A new friend

Hello current (and future) WAIP fellows!

Well this weekend I was able to experience my favorite aspect of DC: the people.

As I was walking home from visiting some OSU current/recent graduate students at a GREAT restaurant (Good Stuff Eatery, I definitely recommend it), I ran into a woman who was apparently lost. It was difficult to communicate at first but I quickly discovered her name is Singmi, and she is an international student from India. She had just moved to DC that day (she's attending grad school in Virginia) and she was staying at a home that conveniently is across the street from where the WAIP students live. So after realizing what her address was, I took her to her place. We befriended each other, and because she doesn't have a social security number yet, she can't set up a bank account, and without a bank account to deposit her checks in, she couldn't purchase a cell phone. Granted, I met her literally the DAY she moved into her place, but to go without a cell phone and more importantly a bank account when you're an international student in a completely new COUNTRY, is nerve wrecking to me. Anyway, she did have a home phone in her place, so she gave me her number and we made plans to meet each other again over the weekend.

Fast forwarding: My friend Tao (also a WAIP student) and I went to church with Singmi on Sunday, and later that day we went to Eastern Market together to show her a little bit of the surrounding area. We met another friend of Tao and I from Church, and after getting to talk to Singmi for a bit, we realized.. she had NEVER been to the Capitol Building. Now this should have clicked in my head before, seeing as she had only been in the United States for a few days, but it didn't register. So, we decided to take her there. I can't being to tell you how exciting it was to be with someone on their FIRST visit to the Capitol, and it was even better when your friend is from an entirely different country. We showed her the National Mall a bit as well, and needless to say, she thought it was all beautiful. That hands down is one of my favorite memories.

I also really enjoyed getting to observe the mannerisms and customs of an Indian woman. Singmi is 28 years old, and has already graduated from a University in India and received one masters. She's here getting another Masters in Peace and Conflict studies, oh and I forgot to mention.. she's a Fulbright. You'd never know because she's one of the most humble people I've met. Anyway, after giving her a shortened tour, she expressed to me how badly she wanted to eat "spicy" food. She said she tried a Thai restaurant the day before and they told her the food was spicy but she said it wasn't spicy (in her standards). Now, I must preface this by saying.. I hate spicy food. I'm not good with it at all and believe when I say.. I like it sweet. Anyway, I wanted to help her out, so we went in search of a place to eat. We found one, and upon her consistent requests to "make it spicy" they brought out the food. Now, at this time I also discovered how much more generous Indians are than most of the people I encounter in America, including myself. She persisted I share the meal with her, and at the expense of my taste buds and low tolerance for spicy food, I ate the meal. I think I'd have truly enjoyed it.. had I not been distracted by the burning. Overall though, I share this because I think, though this could have happened anywhere, DC definitely attracts ALL types of people, and I love this city for that. You can't say that DC isn't a cultured area because, though maybe not everyone living in the city is cultured, it certainly draws various cultures to it. So if you're interested in learning about those different from yourselves, and willing to go out of your comfort zone, DC is definitely a place that can provide that.

- AO

That's all for now.