Washington D.C.

I was in Washington D.C. for a conference the last few days. I went a day early to explore the sights since I’ve never been to D.C. It was interesting to be here after traveling in Europe all summer. I was so used to not knowing the language that I was almost surprised when I asked a metro employee a question and he spoke back in perfect American English. I smiled to myself thinking how easy it would be to navigate a large city in my own country. Earlier at the airport someone came up to me and asked me if I spoke Spanish. I don’t, but tried to help her as best I could since I know how she was feeling. I felt that way many times over the summer.

After landing at the airport I took the metro to the hostel and then went to the new National Museum of the American Indian. It opened last September and is down by the capitol.


Several American Indian People from UW went to the opening in last September and after hearing their stories I have been wanting to go. It was fabulous! It’s a beautiful building and I am so glad I went. They have free tours and I stopped to listen to one guide. She was Navajo and told us about the U.S. policies and practices towards American Indians over the years and today. What we have done and continue to do is on par with the way Hitler and his regime treated Jews, gays, and others. It’s genocide. I kept wiping away my tears as she talked. All American Indians are required to carry a document stating they are an American Indian, even today. This requirement is no different from Hitler making Jews wear yellow Stars of David’s and gays and lesbians wear pink triangles. Reservations are similar in many ways to concentration camps. As humans we have an incredible ability to be cruel to one another. We just tell ourselves they are not like us, less than human, and that makes it all OK. It’s appalling! It is so sad. I cringe at the way our current government is handing things such as the reaction to the Hurricane Katrina damage. The racism in our country is so pervasive, so ingrained, us white folks don’t even realize it; it’s our privilege to not notice or ignore it when we want.



After visiting the NMAI I had a little time to see the National Gallery of Art before it closed at 5pm. I was so impressed that so many things were free. I breezed through the East wing with Picasso, Van Gogh, and others. I learned a lot about art while traveling in Europe and it was neat to be able to recognize a painter from across the room.


The outside of the gallery looked like a minature pyramid that is outside the Lourve.

I loved this piece by Gerard Richter. I can't wait to unpack my paints! (I just bought a house and moved).



I love the way the light created these shadows on this piece. I have been thinking about doing some wire scultpure stuff - very inspirational!


Since everything was closed I went down to the Pentagon City Mall area had some food and wondered around Borders and looked at house magazines for a while. It was a relaxing evening and I wondered back to the hostel around 9:30pm and then talked with my mom for a while. I slept well (thanks to my ear plugs – never leave home without them!). The next morning I leisurely woke up and headed to the conference, which was great.