(Almost) Meeting the President

My photo with (most of) President Halonen

I had high hopes that today I would meet the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen.  This hope wasn't completely unreasonable as I attended a press briefing at the President's summer residence at Kultaranta -- in Naantali, a little more than a two hour drive from Helsinki -- and the Ambassador was one of her guests. 

An astronaut and a President

After a few wrong turns, my press companion from the Embassy and I made it to the President's residence and waited outside of the gate with other reporters, photographers, and assorted camera crews.  Once inside the gate, we were served Pepsi Max and Fazer candies, courtesy of the President.  While waiting for the briefing to begin, we tried to devise a plan to enable me to meet the President without doing anything embarrassing or anything that resulted in possible deportation. 

Presidential Pepsi Max

Suddenly, the President and her guests of honor arrived.  Cameras went off like crazy and medals/gifts/compliments/jokes were exchanged, and a few minutes after the briefing began, I was pulled to the aside by a photographer who planned to snap a picture of me as the President exited the room.  In theory, this seemed like a good plan since it quickly became clear that I wasn't going to become one of the guests of honor and have a real opportunity to meet and greet the President.  However, in practice, it's difficult to get a picture with someone who doesn't know that they're supposed to be part of the picture.  So, the result is a series of photos of me and various parts of the President -- half an arm, part of her back, most of her torso...  Guess I'll always have my Presidential Pepsi Max.