Washington, DC

Washington, DC has been the site of our Fulbright-Hays pre-departure orientation these past couple days. The past couple days have action packed and it has been a great locale to kick off this experience!

Our group arrived from various parts of the country and met one another for the first time on Thursday evening. We also me part of the contingent from the Fulbright Commissions of Argentina and Uruguay at this time. I have to admit that my first impressions of everyone were very positive! We then had an opening reception hosted by the Argentine Embassy. The wine and cheese soiree kicked off this experience in grand style!

The embassy experience had been foreign to me (no pun intended) so this was particularly new and exciting. Taking our shuttle down Q Street in DC was like traveling down a fraternity row, only the fraternities in these cases were various embassies. The Argentine Embassy is located in what appears to have been at one time a stately historic home. Our Argentine hosts were very gracious and the entire event was a wonderful and unique experience.

On Friday we had a full day of lectures and seminars at the beautiful campus of Georgetown University. The Center for Latin American Studies hosted us for the day and we were provided with historical and literary overviews of Argentina and Uruguay as well as a look at contemporary issues, trends and policies connected to the two countries. Additionally, a Cultural Attache from Uruguay (Nestor Rosa) came over to give us an introductory overview of his country. I learned a lot throughout the day, even during our breaks, when I learned about some more informal things that are now happening. One example is a no smoking ordinance recently passed in Uruguay (sounds like some of our home states, right?). What struck me was that part of their no smoking campaign includes anti-smoking messages on the cigarette packs themselves. Carolina of Uruguay's Fulbright Commission showed me what one of the packs looks like (picture is at the top of this entry).

The day concluded with a feast at the Georgetown Club - another real treat! Later today (Saturday) we will be making our 12 hour flight to Buenos Aires. I will look forward to saying hello to you again from points south!