Washington, D.C.
Inside American Diplomacy With the Foreign Service
Program No. 18260RJ
Discuss foreign policy with diplomats, attend international briefings and go behind the scenes of key diplomatic institutions as you gain special access to the U.S. Foreign Service.
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DATES
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PRICES
DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Mar 23 - Mar 27, 2025
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5 days
4 nights
10 meals
4B 3L 3D
1
Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation, Intro. to AFSA
Washington, DC
2
AFSA Lectures
Washington, DC
3
Foreign Service Institute, Embassy Row, DACOR Bacon House
Washington, DC
4
AFSA Lectures, Georgetown School of Foreign Service
Washington, DC
5
Final Lectures & Wrap-Up, Program Concludes
Washington, DC
At a Glance
What do U.S. diplomats in the Foreign Service do? Their mission is manifold: to promote peace, support national security goals, advance U.S. business and agricultural interests and protect American citizens. Gain in-depth, behind-the-scenes knowledge of work and life in the Foreign Service from active and retired officers and ambassadors who share their personal experiences firsthand. Examine U.S. foreign policy issues in action — enhanced by Q&A sessions — to better understand what tomorrow may bring.
Activity Level
Easy Going
Minimal walking and standing; must be able to get on/off bus.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Enjoy frank and forthcoming engagement with retired and active-duty diplomats from across the foreign affairs agencies who are experts in the field of foreign policy and diplomacy.
- Visit some of the key diplomacy institutions and explore U.S. diplomatic history.
- Delve into Washington’s diplomatic community on a narrated field trip to “Embassy Row.”
General Notes
This program runs back-to-back with "Spies, Lies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage" (#16126).
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Ira Deutsch
Ira Deutsch was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. At age 20, he moved to Israel and joined the Israeli military, retiring with the rank of LTC after 26 years of military service. His service included international affairs, coordinating relationships with multiple countries including the United States military. Ira’s last assignment before retiring was as a Foreign Liaison Officer to the U.S. National Guard and FEMA, stationed in Washington, DC. His coordinating experience makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a Group Leader.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Ira Deutsch
View biography
Ira Deutsch was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. At age 20, he moved to Israel and joined the Israeli military, retiring with the rank of LTC after 26 years of military service. His service included international affairs, coordinating relationships with multiple countries including the United States military. Ira’s last assignment before retiring was as a Foreign Liaison Officer to the U.S. National Guard and FEMA, stationed in Washington, DC. His coordinating experience makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a Group Leader.
Suggested Reading List
(11 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Inside American Diplomacy With the Foreign Service
Program Number: 18260
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?
Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?
Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including:
- China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West?
- Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority?
- What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More
philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?
Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.
Behind Embassy Walls: The Life and Times of an American Diplomat
Behind Embassy Walls is the extraordinary autobiography of a career American diplomat and an account of his role in key events of the Cold War era. The son of an international oilman and a Polish émigré, Brandon Grove spent his childhood before World War II largely in Europe, in Nazi Germany, Holland, and Spain. He recounts his acquaintance with William Faulkner while at Bard College, his service in the navy in the Korean War, and his thirty-five-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, focusing on diplomacy as practiced behind the scenes.
In this candid personal account, Grove voices criticism of the Foreign Service and the State Department, while at the same time revealing the human face of diplomacy. He offers discerning assessments of such notable personalities as Chester Bowles; Robert Kennedy; George Kennan; Omar Torrijos; John Sherman Cooper and his wife, Lorraine; Philip Habib; Willy Brandt; Mobutu; Vernon Walters; Jimmy Carter; and Ronald Reagan, among others. He also describes the requisites for effective American diplomats today. Fascinating and informative, Behind Embassy Walls will be an indispensable look at the diplomacy of the past century.
Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service
Career Diplomacy—now in its second edition—is an insider's guide that examines the foreign service as an institution, a profession, and a career. Harry W. Kopp and Charles A. Gillespie, both of whom had long and distinguished careers in the foreign service, provide a full and well-rounded picture of the organization, its place in history, its strengths and weaknesses, and its role in American foreign affairs. Based on their own experiences and through interviews with over 100 current and former foreign service officers and specialists, the authors lay out what to expect in a foreign service career, from the entrance exam through midcareer and into the senior service—how the service works on paper, and in practice.
The second edition addresses major changes that have occurred since 2007: the controversial effort to build an expeditionary foreign service to lead the work of stabilization and reconstruction in fragile states; deepening cooperation with the U.S. military and the changing role of the service in Iraq and Afghanistan; the ongoing surge in foreign service recruitment and hiring at the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development; and the growing integration of USAID’s budget and mission with those of the Department of State.
