Arrival in Washington D.C.

We arrived on 13 August (Standard Eastern time, 12 hours behind Singapore pacific time zone). I went for a quick walk after dinner as I needed to stretch my legs after nearly 20 hours of flight. The White House was just two blocks away and I caught a glimpse of it before it started raining.

The next day a few of the International Fulbright (DFAT) teachers took a walk to White House and the Washington Memorial, which is currently under repair due to an earthquake. Throughout the day, the DFAT teachers both from the US and various countries continued to arrive at Capitol Hilton Hotel for the Orientation by Institute of International Education, a non-profit organization commissioned by the US State Department to run the DFAT program.

We walked as a group and started getting to know one another. By the time we reached the cluster of Smithsonian Museums, a few felt tired and went back to the hotel. William from ELIS, Patricia (Argentina DFAT Awardee) and myself ventured into the Natural History Museum. It was interesting as it was the first time I saw the skeleton of a giant land sloth of about 8 to 9 meters tall (See picture on left).

I decided to skip lunch at the hotel to visit the Holocaust Museum. No photography was allowed but the images, documented footage and artefacts spoke volumes that no words can express. Looking back at the Natural History Museum, and then the Holocaust Museum, all I can say is, even animals kill their own kind only under extreme situation or dire threat, and not because they desire to. Only humans are capable of mass genocide. Such is the sinful nature of mankind.