Presidents' Day Weekend

This past weekend was one of the most entertaining I’ve had since I’ve been in DC. While not everything I did was DC-centric, I’ll still post in on here because it’s definitely part of my US capital experience.

Friday night I went to a fabulous concert at the Library of Congress. I talked about that in my last post. Saturday night I didn’t really have plans but thought I would wait to see what my roommates were planning to do. Around nine I learned that there was a concert at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel on H Street NE. Having never heard of this place or any of the bands, I decided I would tag along for some cheap entertainment.

I got what I asked for, that’s for sure! The bands were The Bourbon Dynasty, CTC, Free Lobster Buffet, and Studly Moses. The first was country rock (funny), the second head-banging-screaming-angst hard rock (yikes), and the third pop/rock/dance (fabulous). I went with two housemates and a couple of girls from the University of Illinois. The Illinois girls left after the second band, eager to escape the vibrating walls and ceiling and flailing arms of the 6-foot, 2-inch guys running around in the pit. The third was definitely the best, inspiring the three remaining college students (most people there were 30+ or 15-18 years old) to dance like it was 1998. (We danced, or at least I danced, like crazy people.) But it was a blast and we wisely decided to leave before the fourth band even came on stage. (How could “Studly Moses” top “Free Lobster Buffet”?!)

Sunday I overslept and went with several of my housemates to Pete’s Diner a few blocks away for some coffee and pancakes. Then three of us went to explore the city a little more… well, our original goal was ice skating. The weather was slightly too warm, so we went to the Smithsonian castle instead. Then we visited the Air and Space Museum but it was PACKED with elementary and middle schoolers. I came back to the house and enjoyed the rest of my evening finishing Wicked and relaxing at the house.

Monday was President’s Day! Jen, Taylor, and I had our day scheduled pretty carefully because we (and by that I mean Jen) found a “President for a Day” event online. How could we turn down the opportunity to be a president for a day? Obviously we had to go. It was at the White House Visitor’s Center from 10am to 3pm, and we showed up at 11:30am. Abraham Lincoln was there answering questions (Does Abe like cheese sandwiches? Who would Abe elect in this election? And more…) for the kids and us. We went from station to station making beeswax candles, talking to the retired women who volunteered weekly at the visitor’s center, and learning about First Families.

Then we went next door to the old post office and went up in the bell tower, which was fantastic. The view from the tower was panoramic with no line whatsoever, unlike the Washington Monument which is impossible to get into unless you’re there at 8:30am. That’s just too early for patriotic sightseeing. Anyway, the bell tower had a great view and I took some pictures.

After the bell tower the three of us got some lunch there at the Pavilion and then took off to Alexandria, a suburb in Virginia. There was a parade scheduled there (for George Washington’s birthday, NOT for Presidents’ Day, I was told officially later) at 1pm. We got off the King Street metro stop a little uncertain of how exactly to get to the parade… or even King Street. Actually, I had no idea where the parade was. “Alexandria” seemed specific enough, and the three of us were in an adventurous moods. The weather was warm and cheerful, so we walked through the town until we finally realized it was wiser to ask directions.

Finally we arrived at the parade just in time to hear the first marching bands coming along the street. The parade was much longer than I expected, but in a good way. After the Chinese New Year’s Parade, my hopes were not high. Fortunately I was happily surprised!

There were Boy Scouts and Brownies galore, followed by town officials, more marching bands, PT Cruisers (lots and lots of them), Democratic candidate supporters (Obama08 and Clinton08 in the same car holding signs), etc etc etc. Pictures will do it much better justice than I can.

As the parade ended the first drops of rain splashed down, and we dashed back to the dry warmth of the metro. Not too long afterward, I was back at home, a little damp but happy about how the weekend ended.

So that was my weekend! Thanks for sticking around (if you did) and reading about my life. As always, comments are welcomed and appreciated!

...and pictures

Finally, the National Building Museum! I think I'm in love with these columns. (Corinthian columns, actually -- thank you, Ms. Carlyle-from-my-junior-year!)






















































Here are a couple of pictures from the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown. We got there in time to see most of the parade. (Chinatown isn't that big.)