Newspapers
We do not require any reading prior to the program. We do recommend staying current on the news, as our topics will be current. Following is a list of recommended readings to follow up on the course content.
Diplomacy
A brilliant, sweeping history of diplomacy that includes personal stories from the noted former Secretary of State, including his stunning reopening of relations with China. The seminal work on foreign policy and the art of diplomacy. Moving from a sweeping overview of history to blow-by-blow accounts of his negotiations with world leaders, Henry Kissinger describes how the art of diplomacy has created the world in which we live, and how America's approach to foreign affairs has always differed vastly from that of other nations. Brilliant, controversial, and profoundly incisive, Diplomacy stands as the culmination of a lifetime of diplomatic service and scholarship. It is vital reading for anyone concerned with the forces that have shaped our world today and will impact upon it tomorrow.
The Diplomat and his Daughter
The combined diaries of Alfred Pearson, U.S. minister to Poland and Finland, and his daughter Thea Elaine, who served as her father's diplomatic hostess abroad, put a personal spin on the relationship between Poland, Finland and the U.S. in the exciting years between the two world wars.
Inside a U.S. Embassy
Who works in an embassy? What do diplomats actually do? Inside a U.S. Embassy offers an up-close and personal look into the lives of the diplomats and specialists who make up the U.S. Foreign Service, taking readers inside embassies and consulates in more than fifty countries, providing detailed descriptions of Foreign Service jobs and first-hand accounts of diplomacy in action. Gain a sense of the key role played by each member of an embassy team from Paris to Kabul, from Bogota to Beijing, and places in between. Travel into the rainforests of Thailand with an environmental affairs officer, face rampaging militias with a political officer in East Timor, and join an ambassador on a midnight trip into a Macedonian refugee camp to quell a riot. The book includes profiles of diplomats and specialists around the world serving in Foreign Service positions -- from the ambassador to the security officer, the consular officer to the IT specialist. Also included is a selection of day-in-the-life accounts from seventeen different countries, each describing an actual day on the job. The story section includes twenty-six tales from the field that give a sense of the extraordinary: the coups, the evacuations, the civil wars, the hardships and rewards of representing America to the world.Inside a U.S. Embassy was published by the American Foreign Service Association in 2003, and updated and revised in 2005. Over 70,000 copies have sold.
American Diplomats: The Foreign Service at Work
What do the men and women of America's diplomatic corps do? William D. Morgan and Charles Stuart Kennedy, themselves career diplomats, culled over 1400 oral interviews with their Foreign Service peers to present forty excerpts covering events from the 1920s to the 1990s. Insiders recount what happens when a consul spies on Nazi Germany, Mao Tse-Tung drops by for a chat, the Cold War begins with the Berlin blockade, the Marshall Plan rescues Europe, Sukarno moves Indonesia into the communist camp, Khrushchev calls President Kennedy an SOB, and our ambassador is murdered in Kabul."You are there" accounts deepen readers' understanding, as diplomatic and consular officers talk about the beginnings of Kremlinology, predicting a coup in Ecuador, Hemingway and the embassy in Havana, the secret formulation of the NATO treaty, Jerusalem after the British and the US recognition of Israel, fighting in the Congo over Katangan secession, dealing with an alcoholic foreign president, human rights work in Paraguay, the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, helping families of the Pan Am 103 victims, Greece and Turkey at odds over a tiny island, embassy roles in Riyadh and Tel Aviv during Desert Storm, and many more.
America's Other Army: The U.S. Foriegn Service and 21st Century Diplomacy
"America's Other Army" brings the high-flying world of international diplomacy down to earth and puts a human face on a mysterious profession that has undergone a dramatic transformation since September 11, 2001. Through the stories of American diplomats, the book explains how their work affects millions of people in the United States and around the world every day, and how it contributes directly to U.S. security and prosperity. It shows a more inclusive American diplomacy that has moved beyond interacting with governments and has engaged with the private sector, civil society and individual citizens. Having visited 77 embassies and consulates, and interviewed more than 600 American diplomats, the author reveals a Foreign Service whose diversity and professional versatility have shattered old perceptions and redefined modern diplomacy. But he also depicts a service not fully equipped to address the complex challenges of the 21st century.
