I left Monday for the Global Health Conference in Washington, D.C. I will be creating a Global Health course for my university in spring semester and am anxious to expand my knowledge on this topic as much as possible. It was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, a very beautiful hotel and huge hotel. I spent the next few days constantly referring to the map in the conference brochure to find the rooms for the session that I attended. At the same time, the excellent service of the hotel made a personal stay there very nice and certainly helped this huge conference to run better. I got to the hotel in mid-afternoon and picked up a pre-conference session on hand washing.
Hand-washing you may say. What's up with that? Well it is one of the ways the infection control constantly breaks down in the United States and this happens also in many other countries. After the session I went across the street to a nice restaurant called Open City and enjoyed a sandwich in the side walk seating area. It made me feel as if I was back in Pecs again; I've missed the sidewalk cafes very much.
On Tuesday I attended sessions from 7 AM to about 4:30 PM and by that time was frozen from the cool air-conditioning. This was rather a total conference complaint. I decided to get out and walk some and get warmed up. I took the Metro to Smithsonian and got out there to walk on the Mall.
Here is the dome of the Natural History museum shown against a stormy sky.
And the Smithsonian Castle.
I enjoyed seeing the carousel. (Sorry that there doesn't seem to be audio. I had a camera problem; that's a whole 'nother story.)
I continued on to the sculpture garden of the Hirschhorn Museum.
Here is one of the sculptures in the garden.
It is Miro's Lunar Bird.
From this point on the Mall I got a nice view of the Capitol.
I started to head toward Union Station and found the National Japanese-American Memorial. This memorial recounts the incarceration of the Japanese people during WWII, and the apology given to the group by President Reagan.
I continued on to Union Station, made it just ahead of the rain showers. I had a dinner in the Center Cafe and then took the Metro back to my hotel area. Thankfully, the rain showers had blown away, so I didn't have to worry about how to get from the Metro to the hotel.
On Wednesday I was again in sessions from very early in the morning until about 6:45 in the evening. Then I took the Metro to Dupont Circle. Life was in full progress here!
I've never before seen an outdoor yoga class -- and it was great fun just exploring everything else going on in the neighborhood.
I found another side table and had a wonderful dinner.
And for dessert I had the Whoopie Pie sampler. Whoopie Pies are not found in the midwest; this was the first time I have tasted these.
Heading back to the Metro, I noticed a flag and went exploring. Indeed it is the Colombian Embassy. Both of my daughters were born in Colombia so we always look for Colombia.
Got back to the hotel about 10 PM and found I had received "turn down" service. The curtains were pulled, the ice bucket was full. I could get used to this!
Thursday was another day of sessions, the best almost being at the end when we learned about data systems that now can be run on mobile phones. And it is interesting to consider that the average Smart Phone now has more computer power than the computers that were used for the moon landing!
After the sessions I decided to take a short walk in the neighborhood of the hotel.
The cupola on the top of this building made me think I had surely arrived at some other part of the country. It just looked so east coast and colonial. Turns out the building in the Oyster Bilingual School. Google explains this school is a K-8 school school that conducts education in both English and Spanish. It is a neighborhood school; any child who lives in the boundaries of the school may attend this school.
I thought the view of the pine tree against the stormy sky interesting.
And the sky let loose with rain. I was glad to make it to the Open City cafe again where I had a tilapia BLT. By the time I was done with dinner the rain had let up and I was able to get back across the street to the hotel without getting too wet.
On Friday morning I packed up and checked out and then attended another great session, a conversation with Bill Foege, the CDC physician who led the fight to eradicate small pox.
My church has been examining the concept of wisdom during this past month, and indeed we were able to interact with wisdom. Some things I will remember forever: "If you tangle with culture, it will win every time."
I went to the American History museum after this to see an exhibit about Civil War Nurses. On my way I went past this structure.
I had seen this earlier in the week and thought it was part of the preparations for the July 4 celebration on the Mall. Turns out it is being built for the Colombian part of a forthcoming Folk Festival. The sign explained this structure is made of bamboo, which is called "vegetable steel." I remember seeing scaffolding made from bamboo when I was in Colombia and marveled at how bamboo could be strong enough.
In another area structures are being built for display of activities and crafts. They are called Leaves, only in Spanish.
The steps of the American History Museum provided a good view of the Washington Monument.
The museum provided me with some good information to put into one of my fall courses. I also spent some time at the American Indian Museum. This is truly excellent.
What followed was a flight adventure that I complained about in the posting below. It was a good week in DC, I truly learned a great deal.
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