The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 21 A Transatlantic Diplomatic Exchange Fellow from Ankara discovers more similarities than he expected when he spends a year in Foggy Bottom. BY ÖMER MURAT A LEGAL ALIEN H owever long my career as a Turkish diplomat lasts, I will always cher- ish my year (2011-2012) at the U.S. Department of State with the Trans- atlantic Diplomatic Exchange Fel- lowship Program. This unique pro- gram allows diplomats fromNATO and the European Union to work at State for a year. The Turkish Foreign Ministry highly values this opportunity for its diplomats to expe- rience the U.S. foreign policymaking process from the inside, and to facilitate better relations between our two countries. Excited as I was to be assigned to such an important program, I must confess that I had no real idea just how challenging— and rewarding—an experience it would be. It took longer than I expected to overcome a difficult-to-explain sense that I was some sort of impostor—a feeling exacerbated whenever I met someone who treated me as one of his or her “ordinary” Ameri- can colleagues. In fact, many of my State Department colleagues were genuinely surprised to learn I am a Turkish diplomat, FOCUS OTHER COUNTRIES’ DIPLOMATS Working at State As a Turkish Diplomat Ömer Murat is a counselor at the Turkish Embassy inWashington, D.C. Since joining the Turkish Foreign Service in 2001, he has also served in Tripoli, Brasilia and Baku. He wishes to thank Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Margo Squire and Mahvash Siddiqui for their support during his time at the State Department. especially those who had never before met a Transatlantic Dip- lomatic Fellow. Stumbling into Insights I quickly realized that the Harry S Truman Building is a very serious and complicated place—even more so than Americans themselves. I was on the verge of having a surreal experience every time I roamed its long corridors trying to find a room. I kept wondering, “Where are all the people?” Once I realized I’d lost my way, I had to ask other people how to get back to my suite, without letting on my concern that they thought I was a stranger or not meant to be here. And I had to do this with proper manners. Of course, they were never, ever suspicious of me, but always smiling and helpful. Some told me it was a more gruesome feel- ing to walk around the building before the posters of world cities were mounted on the walls. I salute those who had this brilliant idea, which makes the experience of navigating the building much less claustrophobic. After these initial “stumblings,” it did not take long to see that there are more striking similarities than differences between the Turkish Foreign Ministry and State Department, and also between American and Turkish diplomats. Chief among these are never-ending clearances, and the use of acronyms that are only meaningful to those within the building. (As a graduate of a State Department program, I am proud to announce that I will