It’s been four months that Kathy Giles-Diaz has taken up her post in Calcutta as the consul general of the United States. A former journalist, the diplomat speaks of her affinity for Japanese culture, her reason for choosing Calcutta and her first Durga Puja in the City of Joy.

You are just back from the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. Tell us about the experience.

It was fantastic. Seeing such an incredibly rich, probably the largest indigenous music festival in the world, and seeing all of those cultures come together and be celebrated was very, very special. The US was proud to be a partner country this year. So we brought Native Jazz Quartet, an indigenous music group from the United States, to play there. Then they came here to Calcutta and went on to Hyderabad. Our deputy chief of mission, Jorgan Andrews, participated in the opening ceremony. So it was special all around.

Whoever goes to the festival comes back with scarves or jackets.

Yeah, my family stocked up on scarves. My child bought a vest with handicraft work. We went to the Kohima War Cemetery as well to honour those who fought so bravely to preserve freedom (for the Allies against the Japanese army in World War II).

You have also posted on social media about Arunachal Pradesh.

In Arunachal Pradesh, I met some of our exchange alumni and visited several schools. We opened an American shelf collection in Itanagar at Don Bosco College, which gives us a chance to have a small representation of our American consulate there and share some American resources with students there. I met with government officials and folks working on health programmes in Arunachal Pradesh as part of US government programmes for sharing best practices in health. The natural beauty of Arunachal Pradesh is striking. But it’s also an area that seems eager to share more ties with America. I got a chance to talk to students directly, share the opportunities and hopefully get them interested in studying in the US.

Talking of your student life, how has the journey been from Indiana University to India?

Going back a little further, I was an exchange student in high school. When I was 16, I decided that I wanted to study overseas to broaden my horizons. I had grown up in a small town in western Massachusetts. I was the first student in my school to go abroad as an exchange student, from one of the smallest towns to one of the biggest cities in the world. I studied in a high school in Tokyo and lived with a Japanese family for six months.

That was pretty long for a school tour!

Yeah. I was taking classes in Japanese. I didn’t always understand it all, but I did my best. I learnt a lot of Japanese. I also did math, English — and I helped teach that class a bit — and cooking. (I did) a variety of classes that didn’t require as much language to participate in.

How old were you then?

I was 16. You really get to know people on a deeper level when you live in a country. It teaches you not only about that country but also about your own. I went back when I was in university for a year, living this time in Osaka. I worked in Japan for several years after I graduated. I also studied environmental policy and science in Indiana University.

Did you also take any course in Japanese while in university?

No but as part of a summer internship programme, I worked at the US embassy in Tokyo. It was the summer before the Kyoto protocol. I was working in the environment section. So I could do a lot of the preparation on behalf of the US government to get ready for the Kyoto protocol meeting. So it was an exciting time to be there and it whetted my appetite to become a diplomat.

I was probably 23-24. After my undergraduate work, I spent two years working as a coordinator for international relations for a small municipality in northern Japan and helped them with international programmes. We started up a sister city relationship and hosted an exchange programme between the two sister cities. I organised a Thanksgiving meal, taught a bit of English and celebrated Halloween, giving them a taste of American culture.

You were also a TV news producer covering the White House. How was that experience?

(Laughs) Well, it was a different time before social media, but it was fascinating. It was the last couple of years of the (Bill) Clinton administration. I had not studied journalism but I was hired because I spoke Japanese and knew a bit about American politics and policy. I was a news producer working for Tokyo Broadcasting Systems and our job was to cover American policy-making. We covered the elections as well. That was the run-up to the 2000 election between President George Bush and (incumbent) vice-president Al Gore. So we travelled around the country to explain the key issues to Japanese audiences and what the American people were thinking. It made me respect journalists and the work they do. It was also a great way to be able to see how the White House and the state department work as I attended the press briefings every day.

How long was that period?

About three years. I worked as a journalist until about 2001 and then spent a couple of years working for a youth exchange programme that helped students go overseas. Then I was laid off as after September 11, nobody wanted to send their kids overseas. Then I decided to take the foreign service exam and became a diplomat in 2003.

This is your first stint as consul general. What made you choose Calcutta?

I have always had a fascination for discovering new places. I had worked in Japan, which is a very different part of Asia, but I wanted to come to this part of the world again.

So was Calcutta the closest posting to Japan that was available?

No, no. You have to cast a wide net. You cannot just say “I want this job” and apply only for that. I can’t think of a relationship that is much more consequential right now than the US-India relationship. So I really wanted to be involved in helping shape that. I was also attracted to Calcutta because it is the cultural capital. Much of my work throughout my career has been on public diplomacy issues — both media and cultural programming. And so having the opportunity to do that in a place that is so rich in culture and with such diversity was very appealing to me.

How wide has the difference been between your perception of Calcutta and the reality?

I’m not sure I knew entirely what to expect. I try to go into every new tour with an open mind. Everybody told me Durga Puja was special but it was really beyond what I could have imagined — the creativity, the scope of it, seeing people from across the region come together to build these amazing creations which have such interesting messages. Yet all these beautiful works of art are temporary! It’s fascinating. So that’s been a big and really pleasant surprise. The warmth of the people has stood out as well.

Any favourite haunts where one can find you on a weekend?

I’m trying to keep my scope as wide as possible. I’ve been to Tagore’s house; the Victoria Memorial takes my breath away as I drive past it at night; I loved going to the (Mullickghat) flower market a couple months ago. Seeing all the fresh flowers was wonderful.

What food from back home do you miss in Calcutta?

You can get almost anything now. My husband’s (Miguel Diaz) family is from Latin America. Getting products to make dishes that come from his culture — things used in Mexican and Latin American food — have been a little bit harder to locate here.

Who’s the better cook at home?

I do like cooking but both my kids are pretty good cooks. My younger child does a lot of the cooking when we’re at home. She is visiting us now.

The US is pushing for space diplomacy. 2025 will see the launch of NISAR, the fruit of a collaboration between ISRO and NASA (which will be the first radar of its kind in space to systematically map Earth to measure changes in the planet’s surface). Are you planning anything locally to mark the event?

I certainly think it is an area we would love to do more work on. Space lights up the imagination, right? It’s an area that we are starting to collaborate on more and more. We don’t have any specifics to share now. Perhaps we will make plans closer to the date.