The Consulate was invited to talk at a local language prep school about study in the US. The plan was for the Public Affairs person to talk about higher education, and for me to talk about choosing a school and applying for a student visa. The PAS person couldn’t make it because of a family situation, so I filled in for her.
Yup, that’s my boss.
Apparently one of my jokes worked this time.
After the talk and Q&A, I was mobbed by people who wanted to ask questions about their individual situations. I’m always happy to talk with people, but they often want to give me their life story, then ask for detailed instructions on how to convince the Consular officer to approve their visa applications. This is a moment for diplomacy.
Authoritative hand gesture.
Talk to the hand!
A few days later, one of the LE Staff in the Consular section showed me a posting on the Internet. Apparently someone in the audience posted a pic of me, and wrote some nice things about me.
