Events, Kansas Senator, and Missed Obama speech!!!

Last week was full of exciting activities and events!

On Tuesday, I had a personal meeting with an employee from the German Embassy who I got to know at the Atlantic Council event with Karel de Gucht, the EU Commissioner for Trade. I requested this meeting because I wanted to get more information about working for the German Federal Foreign Office, and about becoming a diplomat. Interesting to me was that he is actually working for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and temporarily employed as an expert of economic affairs in the German Embassy in Washington DC. I learned that it is pretty simple to apply for the Federal Foreign Office, but it requires stamina since it takes several steps in order to proceed to the next selection process level. However, motivating was that the application selection is supposed to be fair, and is not necessarily dependent on who you know.
Nevertheless, my stay in Washington D.C. is teaching me so far that it is always crucial to know someone who knows someone who might help you with something. Life is just easier then!

On Wednesday, the 26th, I went to another T-TIP event hosted by the American Security Project (ASP) where a British/European and American representative the key elements of the T-TIP negotiations, the 2014 trade-political climate, and key issues the EU and the US will face while going forward, discussed.
Here the link to the event:
http://americansecurityproject.org/event/ttip-trade-and-investment-a-u-s-and-european-perspective/
I will publish another article that I wrote about the event this following week.

On Thursday, our internship group was invited by Kansas Senator Jerry Moran at the Russell Senate Office Building. After going through the security check, we entered a long and wide hallway that offered entrance to senator offices on three levels. Jerry Moran's office reminded me of a 19th century living room containing a vintage couch, chairs and a chimney. It seemed kind of royal. Very nice the work place of the senators!
Moran made a very easy-going and casual impression. I even had the feeling that he was pretty moderate and diplomatic towards the Democratic Party. However, later I was told that his voting record does actually not show this diplomacy, but shows his strong affiliation towards the Republican Party. But I guess that's politics: doing what is expected from you to do even though it might not coincide with your personal and moral ideology.
I got the chance to ask him if he thinks whether the Democratic and Republican Party might be able to 'work together' once instead of working against one another like they have been doing for more than 200 years. I gave as an example Germany that is currently ruled by the Great Coalition consisting of the two biggest and strongest parties in Germany. I felt he did not like my question, and he explained that first of all he actually does not like the labeling of being a 'Democrat' and being a 'Republican'. He continued with some other stuff that was out of context and then he literally admitted that he does not know how to answer my question, but that he is only talking now. (I thought: Typical politician) However, what I understood in the end was that the German model is definitely not possible in the US. It is simply a different culture, and not having this dual party system is not real in 'Merica.
My experience at the Senate Office Building was kind of influenced by the current TV show, House of Cards, that I am watching on Netflix. This show is not allowed on public TV since it satirically criticizes Washington DC politics including its corrupt, fake and deceitful practices.
Here an article about the show when it was released last year:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/for-house-of-cards-using-big-data-to-guarantee-its-popularity.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
(Surprisingly a lot of people in DC watch, and love this show!)

On Friday, my organization was hosting an event in our conference room. It was an International Career Roundtable about Embassy Jobs. The idea of these kind of Embassy Jobs is to apply as an expert in whatever area, for instance trade or energy, to any embassy no matter if one is a citizen of this country or not. I met there a Chinese girl who is working for the Finnish Consulate which I find funny. But obviously everything is possible! Our two American speakers being experts in trade, one working for the British Embassy, and one working for the EU Delegation in DC, were willing to give detailed information on how the application process looks like for those who intend to apply for any embassy.
Both confirmed that it is not about having ties to the specific country, but it is about being an expert in a specific area.

After the event, I thought I would finish my Friday royally because I tried to attend an event by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) where Obama would hold a speech. Two of my friends are currently interning with the DNC and were so kind to try to get me in there somehow. After running in high heels from one metro station to the next one and to the hotel where the event took place, I still did not arrive on time. This meant that I missed to see Obama by 30 min delay to register on time. This is the second time now that I had the chance to see him speaking, but for some weird circumstance I happen to miss him again. Life's tough sometimes, but apparently it is not meant for me to see him now.

In German we say: Third time is a charm!
I believe in it that there will be a third opportunity to see him live!