The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

size of the classes, but I found the cramped public areas diffi- cult. The areas (really closets) provided for Internet research, reading, studying, etc., were crowded and noisy. As all the students are adults, it seemed odd, indeed, that the facilities for conversing, studying, thinking and reading were virtually non- existent. Once the weather improved, people congregated on the lawn, but without suffi- cient benches or chairs, that, too, was problematic during wet days. The cafeteria staff, in my view, were unnecessarily surly and, after a couple of tries, I gave up on the high- fat, high-carb offerings. During the winter, it was the only place available for studying or group-study ses- sions, yet televisions constantly blared. The mood throughout the school radiated tension, ner- vousness on the part of students, and haste. So many people cramped together gave me a poor introduction to the Foreign Service. Further, looking at the staircases and narrow exit door- ways, I worried. With so many people in such a stressful state of mind, what might happen if there were to be an emergency? People do not learn effectively under stress. Fortunately, the area studies class (Stephen Chaplin was coordinator) offered a bright light in a week of near-constant tension. I learned more about Mexico during those classes than in six months of living in country. The guest lecturers illuminated aspects of the country’s political, economic F O C U S J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 37 The mood throughout the school radiated tension, nervousness on the part of students, and haste. So many people cramped together gave me a poor introduction to the Foreign Service.