Happy Valentine's Day

It’s been a while since I updated, but now I have a couple of weeks’ worth of experiences to share with you so it should be a substantial post! Right now I’m contentedly sitting in Starbucks having just finished an assignment for my policy class and a grande café mocha.

Last weekend was really nice. On Saturday morning I went with Taylor (another girl who is on the DC program) to help fill food boxes to be distributed throughout DC. I had really wanted to get involved in a volunteer program while in the city, and I’m glad Taylor found this one. It was the second time we’ve been. On Saturday mornings they put together fifty or sixty food boxes in about an hour and then have drivers take them out all over the city and surrounding areas to families in need.

We came back and had lunch and showers before taking off to Pentagon City, a mall on the metro stop just past the Pentagon. It’s just outside the inner city area so it’s slightly more expensive on the metro. It’s a four story mall with a Nordstrom and Macy’s along with a hundred other smaller stores. Our goal: to find dresses. Taylor and I needed to find nice formal dresses to wear to black tie events. I get to go to the “conservative prom” of DC next month – AEI hosts an annual dinner at the Hilton and invites interns to attend. This year the speaker is John Howard (former prime minister of Australia – how cool is that?).

So Taylor and I had a mission to find dresses. She found one for another event she’s going to but I didn’t really find a dress I liked. At least, not within my budget. My parents are coming up next weekend so I’ll hopefully have more luck then.

Anyway, Taylor, Michelle, Caitlin, and I explored the mall for several hours and had an early dinner before traveling back to the house and enjoying a nice, relaxing Saturday evening. On Sunday I went with Aisha, Kevin, and Jamihlia to an Episcopalian church a couple of blocks away. The service was pretty informal and the church was beautiful. The pews (actually just chairs) were arranged in circles radiating out from the center of the church where the altar and pulpits were. It was a very welcoming and accepting church and had no problem letting us participate in Communion. Several people greeted us individually and invited us to a lunch afterwards, which was Chinese food in celebration of the Chinese New Year. We met three other interns there, which was nice. I feel like I’ve met so many college students (or recent graduates) since I’ve been here. There are multiple houses near mine that are a part of Washington Intern Student Housing: the University of Texas, the University of South Carolina, Ohio State University, and the UNC system all have separate houses or apartments within a block or two of our house. We’ve met a lot of them and I feel like I see them everywhere. In fact, at the moment I am typing this line while sitting in Starbucks I see a couple of guys from Ohio State walking past. Capitol Hill really is a great place to live when you’re an intern!

So where was I? Oh yes, Sunday afternoon. We got back to the house around 1:30pm. Aisha and I were supposed to study for the LSAT together, but as usual other things got in the way. We ended up going with a huge group of UNC and USC students to the Chinese New Year festival in Chinatown, which is not too far from where we live. It was unbelievably windy, though! So mostly we took the metro to Chinatown, saw a few dragons (see pictures) and then made our way back to the house. On the way Kelly, Taylor, and I stopped at the National Building Museum because Taylor hadn’t been. I finally got some pictures of this incredible structure. The columns inside are enormous, which is surprising because the outside of the museum is not that impressive.

The National Building Museum has some fairly interesting (and random) exhibits with everything from the history of building DC to the development of the chair as a piece of furniture. Kelly and I stopped there just so we could sit inside the huge building and enjoy watching the kids. It’s basically an indoor park; the museum is definitely designed for young children. There’s a “Building Zone” that a bunch of us tried to go to last time we came to this museum because kids get to build their own buildings. We thought that sounded like a lot of fun, but there is a height restriction – we were far too tall to get in! We had to have a kid with us to get to play with the building materials.

