Washington DC, day 1-2: Movies come alive!!

Wednesday, August  3: Depart for Washington D.C.

Lincoln Memorial

at Jefferson Memorial

We left New Orleans to our final destination, Washington DC -the capital city of the US. This time was not as complicated as when we left Missoula, because everyone has their luggage packed in since in Missoula, also we left not as early as the previous. As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we went out for a city tour by bus. It was raining, but it did not stop us to have fun. We visited Jefferson Memorial Park; Thomas Jefferson was a legendary man and president of the US, and he is also one of the author of The Declaration of Independence. He is known for his passion of books, that the creator of his huge statue put books beneath his feet, and in the wall around the statue, there are some quotations from Jefferson's powerful speeches. Then we moved to Lincoln Memorial Park, a monument to commemorate one of the US's greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. I have seen this memorial park and his statue some movies such as Transformers and Night at the Museum, and finally I could visit it myself. From the statue, we could look straight ahead to the Washington Monument and the Capitol, because this statue is positioned so that Abraham Lincoln may always 'watch over the country'. Our next destination was the White House, where the president live. Unfortunately, we could only see it from outside the fence, and there was nothing really interesting on the outside, for it looked just like a mansion with a big garden. 

with Mr. Ambassador

That evening we were invited to Indonesian Embassy. Our embassy's building is the most exquisite embassy in the US. It was a huge mansion that looks more like a palace, with flower garden in the front, and on the inside it has a grand piano and  sculptured ceiling with golden linings. We were courteously hosted by the Head of Education Affairs, Dr. Haryo Winarso, and his staffs. They took us to have a fast-breaking together in a Thai restaurant just behind the embassy whose cooks are Indonesians. We talked a lot about educational cooperation between Indonesia and the US, also about Indonesian students in the US.  We decided to go back to our hotel on foot so that we can also have a sightseeing of Washington DC, but we got lost instead and spend 2 hours walking in circle while asking people for direction before we finally reached to hotel.

Thursday, August  4: Environmental Policymaking

We were invited to the headquarter of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA representatives discussed the role of the EPA in US policymaking. They also discuss how environmental protection transcends national border s.The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. Environmental protection is an integral consideration in the US policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture,  industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy. Following the discussion, we were joined by representatives from the US House Committee on Natural Resources, Ms. Kathy Benedetto to talk about the work of the Committee to consider legislation about fisheries and wildlife, public lands, Native Americans, irrigation and reclamation, Mineral lands and mining, and oceanography. After the discussion, we moved to another building, the Senate Building, to have lunch and the next session. After lunch, we came to Montana Senator's office. Unfortunately, Senator John Tester was not available, but his assistants escorted us and they gladly answered any question we had about the legislative system in Montana and the US. Later, they took us to a chamber that used to be the office of Mr. Barack Obama when he was a senator. 

Washington Tower on background

Next activity was very interesting, we had a tour in the Capitol Building accompanied by a guide named Alison. We explored every part of the Capitol, and found many interesting things. There was a room which used to be the senate room, where there is a special spot. That spot was where John Adams' senate chair put, and from that spot, if we speak normally, the sound would appear louder to another spots, without using any speaker, only the design of the room. There is a room where the ceilings are full of historical paintings. In the visitor center, we can see statues that resemble every state in the US. Montana was resembled with the statue of Jeanette Rankin, the first female senator in from Montana, and the only senator who rejected the Civil War. The building is totally extraordinary in its structure, design, and history. The Capitol used to be much smaller than it is today; it was on fire but recovered and rebuilt, and also expanded to the size it is now.

tour d'capitol

We visited the embassy again that day, because the ambassador, Mr. Dino Patti Djalal, wanted to see us. We were very glad to have a chance to meet him and have a conversation about many things. In the embassy we also met Mr. Seto Mulyadi, or we know him as Kak Seto.