Monday
Today was my last day as a completely free agent. I might be spoiled, but I really like this, wake up, eat leisurely, and wander the city as much as you like kind of day. Why does it have to change?
This morning we had our last orientation meeting with the Washington Seminar director Dr. Goss. He flew in from Utah and talked at us for three hours. We got good tips about how to be a successful intern (who would of thought that so much good came from simply working hard and being nice…?), instructions for maintaining the Barlow Center, and safety tips (kind of) from one really helpful GW counselor and one very unhelpful GW cop. Also, the AC is really wonky in this building and the great room was FREEZING. Even the guys with long sleeves and long pants were shivering… so you can imagine what the girls with short sleeves and skirts felt like.
Then, for lunch we were divided into groups and we all went to find the places of our internships so we would know where to go tomorrow morning. We ate lunch and then wandered around the city until we had completed our task.
Afterwards, it was still pretty early and the day was bea-YOO-tiful, we decided to do something outdoorsy. We pulled my oh-so-handy map out of my bag, scanned it for green-ish areas and hopped on the metro. We came up somewhere completely blocked by buildings and started heading toward the sun (that how the ancients used to do it). After asking two cops for directions, and photo ops by the FCC, Dept. of Agriculture, the Holocaust museum, we finally arrived at the Jefferson memorial. It was (as we expected) completely empty compared to the Lincoln memorial. I guess people don’t like to walk the short distance to get there…? We also saw that there is a direct line of sight from the Jefferson memorial to the center of the White House. I wonder how often President Obama or any of his staff look out the window at the Jefferson memorial.
After that we walked back to the mall and through the WWII and Vietnam memorials. By this point, we had walked probably five miles at this point and my legs were killing me. I split from the group and walked back because taking the metro over and over is actually kind of expensive. I went to Trader Joes and got some samples (Havarti Cheese) and other groceries. In general the store was completely packed and very small. There were no non-food items, but an extensive wine selection and very “me” food items. I could be a purchaser for Trader Joes methinks.
But I’d have to get their name right. I always mess up and call it Pirate O’s….
Walking near the Senate and House offices.
After going from heck to breakfast, we found the Jefferson Memorial. Here is a spontaneous self-portrait.
Then Mark felt bad for me and offered to take my picture. (I just realized I have long legs. Strange.)
The obligatory "I've got the whole world in my hands" picture.
Jefferson is huge. (And kind of lonely. Very few tourists come all the way out here.)
We Americans love that neo-classical style.
Artsy. Tilt your head to the right. (If you look close you can see the Capitol and the Smithsonian.)
I really like this memorial. It is for the Women in Vietnam. There are three women, one trying to save an injured soldier, one lifting her eyes to the sky in search of hope, and one mourning the life of a soldier she could not save.
This memorial really touched me.
The Vietnam War Memorial. The name are arranged (l-r) in the order they died. It starts with only a few names on the far left and then the lists swells into the thousands in the middle of the war (and memorial), then the names dwindle off at the end as well.
Almost everyone there was looking for a specific name. A brother, a friend, an uncle etc. The Vietnam war affected many people.
I found that I could take a picture of my reflection amidst the thousands of names inscribed in the wall.
No comments:
Post a Comment