American Ambassadors: The Past, Present, and Future of America's Diplomats
There are two ways to become an ambassador: a lifetime of dedicated civil service in remote, often life-imperiling locales, or to be a wealthy political benefactor. One route provides grueling work that may never result in this heralded position in the American political landscape, serving some of the world's most challenged nations as they undergo radical change. The other route is considered a gift for financial aid after a successful election campaign. The way in which people become ambassadors of the United States is the result of time-honored traditions and, in some cases, the most thinly veiled form of corruption in American government. American Ambassadors explains where ambassadors come from, what they do, where they go and why they still matter.
Former ambassador Dennis Jett offers an insider's look at the complex bureaucratic process that determines who becomes an ambassador and the different paths to the title that are taken by career diplomats and political appointees. Jett describes how an ambassador's effectiveness is measured and why at least four ambassadors in recent years have resigned because of poor performance. It demonstrates how the embassy to which as ambassador is sent can depend on a person's race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and the size of their campaign contributions. And it makes the case for why, in today's ever more globalized world, their work is more important than ever.
Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy
A “candid, behind-the-scenes” (The Dallas Morning News) memoir from one of our most distinguished ambassadors who—in his career of service to the country—was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy.
hristopher Hill was on the front lines in the Balkans at the breakup of Yugoslavia. He participated in one-on-one meetings with the dictator Milosevic and traveled to Bosnia and Kosovo, and to the Dayton conference, where a truce was arrived at. He was the first American Ambassador to Macedonia; Ambassador to Poland, in the cold war; chief disarmament negotiator in North Korea; and Hillary Clinton’s hand-picked Ambassador to Iraq.
Outpost is Hill’s “lively, entertaining…introduction to the difficult game of diplomacy” (The Washington Post)—an adventure story of danger, loss of comrades, high stakes negotiations, and imperfect options. There are fascinating portraits of war criminals (Mladic, Karadzic), of presidents (Bush, Clinton, and Obama), of vice presidents including Dick Cheney, of Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and of Ambassadors Richard Holbrooke and Lawrence Eagleburger, among others. Hill writes bluntly about the bureaucratic warfare in DC and expresses strong criticism of America’s aggressive interventions and wars of choice.
Program
At a Glance
Duration
5 days
Program Begins
Washington, DC
Program Concludes
Washington, DC
Meals
10 (
4B, 3L, 3D
)
Activity Level
What do U.S. diplomats in the Foreign Service do? Their mission is manifold: to promote peace, support national security goals, advance U.S. business and agricultural interests and protect American citizens. Gain in-depth, behind-the-scenes knowledge of work and life in the Foreign Service from active and retired officers and ambassadors who share their personal experiences firsthand. Examine U.S. foreign policy issues in action — enhanced by Q&A sessions — to better understand what tomorrow may bring.)
Best of all, you'll...
- Enjoy frank and forthcoming engagement with retired and active-duty diplomats from across the foreign affairs agencies who are experts in the field of foreign policy and diplomacy.
- Visit some of the key diplomacy institutions and explore U.S. diplomatic history.
- Delve into Washington’s diplomatic community on a narrated field trip to “Embassy Row.”
General Notes
This program runs back-to-back with "Spies, Lies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage" (#16126).
Featured Expert
Ira Deutsch
Ira Deutsch was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. At age 20, he moved to Israel and joined the Israeli military, retiring with the rank of LTC after 26 years of military service. His service included international affairs, coordinating relationships with multiple countries including the United States military. Ira’s last assignment before retiring was as a Foreign Liaison Officer to the U.S. National Guard and FEMA, stationed in Washington, DC. His coordinating experience makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a Group Leader.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
Activity Level
Easy Going
Minimal walking and standing; must be able to get on/off bus.
Suggested Reading List
View Full List
(11 Books)
You can also find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call
800-454-5768
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
5 days
4 nights
What's Included
10 meals (
4B, 3L, 3D
)
7 expert-led lectures
4 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
4 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation, Intro. to AFSA
Location:
Washington, DC
Meals:
D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall
Activity Note
Hotel check in is available from 3:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously).
Afternoon:
Program Registration: After you have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any up-updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived.
Dinner:
Dinner at the hotel.
