Last week, I was invited to a lecture by the Ambassador of U.S. to Gabon, who is also a University of Oregon alumnus. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the actual event because I had class at that time; however, I was invited to a reception afterwards by the Honors College, and I attended and actually had the chance to converse with Ambassador Eric Benjaminson's wife, Paula, and the ambassador of Gabon to the U.S., Ambassador Michael Moussa. Currently, I am a Journalism major, but I have recently considered double-majoring in International Studies because I want to travel and learn about other cultures. Thus, my talk with these people who have traveled so much was a great experience to have.
I spoke the most with Paula, who gave me great insight into the life of an ambassador. She explained that she and her husband moved roughly every two to three years. Because of this, she has learned bits of many languages, including Chinese, Russian, French and Spanish. One of the trade-offs of having the opportunity to live in so many different countries is that they cannot take their own furniture with them. New furnishings are provided wherever they go. There are certain items they can box up and take with them, but she said learning to not become so attached to material items comes with the job.
When I mentioned I wanted to travel to India at some point, she told me about her experience living there and being the only blond woman around. Her job was to issue visas, so she said it was difficult because people could easily identify her and attempted to ask her about the status of their visa anywhere she went. She talked about wanting to go on walks sometimes, but feeling like she could not leave her house without having some work-related interaction. This, she said, is something to consider as a Westerner living in a foreign country. Especially as a woman.
Paula also explained that when the U.S. government provides the ambassador with a job to be completed in a certain nation, he must comply, even if he disagrees with what it may entail. This, of course, was fairly vague, as she could not give me a specific example, but it was also a thought that had never occured to me. Would I be able to put my personal beliefs aside to carry out a command I could never agree with? I asked Paula how a job like this might differ from one such as the Peace Corps, and she answered that working for the Peace Corps would involve more interaction with people affected by poverty and how to solve issues such as hunger, water quality, or education. The ambassador's job deals more with international relations between governments, which also has a great effect on society, just in a different way. Since she knows several people who have served in the Peace Corps, she was able to give me great information about the differences, which may aid me in deciding what kind of path I might want to take if I end up working internationally in the future.After talking with Paula, I had the chance to speak briefly with Ambassador Michael Moussa from the Republic of Gabon in West Africa. He now works in D.C. and enjoys his job. He came to the U.S. in his early 20s without hardly any support, but worked hard to eventually become the Ambassador of Gabon to the U.S. His main piece of advice was to persevere. He said that if we desire to travel, then make it happen. If we have our eye on a job we think is unattainable, do all we can to attain it. He ended by telling the students who were listening to him that if any of us ever wanted a summer internship, contact him. This alone was intriguing, as I never imagined the Ambassador of Gabon would say this to a group of college students.
I am glad I had the opportunity to at least attend the reception. I find myself thinking about the advice these two people gave me, and it lies in the back of my mind as I continue my studies. It was a nice glimpse outside the textbook.
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