Museum of the American Indian

I'm awake early, write the blog, and am finished by 7 am (12 noon British time), when we have arranged to Skype Marianne, George, Arlie and Jasper the dog! We can do it on my windows phone, and I'm thrilled to be able to see them as we talk to them, and to notice that our beautiful 3 month old grandson Arlie is changing and growing and becoming more aware of the world around him every time we see him. Arlie has started a water babies course and seems to have enjoyed his first lesson in a lovely warm pool. Thank you Marianne and George for our Skype session – looking forward to another one soon! We hope to Skype you at the weekend, Elaine, when you are home from work!

We have communal bathroom facilities at this hostel and I get talking to a lady called Anne who comes from Rhode Island, USA. She and others are involved in a legal campaign to help abused children to live with their mother, rather than with the abusive father, as sometimes happens because of a loophole in the law. She gave me a newspaper article she had written, and asked for our blog address. We chatted for ages. One of the reasons Reg and I love staying in hostels is the fact that we meet so many interesting people.

At breakfast we chat to several people, including Toddy, a young man of 23 from Sydney, Australia, who is currently travelling the world and will be coming to England later in the summer. We've given him my email address, should he want a weekend in Bristol! We always tell people that Bristol was voted the best city in which to live, in England, by the Sunday Times!

We also talk to Kathy, whose trip to Washington has been paid for by the US government; they also paid for her to stay in a top class hotel for a couple of days, and, being of “modest means” (her words) she decided to take the opportunity to stay a few more days to explore the city, hence her hostel stay. Kathy, whom I would describe as a “travelling pensioner” (hope that's alright Kathy if you are reading this!) is in Washington because her son last week received an award from the Federal government for extreme bravery. Kathy shows us the governor's report on the incident and I find myself welling up! Kathy's son saved the lives of 3 backpackers who were attempting to cross a river bridge which was unsafe because of extreme storm conditions. One man was unfortunately swept away as he couldn't hold on any longer. An amazing story.

We discovered we'd been talking over breakfast with other people for nearly 2 hours; we and the people we were chatting to were the last ones to leave the dining area!

Reg and I are both interested in visiting the Museum of the American Indian. We catch a bus down to the Mall area, from where it's just a short walk to the museum. It's extremely hot again today, sunhats, suncream, teashirts and sandals weather. I'm already making noises about needing my mid-morning coffee, and when I do that, Reg knows that we will shortly have to find a cafe. We've been told that there's an excellent restaurant (diner) inside the museum.

It's free to go in. The museum, which only opened in 2004, is housed in a building of extremely modern and beautiful design; it's also blissfully airconditioned. After coffee we start to look around; the “stories” being told here - the words, pictures, videos and artefacts - are all “from the horse's mouth” told by the various different Indian tribes themselves, not by outsiders. Even the delicious lunch in the diner is of traditional American Indian food, cooked by American Indians. ( I had bison steak, with a wonderful vegetable salad; Reg had salmon with a special sauce which was really tasty.

We become immersed in the stories we read and see; the many, many different artefacts on display bring to life the culture and everyday life, both in the past and now, of the American Indian tribes. It's a story of the struggle of indigenous peoples to survive in a world of white settlers.

Here's a snapshot of some of the sayings we read, and the things we learned:

“If you give Indians the resources, time and opportunities to solve any problems we face, there is nothing we can't do.” (2007)

“We are a powerful Confederacy; and by your observing the same methods our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh strength and power.” Canasatego (Onondaga tribe) 1744. These words were later quoted by Benjamin Franklin in a speech which he published.

“The Haudenosaunee tribes – Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora – are known for their traditional democratic government – their leader was known as Peacemaker.”

“Clan MOTHERS choose the chiefs of the Haudenosaunee Grand Council. The clan mothers can also remove leaders based on their performance!'

(Imagine if women could do that in the UK!!)

“Rubber balls are a Native Indian invention. People in Central America were making balls out of rubber and playing ball games more than 3,500 years ago.”

“ Haudenosaunee people believe that decisions should be made with the next 7 generations in mind.”

(Imagine if Western governments did that!)

We spend several hours in this museum, but finally, even though as always there is more to see, we are at saturation point and are flagging. The hot outside air hits us; we walk to the metro and with some difficulty manage to work out which line and stop we need for our hostel. Getting the ticket from the confusing machine is another matter! A kind lady helps us and we wend our weary way back to the hostel.

After a rest we are ready to catch the bus to Georgetown, which we are told is a lively area with lots of places to eat. The bus is coming and we are some distance from the stop. We run for the bus (well, Reg does – and I make an attempt!)

The bus driver is amused. “ Mai, mai! When I done seen you runnin' in that there long dress, ais worried you was gonna fall over! I woulda waited for you you know!”

“Thanks,” I reply. “ I can't remember the last time I ran.”

We find a bar/cafe in Georgetown, a bit like an English pub, and have hot dogs in a long bun, with tomato relish and fries. The bun comes on plates with a stars and stripes design, and there is an American flag on a cocktail stick on our buns. The hotdogs are tasty but enormous, and we can't finish them. By the time we find the subway station and finally get back to our hostel, it's 11 pm. Bedtime.