I'm practically a local after my first 3 days in Washington, D.C.
Not only do I know that 'Ben's Chili Bowl', made uber-famous by Barack Obama dropping in for lunch 9 days before his inauguration, makes the best chili dog in town but I've also located Dorothy's ruby red slippers and guess what? They're not in Kansas; they're in D.C. From navigating the Metro subway system to gazing into the Reflecting Pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, I've covered a lot of D.C. ground in 72 hours.
I'm leaving today for a snowy mess in Kansas City but, without a doubt, I will return to D.C. in the future. With 72 museums and national heritage sites within the city, I will bring better walking shoes next time and stay for a week at least.
D.C. is the first of five cities on a three-week journey I'm taking across the U.S. as a participant in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program called "Women in Trade and Entrepreneurship". In the nation's capital, I've spent many hours clearing security lineups in order to meet with state officials and staff at the U.S. House of Representatives. In order to fully understand the federal government's role in supporting entrepreneurs and business, there has been an academic portion to the trip including a couple of meetings with professors at Georgetown and George Washington Universities. I'm traveling with five other Canadian women in business and an English Language Officer with whom I've begun to acquaint myself with over these first few days.
There have been a couple of revealing and emotional moments for me. I visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History today and lost my breath as I viewed the original 30 by 34 foot original Star-Spangled Banner flag from the Battle of Baltimore ending in 1814 with all its jagged edges, missing star, and bare thin threads. The second impactful moment was my visit to the Vietnam War Memorial which, like a black stone scar cut into the ground, lists the names of the 58,272 deceased or MIA American military personnel who fought in Vietnam. The stories and meaning behind every building, artifact and memorial in D.C. makes one feel as though they are living history on every street corner.
From a business perspective, during my various conversations with U.S. business officials, I was surprised to discover that 'import' was such a dirty word in the American vocabulary. It didn't seem to matter who I was speaking with, when the topic of American imports was raised, the room suddenly went silent. It was kind of like a dish breaking on the floor; everyone just stood there for a moment looking at the pieces. Say the word 'import' and the fidgeting begins. There are no programs to support or address importation issues, no one seems to know anything about imports and nothing can deter the American business focus from its export driven economy.
In Canada, we rely so heavily on international products and services that I was shocked by the lack of awareness or support for imports. It seems that international 'trade' is a two way exchange happening on a one-way road. It has become evident to me that the export blinders must stay on in order for the U.S. to dig itself out of the current economic situation.
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Until next week, which will be from Austin Texas, stay in the black and keep coming back. Jennifer Brandle-McCall is CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
