Eric C. Sandberg – 50th Reunion Essay

Eric C. Sandberg

17 Pump Street

Newcastle, Maine 04553

ecsandberg@gmail.com

207-254-9098

Spouse(s): Sara Lindberg (1970–present)

Child(ren): Elin Elizabeth (1981), Emma Kathryn (1983, died 1992 brain stem tumor), Peter Benedict (1986)

Education: BA Yale University 1969; PhD Pennsylvania State University 1979

National Service: US Army 1969–1972

Career: Foreign Service Officer, US Department of State, 25 years

Avocations: Reading, weaving, singing, fiddling

College: Calhoun (Hopper)

In many ways, the letter I received from my draft board in March 1969 eventually shaped my life. The draft board’s letter told me to make no plans, that I would be drafted in June. My response was to go to the army recruiter in New Haven and sign up for German language training. My initial experience in Germany, courtesy of the US Army, gave me a taste for life abroad which never left me.

By fall of 1969 I was in Monterey, California, along with a fair number of other Yalies. I roomed with Peter Storey from our class and enjoyed the company of Nick Rieti (also ’69) and Tom Schmid (’68). Prior to leaving for Germany in the summer of 1970, I married Sara Lindberg, whom I had met in Michigan in 1968. Some readers may remember her, since she was on campus a few times senior year, at the Senior Prom and graduation, for example. We enjoyed what was essentially a two-year honeymoon while travelling around Germany and other parts of Europe.

It was during that time that I first heard of the Foreign Service exam for the Department of State. I took the test and passed but decided to go to graduate school in philosophy. Eventually I managed to obtain my PhD, finishing my dissertation while on another two-year stint in Germany on a Fulbright grant. I taught at a few different colleges in the next six or seven years. While I liked academia, I quickly found that I did not like teaching. I particularly disliked grading papers. My thoughts wandered back to the Foreign Service exam. I took the exam again, managed to find my way through the various hoops, and entered the Foreign Service as a political officer in June 1985. By the end of September, we were back in Germany, this time at the Consulate in Hamburg.

My time working for the State Department confirmed that I am a dilettante at heart. I do much better with variety in my life. I enjoyed the change from one country to another every few years, working a different set of issues with a different group of colleagues. Two years in Hamburg were followed by two years at the very small embassy on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. It was then back to Washington: one year as a watch officer in the Operations Center, two years as the Burma desk officer, and a year on the South Korea desk. I did not enjoy the bureaucratic life in Washington and did my best to stay overseas thereafter. After four years at the Embassy in Bonn, I spent a year learning Thai, in preparation for four years as Political Counselor in Bangkok. I managed an abrupt change after that to become the head of the political and economic section in Switzerland. I finished up my career in Vienna, working with the US Mission to the UN on arms control issues. I retired in 2010.

I was happy to retire, since, as I often told people, work was beginning to interfere with my life. There were too many other things I wanted to do. Currently we live in mid-coast Maine, an ideal spot for enjoying hiking and camping and other nature-related activities. Sara and I have also become avid Sacred Harp (shape note) singers, and as it turns out New England is a hotbed for Sacred Harp music. Music is important in our household, as I also play the fiddle, particularly Cape Breton–style fiddle music, while Sara backs me up on the piano. I spend a lot of time reading, trying to read all the books that I am ashamed to admit I have never read. Finally, I have a nice 1.5-meter-wide Swedish loom with 10 shafts, and I spend a lot of time weaving, producing everything from scarves to coverlets and rugs.