Friday, October 5, 2018

Spain and the Atlantic Coast of the US

One of the ways we take advantage of our neighborhood is to visit the Library of Congress for lectures. I worked there for ten years and am very familiar with the three library buildings and the tunnels underground that connect them all with the Capitol Building. Yesterday we decided to see something different than the Middle Eastern presentations we usually go to. It was called “Spain and the Atlantic Coast of the US: Characters from the 16th Century in Search of an Author.”  I’ve come to the conclusion about a few things - the lectures never start on time, the microphones never work or the speaker doesn’t use them, the use of audiovisual aids seems foreign, the speakers always read to us, and the rooms are either too hot or cold or noisy from surrounding activities. We really love going to these events, but are oftentimes disappointed. I suppose if I spoke Spanish I would have understood more about the subject matter. But the same goes for the Persian lectures. Growing up in Florida it was obvious that Spain had a major influence - Fort DeSoto Park and St. Augustine are prime examples. But I was sorry I couldn’t fully appreciate the presentation. At least there were a couple of hard copy rare books to see, as well as the lovely view from the 6th floor where we could see our house. Next week there is a lecture on chocolate. We are curious to see how that one goes. The best part about it is it takes about fifteen minutes to walk from our house to the meeting room. That’s a great commute. 




















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