The Thursday before we all left for Thanksgiving break, I bet you all had no idea that it was Diplomat Day. Furthermore, I bet most of you didn't even know about the surprisingly intriguing panel of international diplomats that was assembled in the downstairs of the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

Power-walking down the steps that I've never ventured down there before, even after four and a half years, my indifference had turned into excitement. I knew that whoever would be there would have stories to tell. Though the time allotted was two hours and the chances of me getting to hear all of their experiences were slim, the opportunity to hear even a little bit about what a diplomat is seemed riveting.

There were diplomats there from the Philippines, Australia, Italy, Russia, Greece and the UK. The event was hosted by former ambassador David Fischer, an instructor here at SF State.

"What does a diplomat do?" began Fischer, once everyone got settled in. "A diplomat can tell you to go to hell in a way that makes you think you'll enjoy the trip."

Throughout the humorous and informative panel event, the question of what a diplomat really is reached quite a broad spectrum of opinions. From what I gathered, I now know that a diplomat protects their citizens despite the fact that the amount of protectors don't nearly account for the people that need protection. I know that diplomats, at times, need to lie for their country by use of "isolated gazes" and "I don't know." I know that they need to put aside their own viewpoints to represent their country's government. And I know that drinking and dinners are all a part of a diplomat's life, at least on the surface.

But you know what guys, there's another thing worth bringing up among the overwhelming barrage of interesting facts that I now know: the life of a diplomat's child. One of the diplomats told the crowd that his oldest child went to twelve different schools by the time they were in the twelfth grade. Now that's insane. Mary Gilbert, a diplomat from the UK, divulged that she too was in that same boat growing up but that she loved it. I'll take her word for it, considering I'm about to graduate and have only attended six schools all my life.

Make that seven, if I decide to enroll in the Foreign Services Institute in Washington, D.C. after hearing about how awesome the life of a diplomat can be, jet-setting all over the world.

Let me know if you guys want to join me on the diplomatic train.

Cheers,
Daniel H.D. Nguyen