The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2013 53 AFSA NEWS young woman from the Uni- versity of Southern Califor- nia’s Daily Trojan newspaper. Next to me is a Japanese woman from Osaka who is having trouble with her Inter- net connection. Once the ceremony starts, it takes awhile before the first winners come back to the interview room. When they do, it is mostly winners in technical categories. The moderator reminds us to please ask them questions, as it would be embarrassing if no one raises a number. A lot of table conversa- tion ensues about the food that is served. The veterans agree that the Oscars has the best food of all of the various award ceremonies—they even have shrimp! I can’t help but wondering why this is such a big deal; you can get frozen shrimp at Costco. Things really ramp- up when the celebs start appearing: Jennifer Lawrence is funny; so is Daniel Day- Lewis. Quentin Tarentino is amazing in a unique way (but you probably already have your own opinion). Anne Hathaway is emotional. The journalists’ questions border on weird. Some are incomprehensible. Big cheers go up for the “Life of Pi” and its best director winner, Ang Lee. Our little group is start- ing to think that “Argo” might lose the big enchilada. I keep the faith and wonder what to do if it does win. Cut to the White House: The First Lady of the United States of America, with members of the military service behind her (where are the members of the Foreign Service?), is presenting the award for best picture! The moment has arrived. My mind goes blank. I hatch a plan to walk up to the front of the room so that the mod- erator can see me frantically waving number 138 (I was out of her field-of-vision thanks to ABC’s mega- camera). And the winner is—“Argo”! I quickly make my way to the front, stand there in my Macy’s ball gown, waving my number 138. A couple of journalists ask their ques- tion, but then, out of all of the numbers waving in the air, she calls 138! “Hello. I’m Donna Ayerst from the American For- eign Service Association in Washington, D.C.” (producers Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Grant Heslov all turn to look at me. Fainting is not an option.) “Your movie and also the comments you’ve made at all of the awards ceremo- nies has really raised the image and the profile of the Foreign Service, something that we don’t get very often. We don’t get much play. But I would like to invite you, all three of you, to the plaque ceremony that we have in the Department of State on May 3, where we honor fallen Foreign Service officers.” After an interruption from the moderator asking me if I have a question, Affleck answers: “I don’t know if we can come, but we do have, all of us, a tremendous respect for what the Foreign Service sacrifices and goes through and that we, I think, gained further appreciation for as we shot the movie and visited the State Department. I know Secretary Clinton a little bit and Secretary Kerry a little bit better...I’ve really picked up an appreciation for what the State Department does, what our Foreign Service does, what they sacrifice.” AFSA at the Oscars. What an historic night! Last scene: A woman in a navy blue, sequined ball gown is driving west on the Santa Monica Freeway by herself. She smiles all the way to the coast. n L I FE I N THE FORE I GN SERV I CE