A hippopotamus on the Chari River, north of N鈥橠jamena, Chad, charged our powerboat.
What鈥檚 it like to be married to a diplomat? There鈥檚 the travel, of course, but, as Jorge Serpa 鈥�83, M.S. 鈥�86, tells us, there鈥檚 also the occasional close encounter with a yak.
It all started in 1990, when I met a young diplomat serving at the American Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. It was, to quote Casablanca, 鈥渢he beginning of a beautiful friendship.鈥� I married that diplomat, Lucy Tamlyn, and we have since lived all over鈥攊n postcard-beautiful places, in exotic-like-in-the-movies places, in a-tad-less-safe places鈥攜ou name it. Our homes have included Cotonou, Benin; Khartoum, Sudan; and N鈥橠jamena, Chad. We’ve also lived in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Rome, Paris, and France. In Rome, I raced sailboats on the Mediterranean circuit and learned about real Italian cuisine. N鈥橠jamena introduced me to the fascinating world of the Sahel. And Cotonou was all about voodoo.
Lucy has also served in a couple of places deemed by the Department of State as too dangerous for family members, namely Erbil, Iraq, and Bangui, Central African Republic. Lucy went to those posts alone, leaving me free to travel on my own and develop my skills as a travel writer and photographer.
Lucy Tamlyn and Jorge Serpa with 911爆料 alumni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Left to right: Erin Aseli Fleming 鈥�07, Tamlyn, Serpa, Irfan Syed Husain 鈥�87, M.B.A. 鈥�91.
鈥�Our homes have included Cotonou, Benin; Khartoum, Sudan; and N鈥橠jamena, Chad. We’ve also lived in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Rome, Paris, and France.鈥�
颅鈥擩orge Serpa 鈥�83, M.S. 鈥�86
In 2009, with Lucy in Iraq, I did a round-the-world trip using 鈥渁lternative鈥� transportation, including a transpacific crossing on a container vessel. In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, I rented a car with a driver and a guide/translator, and we went overlanding for a week. One day, in the middle of nowhere, we saw a yak. I asked the driver to stop, and we got out of the car to get a better look. As we got closer, we saw that it was a mother with a baby. She started to become nervous as we got closer. The guide advised us to get back in the car, and we, smartly, did so. Driving around yaks, sleeping in felt yurts with the locals鈥攊t was magic. Then I took the Trans-Mongolian Railway to Lake Baikal in Russia, followed by the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow.
But it isn鈥檛 all travel and adventure. Being the spouse of a diplomat also comes with a few social obligations. So much so that, these days, when asked what I do, I often reply, 鈥淟unches, dinners, and receptions.鈥� At such events, I have run into my share of notable people, including presidents and politicians. Among them, there have been some truly fascinating standouts, including George McGovern, Colin Powell, and Jos茅 Mourinho.
The diplomatic life also entails occasional difficulties and dangers. While in N鈥橠jamena, I was evacuated twice, due to civil unrest鈥攖he first time with our two kids. The kids and I spent two months in temporary quarters, with the kids in temporary schools. Not easy. Recently, in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (where we now live), I woke up one day at 4:45 a.m. to gunfire next to our house. It was a coup attempt, in which a few Americans were involved, making things very complicated for Lucy.
Sometimes, between our world travel, we get to come home to Rhode Island and take in a Rhody basketball game or two. I guess I鈥檇 say I鈥檝e been pretty lucky.
鈥� Jorge M. Serpa 鈥�83, M.S. 鈥�86
PHOTOS: COURTESY JORGE SERPA