Drinks with an ambassador

I have to say, the ambassador's place wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. It had a reception room and a dining room for entertaining, but I can imagine that they never use those rooms when they're just home alone. The rest of the place just looked like any old aparment, nice, but nothing too extravagant. And better decorated than the reception room, which was a bit too old-fashioned for my taste.

I ended up having a much better time than I had anticipated. I was actually quite nervous before, I didn't know what to expect and I thought that things might be awkward, but it was all very relaxed. Those who had significant others brought them along, except for the new guy whose girlfriend is visiting but preferred to be touristing around Stockholm alone than accopany him to drinks with his boss. Somehow I understand her.

I ended up talking a lot to the other assistant's husband, who to my surprise was 80 years of age. She's just 65 and he looked as though he was around 70. He's British, but has lived in Sweden fora long time, but it was very clear that his heart was still in England. And he had very old-fashioned values, he said that when he was working his wife was home with the kids, and that's how he wanted it, but now he was at home and she was working and he was having a very hard time getting used to this. And boy was he a royalist! He was very upset about royalties marrying commoners, he thought it to be very important that they stick to the blue-bloods.

It's strange being at your boss' place, especially when he's an ambassador. He's supposed to be this important person, he's met all kinds of politicians and other high-flyers, and there I was drinking wine in his living room. It definitely made me see him in a different light. All of a sudden he was a father, a family man. They had pictures of him and his daughters when they were younger, he was hugging them and smiling happily. I guess even ambassadors are only human, and being an ambassador is just a job like any other, only you get to work in a bunch of different countries. But once you're home with your family, you're like any other person. Except you have a cleaner, a cook and someone who does your laundry. And money in the bank.