Early in the morning, a taxi ride brought us to the Department of State, the appointment we had been looking forward to the most. In contrast to our expectations, we were welcomed by three young women who were barely older than ourselves and provided us a glimpse on entirely different career planning. One of them, Ashley (Public Diplomacy Desk Officer/23), explained the Department's basic functions and together with her colleagues elaborated on their work for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in general and the German Desk in particular.
Ever had to answer about 300 (three-hundred) eMails a day? That's one part of the job, for instance, in addition to writing reports, briefing superiors, and reading through German news.
Afterwards more Department staff joined the discussion contributing with their expertise on NATO, European politics and economics, as well as various countries and their views in general.
After lunch, Jill led us through the National Gallery of Art, "briefly" explaining a selection of exhibited works and the buildings' architecture. Then, we joined a symposium on American Indian Art and listened to two lectures. To make a long story short: we were thrilled.
In the evening, some of us went to concerts, musicals, and basketball games, while others joined the cocktail party of one of the regularly visiting icons at the Amerika-Institute, Michael Kimmage. We look forward to welcoming him back in May at the AI!
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