The American Ambassador II

I was invited by the embassy to a St. Patrick's Party this week held at the Marine House. I was intrigued because I did not know that there even was a Marine House in Latvia and because there was going to live music. So I dragged my two North American friends with me to a sketchy part of town. The Marine House is located near Riga's Harbor and as the directions to house suggest you have to turn right after you pass under some silver pipes. We finally arrived and went through a metal detector at the house right after we signed in stating who we were and where we were from. The a gentlemen came and offered to take our coats and I said sarcastically well thats very hospitable of you. Then one of the guys from the Cultural Affairs section of the embassy (they basically are our supervisors here in Latvia) was like oh Laura let me introduce you to Ambassador Larson. I was like oh crap I just handed my coat over the American Ambassador and made a sarcastic comment about it....way to start off on the right foot! I knew he was from Iowa and so I said hello I am Fulbright fellow here from MN and tried my hardest not to make any Idiots Out Walking Around (IOWA) comments. He proceeded to talk to me and my friends for a good half an hour....which I couldn't believe. We got a beer, met his wife and chatted about living in Latvia it was all very normal and very unlike the meeting I had with the previous Ambassador! He even let us take a photo with him. See below. It just reaffirms my notions that Midwesterners are the nicest people in the US, even people with a significant amount of power are still very down to earth and personable.