Trip One: U.S. Embassy

For those of you not in the JSBP - hey mom! that's about it - we'll be taking excursions every Wednesday. They all have a justice studies foundation. This past Wednesday, we paid a visit to the U.S. embassy. (Thanks, Google Images, for making it look like I was there during wintertime.) We sat down with U.S. diplomat Jay Truesdale, who turned out to be from Hopkinton, New Hampshire. I was a bit disappointed at first - I figured maybe we would be meeting someone a little more outside the box. A woman, maybe someone of a different race or nationality than my own. I've heard plenty of well-to-do white men speak about politics and law. Not that I didn't think Jay wouldn't be intriguing, I was just initially disappointed that we wouldn't be hearing from a different perspective.

The moment Jay began to engage us in conversation, though, my disappointment began to dissipate. He spoke with intelligence - yet managed to avoid the haughty, false humility that makes me switch channels when most politicians step on screen. He began by describing the duties and mechanics of being a diplomat. It is a diplomats grave duty, Jay stated, to be the eyes and ears of the American people overseas. A diplomat represents his or her government through other nations' governments. Ultimately, a diplomat must always be aware of the media's churning tide. He must meet with people in every branch of the government, as well as people from every walk of life - heads of companies, university professors, civil society leaders, even poets. Jay was an excellent speaker - he first outlined the basics of his job and of embassies all over the world. Instead of droning on, which he easily could have done, he was concise and well-spoken. The moment he engaged us as students, his old teaching career really shined through. In answering, he told stories. A question about his greatest professional achievement turned into a story about how he assisted the Ukraine in pulling out of what may have been a gravely crippling economic depression. A question about his assignments turned into a story of where he's been, of where he started. A question about the current U.S. ambassador in Hungary, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, turned into a story about her grandfather's incredible drive, determination, and strength. Instead of lecturing, he involved us all in learning.

The one aspect that ultimately resonated the most, though, was Jay's passion. At times, he seemed on the verge of incredibly emotional moments. When he spoke of misconceptions about Americans abroad, he was surprisingly moving. Many people view Americans as pigheaded, invasive, and obnoxious. Our responsibilities as American students abroad not only lie in being respectful and open about other cultures, but a certain responsibility also lies in breaking those negative stereotypes. All eleven of us got into this program on our own merit. We are intellectual, observant, enthusiastic students who are interested in learning more ab

out the world than what exists inside our own nation. I think that every one of us has the ability to change even one person's perception about Americans - just as our perceptions of Hungarians will continuously evolve through the semester. Just like Jay - just like the diplomats that work in the embassy every day - we, too, are the eyes and ears of the people back home.