Last week was national Take Your Child to Work Day, and the children of employees at the Embassy, as well as the children of employees at the State Department in Washington, D.C, came to work with their parents to see the world of diplomacy in action. We had an enjoyable day as 15 kids between the ages of 9 to15 visited the various offices, and we gave them the opportunity to try out some of the jobs their mothers and fathers do. I was quite impressed with their energy and enthusiasm, and invited a couple of them to share their experiences as my guest bloggers:

Ambassador Jacobson and kids on "Take Your Child to Work Day" at the Embassy

Meg, age 10  and Sophia, age 9

I had a great experience at the US Embassy for Bring Your Child to Work Day. I was surprised when I walked into the room and saw only two girls and eleven boys! Some of the boys just kept talking and talking. My favorite part of the day was visiting the marines. I hope to be a marine working in the US embassy when I grow up. My sister Sophia said her favorite part of the day was meeting the ambassador and getting candy and the embassy hockey puck. She also loved taking photos during the Ambassador’s interview. She wants to bring her entire class in for a field trip soon! We loved the embassy visit and hope we can come back next year.

Landon, age 9

I liked visiting the Embassy. When we started we took an oath that the Ambassador gave us. I think it was the same one my mother had to take. We visited lots of offices where their jobs were to help people. For example, if a kid like me loses their passport they can come to the embassy and one office will help them get back in to the U.S.  We learned all the jobs in public affairs. I got to be a pretend reporter and ask the Ambassador questions. What surprised me the most? I asked him his favorite restaurant and he said “The Works”. I like “The Works” too, but “Play” is my favorite. It’s more culinary. It was fun to ask questions, but I think Billy had the best job. Mike showed him how to work the camera. I learned that when a reporter does a story, lots of other people tweet about it. We learned other stuff too, like how many times a car crosses our border back and forth while it’s being built – up to 7 times!

 The coolest part of the day was visiting the Marines. Also – the Ambassador gave us hockey pucks and there’s a long hallway in the center of the building makes a great rink for kick hockey. It was a good day. But I think work is easier than school.

Ambassador Jacobson sits down for an interview on Take Your Child to Work Day, while a budding photographer captures the scene

It was a fun day, and as cub reporters, they were pretty good.  One hard-hitting young scribe asked me how old I was.  It turns out, he was trying to do the math to figure out how long it would be before he could take my job!  I’ve seen the future, and if they can give up the hallway hockey long enough to finish school, it’s looking good!

DJ