Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The lunch talk by Javier Ruperez, Consul General of Spain was fascinating – it was a very Spanish view of North America, that Spain was the founding country of the Americas, a viewpoint not necessarily heard in Anglophile circles like mine. Mr. Ruperez has represented Spain in the United States in varying capacities for about ten years – he was the Ambassador, and was also the United Nations Assistant Secretary General. It was a small group, maybe 30 or so, including the Consul generals of Uruguay, Serbia and a couple others I didn’t catch. There were a bunch of other people who worked in areas with international twists – business and legal translators, curators of museums and immigration attorneys. The talk was followed by a stand-up lunch of “Mediterranean” food, from the cafe Turquoise – lots of couscous and baklava. I don’t recall seeing many grape leaves, but they would be difficult to deal with in a stand up lunch setting.
This event was hosted by the Niagara Foundation. Though I don’t know much of it, The Niagara Foundation has many Turkish roots, it was established to promote international, cultural and religious understanding. Although its initial bequeath was from a Turkish Muslim, I had a long conversation with a member of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago – he said that he was a regular attendee and found their programs to be excellent. This is their website: www.niagarafoundation.org
They have many programs, including lunch speakers and breakfast conversations. Find a topic that may be of interest, I highly recommend attending. Fascinating people, interesting conversation.