So that was last weekend. I can’t remember what I did last Sunday evening, but I think it probably involved me reading Wicked. I’ve gotten sucked into this book and can’t wait to read it after I finish this post. So far I have really caught up on reading since I’ve been here, which is such a nice hobby to rediscover. I used to read for hours into the night before I got into college, and for whatever reason I haven’t gotten back into that habit. I’ve read about a book a week, including The Nine, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (okay, I’m only mostly through but it’s extremely long so let’s count it for now), Dead Man Walking, and most of Wicked. I’ve bought more books since I’ve been here at some used bookstores, not to mention the fact that I’ve brought several of my own. And none of that takes into account the reading I do for class or the books I’m reading for a seminar I’m taking at AEI.

Now I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m going back to Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were average days at work. Tuesday was the Potomac Primary (VA, DC, and MD) so it was interesting watching those results come in. Whatever your political affiliation or interest in politics period, it’s hard to ignore the feeling of change in the air. A year from now we’ll have a new President and Congress will probably be more Democratic than it’s been since the early 1990s. I’ve lived nearly my entire life under the executive leadership of the Bush and Clinton families (though that could continue for another four or eight years if HRC wins), so I can definitely sympathize with those eager for a change in national leadership.

Now that I talk politics all day at work, it’s hard for me to change my focus and talk about something else. So as I’m sure you can already tell, this blog will continue to be saturated with political chatter. Please comment if you want! Even if it’s to tell me to please shut up about the election.

Thursday I had class with Dr. Podoff in the morning. (Actually, I just realized I forgot to talk about my classes the week before. We shared class with the foreign policy students and heard from an official in the Department of Homeland Security and a director from the U.S. Border and Customs Agency. Both were interesting, especially the guy from the Department of Homeland Security. He was very good at not answering questions straight.)

So this past Thursday (Valentine’s Day!) we talked about the budget that President Bush’s OMB just released this week and how Congress might respond and on what timeline. Who knew the budget process could be so interesting? As usual, I regret not taking more economics classes.

For our afternoon policy class, we have to go to each of our “internship placements” and meet with an expert in our particular placement fields. That afternoon we went to the Environmental Protection Agency where Kelly works. The specific department was the Division for Innovative Pilots, which was really interesting because we talked about the use of states as the classic policy laboratory, from which other states can borrow tested policies and adjust them to their specific needs as long as they fit within the EPA’s national policy restrictions. (Oh the beauty of our federal system! This is why I love public policy and politics.) The EPA works with states to coordinate their new and creative programs and provide technical assistance and feedback of their own.

So that was class. On Thursday evening I went back to AEI (yes, on my day off) to go to a seminar titled “The Founding of America.” Walter Berns, a constitutional academic and scholar at AEI, is teaching the class. He has taught several before to the research assistants, but this time they offered the class to some of the political/social policy interns as well. Considering the fact that this scholar is world renowned (he went to South Africa in the 1990s to work on creating a new constitution and he knows Supreme Court justices personally), there was no way I was passing up this unique opportunity. I’ve read some of the articles he has published more recently and I plan to read some of his longer works as soon as I get a chance. For the seminar we have to read the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, and Locke’s Second Treatise on Government. Early American history, particularly the creation of the Constitution and its formative political years, is among my favorite academic subjects. So the seminar lasted a couple of hours and I’m already learning. I need to read several chapters for Thursday evening, though, as soon as possible so I don’t forget. I’m afraid he’ll call on me out of the blue (he’s already given one of the research assistants an assignment to write a short paper and give a five minute presentation at the next class – am I in over my head???). It’s frighteningly similar to one of the most academically challenging classes I’ve had at Carolina: History of the Constitution of the United States to 1876. That professor called on me ALL of the time and I usually had no idea what to say since he’d written a dozen books on the topic and taught the class for well over a decade, whereas I was a twenty-year-old non-history major who could barely digest his fifteen-minute-long question.

But I got a free dinner out of it. The seminar, not the UNC history class.

So this weekend. Last night I went to a fabulous concert at the nearby Library of Congress for free. I went with Kevin to hear the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin play modern and classical music for nearly two and a half hours. I’m no music expert, but it was unbelievable how good the orchestra was. And they had a grand piano, my one musical weakness. Sometimes I really miss playing, and last night was one of those times. While I think I lack significant innate skill, I still love to play. It’s a beautiful instrument. After I got a healthy dose of the Russian language and great Tchaikovsky, I went back to the house and watched Law and Order before going to bed exhausted.

