Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Gamarjoba Madame Secretary!

Secretary Hillary Clinton and Ambassador John Bass
Have you ever met someone to whom you look up to so greatly, that the encounter actually brought you to tears?  Well, thanks to a recent visit by none other than Secretary Clinton, I have.  In one leg of a 3 country tour in the Caucasus region, Secretary Clinton visited Georgia as part of an ongoing celebration of 20 years of official relations between The United States and the country of Georgia.  After her official meetings with Georgian President Saakashvili and other members of the Georgian government, on her last day, she took time to address the Embassy staff and Peace Corps volunteers.  In a brief speech to all of us expats she specifically gave a shout out to the Peace Corps.  She thanked us for all of the work we are doing on behalf of the nation and said we are "ambassadors" of goodwill and friendship for our nation to others around the world.  As I have looked up to this woman for as long as I can remember, this was a particularly special day for me.  After her speech she approached all of us on the front row to shake our hands.  The volunteer beside me gave a very distinguished "Madame Secretary thank you for your visit."  I must have looked like a combination of a deer caught in headlights and a child about to get her first ever Popsicle, because when she proceeded to me she spoke first, asking if I am having fun in my service.  Try as I might to remain dignified, I responded with something to the effect of how much I love it, and then proceeded to barely hold back my tears as I told her in a significantly higher pitched voice than I normally communicate with "It's so nice to meet you!"  She really was the epitome of charm and grace, and rather than look at me like a weirdo she smiled graciously and was exceedingly friendly.  She also informed us when she had moved on to shaking Claire's hand to my left, that she had never eaten so much cheese in her life as she had here in Georgia.  We refrained from taking that conversation in the usual direction Peace Corps volunteers have a habit of taking conversations about dairy or food of any type for that matter.  She did a few more hand shakes all the while I literally was fighting back my tears of joy.  As soon as she left the room I could not contain myself and actually cried!  My country director (A.K.A. the big guns of the program here, or better yet, mine and everyone else's boss) gave me his handkerchief.  I truly was overcome with joy.  Overall it was absolutely amazing!