A Special Sparkle This year there was special meaning behind the lighting of the 32-foot Norwegian pine tree that was trucked in from Minnesota for the Ninth Annual Norwegian Christmas celebration at Union Station. Grete Waitz, the Nordic country’s 52-year-old star marathoner who flew across the Atlantic to switch on the lights, is fighting cancer and has just undergone seven months of chemotherapy. Norwegian Ambassador Knut Vollebaek invited this witty and charismatic Norwegian champ to open Norway’s huge holiday festivities, and Waitz agreed to come in part to show the world that staying in shape may help to save your life. “I am a walking example of how, even after seven months of chemo, I am still working out, walking six to seven miles on an incline every morning,” said the nine-time New York City Marathon winner. “Athletes are fighters, don’t let things get them down. We think positive and don’t focus on the negative.” Waitz and her husband Jack flew from Oslo to Washington especially for the annual Christmas ceremony, after which they will visit their “U.S. home” in Gainesville, Fla., before heading back for more medical tests in Norway during the holidays. Although she didn’t run in this year’s NYC’s Marathon (she rode in the pace car and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award) and won’t cross-country ski on Oslo’s many city trails (“I’m very vulnerable to cold now”), Waitz promised that she will be back. She has kept quiet about her treatment until recently, but she knows “I’m headed for the finish line” in what will probably be the race of her life. The annual Norwegian holiday celebration is the largest Norwegian cultural festival outside of Norway and is sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Embassy (see December 2005 issue of The Washington Diplomat). The tree (and its British counterpart, erected every year in London since 1947), and all the related festivities in the District are intended as goodwill gestures by Norway for the help it received from its allies during World War II while the country was under Nazi occupation. From left, Grete Waitz, Ambassador of Norway and Mrs. Knut Vollebaek stand next to the Norwegian Christmas tree at Union Station. photo courtesy of Orjan Ellingvag/Royal Norwegian Embassy

Soft Power of Rock ‘n’ Roll As many of us already know, Hungarian Ambassador Andras Simonyi believes in the “soft power” of rock ‘n’ roll as “the music of the free world.” “Only dictators and dictatorships are afraid of this music … which is universal and has contributed so much to world culture,” he said. “Rock ‘n’ roll was to me, growing up behind the Iron Curtain from 1955 to 1965, what the Internet is for today,” said the 53-year-old ambassador, who added that listening to jazz and rock ‘n’ roll kept his hopes alive during his teenage years in Budapest. Today, Simonyi is an avid guitarist who formed “The Coalition of the Willing,” his own rock ‘n’ roll band. And his musical following is growing. Recently, on a trip to St. Louis, Simonyi picked up a 1952 Fender Telecaster guitar during an interview at KMOX, the legendary Midwest radio station, and treated his listeners to “Wild Thing,” with lyrics in Hungarian. “I h ave to touch my guitar every day, usually at night when we come back from a reception,” said this serious diplomat and devoted musician. His wife Nada is less enthusiastic about his music, but understands what it has meant to him and how it acts as a stress-buster. “I try to be a ‘groupie,’” she said, “but I’d really prefer classical music.” Recently, the Maret School held its annual “Frog Hop” fundraiser and Maret parents were treated to an exclusive performance at the Hungarian Embassy by Simonyi and his band, which includes fellow band member Daniel Poneman, a former National Security Council senior director for the Clinton and first Bush administrations. “The rock ‘n’ roll generation is in charge today,” said Simonyi. “They are the ones in important positions in government and business.” Other band members, all Washington power players off stage, include bass player and political consultant Lincoln Bloomfield and legendary guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, formerly of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers but a missile defense consultant by day. Founding member Alexander “Sandy” Vershbow, now America’s ambassador to South Korea, and Simonyi met years ago while both were ambassadors to NATO. Maret’s Frog Hop raised more than $9,000 as a kick-off event for the school’s 25th annual auction to be held Sat., Feb. 25, 2006. Auction co-chair Susan Poneman, wife of guitarist Daniel Poneman and mother of Maret sophomore Claire, said, “We expect to raise over $400,000 for our scholarship fund,” all supporting Maret’s scholarship students, which make up about 16 percent of total enrollment. For more information, visit www.maret.org and click on “support,” then “auction.” Hungarian Ambassador Andras Simonyi performs with his rock ‘n’ roll band “The Coalition of the Willing” at the Frog Hop fundraiser for the Maret School. Jordan Supports Fellows, Youth Initiatives With recent bombings in Amman still fresh on their minds, 18 Eisenhower Fellows from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Palestine have come to the United States to build new bridges to the United States. The fellows—emerging leaders in the fields of education, finance, information technology, politics, environmental science, health and the arts—are in the United States for six weeks to learn more about their own professional fields and build friendships with their American counterparts and one another. Jordanian Ambassador Karim Kawar, an Eisenhower Fellow himself in 2000, emphasized the newfound significance of their visit. “This is Jordan’s 9/11, and it will only make us stronger and united in the face of terrorism,” Kawar said of the bombings. “Jordan will continue to be the beacon of moderation in the region,” and this visit exemplifies “this role and the importance of cooperation and dialogue.” The fellows spent Thanksgiving on an Illinois farm, met with former President George H.W. Bush, an honorary Eisenhower Fellowships chair, as well as former National Security Advisor and Fellowships Trustee Brent Scowcroft, in addition to touring a Microsoft plant during their American visit. Eisenhower Fellowships have a long history of engagement in the Middle East, including successful programs in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The 2005 Arab Middle East program is building on these relationships and expanding its reach in the region by adding two Palestinian fellows. The timing of this Middle East program is highly significant, given the unfavorable views of the United States in many parts of the Arab world. “Dialogue leads to understanding,” said Eisenhower Fellowships President John S. Wolf. “And that leads to a more prosperous, just and peaceful world.” Jordan is also supporting another worthwhile endeavor. The country’s young and innovative royal leaders, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, want to establish their Arab country as a “regional hub” for Save the Children USA’s expansion of its community Youth Development and Youth Employment Initiatives, engaging young children and teenagers throughout the Middle East region. These new youth initiatives, which will go into effect over the next two and a half years, expand Save the Children USA’s efforts to reach thousands of teenagers and young adults in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. Queen Rania and King Abdullah II of Jordan talk with students from Banneker High School in Washington, D.C. photo courtesy of Embassy of Jordan