Decoration day

Not long ago I heard a young man ask why people still kept up Memorial Day, and it set me thinking of the answer.  (Oliver Wendell Homes, jr Memorial Day speech May 30, 1884)

In honor of Memorial Day we present a speech from one of our family members.

Thank you Duncan for allowing us to publish your speech. 

Hello today i am talking about life in the foreign service.
The foreign service is a part of the U.S government that deals with diplomatic relations with other countries.  The foreign service requires you to live years and years away from home. Like at a post or at a boarding house like this one. But in this life, you move around a lot and make new friends just like you guys. So here is my story.
SUBJECT
I started on the 4th of july in 2008, in Guam ( For those of you who don’t know what Guam is, it is an island in the western pacific near the Philippines where Americas day begins).  It was my last day there for a long long time. I then got on a plane to go to the capital  of the United States, The heart and soul of the U.S government, Washington D.C, where my mom, dad and I Started our training. At the state department foreign service institute where I took several courses like security,protocol,and a team building course. Then exactly a year after we arrived in D.C. I departed for Florida for a month and then to JFK while my parents were going to their
post...Pakistan.
Yes, a war zone on their first post. But so far it has worked out alright. But unlike here, they're living standards are different. At home they have guards 24/7, spikes on the wall, bars on the window, Kind of like a prison. and instead of going to work in a cadillac, or a big land rover, they go to work in whats called a
FAV (fully armored vehicle).It has thick protection, heavy tires, bullet proof glass and more. Usually when going to work they see camels,donkeys,monkeys,and crows that literally whistle at you. But it is pretty safe in
islamabad because there are are many types of security, frontier guard, rangers,  islamabad police and islamabad traffic police all manning checkpoints to and from home and the diplomatic enclave where the U.S embassy is located. But some times the terrorist do get past and set off a bomb. In the beginning of their tour there bombs went of every day. And They still do. just think about that for for a minute. The risk of getting
attacked every day. But they will be done in pakistan soon.
CONCLUSION
In june i will be picked up from school and we will go back to washington to get ready for the next post, like additional training. In order to prepare for life in Bridgetown, Barbados, we need to buying  clothing,recreational equipment and things like that.Then after all of the things we need to do are done, we leave for post.  And then where do we go after barbados, Nobody knows. Life is very difficult in the foreign service. Some times i am separated from my friends and family. However this is the career that my parents have chosen and i as part of the family i support and encourage what they do.  I find the good points in this life by making new friends and learning that children are the same no matter where they come from.
Thank you for listening to my speech
Duncan

Duncan is currently a 6th grader attending school in Switzerland.  We wish him and his family best of luck in their next tour.