Right? It’s funny, most of my disagreements with the test answers were on the worst options, not the best. Clearly they like their protocols & processes.
The no-drink cocktail party? I smell an urban legend. What I was once told was that each candidate was told a secret at the start of their training. At the cocktail party the FSO officers would try to jolly it out of them.
“Trainings over son, what was the stupid think you had to keep to yourself”
Anyone who told their secret wasn’t hired.
Yeah, and in this link to “Protocol for the Modern Diplomat” from the State Department’s website, it says:
Eating and drinking
To be polite, accept the food and drink that is offered. If unsure or a bit apprehensive, try a small portion. If you do not wish to drink alcohol, still take some to have in your glass for toasts. If you do drink, however, as a U.S. representative, you should drink responsibly so as not to embarrass yourself or your country. If, for health or religious reasons, you absolutely cannot try even a small portion of a particular food or drink, it is acceptable to refuse with a short explanation. Consider new foods and drinks an opportunity to explore the new culture. Try them in good spirits and with an open mind.
That aligns a lot more with my observation of FSOs and how I would think our government would advise them.
As I said, this was quite a while ago. It is my understanding they wanted to weed out new FSOs who had alcohol issues at the beginning of their careers.
There is a difference between a glass of wine with dinner and an open bar where people can choose to limit how much they drink. Or not. That makes a little more sense, perhaps, but sounds like not all the information is there (e.g. for a specific country or post, or did not happen that way).
They needed to reduce headcount, and were constrained from doing something obvious like eliminating the ones with an even number of letters in their last name.
Now that, I can believe.
Maybe try them with an abundance of spirits.