It Has It's Benefits

One thing everyone (and by everyone I mean all my girlfriends back in the 'hood) says when I am home in the states is, "I don't know how you do it, I could never do it."  By "it" they mean living overseas, moving every few years, and giving up things like pretty furniture, housing choices, and control over where we are going live next year.

*EYE ROLL*

Oh please!  Virtually everyone who said that to me could not only do this, they would do this with far more grace and far less complaining than me.  I think they just aren't willing to live with Drexel Horrible furniture.

But, just in case you, my  girlfriends back home, think this FS gig is all sacrifice and hard work interrupted by the occasional ball, let me tell you what I did today as you tried to get your kids up and back to school on this cold winter day.  I woke up late-ish to a sunny summer morning and had breakfast on the terrace looking up at the mountains.  After that we decided to go up Table Mountain, but the lines were ridiculous so instead we went to World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary which was great, well except for the monkey that peed on me and Colin (people wonder why I hate monkeys) the nasty thing snickered as it peed, I swear it did.  The birds though were amazing, especially the owls.

For lunch we went to Dunes right on the beach in Hout Bay, great view, good food too.

Then we went back to Table Mountain where the lines had totally vanished. Up the cable car we went and we spent the rest of the day there.  Amazing!

So there you have it.  Yes, the Foreign Service comes with some sacrifices and disadvantages, like ugly furniture and living a million miles away from family and friends, but it definitely has its advantages too.  Like vacations in places we would otherwise see only on the travel channel.  Tomorrow we are heading down to The Cape of Good Hope for a day of penguins, fun in the sun, and hopefully a few other surprises.