Air & Space Museum

We have already had the opportunity to see quite a few places here in DC! Part of our program allows us to take study tours on Friday afternoons to a variety of different places around the city. This past week, we had the opportunity to visit the Air & Space Museum and Voice of America. Visiting the Air & Space Museum was very interesting and educational. We had a great tour guide who catered our tour to Ohioans that played an important role in air and space. We saw many pieces of history, including the original artifacts from the Wright Brothers. We also saw Friendship 7, the mission that John Glenn was part of. Our guide also shared many stories about John Glenn as well as Neil Armstrong. We also had the opportunity to talk about more current day space shuttles, such as Discovery and Challenger. We also learned some interesting facts about things that NASA created for us that we used quite often. You'd be surprised! The National Air & Space Museum is a must see when you visit DC!

-Alissa

Mozart on the Millennium

Here in D.C., at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Millennium Stage hosts free performances throughout the year. This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to see four members of the National Symphony Orchestra perform three of Mozart’s’ pieces. The bassoonist and cellist performed a rich and vibrant Sonata followed by the Duo No. 1 in G major for Violin and Viola. The Quartet for Bassoon and Strings in C major was the finale. The National Symphony Orchestra is known for its collective and bewitching sound, but it is important to realize that the whole is made up of individual artists with their own unique musical styles. This fact was highlighted during the performance on Saturday; there was individuality and emotion that is sometimes lost with a large symphony.

The performance was a blast and I can't wait to go to more this semester. If you are interested in the Millennium Stage performances they have live Internet broadcasts at kennedy-center.org/millennium every day at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. This Saturday, the 26^th, Cirkestra is performing!

~Gabrielle Romberger

Attending the Inauguration

Through a family friend that works in the Capital Building, I was fortunate enough to get tickets to President Obama’s Inauguration Ceremony. What an experience this was. From the start of the invocation, to Beyonce’s singing of the National Anthem at the end, I could not shake the incredible feeling that I was witnessing history in the making. And despite the fact that this event will happen every four years, to me, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

  

While I enjoyed the performances and President Obama's speech, what resonated most with me was being reminded of the importance of bipartisan politics. While the event focused on President Obama, the entire legislative branch being in attendance on the platform as well was a good visual indicator that our country’s success never rests on the shoulders of just one person. It takes the hundreds of people that make up Congress, as well as the Supreme Court, in addition to the President, to make successful legislation. While many Americans today are frustrated with the political climate, I realized at the ceremony that hoping for some bipartisanship is not futile. All of the legislation that has been passed within the president’s first term passed because a majority of those hundreds of people on the platform were happy enough with a compromise to vote in favor of it. This proved to me that while the partisanship of politics might sometimes be discouraging, we are making progress despite, or perhaps because of, our many different views.

Overall, the inauguration made me aware of, and incredible thankful for, the opportunities that await me throughout this semester. If my first weekend involved witnessing the presidential inauguration, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the semester has in store.

Erika