Dr. Gee Visits Glenn Fellows

Photos from Harpers Ferry national park, where the students visited on July 18th. They learned about the park and the history of the land, including battles fought during the civil war and the raid of John Brown.

The New USDA

When I was telling friends that I was doing an internship with the USDA this summer, more than a few of them thought I would be helping inspecting and stamping the meat that ends up in their grocery store. Fortunately, the USDA has a bit of a broader scope than that. This website/video explains part of the mission of the Foreign Agriculture Service, which is the primary agency for international affairs within the USDA.

http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/Afghanistan/us-afghanistan.asp

Regards,
Kevin

July 4th Festivities

This was a great weekend to be in DC. There is currently a Smithsonian sponsored Folklife festival taking place on the National Mall. The festival showcases certain countries or regions of the world every year, and this year the main country is Wales. For a small country, it sure is rich in culture. Unfortunately, I spent $9 for a rather small Welsh salad with a little smoked ham and cheese...I miss Columbus prices.
Yesterday, my fiance and I packed a meal and a blanket and went down to the Mall around 6:00 PM to stake out a spot. We enjoyed lots of people-watching with thousands of diverse people milling around, playing games, and talking. It was the fireworks at the end of the evening that was most memorable, however. I think it is something most Americans should try to experience.

Regards,
Kevin

DC in Pictures

After less than two weeks of being here, I'm pretty sure I have taken more pictures of Washington DC than I have my entire family combined. This isn't saying much, as none of us is all that photogenic, but still, Washington has a great photo op just about every block. I'm sure I've been one of the more touristy Fellows so far--I have around 200 pictures already--and there will be more to come over the next month and a half.

My first photo op was our house itself. The WISH housing provided to us is in an unbeatable location, just blocks from the Capitol, Supreme Court, and Library of Congress. It is very nice inside, as the bathroom on the third floor that my roommate and I have to ourselves features a skylight and a Jacuzzi. This is completely unnecessary for college students, but it is a welcome touch. The third floor also has a deck outside:

In the distance there is the Madison building of the Library of Congress (I think...).

I've taken some adventures here alone so I could go see what I wanted to see without being bothered or hurried. DC isn't a bad place to walk around by yourself as long as it's still light out or it's the weekend and there are tons of tourists wandering in the opposite direction from where you want to go with you. I've taken tons of pictures of the Washington Monument and the Capitol building, but part of that is because they're so big that it's hard not to get them in the frame.

Other highlights include the Library of Congress and Union Station: 

 These pictures and more can be found in my enormous Facebook album, which anyone can browse through here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025999&id=1431540057&l=8f6405217e

Enjoy!

-Mike S.