Just photos…
all taken on my first day in Washington District of Colombia. Those familiar with the famous landmarks in the city would recognize the Capitol (which houses both legislative houses of the country, and in front of which each new president takes his oath of office), the Lincoln Memorial (which houses a larger than life marble structure of President Lincoln, and in front of which Reverend Martin Luther King delivered his I Have A Dream speech), the Washington Monument (which was at one time the tallest structure in the whole world before being overtaken by the Eiffel Tower in France and later the St. Louis Gateway Arch among others. Now, it’s just the tallest structure in DC), and the White House which houses the president.
The rest were random shots taken on the streets as I walked along. Around the Washington Monument is a fountain which is surrounded by walls that bear the name of each of the fifty states of the country. I am guessing that this was where Nigeria got its own idea for a “Unity Fountain” in Abuja that bears the name of all the states in the country. Or else, maybe the Americans “stole” our own idea. Hmm. No, I won’t bet on this one.
There were scores and scores of beautiful buildings, government houses and cathedrals along the way which I couldn’t shoot for lack of time. There is also the President Jefferson Memorial somewhere close, but I couldn’t see that either.
One more notable thing about this capital city is the abundance of aircrafts in the sky. From the hotel to the Lincoln Memorial, I counted more than ten aircrafts either flying towards where I suspect the airport to be, or hovering around the city like the few military helicopters that I saw.
The design of the city places each notable monument or memorial at very accessible points. There is certainly an order to this city. And if there is a chance in the next couple of days, and we get to go out for sightseeing, I will definitely take more pictures. I was speaking with a French FLTA earlier today who told me of her surprise and happiness that Washington DC was planned and designed by a French man. “Hmm, I see,” I said. “The French seem to have their hands in everything.”
PS: I have noticed that all the public structures looked really nicer at night. You will see it too in the last pictures of the Monument and the Capitol. It is because of a set of powerful lights placed in vantage points around them that make them look so bright against the background of the night. It’s definitely a sight to see.
The first thing I did after checking into the Hyatt hotel and finding out that the registration for the conference will take place much later in the evening, and that I had more than three idle hours to burn, was to pick up a map of the capital, and set out to discover it, on foot. Because of the so many American movies I have seen I had a certain confidence that I knew just where everything was located. The Capitol, a magnificent Dome that houses the two houses of the United States Legislature stood just a stone throw from the Hotel, so it was the obvious first choice. The first thing that I noticed was the not so adequate number of traffic lights. The traffic lights were indeed different in design from the ones I’m familiar with at Edwardsville, but they were not enough. Some times, I just had to cross the road the Nigerian style – after looking left, right, left and right again – when there was no light to guide.
After I left the Capitol, whose interior I could not access only because it had closed to the public just a few minutes earlier, I headed to the Washington Monument. The Washington Monument is a brick obelisk structure built to commemorate the life of the city’s founding father President George Washington. Just like the Capitol, the Washington Monument was closed to the public, or I would have loved to go up to its top if there was such a chance, and look down on the city. According to Wikipedia, it is is both the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5⅛ inches, and representing the dead president’s overlooking eyes over his capital.
From the Washington Monument, I had two choices: The White House or the Lincoln Memorial, both of them almost equidistant from the Washington Monument. I chose The White House first. The long walk across public parks and winding roads to the White House took almost twenty minutes, only because I walked fast without stopping even for air. It was beginning to get dark. I got there in time, peeped through the black iron gates to look at First Lady Michelle’s garden project pictures displayed within reach inside. I could see the South Lawn fountain at a stone throw in front of me. on the second floor of the side of the building facing where I stood was also the Oval Office, where the president spends most of his office time. I was indeed looking at the magnificent mansion in which most of the world’s most important decisions were reached. I have never seen the State House of Nigeria. I don’t know what it looks like, nor do I know where exactly it is located.
I then went, still on foot, towards the Lincoln Memorial – the site of the now famous “I Have A Dream” speech. It comprises of a small building which houses a larger than life marble sculpture of President Abraham Lincoln staring out towards the Obelisk of the Washington Monument. Actually, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial is a long Reflecting Pool around which hundreds of thousands of supporters and civil right activists stood and sat while Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr read his speech. Looking at the sculpture of the late president did not fail to humble and inspire. On the walls to either of his hands were inscriptions from Abraham Lincoln’s famous speeches, and right behind the large marble sculpture are the words: “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.” Those words, along with the ones on the wall, bring a kind of solemnity and awe to the already hallowed feel of the memorial, and I left feeling quite inspired, especially when I think of the fact that on those same steps out of the building was where the words “I have a dream” were first uttered in a way that sowed a seed of hope whose result is now being felt all over the United States.
It was just as well a case of serendipity, because when I went out 
It was serendipity because just last week, the class consensus was an almost riotous but endearing request for Nigerian food before the end of the course. And as much as I tried to dodge the issue citing inability to get the foodstuff as well as the problem of conveying it to class in hot condition, I still wanted to give them an experience of the taste of Nigerian food and I despaired in me about how impossible it was going to be, especially since I feared a possible lawsuit from anyone that might find discomfort after a meal, and hold the teacher – me – responsible. But they made it clear that they wanted it too, so I spoke with Tola – a former FLTA (now a graduate student in the University) who said that we could work something out only if I could find the foodstuffs, and perhaps obtain a written consent from them absolving us of liability. It would prove not to be necessary in the end, as I luckily got sufficient plantain from the African shop, and woke up early enough today to prepare it to the best of ktravula‘s kitchen standards.
With this, my teaching class for this semester has now come to an end. The class that 
