There are so many awesome (and free) things to do in DC, I can't get enough!
The Dalai Lama speaks in DC!
On the morning of Saturday July 9, I went with two of my friends/fellow interns at the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy to see the Dalai Lama give a talk about world peace outside the Capitol. We got there at 8am for a 10am talk and it was already packed! Before the Dalai Lama took the stage, Whoopi Goldberg emerged as the MC and a Tibetan folk dance troupe performed a short piece. Unexpected, but cool.
The Dalai Lama was pretty much just as I expected: the cutest old Asian man I've ever seen. Sorry if that's naive. I understand he is one of the greatest religious leaders in the world. But he is also extremely personable and friendly. Even though the Capitol lawn was packed (we were pretty close, regardless), I felt like he could have been talking to a small group of friends. He talked a lot about how inner peace leads to outer peace and then to world peace. Lots of stories. My favorite had to be his instructions to us all to smile and wave.
"Just smile at everyone, every day, and I guarantee they will smile back. Except some people won't smile back, because they don't like to see other people happy. So smile twice at them just to annoy them!"
Oh, Dalai Lama, you crack me up. He also told another story about how he went to his friend's house once for a visit and noticed that his friend's wife had "not so much outer beauty." And the Dalai Lama pointed this out to his friend. To which his friend replied that he knew his wife had little outer beauty, but was incredibly beautiful on the inside, and that is why they had enjoyed such a long, happy marriage. Interesting stuff!
I still stand by my statement that he is the sweetest old man I've ever seen. Oh, and there were many Tibetans there (obv), and it was really cool to see them dressed in the traditional Tibetan style. I really like their style of
dresses.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
After seeing the Dalai Lama, I spent the afternoon wandering the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall (after stopping to see the
US Botanical Gardens). There was so much to see there, I could not possibly see it all in one day! What I did do/see though:
Ate West African Food. According to the sign, this is called "Thiebou Dieun" and is "fish, carrots, yuca, and cabbage served with djolof rice, which is cooked in a rich tomato sauce." It looked like something that I had the least experience, so I got that! And I got bissap juice, which is hibiscus flower tea. Mmm.
Saw San (Bushmen) dancers from Botswana perform traditional song, dance, and storytelling. One woman told the story of fire in their language, which Americans usually call "click languages." (It was translated, obviously.) Loved hearing a native speaker! I've studied clicks in linguistics classes and seen the Gods Must Be Crazy, but seeing her right there was awesome.
Learned how to make a traditional Tongan dish at a "Homecooking" cooking class in the Peace Corps section of the festival... that's right,
Tonga. It's somewhere out in the Pacific, near Fiji and American Samoa. Don't know where those are either? Me either. I copied down the recipe but it'll take a while to go through my scribbles. I'll post the recipe on here when I get the chance.
Browsed the festival's booths and marketplace. So many booths on culture - from the handicrafts of the world section on the Peace Corps side to the many booths on all aspects of Colombian culture on the Colombia side - it was a bit of an overload of information. I really enjoyed it though. My favorite was the folk music of Colombia, they had a small band and people were dancing. I love seeing joy being expressed in so many different ways through culture!
That is an extremely sparse description of the festival... so much to do and see!
Freer Gallery
During the hottest part of the day, I escaped for a couple hours into the
Freer Gallery, aka the Smithsonian Museum of Eastern Art. Yet again, so interesting and cool. I feel like a broken record here. Art from China, Japan, South Asia, and the Middle East. Just my cup of tea.
On to more, more, more cultural adventures!
