T-14.75 hours until take off...Destination - INDONESIA!
As our group wraps up the finishing touches of preparing for our departure, I thought I'd share some pics of the dignitary gifts that the Washington State delegates will be bringing. These gifts will be given to dignitaries that we meet during our stay.
Many people are curious of international gift giving and/or exchanges and why it is done, so here's a little background to shed some light on the tradition:
The gifts are given for, and meant to say, "because of our international meeting and relationship - both professionally and personally - we are able to prosper." The gift is a representation of the new friendship and cultural exchange, not necessarily between the individuals, but the organizations and cultures the individuals represent.
Given the tradition of the exchanges, we carefully choose gifts that were not only somewhat easy to travel with, but were an excellent representation of the Pacific Northwest. We choose five individually crafted, hand-blown glass mini floppy bowls designed and created at Seattle's very own Glass Eye Studio. As part of this wonderful work of art, Studio artists use ash from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in each piece.
Cheers!
Kimberly
Washington State
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