sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

May 8, 2009


my d.c.: tour the world without leaving the city
posted by soe 8:48 pm

Last Saturday my friend Susan and I met up to take a whirlwind trip around the world. We started off the map with some Greek food as we plotted our course. We considered Colombia, with its fresh native flora, but the line at the border was long and our time constrained. Indonesia promised us wealth and history, but they also had strict border control — and the droning we heard was definitely of an American tour guide rather than a native. So, with a shared appreciation for brewed leaves, Susan and I headed north, where our journey spanned three continents in a little over two hours.

Confused?

SerbiaLast Saturday was part of Passport D.C., an event that opens some of the embassies up to curious locals.

We headed up to Kalorama Heights, the neighborhood just to the north of Dupont Circle. It’s where Donald Rumsfeld and other bigwigs reside, and home to three embassies — Benin, Serbia, and Sri Lanka.

When we arrived in front of a small detached house, it was unremarkable to find a line snaking across the front yard and onto the sidewalk. After all, we’d just left the Indonesian embassy, where the metal detector and security lines had snaked for more than a block. But we were a bit surprised when a man beckoned to us.

“Go around back,” he said. “That’s just the line for the food.”

Feeling a bit bewildered, we walked up the short driveway, under a portico, and found … a backyard barbecue.

Abomey TapestrySeriously. Nothing could have felt more different from the set-up we’d just deserted. Music blared. People — some in native garb, some in Western outfits — were sprawled around the yard eating off paper plates. Children ran about.

Susan and I went inside, where I got to hear a brief overview of Beninese musical instruments, before we headed downstairs, where embassy workers showed off local clothing, tapestry, and art. The shot above, for instance, shows a traditional appliqued Abomey Tapestry, which depicts the history of the Fon people of Dahomey (now the southern third of Benin). Each square represents a different ruler of the land.

Beninese SingerOutside the music had switched from a recording to a live performance. Benin has a rich musical history, with several artists having risen to prominence. I’m not so proficient in French that I could say for certain, but I believe she was singing in a Beninese language rather than the country’s official tongue. Periodically she’d pull someone from the audience up to dance with her, which seemed to startle her onlookers greatly.

The band which accompanied her was comprised of several women who were dancing while playing shakeres. The men played other percussive intruments. The man in the foreground of the shot belowis playing a double cowbell. The ones in the back are playing a tabla and something that looked like a pie plate.

The Band

The Serbian embassy was just a couple doors down so we headed there next. The folk dancing and food portion of the open house must have ended earlier, Readingso Susan and I just admired the painting exhibit of artist Ana Petrović Šiljković. Her colors were bright and she had an appreciation for hearts, romantic relationships, alcohol, and forms of transportation.

The handouts available to peruse focused on the culture of the country, as well as some history through World War II. Understandably they glossed over the atrocity of the Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević years. Susan and I came away with some literature from the embassy, as well as some souvenir pictures of downtown Belgrade. They were highlighting some cross-country camping excursions, which sounds fun if you’re looking for a different kind of trip.

Then on to our final destination, Sri Lanka:

Outfitted

If Benin was the most relaxed, Sri Lanka felt the most exotic. And they emphasized their otherness by bringing you into it. As the shot above shows, native women offered to dress you in a sari. Susan noted that a sari does not look like it accommodates those of us with long strides, but the women she asked about it just laughed.

NameEmbassy workers also offered to write your name in the two official languages of Sri Lanka — Tamil and Sinhalese. Susan is more on the ball than I am and she asked a Sri Lankan man whether there were regional differences in where the languages were spoken. He assured us that everyone spoke both, but we had our suspicions about the veracity of that statement, given even our rudimentary understanding of the Tamil Tigers. While I am sure that the language is not spoken solely by those living in the Tamil region, it would not surprise me if it is spoken far less frequently in the southern part of the country.

The allure of this particular stop was that in their write-up they had promised samples of Ceylon tea. As you probably know, I love black tea, so I was delighted to go someplace where they were going to offer it to me. A civilized nation, they provided sugar and milk with their tea. (Southerners do not, for whatever reason, believe that milk is an option for tea, instead offering me lemon with frustrating regularity.) They had two different brands (neither of which I remember). I had one cup before overhearing a girl scoff at her friend’s same choice before throwing away the teabag and handing her the other brand. While the second cup was delicious, I’m not sure it was so much better as to justify throwing away a perfectly good teabag.

Susan and I, tiring of the crowds, took our teas outside and drank them while sitting on a neighbor’s stone wall. The music from the Beninese embassy wafted across the streets to offer accompaniment to our conversation. It was, all in all, a lovely way to see the world.

[Tomorrow is Europe Day, when E.U. nations offer similar open houses. I’ll be spending a good bit of the day trying European food before Rudi and I head up to Maryland to catch outdoor Shakespeare. Think rain-free thoughts for us.]

Category: dc life. There is/are 3 Comments.



What a great day! Good for you guys.

Comment by DOD 05.09.09 @ 10:02 am

Wow! Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I am moving to DC in a little less than two weeks and I found your blog to be very informative.
I’ve added you my blogroll

Comment by Stan Ascher 05.09.09 @ 2:23 pm

What a great day!
Love the bright colors!
And I am a southerner who does like milk with my tea 😉 But again, New Orleans is not the south so maybe that’s the reason for my preference.

Comment by Sarah 05.21.09 @ 7:27 am