Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Gardens and GIs

What a busy busy busy Memorial Day weekend! So many places to go, so many people to see, so many flowers to smell...I took a spur-of-the-moment side trip with Lenae to the US Botanic Garden Conservatory on our way to the National Mall. And what a great decision! It wasn't too crowded (despite it being the weekend and with extra tourists due to the holiday weekend) and I was amazed at the range of flora and fauna contained in such a relatively small space. There were gorgeous and enormous plants with delightfully dainty flowers. One smelled like cinnamon and another like mint...how intriguing...One of my favorite finds was the Window Leaf (wonder how it got its name?).

Onward towards the Mall!

On a slightly more serious tone, the WWII, Vietnam, and Korean Memorials commanded the respect of all those visiting. My favorite is always the Korean War Memorial. The soldiers look so lost and alone in a useless ideological war. While it wasn't exactly sad, it was a pensive and deep experience.


-Rachel and Lenae

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Embassy Hopping

Hello all! Today, we'll tell you about our embassy hopping adventure a few weeks ago. This is a bit of a delayed post, but we're all facing a time constraint here in DC.
Anyway, on May 11, many of the European embassies opened their doors to the public. In all, we visited Bulgaria, Estonia, Denmark, Italy, Great Britain, and Belgium. The group favorite was a close call between the Italy and Denmark. Both were sprawling, gated estates, in modern styles and lots of windows and natural light. The Italian Embassy was bustling with masquerade volunteers, entertainers, mannequins with 18th century style dress of the Italian nobility, and a ton of info and promotional booths. We loved the Belgian Embassy almost solely due to the culinary options.

                                              Blimey, look at those Ohio blokes

A few things we have learned:

  • “Free food” doesn't mean free food—nearly every embassy we visited did not, in fact, have free food, but instead sold it at Potomac prices. For example, 5 USD for a can of soda and a slice of pizza at Italy or $7 for fish and chips at UK. Bonus points to the Belgian Embassy, for giving out free chocolate, beer, and waffles, and the Italian Embassy did give out free gelato and espresso, though.
  • DC's weather is as tempermental as Ohio's—one minute it was raining, the sun was beating down, the next it was windy and cold. The only constant was the extreme humidity. Welcome to DC.
  • Tourists on tourists on tourists—the lines were incredibly long. We waited over an hour to get into the Italian Embassy, and other popular embassies, like UK and Belgium had similar waits at peak times.
  • No Dress Code—some of us were afraid that because we were entering the foreign headquarters of many European countries, we would need to be a little spiffy. Our concerns were unfounded, ultimately—read: tourists everywhere.
  • All of this brings me to my last point—the first week or so, we were tourists. Now, we're Washingtonians.  

                                             The gang with Sir Winston Churchill

--
Travis

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Spending the Day as a Kid!

Last weekend, a few of the Glenn Fellows headed to the Smithsonian's National Zoo to spend a day engulfed in sunshine and exploration!  Visiting the zoo was an awesome experience, and free at that!  It is remarkable to enjoy so many attractions in Washington, DC that are free.

Spending the day with animals (and I am not referring to the other fellows!) brought me back to childhood and allowed me to unwind from the first week of our internship program.  We saw all sorts of animals, and my favorite was the orangutans.  The National Zoo has the great ape exhibit in two separate parts, and in between both are overhead climbing wires.  Throughout the day, the orangutans actually leave one exhibit and climb above the public without any protection beneath them! It came as a great surprise that they just freely swing above the public in the air, but it helped rank the National Zoo as one of the best I have seen.

Orangutan flying through the air!

Panda eating bamboo!



Overall, LenĂ¡e, Jake, Eric and I had a great day at the zoo last weekend!

Aaron Clapper

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Summer 2013 Fellows Have Entered the District!

Today marks one week for the summer fellows, and it has been a busy and exciting week!  Most of the students moved in on Saturday, and we had our initial orientation with Dr. Kolson and Joe on Monday.  As a group, we have toured the National Archives and the Historical Society of Washington, DC, as well as the Library of Congress.

Today, a few students headed to the open house for the embassies of the European Union!  I enjoyed atmosphere, both of those touring and those inside the embassies, as it showed a set of culture that could be found without leaving the country!  My favorite embassies were those of Lithuania and Spain, for two very different reasons.  I have studied Spanish language and culture during high school and college, and the ability to see the embassy brought the country to me.  Inside, I found artwork and food, as well as people galore!  Great experience!

Aaron Clapper, Nora Gerber, Matt Deptola, Elena Krupa, and Josh Lachman!

I also enjoyed Lithuania's embassy because I do not really know too much about Lithuania, and I was able to experience that culture and see their political workings on that visit.  The people were very friendly, and they had two small children working their entrance table who were thrilled everyone was coming in!  While we were trying their select foods, a man came down playing a violin.

Week one is down!  And there are many more adventures to come!

Aaron Clapper