Here I am today, enjoying a lovely Saturday on Capitol Hill. I woke up late this morning and went with several of my friends to Eastern Market. I got some fruit and cereal (I have NO groceries except for a couple of cans of soup and rice – I can’t wait for my parents to come and take me to a grocery store!). So now that I have cereal, I’m set for the week until they come. I spent a couple of hours at the house catching up with a couple of friends and working out some housing stuff for next year (cross your fingers, because I think we’ve found our house!), then I came to Starbucks. Two and a half hours later, here I am typing away.

Thank you so much for your patience and your desire to hear about even the silliest stories! I’m going to post pictures soon after I post this blog entry, so stay tuned.

Happy Valentine’s Day (belatedly) to you all!

It's the weekend!

This week went by really quickly since I only had to work three days. I went to a conference on Thursday and Friday at the National Press Club. The conference was an annual event for the National Academy of Social Insurance. It was part of my class on domestic policy, so I got class credit and lots of random information about health insurance out of it.

The conference topic was the viability of universal health care (of widely varying sorts) both politically and in terms of policy. I knew next to nothing about health insurance before going into the conference and came out really intrigued by the whole topic. While the largest portion of the federal budget goes toward welfare instruments such as Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security, the broader topic of the future of health insurance in the US is generally ignored at UNC. I feel that for such a liberal cause, it's not one often championed by college students. Forty-seven million Americans are without health insurance right now, out of a total population of about 300 million. That seems troubling at best, and although I shy away from the "universal health care" label, I find it hard to ignore the inherent inequalities in the health care system or the fact that something should be done.

Unfortunately, I come to that conclusion after two days of intensive panels, speakers, and breakout sessions in an organization that certainly leaned to the left. While political alignment is hardly a flaw, it typically signals a reason to be wary of drawing conclusions without giving the other side a chance. Some of the speakers, I will admit, claimed to be conservatives or from conservative institutions. Regardless, I need more information. I highly doubt I will ever develop more than a cursory knowledge of the health care industry or the complexities of its reform, but I know it's my duty as a citizen and as a voter to make myself as aware of the situation as it is.

All of that said, it was impossible not to sense a feeling of change at the conference. Not for the first time, I appreciated the opportunity to be in DC during the election season. With national politics possibly tilting left and the window of opportunity, as some put it at the conference, about to open for a remarkably short amount of time immediately after the inauguration, it will fascinating to see where we stand a year from now. While that will only be days into the next presidency, I have a feeling that the national mood will be telling of the possibility of change to come. Perhaps that mood won't translate into significant reform, but the hope is certainly there.

As for the weekend, I haven't done anything too exciting. Today I went to a local diner for breakfast and visited the National Building Museum. The building itself was pretty cool. The exhibits were less impressive, but the exhibit about the city construction itself was interesting.

We also went to Eastern Market, a great place to get produce and meat, and vendors outside have small tables set up with jewelry, scarves, pictures, furniture, and more food. I really enjoy going there just to see what the vendors have, and the weather today was perfect. Also it's usually crowded with a wide variety of people, so that's always interesting. I got some fruit and decided I would go back for more in a few days. I need to stock up on groceries soon. I'm almost out of Raisin Bran!

I went out to an Indian restaurant tonight for dinner and had a great chicken dish. I can't remember what it was called, but it tasted great. The service wasn't that great, but for the most part that's the norm here. I haven't figured out if that's because our groups are clearly comprised of college students who give typically measly tips, or if it's because that's how most people are treated in restaurants. It's a little annoying, but I'm getting used to it.

I don't have any pictures as of yet to put up. I didn't take any today at the building museum. Eastern Market really isn't photo-worthy either, to be honest. You should come experience it for yourself.

So I guess that's all for now. I'll keep you posted if anything else thrilling happens this weekend. Thanks for reading!