washington DC

Seems I am always going to be a little behind in posting. Such is my schedule. I arrived in NY city on the 24th of September and have settled into Brooklyn , which is wonderful. The people here are among the friendliest I have every come across and very helpful and kind. I was a little ill , I think mainly just tired, so I took a few days to settle and explore the city and find my way on the Subway to NYU. Then it was off to DC , WHICH BELEIVE ME , working out how to catch all those connecting trains and deal with the busiest train station in the universe was a bit daunting.

I did just fine and actually treated the whole experince as another adventure,which it was. I find all the people I meet along the way , from the homeless guy I spoke for half an hour at the station about the history of the city , or the national guard man I spoke to whilst waiting for a train , or the porter who helped me and made great jokes , all of these people teach me something .
These pictures are of those few days , of Union station ( with its great gracious buildings and statues ), of the capital , of the wonderful American Inidan museum at the Smithsonian. ( The curved building and the one of me sitting in front of the water feature). The museum was so interesting and well thought out.I could have spent days there ,I only barely took in one section. It is very alive and very beautiful and there was obviously a great deal of consultation with various communties and this is evident. Well worth a visit , my only regret,not enough time. The whole Smithsonian area is massive and made up of many museums , somewhere I hope to visit again.

Then off to a very wonderful day of adventures on the river and seeing the sites , which are many , DC is VERY INTERESTING and I wondered if in the future , say in 100 years Canberra may one day feel as cosmopolitan.The two cities felt very similar to me and DC Like Canberra came about in a similar way, as a planned capital. Later that evening Claire ,( a fellow Fulbrighter) and I attended a wonderful dinner at the Australian Ambassadors home with 20 other people.Mostly connected to the Fulbright or the diplomatic mission. We met Mrs. Harriet Fulbright and also the New American Ambassador to Australia. Everyone who was there was very engaging and gracious. I could have stayed all night in conversation. The food and wine were of course wonderful.It was a real honor to be there and to especially meet Mrs. Fulbright, who is a remarkable person. We received a DVD that she had just finsihed after ten years in the making , about her Husbands life and work.It is wonderful to have this and be able to shareit with people.He also was a truly remarkable man with a great vision. I am very impressed with the sincerity to being people the world over together with a vision for peace and understanding.
Next day , the long trip home.... and next post will be about NY.