Evening:
Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have. AFSA’s programs for Road Scholar provide unparalleled opportunities to learn directly from American foreign service professionals who were “there” in person. Guest speakers for Road Scholar AFSA (American Foreign Service Association) programs are active or retired diplomats who are experts in their fields. Please note that the speakers are not finalized until just before the start of the program; the final list of speakers will be included in the materials distributed at the start of the program. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. We’ll begin our program with an introductory film on the American Foreign Service. From the U.S. Department of State website: “As the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, the U.S. Department of State represents the United States at more than 270 diplomatic locations around the world, including embassies, consulates, and missions to international organizations.” AFSA began working with Road Scholar in 1996. The goal was and is to educate participants about the work of the U.S. Foreign Service. AFSA programs for Road Scholar have reached some 10,000 participants in Washington, DC and elsewhere around the country. These educational programs feature retired and active diplomats and focus on learning more about the important and varied work of the US Foreign Service, to include presentations by diplomats from across six foreign affairs agencies as well as a discussion of current hot topics.
Day
2
AFSA Lectures
Location:
Washington, DC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall
Breakfast:
At the hotel
Morning:
We will attend two lectures this morning at the hotel with a short break in-between. The mission of U.S. diplomats in the Foreign Service is manifold: to promote peace, support national security goals, advance U.S. business and agricultural interests, and protect American citizens. As we examine U.S. foreign policy issues in action, gain in-depth, behind-the-scenes knowledge of life in the Foreign Service from active and retired officers and ambassadors who will share their personal experiences firsthand. Lectures are enhanced by Q&A sessions.
Lunch:
In the hotel.
Afternoon:
We’ll enjoy one more stimulating presentation on another aspect of the U.S. Foreign Service. Participants will then have some free time following the afternoon lecture.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
AFSA will provide a screening of a movie related to the theme of diplomacy and the Foreign Service.
Day
3
Foreign Service Institute, Embassy Row, DACOR Bacon House
Location:
Washington, DC
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall
Activity Note
Walking short distances. Getting on/off the motorcoach. Standing for up to 1 hour at a time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel
Morning:
Our first field trip this morning takes us to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the Federal government's primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community. The FSI is part of the State Department’s campus known as the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Led by an expert, we will learn more about the FSI and its work preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests. The FSI provides more than 600 courses, including 70 foreign languages, to more than 100,000 enrollees a year. We’ll then transfer to the historic DACOR Bacon House in downtown Washington for lunch.
Lunch:
At DACOR Bacon House. This unique private organization for foreign affairs professionals fosters professional and social networking and provides opportunities for candid dialogue in the trusted environment of a stunning historic mansion (built in 1825) just two blocks from the White House.
Afternoon:
Next, we will board a motorcoach and explore our nation’s capital with expert commentary on board as we drive through and learn about the history of “Embassy Row”— in and around a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue — and more. There are more than 170 foreign embassies in Washington. Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure. You might like to go out and see more of the city on your own, spend time with new Road Scholar friends, or simply relax.
Day
4
AFSA Lectures, Georgetown School of Foreign Service
Location:
Washington, DC
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall
Activity Note
Getting on/off the motorcoach. Standing for up to 1 hour at a time.
Breakfast:
At the hotel
Morning:
In two expert-led presentations this morning gain more in-depth information about the program theme and hear from diplomatic staff about their personal experiences.
Lunch:
At the hotel
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will depart the hotel via motorcoach for a field trip to the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, which has been preparing students for foreign service since World War I. During our visit we'll explore the school with Georgetown staff and experience a day in the life of a foreign service major with an orientation and a mini-lecture straight from the school's curriculum.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
We will attend an after-dinner lecture to continue learning various aspects of the US Foreign Service and American diplomacy.
Day
5
Final Lectures & Wrap-Up, Program Concludes
Location:
Washington, DC
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check out is by 12:00 Noon. Bags may be left at the front desk until departure.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll have one wrap up session in the morning with AFSA staff. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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MEALS
10 Meals
4 Breakfasts
3 Lunches
3 Dinners
LODGING
Lodgings may differ by date. Select a date to see the lodgings specific to that date.
Showing Lodging For:
- Sep 07, 2025 - Sep 11, 2025
- Mar 23, 2025 - Mar 27, 2025
- Apr 13, 2025 - Apr 17, 2025
- Sep 07, 2025 - Sep 11, 2025
Participant Reviews
Based on 20 Reviews
Sort By:
Broke my wrist and foot 5 days prior to the program. Glad I went.
— Review left September 18, 2024
Very interesting program on the Foreign Service in our Nations Capital. Only suggestion would be to try another hotel - perhaps in Rosslyn, VA.
— Review left September 16, 2024
I learned that our Foreign Service personnel are well trained and not our problem of making poor decisions of whom to back. We don't seem to learn from experience. We backed wrong leaders in China, Iran, Argentina, Viet Nam, Phillipines and the list goes on.
