Last Friday, June 11, I attended my first “event” in D.C. The Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center was hosting a conference discussing a cooperative policy between the U.S. and Mexico in response to Mexico’s problem with drug trafficking. I work at the Wilson Center and so it was very easy for me to attend the conference during the day. Also, one of the scholars whom I work for is affiliated with the Mexico Institute. His name is Alfredo and is one of the most interesting people I have met. He’s an accomplished journalist and he currently works as the Mexican Bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News.
I was a bit hesitant to attend the event because it was my first week working and I felt that if I would take time out of the day to go attend this conference it would seem as if I wasn’t a devoted worker. I didn’t want that reputation after only a week of working at the Center. I debated whether to go or not until I checked my email and received a message from Alfredo, encouraging me to go. When I read this part of the email I firmly decided that I would attend the conference. As I read the last part of the email, my heart sank. The conference had started at noon and it was already 12:30. At this point I was determined not to let this obstacle prevent me from attending the conference. Showing up late would not be such a bad thing. The faster I walked in silently as best I could, the faster any embarrassment would subside. I walked up to the conference room and opened the door as the discussion forum was in full swing. Luckily I walked in the back of the room and didn’t interrupt the speech coming from the other end of the room. I looked around for a seat but couldn’t see any seats open at the two giant conference tables. As I was standing awkwardly, another intern working directly for the Mexico Institute sitting in the back of room came up to me and asked who I was and what I was doing here. I told her that I was a scholar intern and that I was invited to attend this conference. She directed me to some seats along the side of the conference room. I sat down without drawing much attention.
Full of confidence, I set aside my backpack and got back up to get a plate of food from the buffet. I didn’t want to create any noise as the discussion was going on but this was the best looking lunch I had seen in a long time. So I took my time to not cause too much of a ruckus and grabbed a delicious plate of food. As I was eating I began to scope around the room and tune in to the discussion which was going on. Listening to all the participants in the discussion being introduced, I realized I was in a room with some very intelligent people. Professors, policy experts, presidential advisors, other government officials, business leaders, and organization leaders from all across the United States, Mexico and a few from Canada were in attendance. In addition there were four current or former ambassadors in attendance. Being in a room with such accomplished individuals certainly made me feel privileged; I was just a first-week intern!
The issues being discussed mostly had to do with analyses developments in cooperation between the Mexico and the United States, and different ideas for how to improve the cooperation between the two countries. The current tension due to the Mexican teenager being killed by border patrol police was addressed as well. There was definitely tension in the room too somewhat, as one woman who was from Mexico called the situation not an accident but a downright murder. Despite the obvious differences in ideology, I realized how important it was for all of these professionals, with different viewpoints, to be in the same room together, going back and forth discussing the important issues which affect both countries. In the end transparency and cooperation not only amongst high government officials was important, but cooperation between both American and Mexican police and officials in the border area was essential in the eyes of all those there. There was a call to change the way we think of the drug issue as not a series of events where Mexico does one thing and the United States does some other thing, with each action having its own conferences for that respective country, but as a series of events where both countries see the actions or inactions of one country having repercussions for both nations, thus making cooperation a goal to continue to develop. I hope we see this new way of thinking taking hold in a majority of citizens in our country. I hope soon we see Mexico as not only our close friends, but also one of our closest friends.
I need to conclude this post by telling a very coincidental experience I had while at the conference. After sitting in the conference for about an hour I saw a man sitting in the middle of the room who looked strangely familiar to a professor at my college. When he was introduced, my hunch was proved to be correct. It turns out this professor is a member of the Advisory Board of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center. I had never met this professor in person, but I had asked him through email while I was abroad in Spain to be my faculty advisor for this internship at the Wilson Center. I was able to introduce myself after the conference. After communicating through email for all that time, it was great to finally meet him.
All in all, the lesson to be taken here is to always attend a conference if you have the opportunity. Also remember that it’s not a big deal to show up late. I will certainly go out of my way to attend more this summer.
