I participated tonight in the English Discussion Group at the Alpha Radiation School. We initially had trouble coming up with a discussion topic tonight as the English skills are not as good here. The classrooms were crowded though with standing room only. The Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Embassy joined us tonight and quickly took over since this was an Embassy Program. He had an advantage with the language since the U.S. government sends Embassy workers to language school prior to assignment in country. His topic on the negative affects of chewing Khat however, drew some protest from students who appeared to think that we were putting down a Djiboutian tradition while ignoring the negative things that Americans do like drinking alcohol. Embassy staff always have the more difficult task since they speak for the U.S. government. Those of us from Camp can speak to the students as average American citizens. The students seem to enjoy hearing from the young military members.
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