Saturday: With the first week done all you really want
to do is sleep. Or maybe sit on the couch. Regrettably for you D.C. isn't a
permanent home (yet). I did indulge in
sleeping in until 8:30 instead of getting up at 6:15, which was a nice treat.
To make up for the lie-in I trekked to the local grocery outpost (giant) and
bought essentials (nutella, whipped cream and eggs). Saturday morning Swedish
pancakes are always the right call to make! I got those started at 9:30 and
just kept making them until 11. Somehow we still had leftovers despite the 15
or so people that trickled through for breakfast. Fortunately, pancakes are
also good for lunch, and dinner, and snacks, and second day breakfast. After a brief period of lounging a few of us
drifted around the Capitol building to the Asian Heritage Festival on
Pennsylvania Ave.. They had some great dancing and singing, and of course,
food. Thai tea and chicken kebab for lunch! The evening concluded with a failed
trip to see Pitch Perfect 2 in Chinatown.
Sunday: Starting the day with some leftover
pancakes from the morning before is always the correct way to go. Not too much
happened on Sunday, despite my vow to go to a museum a weekend, I'm so far
failing miserably. I did manage to go grocery shopping though, and made it to
Nordstrom Rack, where I invested in new shorts, and a new work shirt. Both of
which were entirely necessary of course. Sunday night finished off with another
failed ice cream trek to union station (turns out the ice cream place closes at
9 rather than a civilized hour like 11).
Monday: Work week two! Nothing too remarkable
to report here. I've settled into my work (meaning I'm slowly memorizing
names), and developed a very British habit of elevenses. Any excuse for a cup
of tea and granola bar mid-morning! Today's policy lecture went well, my
section turned in our paper topics for the 20 page policy paper we have due at
the end of the semester. Spoiler alert, mine has been accepted.
Tuesday: Work by day, Mentor Mixer by night.
Only hitch was the fact that my mentor is currently in Sweden. Regardless,
listening to what other people's mentors had to say and comparing notes on our
first week with my fellow fellows made it worth it.
Wednesday: I don't think anything remarkable
actually happened today. I worked, I came home, yay!
Thursday: See above. With the added addition of
joy because Thursday is our last day for work during the week!!
Friday: Friday is delicious because sometimes
you get to sleep in. This week we didn't need to meet at the Newseum until 10,
so I got to sleep in a full extra hour! We walked, for the most part, en masse
to the museum where we met up with Neal Hooker, one of the lectureres. Katy,
who would usually be with us for a tour is back in Columbus for her wedding
this weekend, YAY!! In the Newseum we stayed as a group just long enough to
take a group picture on the rooftop terrace before we separated out to enjoy it
at our own pace. With six floors, there is a lot to see. I don't want to spoil
anything for anyone that’s planning a trip soon, but I will say that you can
probably skip the 4D movie. In my opinion at least it wasn't worth the half
hour, the seventh graders filling up the rest of the room seemed to enjoy it
though, so that’s probably more the targeted age range. The museum does have an
interesting series of pictures on the gradually ageing baby boomers, a
entertaining but maybe a little kitschy exhibit dedicated to the beginnings of
the FBI (focused heavily on 'gangsters') and a giant room full of interactive
games. The best exhibit though, at least in my opinion, is the 9/11 section.
Its not the newspaper headlines from around the globe, or even the twisted
wreckage of the transmitter from the top of one of the towers that gets you.
Hidden away in a little room off to one side is a video of clips from the
reporters who were right by the base of the towers when they were collapsing,
interspersed with other clips of the reporters themselves talking about the
day. It was not an intentional tear jerker, but thought provoking instead. I
would highly recommend a stop by just for that.
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