What is a Diplomat? According to Jay Truesdale, his job is to represent the American Government overseas, while working with the Hungarian Government. To uphold the constitution and be the eyes and ears of the American Government. As a diplomat, you have three roles. You are to ANALYZE. Read the papers, magazines and internet about what is happening in the news. Conduct interviews to find out more, whether you are visiting an office or having a discussion over some delicious Hungarian cuisine. Interviews with business leaders, different branches of government, organizational leaders, even University professors, help Truesdale gain a deeper understanding of what is happening around him. After analyzing all this information, a diplomat's job is to DEVELOP POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS to make changes in other policies. The policy recommendation heads off to D.C. where if approved, a new policy is born. It is then the final step of a diplomat to IMPLEMENT POLICY overseas.
Another interesting thing that Truesdale taught us about the relationship between Hungary and the US Government is that because we are a part of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) it is the obligation of any member to support, as allies, any country being attacked. It is not a choice, but an obligation to a member is in need. This can be a friendship as well as an ally. Developing the relationship between the members opens lines between which also offers security.
Jay Truesdale grew up in Hopkinton, NH.... Where my aunt and uncle live! Small world. I was very pleased with this information...
Jay Truesdale knew more than just his facts about his job and described more than his past work, how he became a diplomat and how we could get involved. He taught us everything we would need to know for a baseline of his job. However, what stood out to me the most was his passion for America. At one point, when asked a question about how Americans are perceived in Hungary and what we can do to change any negative views, he got quite into this conversation. He feelings about his love for America were so intense we could all see the tears in his eyes. What I thought was so important about what he said, was that of course America has a reputation, some parts of it not so good, and while over in another country you need to be aware of how you are perceived by the people who live here. They could have one interaction with you in the grocery store, and that could be their first interaction ever with an American. If its a positive one, you have shaped their idea of America, at least for now. And although it is not our job to act as though America has done no wrong, he also stressed how we CAN defend our country and it is important to be proud of where we came from. He showed us, with his intense feelings and passion in his voice, that it is our job to make people see what America is about and BE PROUD of our country.
Funny story. When my roommates and I first moved in, our neighbors were not so fond of us. And we were certainly not most fond of them. Whether it was them being angry at us for noise (even if whispering), taking the elevator and not the stairs, or enjoying the sunshine too much, all the yelling in Hungarian and us nodding/shaking our heads, made it seem like a hopeless relationship up ahead. We realized though, these older people living next to us, probably have some reputation created in their heads that American college students = loud, disrespectful and obnoxious and probably more than anything, ingnorant. And although sometimes we may be loud.... and partially obnoxious... we DID NOT intend for them to think we were waltzing on in here, with no respect for them and their community. We had to prove them wrong. So... we bought them a plant. This angry old man, with WAY too tight of shorts and no shirt was about to be our best friend. Sure enough, after writing a note in what we THOUGHT was correct Hungarian (thanks free translation.com) we marched nextdoor to deliver our plant (big planters here, they love those potted beauties) and our hopeless note. Well ten minutes later, after being slightly chuckled at for our failure in correct hungarian words, WE WERE BEST FRIENDS. Ever since then Nandi and his wife LOVE US. Nandi came over one day (as i was exiting the shower in my towel, nice timing) with his hungarian version of WD-40 to fix our keyhole because he thought our key was sticking. I didn't have to heart to tell him I just still haven't figured out how to lock/unlock the door.... its me not the door.... but regardless there he was fixing our door. We sit out at night with him and the neighbors learning Hungarian. We joke everyday and although there is a language barrier the point is WE ARE TEACHING EACH OTHER.
Jay Truesdale said it perfectly. Everday we have the chance to change the perceptions of what we see from each other's world. I feel from these older people, we will learn so many valuable things that no one else can teach quite like they can. They will learn some english and we will learn when we can sneak in the elevator and when we can not.
Jay Truesdale has taught us to have passion. No matter where we go and what we do, I hope to exhibit the same passion and love he does for his job everyday. He preached to us that we need to go out into the world and make a difference. Little does he know, his story alone is enough to make an inspiring difference for many.
