March 7, 2008

Send-Off Breakfast on Capitol Hill


This morning was our send-off breakfast on Capitol Hill. In this picture on the left is Svetlana, our tour guide for the entire trip. Svetlana is an economics professor who fluent in Russian and came to the US from Russia in 1991 after the fall of Communism. To her right are two diplomats from the Gerogian Embassy, who we also met with yesterday. They said many great things about Georgia, and, upon meeting them, it is easy to see why Georgia (as we were told) has some of the most hospitable and friendly people in the world.

The Honorable US Senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, and US Representative Jim Ramstad, who represents the Congressional District that includes Armstrong HS, both sent staff members to the breakfast. Pictured here is Heather, a legislative assistant from Rep. Ramstad's office. It was great to talk to them not only about the trip, but Minnesota. And of course they wished us the best.

Next up: We fly out of Dulles Airport in DC at 6 PM tonight, and 24 hours later, we arrive in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. We have a 8 hour flight to Amsterdam International Airport, and after a 4 hour layover, have a 5 hour flight to Tbilisi; add the time difference and it will be Saturday evening upon arrival.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

glad you arrived and had a good time in Washington DC. we hope you have a safe flight.

josie.

Anonymous said...

i hope you're having a good time. it was nice of them to send representatives to meet you.
Kristiana

Anonymous said...

I hope the rest of the trip goes well. How long is the flight to Georgia?

Anonymous said...

Hello! I love the fact that you are globalizing your economics class. I hear that Georgia has beautiful landscapes! I hope you enjoy your trip.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Kristiana, it was very kind of the Georgians to come all the way to meet you. Rock on!

-CharlielaphaM