AFGHANISTAN & SPEECHES

YESTERDAY (WEDNESDAY):
We started cool stuff bright and early. At 9am, Lissa Muscatine came to our school to talk to us. She literally just retired a few days ago from being the Head Speechwriter at the State Department and being Hilary Clinton's chief speechwriter since she was the first lady. She is also a friend of the school's. She talked to us alot about writing a good speech; ket things, what it needs, some writing tips, and alot more. Speeches she's written have been some of the top in history. Hilary Clinton had a speech where she said a line that made history, "Human rights are women's rights, women's rights are human's rights." Ms. Muscatine wrote that line, and that speech. She is amazing, and so down-to-earth. She made her time with us very interactive which was awesome. She told us some stories and the tips she gave us are amazing. I now feel so much more capable of writing a good speech than before.
    And now I have to utilize that knowledge because this week we have to write a speech, as Hilary Clinton, about women's rights in Afghanistan. There are 4 groups, each writing a speech to theoretically present to a different audience. My group's speech is directed towards the Afghan Parliament. The speech is going really well so far and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. On Friday (tomorrow) we'll be presenting it to Ms. Muscatine! OMG! It's so exciting but nerve-racking at the same time because....well, it's Lissa Muscatine! One of the best speechwriters of all time!
   After Ms. Muscatine left, we started working on our speeches, and then shortly left for the State Department, which was stressful because I forgot my ID! But it all turned out ok, Noah saved the day :). We met with Vikrum Singh, the Senior Defense Advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was so knowledgable, and I feel like I know so much more after meeting with him. He set some things straight and talked to us alot about progress in Afghanistan that's been overlooked. For example, in 2002, there were only 10 thousand phones in Afghanistan and now there's 20 million. 
    After the State Dept. We took cabs to get to our next destination...THE AFGHANISTAN EMBASSY!!!! We went there and met with a Representative who talked to us for a while. He was really funny and was really interested in talking with us. He was definitely a salesman...just saying. He gave us the Afghan perspective on alot of issues which was really good to hear. Before we left, he gave us all packets with a bunch of different Afghanistan info.
   then we came home, did homework....the usual. It was a VERY long day, but so worth it :)