Tonight we had a round table discussion (with dinner provided!! :) ) with some of the alumni of our TFAS Program. We were able to ask questions and they were able to give advice. The man at our table was very informative, great guy.
For dessert we were able to stand up and mingle with the other alumni and ask them questions. So I get in line to talk with this lady who'd worked on Capitol Hill and had talked about knowing quite a bit about foreign affairs/service. Lots of other people had the same idea. Had to wait a while but boy was it worth it!! :)
So let me preempt this by describing the TFAS student body: Geniuses. All of em. And then there's me.. I gotta average em out!! or something like that.. okay I snuck in.. :/
So she's getting asked all these wild and crazy questions about actual policies that are being implemented in certain parts of the world and their effects etc. and I'm just like okay these kids are overthinkin this just a bit.. I'm gonna ask her how to get a stinkin' job!
So my turn FINALLY comes. I don't have much time so I gotta hit her with my info quick: "Hey! I'm Jeff Despain! (insert smolder here) I speak four languages. I'm thinking foreign service would be good no? Tell me more." Bam! So she talked about foreign service for a bit, how it works etc.
Oh and another thing they teach you which I don't fully understand WHY yet but for whatever reason if you're gonna ask a question you gotta ask AT LEAST two, at the same time usually. Maybe it's supposed to show whoever you're asking that you've got a brain and can think of more than one question? But the person answering the question always has to ask what the questions were again or gets mixed up somehow so I really don't understand why, it just complicates things.
Anyways, so to be like all the other kids I ask her another question: what impact the foreign service has on raising a family. She asked if I was married and if I had kids yet. Hahaha I'm sorry but if you've seen me I look like I'm 17 still. But to be honest it was nice to hear from someone that I at least look like I could potentially already be married AND have offspring. With her personal question as to my marital status I looked around rather sheepishly and embarrassingly at the small crowd that had gathered.. and then noticed I was surrounded by a crowd a single girls. Hahaha and with the question I raised about raising a family (and remembering I'd just mentioned I speak 4 languages of course) I noticed all these girls' eyes were all starring at me and I swear they all blinked at me at the same time!! "Doink Doink" hahahaha.
As if that wasn't good enough this lady then said that she has MANY single female foreign service/officer friends for whom she is on the lookout for suitable husbands.
AND THEN SHE ASKED ME FOR MY BUSINESS CARD!!!!!!
Hahaha gosh it was soo great. I then got to talk about my internship and how I was changing the world by having helped introduce a resolution into the House just last week, of course talking it down as if it were nothing, which really it is haha. All the sudden all the girls started asking me questions like what internship was it and how many kids I wanted to have (haha just kiddin) and honestly looking back I was trying to get outta there as soon as I could hahaha. But what was funny was when I asked if I could have her business card she seemed taken a back like why would you want mine when you have yours?!?!
I thanked her for time, her advice, and her future contacts. ;)
As I turned to leave she gathered the rest of the girls in closer and said: "Girls! I've found a wonderful bachelor for any interested single young ladies" Their giggles echoed off the walls as I strode out of the hall.. with my head a few sizes larger than when I entered ;)
Maybe I'm not so bad at networking afterall..
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