FINAL COMMENT: WE ALL SPOKE ENGLISH AND COULD UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER FOR ONE HOUR. weeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Although I love stuttering out the same three Hungarian words, it was a nice hour break.
good work Jay Truesdale. YOU RULE.
 |
| with the celeb, Jay Truesdale. AMERICA... REPRESENT. |
I think I'm still a little unclear about how these comments are supposed to go, so I am just going to post what came to mind after talking to you earlier tonight and then reading your post:
ReplyDeleteI think you should totally look into the diplomat/embassy internship/career path. We haven't known each other that long but I feel comfortable saying that at the very least, look into it if it sparks a little interest in you.
Another note: Everyone has written very well about the experience last Wednesday at the embassy but your words have compleeetely captured it for me:
"Jay Truesdale has taught us to have passion. No matter where we go and what we do, I hope to exhibit the same passion and love he does for his job everyday. He preached to us that we need to go out into the world and make a difference. Little does he know, his story alone is enough to make an inspiring difference for many."
Love it. And you're right, our growing relationship with Nandi is a GREAT example of what Jay was referring to when he called us representatives of the United States. I think you would agree with me when I say we have learned SO much about conducting ourselves respectfully in order to coexist with Nandi, Gabriella and Paul. It's great, and the best part about it is that I think THEY think it is great, as well. We will always remember them and they will always remember us and to me, that is just too cool. Jay was totally right--we SHOULD be proud of our country! So glad you agree, and let's chat more about potential post-undergrad paths you could take--always a fun an stressful conversation =)
Dear Miss Nellika Stirling,
ReplyDeleteHow have I been living with you - and been through such insanity with you already - and not know that you write this well? Seriously, this is amazing. You reiterated Jay's main points so well, but I still felt like I wasn't sitting through his speech all over again. You're personal reflection is even better, Nell. You tied his points in with the experiences that we, as students in a foreign country, have been having. ("They could have one interaction with you in the grocery store, and that could be their first interaction ever with an American." Woman at Tesco Express?)
You really brought home one of the main points that I took away from the whole experience - even though we might encounter some people who have a negative view of Americans, we still have the power to change their minds. The piece about Nandi truly personified Jay's point, and I'm really glad (and relieved) that we've already been both teachers and students to some true Hungarians. Amazing blog, Nelie - insightful, educational, and hilarious. (Weeeeeee!)
I like the example you gave of the interaction of someone in a grocery store. It’s completely true and if you’re rude then that person’s first perception of Americans will be that they are rude. It never occurred to me that while we are here we need to act like we are always being watched and judged (not that we don’t see this from the people staring at us all the time).
ReplyDeleteYou clearly were inspired about what Jay had to say and about the things he represented in his line of work. You should really consider this job, if this line of work inspires you and you obviously want to make a difference in the world and what a better way to make that difference. Also that fact that you could repeat exactly what a diplomat does means you were engaged enough to noticeably pay attention and take in the information he was giving us.
I love that you mentioned how we could speak English for one hour and loved every minute of it. Its only been like 2 weeks imagine what it will be like in 4 months!
Nellie this post makes me take a step back and go WOOOOAAAAAHHHH. I think better than anybody in the group so far you have succeeded in making your post personal, and everything about this post screams Nellie. It is funny, in-your-face, insightful, cheery, and most importantly entertaining, which are all qualities you clearly have. It is similar in a sense to Tito's post, which was extremely boring but did a good job of capturing Tito's endless boringness. I wish that I had followed in your footsteps and given a description as to what it is a diplomat actually does, because I do feel most people do not really have a firm grasp on it. I also enjoyed the part about everybody's favorite naked old man Nandi, who is truly an inspirational figure in all of our lives. I think it is every man's dream to one day have a wife who loves him so much that she is willing to put up with his constant nakedness and/or irrational behavior. On a more mature note the way you describe your experience with Mr. Truesdale was extremely uplifting, and you clearly displayed a "glass half-full" interpretation of his presentation. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete