Area Studies

Occasionally curious people ask me: just what training do you need to become a diplomat?

The answer, like many things at the State Department, is 'It depends.' The main variables are your cone and country, which are the main things determining your responsibilities.

In general, there are three categories of instruction: area studies, language, and job training. Language is self-explanatory. Job training comes later. We begin with area studies.

Put simply, area studies is two weeks of history and culture relating to your post country and the region it belongs to, in my case Mexico and WHA (Western Hemisphere Affairs, encompassing the Americas and Caribbean).

So, how can you gain working knowledge of a country or region in only two weeks? Simple, YOU DON'T. The classes are meant to give you the most basic of backgrounds and point you in the general direction of further study.