My first think tank panel: Geoengineering at the American Enterprise Institute

First week, second day at work. My co-intern Leo and mentor wants to show me the political life of networking and policy making in DC. He suggests to visit a think tank panel discussion. One of his favourites, not because he shares their political point of view, but because they are so republican that it is quite funny, is the American Enterprise Institute. Today's show: Geoengineering: A Revolutionary Approach to Climate Change.

Our head of office does not support his interest and orders him to stay in the office and do his homework. Leo still has not finished his three pages long essay on the Environmental Protection Agency. When the Representative of German Industry and Trade asks me if I want to go there I do not know what to answer. And that is exactly what he wants me to do: "Do not think and not make any decisions on your own - this is what we do for you!" I am quite puzzled.

Then my long way through internal bureaucracy starts. Mr. W. tells me to ask our so called environmental expert if he thinks I should attend the think tank panel that is about to start in half an hour. My weird American colleague is not in his office. Of course not. Mr. W. has to tell him what to tell me. I wait.

Then, D. returns from Mr. W's office, scans the prints I hand him and then decides that I shall not go. Surprise, surprise. With his unbearable German grammar and pronunciation he tells me that "although he does not mean to criticise me, he thinks that contentwise and languagewise the discussion would be too difficult for me". F*ck you!

Instead of going there, I go back to work, which means watching Lars surfing in German facebook. Five minutes later, Mr. O, my other boss, the quite opposite version of Mr. W. appears. He looks startled and asks me why I am still there or if I am already back. He grabs some papers and motivates me to tell him the whole story. During our quite open conversation, he calls Mr. W. a "f*cking idiot".

He decides that we immediately go to this discussion. I feel quite insecure while I follow him rushing out of the office. The panel is quite boring and technical. Maybe D. was a bit right, cause I do not understand the details of the last ten minutes of the first discussion. When the second panel begins, it starts to get funny. The panellists suggest instead of reducing greenhouse gas emissions it would be quite more confi to do some geoengineering here and there...

Mr. O. returns to the office and leaves me behind. After five minutes I leave as well and enjoy my 30 minutes earlier knocking-off time trying not to think of what might happen to me tomorrow in the office.