As I sit here waiting to leave my ‘home’ of the past two months I am reflecting on what I have done this summer. I did not keep this travel journal going during my time here, which I may regret in the future, but every time I thought about writing my experiences down I just shied away from them. But now I am going to summarize my summer (with pictures, of course!).
My first night in DC I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I found where I would be living, and attempted to unpack my bags. My home for the summer was in a building known as Grosvenor Tower, and I shared a two-bed, two-bath apartment with three other people: Chloe, Kate and Coral. We co-existed well and on occasion went out together. I went to a couple of movies and sight-seeing with Coral, ate out with Kate, and went to a play (The Visit) with Chloe.
The first full day here The Washington Center had everyone go on a scavenger hunt with other people from their group. I’m pretty sure I walked myself to death that day, and you can still see the damage it did to my feet. Luckily, my group was among the winners so we were received gift certificates for pizza. Lesson for the day – you exercise, and you will be rewarded with junk food.
After that, I did a bit of sightseeing on my own and a few days later I began my internship at the Department of Commerce. It was a wonderful work environment. The majority of my time was spent cataloguing documents that had been accumulating for the past 30 years. It got a little mundane at times, but it was something that had to be done; they had no idea what kind of documents were there, or how many they even had. I also had other side projects occasionally, but those normally only lasted for a day or so.
My first full weekend after I moved in, I went to see Hillary Clinton give her “I am not running for president anymore” speech. From the talk immediately after her speech I realized my primary reaction was accurate, even though I do not really get into politics very often. The tone of her speech was much different from anything she had ever done before, and she spoke more about how her success so far was a great leap forward for women’s rights. I also found it particularly funny when she would mention how her supporters could continue supporting her by voting for Obama, and then there were boos in the crowd. But it was definitely worth going to see her speak.
Another event I went to was the Campus Progress National Conference. To be honest, I really only went to hear John Edwards and Ryan Gosling speak, but I also got a lot more out of it. I went to a few panel discussions: one about the future of America in the global world (which I guess I’m going global anyway) and the other about intellectual property. Overall, this was a very interesting day. John Edwards was a very good speaker, and the panel discussion about genocide was very informative. And, since I am in DC and cannot escape politics, I guess it was appropriate that a lot of the questions for Edwards were about the upcoming election. People at the conference were very pro-Obama, and a lot of people would phrase questions starting with “When Obama is president…” rather than if. There were very few conservatives in the crowd, and only one person who, in a panel discussion, openly discussed it. It really seemed like she shot herself in the foot, though, when the Great Wall of Mexico issue was brought up. Her reasoning for supporting the border barrier was this: “If you have a pool in your back yard, and you don’t want your child to drown in it, what do you do? You put a fence around it.” There were several outraged responses in the crowd, and the matter did not get better when she continued to defend it. Gotta love politics, right?
Apart from any special events, I also found my sanctuary where I could escape to after work if I did not want to go home and did not want to walk around. It was the courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum/Portrait Gallery. It was made to look like an open courtyard, but there was a glass ceiling and it was climate controlled. There were trees that grew in the courtyard, and there were fountains that ran probably less than a centimeter of water across the ground for several feet. The kids really loved splashing around in this. One night when I went there, there was a band playing music. It was just a place I could go to relax and escape from the world.
With the Washington Center I had the opportunity to go to several different places. I went to the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the Pentagon. Each tour was very brief, but it was worth going to say I went and to know what these places are.
One weekend I went to the Arlington National Cemetery. Call me morbid, but I found it both awe-inspiring and peaceful. There are so many people buried there and you get to see the true cost of war. Also, I was able to see the final resting place of JFK, which I found quite moving, especially since I was standing next to a group of nuns. Later, watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was also interesting. As the ceremony begins, the military officer comes out and explains the rules to the crowd sitting on the stairs: turn off cell phones, no talking, be respectful, and stand up. The officer seemed to get a bit of satisfaction when he asked the crowd that had been nearly entirely seated that they had to stand for the ceremony.
My last full weekend on the East Coast I took a trip to New York. I did a hop-on/hop-off bus around the city and got to see where several places where that I had not been to before. Riding around in that city made me feel like I might live there someday. While there, I went to the Breaking Dawn Concert series, which I must say was a madhouse. Not as bad as I anticipated, for the most part, but in some ways worse. The actual concert was really enjoyable, and it is amazing how worked up some people are about this fictional series. It was fun to watch everyone and have people get into the Edward vs. Jacob argument. The bad part came when Stephenie Meyer started her autograph signing. There was no real system for us to get into a line peaceably, so we were all feeling like we were being herded like sheep. I think it took an hour and a half to two hours for me to get through the line, and I probably wasn’t even at the half-way point. So, thank you Ms. Meyer, and I hope you hand doesn’t cramp for too long. The next night I went to see the musical ‘Wicked.’ It was a very good show; I recommend it. It has a different outcome from the book and is made family friendly, but in a way I think the musical might be better than the book.
At the beginning of this, I was sitting in my apartment. Now I am at the airport waiting for my flight. I’ve said my good-byes and moved on from this place. While DC is a wonderful place, I do not see myself returning here permanently in the future. Now, after I get home, I will be preparing for my next great adventure in France. Wish me luck!
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