Embassy of the Republic of Botswana – we sampled goat and a black eyed peas with corn dish, which we learned are typically served at weddings, funerals and other large gatherings. We watched video about local animals and admired a lot of beautiful artwork.

Embassy of the Republic of Namibia – we had an impromptu lecture from a staff member who talked about the history and agriculture of his country. We learned that the Germans originally colonized Namibia. The British and South Africans also occupied Namibia; however, they eventually gained independence in the early 90’s. Namibia’s terrain is arid with large dessert areas and has the largest canyon in Africa. They export various products such as diamonds, uranium, copper and fish, and their most popular animal is the cheetah. We also enjoyed the arts and crafts on display.

Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda – women and men in traditional attire dancing to Rwandan rhythms greeted us outside.  Inside we sampled tasty ice coffee and purchased jewelry made by Rwandan women who received fair trade wages for their work. And once again, we loved the art on display.

Embassy of Australia – we listened to a gentleman play folk music on an accordion type instrument; saw a display on their military; sampled Australian wines (minus my niece); ate lamb and cheddar cheese; gathered travel information; and saw snakes in aquariums—yikes!

Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago – now this was a party that made us want to go on vacation immediately. The calypso music was playing, and women were dressed in carnival costumes. There were young kids on stilts and a really long line to sample curry food. Here we enjoyed the celebration and the colorful paintings on the walls.

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – once again, another party. By now we were really hungry so we purchased platters of chicken kabobs with basmati rice, yogurt and vegetables. As we ate, we listed to a live band playing Afghani music and watched visitors purchase clothes and jewelry. The embassy itself was the most beautiful thing on display, as you will see in my video.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – as soon as we walked in we started dancing to the African rhythms in a group circle. Unfortunately, we were running out of time so we quickly admired the jewelry and art.

Embassy of Ghana – our last stop for the day, we heard the tail end of drummers and looked at the artwork of sculptures, paintings and jewelry. I picked up their schedule and was bummed that I missed the food tasting, dancers and movie.

Each embassy did a fantastic job highlighting their country’s culture, people and tourism, and their staff was incredibly hospitable. We had such a great time that we are already planning our 2011 embassy tours. Below is a short video that highlights our day.

For those of you in the DC area, visit CulturalTourismDC.org to learn about other events this month, including the European Union Embassies’ Open House (May 8th) and the Meridian’s International Children’s Festival (May 15th).

Possum Dreaming by Bessie Nakamarra Sims

I visited the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see the Lands of Enchantment: Australian Aboriginal Painting exhibit. My knowledge of Aboriginal people is very limited to historical events such as the “Lost Generation” and Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal sprinter who one gold in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Therefore, I wanted to learn more about the culture and its artwork.

This exhibit, co-sponsored by the Australian Embassy, features paintings created by contemporary, female Aboriginal artists from central and northern Australia. Most of the paintings were dot paintings, which is a form of storytelling that depicts “Dreamtime.” “Dreamtime” or “Dreaming” is an Aboriginal belief that in the beginning of the world ancestors rose from the earth through nature. In order to tell this story to the youth and non-Aboriginal people, the Aborigines created drawings in the sand using dots that formed symbols, such as plants, water, clouds, rain and animal footprints. In this exhibit, I saw paintings that transformed dots into images of plant seedlings, travelers, ceremonial body art and animals. I’ve never seen anything like this and am a new fan of Aboriginal art.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts houses other great cultural artwork by women. For instance, I saw photos of a Brazilian woman holding different types of native fruits; a painting of an African-American woman draped in designs of African masks; and a photo of a hand covered in Farsi poetry. It’s interesting…I have lived in the Washington-DC area for many years, and I can’t believe, as a woman, I had never visited this museum before today. To see an entire museum filled with female created art was inspiring and empowering. However, I believe the male visitors got the same effect.