Learning the Flags on Embassy Row

I was a single dad for the past nine days because Almudena was off in Oxford and Bonn for work. She brought me back a nice bottle of German mead, so all is forgiven. One of the nice things about taking care of Julián solo is I get to take him to school. It's right next to where Almudena works so usually that's her job.

Julián loves the bus. He already has several "bus friends", some of the drivers know his name, and he likes to read the numbers of the passing buses. Must be his mother's mathematical mind. His school is along embassy row, so I've been teaching him the flags. There's no better way to show off than to have your three year-old shout out, "Look, the flag of Colombia!!!"

What strikes me is how much the embassies symbolize their countries. The French embassy is a marble palace. The Japanese have a clean, modern office building. The American embassy is a fortress.

And the embassy of Canada, my own country? A little office in an upper floor of a nondescript building tucked away on a side street. Ah well.