— Review left September 13, 2024
educational programs are necessary considetiqn older age participants. The variety of subjects offers everyone ability to increase knowledge
— Review left September 13, 2024
Excellent set of lectures and very accommodating group, Gayle was an outstanding leader and went overboard in helping with practical issues. The hotel had elevator problems, and I wished we could have attended some embassies as had a friend when she took the trip a couple of years ago. The food was just so-so and Carmines for the last meal was a very mediocre place with heavy food. The hotel keeps
The. hold in a deposit for up to a week after departure and that was surprising. Overall though quite well organized.
— Review left April 19, 2024
Inside American Diplomacy with the Foreign Service was an excellent experience. I learned information I could not have accessed through any other means. The partnership that Roads Scholar has developed with the American Foreign Service Association to provide expert lectures was incredible.
— Review left April 2, 2024
I have participated in many Road Scholar programs and this is one of the best. The educational content was tops.
— Review left April 2, 2024
Impressive roster of speakers who shared their personal experiences with enthusiasm and insight. Informed participants who asked excellent questions enhanced our experience. Outstanding tour guide. Hotel location very convenient for free time. Large comfortable rooms. Average food.
— Review left March 29, 2024
This program was a comprehensive and compelling presentation of the role of our diplomats deployed all over the world.
— Review left March 28, 2024
I really enjoyed the subject matter. Some of the items that were covered made what I heard and read on the radio, television and in the newspaper more alive!
— Review left May 5, 2023
If you want to know how US Foreign Policy gets transmitted from the Administration to the rest of the world, participating in Road Scholar's programs on Diplomacy in the Foreign Service is the place to go.
— Review left April 23, 2023
Lecturers were well informed, professional and interesting. For me, there was not enough physical activity and that combined with the heat of DC, I became ill and left a day early.
— Review left March 1, 2023
The quality of speakers is outstanding. Hearing of peoples' personal experiences in many foreign countries was informative and helpful in understanding the work of the Foreign Service.
— Review left September 15, 2022
I found this to be an especially enlightening, inspiring and thought-provoking program. I most certainly came away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for all the work the U.S. Foreign Service employees do in our national interest. The instructors were superb.
— Review left April 22, 2022
We never would have heard speakers like this without Road Scholar and the Foreign Service Assoc. The presenters were all excellent and inspiring. However, there were at least three speakers who were using outdated slide decks and then read them to us. Also, many speakers had altogether too much info on each slIde...could not read them. Audio system first day was a disaster. Could not hear speakers. Speakers on first day need coaching on how to present.
Room much too small for 39 people. Could hardly move our chairs and move in and our of seating properly. A hazard given the age of people in the group.
While the education was very good, the hotel and food were a big disappointment. In particular, Carmine's was awful. For RS to take a group of senior citizens in to a space that could hold hundreds of people, is to court disaster in this time of Covid. And, Covid is not over. We are exhorted to use good judgment. Masks indoors are still mandated by DC authorities, except when eating. We should not have been subjected Carmine's. And, the food was minimally acceptable.FYI, this was our Farewell DINNER...NOT SPECIAL AT ALL.
— Review left April 6, 2022
Very educational and rewarding experience. Intend to participate in many more RS programs.
— Review left March 31, 2022
Several years ago, I had attended the program Spies, Lies, and Intelligence: The World of International Espionage and became highly interested in Political Science as a result. American Diplomacy intrigued me and was something I hardly understood. Inside American Diplomacy with the Foreign Service presented a rare opportunity to hear first hand about the wide ranging and vital role played by our diplomats here and abroad. Most speakers had held ambassador positions in countries with challenging political issues and living conditions. Their experiences and the knowledge they shared are vitally important in gaining a clearer understanding of today's world. I highly recommend this program.
— Review left September 24, 2021
Excellent program! This program was intellectually disruptive as far as I was concerned; i.e., I found many of my notions and opinions relative to the topics discussed needed to be revisited or adjusted base of the information present by our speakers. I can away with a greatly enhanced appreciation of the significant contributions made by our nation's Foreign Service personnel and their level of dedication to our security and well-being.
— Review left September 17, 2021
This is a great way to learn in comfort about US diplomacy from career foreign service people with first-hand experience living in the countries the program covers.
— Review left September 28, 2019
This program was well organized, informative and much was learned by my wife and I during the 4 days in DC.
— Review left May 23, 2019
