So, my father asked me about my job today, and while I have refrained from talking about it too much because 'sensitivity,' I figured most of you would like a basic run down of what I'm doing in Turkey in the first place.
First things first, I am an intern in the ECON Section of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Since my father wanted to know what an even embassy does, I'll start by telling you that all an embassy does is basically represent the US abroad. The Ambassador is considered a proxy for the President in whichever country he or she resides. The sections around him then stand in for the various departments that support the President in Washington. So part one, we collect information on what's happening in Turkey through newspapers and talking to people and things, summarize it, analyze it, and send it to Washington. Then part two, Washington tells us what the official US position is on xyz and we relay that to whoever in Turkey cares to know. I spent the first few days settling in and doing a lot of reading to get caught up on the intricate details of local events, but I got tasked with my first cable assignment today. A cable is just a fancy term for a blunt research paper, in which I go out and collect all the information I can find, summarize and analyze it, and then it will pass through an editing process of a billion people who will tear it to shreds before it might go on to Washington. I'm actually pretty excited.
Other than that, we go to a lot of meetings: with Turks, to suss out what's going on in the country, with Americans to tell them what we've sussed out, and with other government employees to make sure we're all on the same page. It's a little different from section to section. For instance Public Affairs talks to the press more, Management and Consular probably work less with policy. I'll learn more about those as I go. But it all goes back to that idea of being a mini Washington in a foreign country. It was a little intimidating the first day or two, but I think I'm really going to like it, even if it is economics. =p
There should be a few other interns coming in soon too. One is confirmed for next week, and there might be a second one coming in the week after. I only mention that because as much as I enjoy the people I work with, as career officers most of them have families and all the responsibilities that go with that. So working with them is great, but at the end of the day they have to go home to the wives and kids, who don't get enough of their time anyway. It's a stressful job with long hours. I'm only three days in and I'm already exhausted. Still, it would be nice to have someone with whom to watch a movie after hours, explore the city, etc. And since the new interns will be living in my building, that is thing that I hope will happen easily.
Anyway, that's what I do. Oh, and today I cleaned/repaired a coffee pot. Nobody asked me to, but I figured: hey, coffee should be a part of every interns job at some point, right?
First things first, I am an intern in the ECON Section of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Since my father wanted to know what an even embassy does, I'll start by telling you that all an embassy does is basically represent the US abroad. The Ambassador is considered a proxy for the President in whichever country he or she resides. The sections around him then stand in for the various departments that support the President in Washington. So part one, we collect information on what's happening in Turkey through newspapers and talking to people and things, summarize it, analyze it, and send it to Washington. Then part two, Washington tells us what the official US position is on xyz and we relay that to whoever in Turkey cares to know. I spent the first few days settling in and doing a lot of reading to get caught up on the intricate details of local events, but I got tasked with my first cable assignment today. A cable is just a fancy term for a blunt research paper, in which I go out and collect all the information I can find, summarize and analyze it, and then it will pass through an editing process of a billion people who will tear it to shreds before it might go on to Washington. I'm actually pretty excited.
Other than that, we go to a lot of meetings: with Turks, to suss out what's going on in the country, with Americans to tell them what we've sussed out, and with other government employees to make sure we're all on the same page. It's a little different from section to section. For instance Public Affairs talks to the press more, Management and Consular probably work less with policy. I'll learn more about those as I go. But it all goes back to that idea of being a mini Washington in a foreign country. It was a little intimidating the first day or two, but I think I'm really going to like it, even if it is economics. =p
There should be a few other interns coming in soon too. One is confirmed for next week, and there might be a second one coming in the week after. I only mention that because as much as I enjoy the people I work with, as career officers most of them have families and all the responsibilities that go with that. So working with them is great, but at the end of the day they have to go home to the wives and kids, who don't get enough of their time anyway. It's a stressful job with long hours. I'm only three days in and I'm already exhausted. Still, it would be nice to have someone with whom to watch a movie after hours, explore the city, etc. And since the new interns will be living in my building, that is thing that I hope will happen easily.
Anyway, that's what I do. Oh, and today I cleaned/repaired a coffee pot. Nobody asked me to, but I figured: hey, coffee should be a part of every interns job at some point, right?
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