Question: Peace Corps and Foreign Service are two most common pathways for foreign service. What is your take on those?Right. Because it's all about us.
Answer: My advice would be to take your time abroad... get out of capitals, get out of comfort zone. Embed yourself in some project somewhere. For that, the State Dept. isn't good. You tend to be in capital or restricted areas...
...Main problem with Peace Corps is that it's a long committement [sic] 27 months, etc. doesn't fit into graduate programs.... people sign up for TFA because they have time between college and the next thing... I wish there were a program that invited people to do something similar to Peace Corps, just for one year--- the great beneficiaries would be Americans, but it would be great for those individuals and for American foreign policy as a whole....
But, wait. It gets worse:
Question: How much of the year are you traveling? Don't you get compassion fatigue?I don't believe any further commentary is necessary.
Answer: ...Embarrased [sic] how clinical I can become.... I'm leaving to go to Sudan... try to find most compelling story I can within limited time. Somebody will tell me a story about some heart-rending story about 30-year-old man, and frankly, I will know that I can do better as an anecdote... if I want to get middle-age man in my lead [sic], readers will turn out...
maybe it's going to be a 9-year-old girl with soulful eyes - some story that will get readers into the column.... I'm sometimes kind of embarrassed that I have to say - it's terrible that you were shot in the leg, but I will go off and find someone that was shot in both legs... I really want to find the most compelling anecdote to get readers into the story....