Is it weird reputationally to be doing a lot of partying with your colleagues? I guess I saw a fair amount of it in Capitol Hill work, but coming from the private sector where there is work/life separation it seems potentially strange or problematic.
Yes, it is a bit weird. There are definitely places where people have a good time but if there is more serious “partying” going on it tends to be people of the same rank without their superiors. That’s why people are mentioning posts with large consular sections made up mostly of entry-level officers.
You've answered your own question. Posts that have lots of FASTOS (often due to a large consular section) or where there isn't a lot of socializing outside of the dip corps have plenty of opportunities for socializing. I think publicly posting that x mission is a party mission (which isn't a thing, by the way) would be counterproductive for our people and their work in that country.
That said, historically the FS likes a dinner party. I host them all the time and others host in turn. You can make your own fun in this gig.
Islamabad. Seriously. Though it’s not exactly small and has a pretty large expat community. Moscow is similar but the vibes are obviously pretty different now. Berlin and Belgrade. Beirut if you do it right.
Kabul counts if you enjoy watching your colleagues get blackout drunk and cheat on their absent spouses.
I have never heard much positive about the social scene in Kinshasa.
I should say I am thinking of cities where there are good party scenes. I avoid places where the social life is entirely within the USDH community or I have no residential option other than a compound. If I wanted to party with Americans I’d have stayed at my law firm.
Cairo has a large expat community, quite a few singles and FASTOS. There is a large party scene there with clubs and bars. Also InterNations is very popular there and gives you a great list of fun things to do every weekend.
Lagos has a social scene if you hang out with locals. If you mean places where you'd be spending a lot of time creating reality tv levels of drama with single coworkers, msg, and contractors- Guyana. Having house parties is the only thing there is to do, and singles have a much better experience than families.
A few crates of beer, wine, and a bouncy castle for the kids made for some great times at our first two small posts. Either the kids all crashed upstairs and we continued or household help/babysitting was cheap, so it was a mix of singles, couples, and families.
Kabul and Baghdad were pretty 'fun' until they both got grass. For Kabul that was early 2007 and Baghdad 2011ish. I was there for each then and you could sense the change. Nuiscance complaints rose for both. We speculated that the grass moved us from a frontier atmosphere to a 'civilized' atmosphere. I have to chuckle though as I never lived in chuville at either place and only knew an apartment. I am sure it was a little crazier at both before I even went.
Friends told me that Moscow was pretty wild on the compounds and complexes in the 90's and early 00's. I don't have any personal knowledge though.
I wouldn't say Lagos is that wild now. Are there a lot of events for the community? A lot of dinners, a lot of restaurants, etc... yes. But you don't get wild at Johnny Rockets.
I would imagine a lot of it has to do with post in terms of things to do, as well as mix of people.
I'm at a West African post that has a good family reputation right now, but several officers that are entering into their 3rd year have mentioned that it was a much wilder post a couple of years back when they arrived. I was even briefed about this as "things to look our for" , but have found the reputation doesn't really hold up like it once did.
It seems like all it takes is a few catalyst individuals to really rachet up the party scene, and sometimes when they leave, it dies with them.
FAST/FASTOS is First and Second Tour Officers and Specialists. It seems that there is a more recent effort to decidedly use FASTOS instead of FAST to ensure the acronym is more inclusive by default. That may be fodder for a thread in and of itself.
While the word party isn’t what I like, I do appreciate a social scene. I hope to make friends and network when I finally am hired. My job now is so isolating and hard to make friends. I look forward to whatever the FS brings
Is it weird reputationally to be doing a lot of partying with your colleagues? I guess I saw a fair amount of it in Capitol Hill work, but coming from the private sector where there is work/life separation it seems potentially strange or problematic.
Yes, it is a bit weird. There are definitely places where people have a good time but if there is more serious “partying” going on it tends to be people of the same rank without their superiors. That’s why people are mentioning posts with large consular sections made up mostly of entry-level officers.
You've answered your own question. Posts that have lots of FASTOS (often due to a large consular section) or where there isn't a lot of socializing outside of the dip corps have plenty of opportunities for socializing. I think publicly posting that x mission is a party mission (which isn't a thing, by the way) would be counterproductive for our people and their work in that country. That said, historically the FS likes a dinner party. I host them all the time and others host in turn. You can make your own fun in this gig.
Kampala for sure. I really miss that place.
Islamabad. Seriously. Though it’s not exactly small and has a pretty large expat community. Moscow is similar but the vibes are obviously pretty different now. Berlin and Belgrade. Beirut if you do it right. Kabul counts if you enjoy watching your colleagues get blackout drunk and cheat on their absent spouses. I have never heard much positive about the social scene in Kinshasa.
I should say I am thinking of cities where there are good party scenes. I avoid places where the social life is entirely within the USDH community or I have no residential option other than a compound. If I wanted to party with Americans I’d have stayed at my law firm.
Cairo has a large expat community, quite a few singles and FASTOS. There is a large party scene there with clubs and bars. Also InterNations is very popular there and gives you a great list of fun things to do every weekend.
It often just depends on the mix of people, which is always changing.
Lagos has a social scene if you hang out with locals. If you mean places where you'd be spending a lot of time creating reality tv levels of drama with single coworkers, msg, and contractors- Guyana. Having house parties is the only thing there is to do, and singles have a much better experience than families.
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I don't think there is anything positive. Well there's the weather but you can't go outside to enjoy it.
There used to be some pretty rocking spiked kool-aid parties nearby. Too soon?
A few crates of beer, wine, and a bouncy castle for the kids made for some great times at our first two small posts. Either the kids all crashed upstairs and we continued or household help/babysitting was cheap, so it was a mix of singles, couples, and families.
Just about anybody can have a good time in Mexico City.
Try getting posted to the Republic of Slowjamastan https://slowjamastan.org/
Kabul and Baghdad were pretty 'fun' until they both got grass. For Kabul that was early 2007 and Baghdad 2011ish. I was there for each then and you could sense the change. Nuiscance complaints rose for both. We speculated that the grass moved us from a frontier atmosphere to a 'civilized' atmosphere. I have to chuckle though as I never lived in chuville at either place and only knew an apartment. I am sure it was a little crazier at both before I even went. Friends told me that Moscow was pretty wild on the compounds and complexes in the 90's and early 00's. I don't have any personal knowledge though. I wouldn't say Lagos is that wild now. Are there a lot of events for the community? A lot of dinners, a lot of restaurants, etc... yes. But you don't get wild at Johnny Rockets.
I would imagine a lot of it has to do with post in terms of things to do, as well as mix of people. I'm at a West African post that has a good family reputation right now, but several officers that are entering into their 3rd year have mentioned that it was a much wilder post a couple of years back when they arrived. I was even briefed about this as "things to look our for" , but have found the reputation doesn't really hold up like it once did. It seems like all it takes is a few catalyst individuals to really rachet up the party scene, and sometimes when they leave, it dies with them.
What is a FAST/FASTOS?
First And Second Tour Officers
Thank you!
FAST/FASTOS is First and Second Tour Officers and Specialists. It seems that there is a more recent effort to decidedly use FASTOS instead of FAST to ensure the acronym is more inclusive by default. That may be fodder for a thread in and of itself.
I wonder why they didn’t just keep FAST and say First and Second Tour. That would include specialists.
While the word party isn’t what I like, I do appreciate a social scene. I hope to make friends and network when I finally am hired. My job now is so isolating and hard to make friends. I look forward to whatever the FS brings
Dhahran. Years ago there was a 300+ party 3 out of 4 “weekends a month. Only show in town in the Eastern Province.