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at the White House are always theme-centered, and this year’s theme was the centennial of the National Park Service, which will be celebrated in 2016. Thus, the White House florist had decorated the public rooms with trees and garlands of gold aspen leaves representing the Appalachian trail and with pine cones and seashells representing the beauty of America’s seashores. On the walls were paintings depicting America’s natural treasures: the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (both of which are designated as national parks), Mount Rushmore, and the San Antonio missions. In the Blue Room, we found the majestic White House Christmas tree, so tall that the chand elier had to be temporarily removed. The tree ornaments, each designed by a local artist, repre sented 391 national parks. One of the ornaments made us pause in silence: the one representing the most recently designated national park—the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Penn sylvania, at the site where United flight 93 crashed on September 11. As we walked from the Blue Room to the Green Room and Red Room, I lingered to look at the 18th century paintings and furnishings . . . simply because I could. Then my attention was diverted by the spectacular buffet laid out in the State Dining Room and the East Room. Just as the holiday de corations showed the diversity of American land scapes, the food served that night featured highlighted local and regional cuisines of America: smoked salmon from Maine, crab cakes from Maryland, dry cured ham from Virginia, tamales with black bean sauce from the Southwest, and artisan cheeses from Vermont and New York’s Hudson Valley. I considered where we would sit to enjoy our dinner, another reminder of being on the other side because I am rarely faced with this dilemma when I visit the White House. This time, I had my choice of three parlors, two huge banquet rooms, and a cozy music room. But what I really wanted to do was sit in front of the fireplace in the State Dining Room, the very room in which President Clinton welcomed President Kuchma back in 1994. We discovered that our tablemates included a former high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Commerce and the head of the National Restaurant Association of the U.S. Like old friends, we chatted about how each of us was connected to the President, the best Greek restaurant in town (the up-scale Komi in the Dupont Circle area of Washington), and other pleasant topics— small talk not even remotely connected to any White House duties. After dinner, we took time to see the spectacular gingerbread White House, a perfect replica of the White House of 1792. The White House pastry chef had actually consulted the original architectural plans, and a team of five people worked about 800 hours to create the spectacular dessert, which was made of 300 pounds of white chocolate and 100 pounds of gingerbread. To be looked at and admired (not eaten), the gingerbread White House also reflected the national park theme. On the grounds, the pastry chef had placed miniature gingerbread animals that inhabit our national parks—foxes and sheep and even a bald eagle perched in the branch of a tree. And if you looked very closely, you could see President Bush’s pet dogs Barney and Beazley in a tiny gingerbread sleigh. We then addressed the edible desserts. During the Christmas season, guests at the White House consume approximately 20,000 cookies, 700 cakes, and 320 gallons of the legendary spiked eggnog. I must confess that we probably helped swell these consumption statistics. But the highlight of the magical evening, a moment that truly underscored our special status that night, was the receiving line. As Ed and I approached the head of the line, we were greeted by President and Mrs. Bush and photographed with them. Two real guests enjoying a festive event on the other side of the White House divide. Marta N. Zielyk holds the post of Senior Diplomatic Interpreter in the U.S. State Department. All thoughts expressed in this article are her own and do not reflect the views of the U.S. government.
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