I walked to DuPont Circle to pick up
my media badge. When I received it, I thought ‘I could automatically skip the
lane because I have credentials.’ I sashayed my way to the Embassy of Argentina
with my pass swinging around my neck. I
arrived at the entrance only to be told by the lady that I must get in line
because the embassy was filled to capacity. So much for the media pass. The
Argentine embassy was fun and informative. I learned a lot of the country’s
history, culture, and embassy’s infrastructure. I was disappointed that it did
have a pope exhibit since he hailed from Argentina. That was the main reason
why I went. Upon leaving, the embassy had a sports exhibit highlighting the
1986 World Cup and 2004 Olympic men’s basketball gold medal wins.
Argentine Embassy
Argentina-US Bilateral Relations Placard
Argentine Ambassador to the US
Tango Lessons
Argentina Sports Superpower Placard
Next I walked to Chilean embassy
where the line snaked to the Trinidad embassy’s driveway. The line moved fast
and in less than 10 minutes I was inside. The first stop was the arts gallery
showcasing the country’s best photographs. Afterward, there was the food
gallery where the crowd sampled the desserts.
Upstairs was the fruit and wine.
The staff let people eat the grapes, blueberries and blackberries but
not the pears. (Rats! I thought free grocery shopping!). Anyhoo I enjoyed it.
Now onto the Australian embassy!
Me in the Chilean Miner Suit Cut-Out
Outside the Chilean Embassy
The Ambassador's Residence Sign
Chancery of the Embassy of Chile
Office of the Ambassador
Ambassador's Office
Living off of Scott Circle, for years I would dread seeing the long
line. Some years it stretched beyond P Street! I gulped walking all the way
past the church intent on seeing the inside. A volunteer told everyone that we’d
receive bags. Put everything in it because we were going through the metal
detectors. Whoa! That was new because I didn’t have to do that with Chile and
Argentina. At least they fed up while waiting. Once I passed security, the
Aboriginal man blew the horn. There were four lines. The left-most was the
nation’s top universities. The next one was to the auditorium. The third line
was the wine line. The right-most one had the souvenirs. I went right for the
souvenirs. The volunteers gave me two kangaroo pens. Next I went to the Armed
Forces area picking up stickers and pamphlets then proceeded to the wine line.
Afterward, I stood in the auditorium line to see the amphibians. That was a
first! I was giddy because there live animals. Seeing zoologist, I secretly
thought ‘That was I would had been if I cut dead frog I got for my science kit
during one past Christmas.’ Well, I ended up as an economist so I was okay.
Upon leaving the embassy, I snapped photos of the tank. I admitted that the
Australian embassy was the most impressive (thus far). Onto the Kazakhstan embassy!
Aboriginal Man
Australian Flag
Embassy of Australia Sign
Australian and American flags
Australian napkin
Zoologist with bearded dragon
Tank
While in line at the Australian
embassy. I saw some people in native costumes across the street. Secretly I
thought I would go there after visiting the Australian embassy. Fast forward to
walking past the tank, I headed down 16th street. There was no line
because all of the people were inside. I loved it because the Eurasian country’s
culture differed from the other three. I took photos of all the hunter-gatherer
artifacts. It was great to have someone on staff (I didn’t know if she was an
anthropologist) explaining all of this to us. The intimacy was noted because
unlike Chile, Argentina, and Australia, Kazakhstan was small. The other three countries’ staffs expected
crowds to know something about them. Here the Kazakhstan embassy projected
genuine appreciation that we showed up! I was pretty happy that covered four
embassies on three continents. That was major progress!
Kazakhstan people welcoming us outside the embassy
Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Hunter-Gatherer Artifact
Kazakhstan President with President Obama at the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit
