Page 81 - IFAFA ebook v4

31. Ralph Jung

I am half Dutch and half German, and I was born in the
Netherlands near the border with Germany. My dad is German and

my mum is Dutch, so I grew up with both cultures and languages,

which has been very helpful throughout my life and career. As a

family we typically went on holidays locally in Holland or Germany.

Originally I studied banking and insurance, but my first job was

testing translated computer games for language accuracy. This got

me interested in software translations, and allowed me to get a job

in Ireland, where I was one of the Dutch translators of Windows XP
for Microsoft. It was originally only a two-year contract, but in the

end I liked it so much that I wanted to stay in Ireland.

In 2004, I met my husband Adrian, who was just back from a

posting in Turkey, here in Dublin. We were introduced by a

common friend. In 2006 we went together to Berlin, where Adrian

served as first secretary at the embassy for 5 years. Originally I did

not know what marrying a diplomat would entail. I thought it

sounded quite exciting and unique, because of the extended
postings to interesting countries. And it has certainly turned out

that way.

Currently we're in Austin, where Adrian established the Irish

consulate a few years ago. Our return to Ireland is scheduled for

the end of July this year. Austin has been a great experience and

I’m definitely going to miss it. For the last eight years, I've been

working with Dell Ireland. My job allows me to work remotely,

which means that I can work from anywhere, including Austin,
which also happens to be where Dell has its headquarters. The

ability to work remotely has made being a diplomatic spouse so

much easier. For pension and tax reasons, I stay in Ireland for at

least six months a year.

I typically stay in Austin two or three times a year, for two to four

months at a time. As a diplomatic spouse I have been involved in
the organisation of a number of events at our place, like dinners

and receptions for Adrian’s contacts. One of the most memorable
ones was when same-sex marriage was introduced in Ireland and in

the US shortly after. We invited various representatives of the local

LGBT community to celebrate. Whenever an event was more social

than official I would also help preparing food and snacks myself.

The current set up works very well for us. The separation time is

not too long, as I try to keep the gaps as small as possible. Also,
Adrian typically comes home about three to four times a year,

usually for a short break. The Department has been very helpful by
providing two family reunion flights a year, which helps me keep

the costs down. I can definitely recommend working remotely to

other spouses, as this has greatly improved my options. It’s nice

when you don’t need to give up your job to go abroad, like I did

when we moved to Berlin in 2006. One of the greater challenges

when moving around as a couple, is trying to keep up our social

relationships with other people.

My parents are both still quite independent and I manage to see
them three or four times a year. My mum also likes to visit Ireland

whenever she can.

Before last year, I hadn’t been very active in IFAFA; I only

attended some pre-posting seminars and I was a member of the

Facebook group. Last December, I decided that I wanted to become

more involved, so I joined the IFAFA committee as the Secretary 72
and I have learned a lot since then.