On Friday, January 31st, the students of professor Redl’s English group, went on an excursion to the American Embassy.
Arriving at the building, we were greeted by metal fences and a small building that acted as a gateway between Austria and America. After a standard security check, we received our visitor badges. Finally, inside the US Embassy, there were lots of paintings and patriotic symbols, numerous meeting rooms with and offices along the long corridors. Eventually, we were led into a conference room with a large table and dozens of places to sit, where we had the chance to look at a brochure giving a preview of some of the information that would be covered in the upcoming talk.

In the conference room, we were given a presentation on Austrian-American diplomatic relations and the work of a career diplomat. Afterwards, we were allowed to ask any questions on the topic. Some of us were posing personal questions, such as asking why the speaker chose this line of work or how people treated him in other countries where he was stationed in, including Vietnam, Ukraine and Germany. Other questions were more difficult to answer, like how the different political systems affected the relations between the United States and other countries.
Nonetheless, we received very informative, even surprising, answers and left with a lot more knowledge, insight into and appreciation for the work the embassy does than before.

Marie E.: The question session after the talk was not only politically, but also rhetorically instructive. It was nice to experience firsthand what "diplomatic speech" means.

Oskar: I really enjoyed our trip to the US embassy, since it was my first stay there and even the building seemed very impressive. The most interesting fact I could grasp was the issue that the EU makes it a lot more difficult for an embassy employee to know the ins and outs with whom to speak and discuss certain problems.

Teresa: The excursion to the American embassy was a unique opportunity for me. We received many instructive insights and it certainly was a highly informative experience.

Anna C.: I liked his presentation and how he answered the questions frankly.

Anna B.: Going to the American embassy was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were not only able to learn a bit more about U.S. – Austrian Diplomatic Relations but also got to see the embassy from the inside, which was very intriguing as well. I am glad we had this opportunity, since I do not believe I will ever get the chance to visit the embassy again.

Lilly: I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to visit the American Embassy. We got the chance to visit the building, listen to an experienced employee and ask him about his job and career, which was very insightful. Furthermore, he gave a presentation on American-Austrian relations and what they do in the American Embassy in Vienna, which I truly enjoyed.

Marie Rohler

Parinaz: It was really impressed by our excursion to the US embassy. We had the opportunity to visit the building and listen to the presentation of John, an employee, who talked about US - Austrian relations. He also answered many interesting questions that the class asked and even though he stayed very diplomatic, he still tried to answer them to the best of his abilities. Overall, I really enjoyed this excursion