist in Austin for 5 yrs BPC (before Peace Corps) and an editor there APC. She also made it a priority to show up in person (vs. just donating money, an act I also applaud!) to help a local church provide breakfast for the homeless / others in need and to scurry to the Meals on Wheels office to load up and deliver lunches to folks who were as hungry for HER presence as they were for the food.

In addition, she passed the Foreign Service Exam on the first try and was immediately ranked FIFTH on the long list of candidates awaiting assignment. (Read: Gawd, this woman is smart!)

She knows she will be doing grunt work in the first stage of her assignment. ("You need what from the Embassy? Well, here is a form to fill out and when you're done, well,hey, there's another one...&quot

She also knows if there are opportunities in Austin to help others when she's away from the job, then there are opportunities elsewhere. Paris and London are also on the list of 94 cities (for 93 people, so most probably will get a choice that's high on their list).

Yes, she could choose these places. BUT, those people who can bench-press 300 lbs rarely get excited about their ability to pick up 5 lb hand weights.

A good many of us will someday have the opportunity to share our life stories with people who love us. Some of us will be perfectly happy to say, "Come sit with me and let me tell you about all the times I picked up 5 lb hand weights." Others want to be able to say,"Sure, I'll be glad to tell you about the time I bench-pressed 300 lbs. I'll even tell you about the time I tried to do 350. Couldn't do it. Failed...but, ahhh, what an interesting experience I had while trying."

To step down off my soap box and take this back to a travel-oriented forum: Some of us want not only the destination, but the JOURNEY as well. Some of us want an even sidewalk; some, a variety of terrains...

I could Google / Ask.com these cities and gets lots of didactic info. What I want is to know whether any of you have experienced and/or seen "bench-pressing" in any of these places...

Thanks, all.
sal

angorapatty

Hi sal,

I can't say that I've seen "benchpressing in these places" but I have seen it in similar places. One of the advantages to being in a small embassy or consulate in a developing country is that you will have the opportunity to do many things out of the normal daily routine of a first tour officer.

I have colleague who was in Nepal and loved it. One of my colleagues was assigned to Kabul back when they were living in shipping containers. It was a great opportunity for her. Your daughter may be bored to tears in Ouagadougou, but there would be many opportunities to help in her offduty time. Asmara, Eritrea is a small mission in a small country. It is a very clean city with an overpowering government. I think it would be a very interesting place to serve. I also think Kigali would be an interesting place to serve with many opportunities to travel.

Personally, I would not even put Manila or Lagos on my list. It all comes down to personal choices. I'm sure she's doing alot of research on the posts. The State Department publishes post reports for every embassy and consulate. There is also a website that posts the unofficial post reports with input from people who are living or have lived in the countries. I think its www.talesmag.com. I found it very helpful for a different look of living in these countries.

Whatever she ends up with, I'm sure she will do great.

regards,

Patty

PS My family freaked out when I told them I was going to Ethiopia. Once I was there and was able to reassure them, they felt better about it. In fact, my 75 year old mother came to visit me while I was there!

ira

Hi Sal,

Whatever DD does, I am sure that she will do it well.

I shall follow her career with interest.

Good advice from Patty.

ekscrunchy

Just one small comment about the posters who said that the Chiang Mai posting will be concerned mainly with dealing with lost passports. I think it depends on what section she will be posted. When I visited my cousin at his first posting in Saigon a few years back, he complained that most of his time was spent interviewing Vietnamese candidates for US visas. I think the Burma, Burkina, or Asmara posting would form my top 3 but aside from the Pakistani or Afghani postings, I would jump at a chance for any of them!! Rangoon...WOW..

LJ

I share your positon as mother of a DD whose language skills (4 and counting...) will equip her for this sort of work and whose partner has already been posted overseas-South America 3 x and now Brussels. This time next year, your positon will be mine...yikes!!!

I would also vote for India. It is a (relatively) safe posting with enormous potential for explorations of vast array of difference within its own borders. It is growing economically by leaps and bounds. (I read the other day with reference to technological advancement that " India is the new Ireland&quot ans therefore won't be dull. It has a fascinating and very deep cultural history. And, as you have not mentioned language skills, it may be to your daughter's advantage to be in a country where the vast majority of those with university education (her likely social network) speak English. There is life after hours...

In any case, you will want to visit her so as soon as she is gone settled start planning. MY DD's partner's mum didn't move fast enough and deeply regretted not visiting him when he was posted to Venezuala.

sallyjane3

Great responses with such excellent info that now I'm feeling more frightened. Just kidding. Five yrs and 9 days ago, we in THIS country learned in a big way that safety is not guaranteed anywhere.

When DD asked me and her friends for input, she specifically asked we not say, "Oh, anywhere that makes you happy." She truly wants to use deductive, informed reasoning in making this decision.

Thank y'all so much for your time, energy, and interest. I will indeed let you know where I will eventually be visiting her!

Take care and may God bless,
sal