The Ambassador's Reception

Well, this was my first official "state function." The American Ambassador to Egypt, Margaret Scobey, made a trip to Alexandria to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of The American Center and the Governor of Alexandria was also present, Adel Ali Labib. I was really hoping for a drink, but I didn't see a bar. I did see a small table where juice was being served, so I went over and got a glass of apple juice. It was kind of warm, but whatever, I wasn't expecting much anyway. I was walking around the room, mingling a bit when I ran into Gwen, the Director of The American Center. She mentioned that she couldn't believe she was almost out of wine already since no one ever drinks it. Wine! Where? It was being served at a small table on the other side of the room.

I made a beeline over there and saw there wasn't much left. I asked for a glass of white wine and took it in my left hand. I chugged the glass of apple juice that I was still holding in my right. As I was doing this, I noticed a couple of people looking at me a bit strangely. I suddenly realized that the glass of apple juice looked almost identical to the glass of wine I was holding. They were probably thinking, "Ew, look at that alcoholic American." Oh well!

After the speeches were given, I noticed a woman slyly sneak up the the podium to have her picture taken by it. She looked a little too somber for me. After she was done I said, "No, this is how you do it." And I posed as if I was actually giving a rousing speech. Everyone laughed. I grabbed a couple of students and told them to stand around me and look like they are my Secret Service Agents. They obliged and hammed it up for the camera. After that, a bunch of people wanted their turn at the podium to show off their best rhetorical faces. Too funny!