Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Adventures in A-100

I am well into week two of A-100. The entire time has been very intense, and I have so much to write about that I don't know where to start! Hence, a quick highlight of the significant events, and a few observations:

The State Department is an awesome place to work. The quality of the people is really astounding. In my class there are, among others, Fulbright Scholars, several graduates of the London School of Economics, entrepreneurs, a former trapeze artist, someone who worked in Africa for the UN handing out money for programs in the fight against AIDS, an Army Officer just back from Iraq, former Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps officers, several Peace Corps volunteers, an editor at the Washington Post, someone who worked in Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign, and seven attorneys, including me. The vast majority have lived and worked overseas numerous times, and most people speak SEVERAL languages, and it's not enough to say you speak Arabic -- people want to know which dialect. I couldn't help but giggle when someone asked if during the Arabic language testing he would be allowed to use "Egyptian colloquialisms!" Class discussions are extremely interesting, and I have yet to be bored in class. Honestly, I keep expecting someone to tap me on the shoulder during class: "Excuse me ma'am, you're in the wrong building; your spot is in the CLOWN COLLEGE across the street."

I am in class generally from 8-5 Monday through Friday. Classes so far have been mostly briefings by Under Secretaries of State and Ambassadors about their experiences in the Foreign Service, and information sessions by the heads of various offices and bureaus of the State Department. Yesterday we visited the main State Department Building (I'm at the Foreign Service Institute just outside of D.C., where all Foreign Service training takes place). It was an amazing feeling to walk around and think about all the discussions going on in the offices there, and the issues being studied and worked out. The green marble plaques listing the Foreign Service Officers who have died in service to the nation were sobering. Everything is fascinating, and my classmates, for all their impressive credentials, are down to earth and fun to be around.

On the first day, we were herded into a wood-paneled room where we took an oath of office, and officially became diplomats of the United States. I have to say that it felt pretty cool.

Stay tuned, when I write next about which countries are on our list of possible first assignments.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Holding Pattern

In five days I leave for D.C. I haven't started packing yet, still trying to recover from the marathon of filling out pre-employment forms. One that makes me chuckle is the I-9; is the Department of Homeland Security going to send ICE to raid the HR offices at State and make sure all the Foreign Service Officers can legally work in the U.S.? The medical clearance paperwork was pretty time-consuming, too, but we did find out that we're all negative for syphillis, which was a relief.