From the Grand Hyatt Amman: A conversation with Ben Ball, political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Amman.

In any host country, the U.S. Embassy is there to make sure that American ideas and interests are being considered and represented appropriately. This all falls under the umbrella of diplomacy. Simply put, diplomacy refers to the negotiations between different nations and the process by which they try to reach mutual agreements.

Ben gave us a crash-course in Jordanian-American relations, functions of the State Department, and the role of a political officer. For me, the most salient part of our conversation with Ben was when he discussed the ‘give and take’ from country to country, and continent to continent. Ben started by mentioning the exchange of common goods and services. He also explained that more than commodities and people cross borders. Ideas also cross borders. I had never thought about trade in those terms before.

Listening to Ben, I began to understand how our generation, in particular, is tapping into the possibilities of exchanging information and ideas via the internet. Take ProjectExplorer, for example: through my videos and blogs I’m able to share ideas that cross borders, ideas that promote cross-cultural understanding, ideas that may inspire someone to change the world!

Keep Going: Visit a refugee camp.

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