One of the things that I really like about living in Washington DC is the multiculturalism. Hearing different languages in the metro, trying foods from different countries as well as sharing with the Fellows has been one of the most valuable experiences in this journey.
In this blog, I would like to share one of my experience learning about new cultures. During the month of May, more than 40 Embassies opened their doors to DC visitors and residents during two weekends to show their culture, traditions, food and music. The first showcased, the Embassies from Africa, Asia, Oceania, The Middle East and the Americas. The second one was the turn to the European Union and the Delegation of the European Commission to the United States.
The decision to choose what Embassy to visit seemed to be difficult especially when you only have few hours to do the visits. We checked the map to do a route plan and chose the ones that we were interested to get in.
We began with the Embassy of Peru, a Lama and his guardian received us to take our first picture, the place was full of good energy with a Peruvian band outside as well as traditional food. Inside they had beautiful samples of handicrafts, jewelry, empanadas and Pisco sour (Peruvian drink). Then we went to the Embassy of Mozambique where they had a big map and told us about the political situation, language and culture of the country. They had typical dresses, pictures and samples of their agricultural products.
Afterwards, we moved to the Embassy of Argentina, we did a long line but it was worth it! Inside they had a very nice library, with lots of Mafalda comics (a famous Argentinian cartoon) and DVD´s. Then, the elegance of traditional Tango illuminated the place, and we the visitors were invited to the dance floor to learn to dance too.
The next weekend, we went to the Germany and France Embassy which were sharing the same space. The French Embassy received us with samples of different types of cheese and wine. Then we moved to German where a lot of test and trivias where used to teach us about this country. Finally we went to the UK Embassy, we toured around the beautiful gardens and the house, and finish our tour with a Shakespeare´s play.
It was getting late and we decided to do the line under the raining to enter to the Denmark Embassy. When we finally got in, a cozy house received us with a mix of modern and antique decoration that make this house an interesting and warm place to visit.
This experience remembered me the amazing opportunity that give me the life of sharing with friends, getting in touch with new cultures, and new places that I had never imagined to be.