Baltimore Day

Earlier in July, our program had the opportunity to travel by bus to Baltimore. Once there, we toured Customs and Border Protection, ate crabs and other crab-related foods, and explored a beautiful part of the city called Fells Point.

The day started rather early; we were required to meet at the bus outside of the Hall of States at 7 am, much earlier than all of us start work. Somehow we all made it on the bus and around an hour later we arrived in Baltimore. We started our day with a tour of Customs and Border Protection. Honestly, I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect. We started off hearing from a few people who work for the agency in their downtown building. One of the employees showed us a box full of children’s toys that they could not accept into the country due to various copyright and/or safety reasons. For example, they check items to see if they would be a safety hazard for children, if they are infringing upon copyrights (i.e. faux-Spiderman lunchboxes), if they are classified correctly (something classified as a game is, in fact, a game), if they contain lead paint, and so on. The classifications are particularly important because the taxes on the imports differ depending on how items are classified.

After these first few talks and Q&A sessions, we continued on to the port itself. There, we caravanned around to meet some officers, learn about how they scan for radioactive materials, how they use the car-sized x-ray machines, and how one can become a border protection officer. Lastly, we traveled to the warehouses where we learned more about checking for radioactive items and what the agency does with all of the rejected imports. I personally went in to this tour knowing next to nothing about Customs and Border Protection, so I found it all rather fascinating.

Upon completion of this multi-faceted tour, the bus dropped us off at a restaurant in Fells Point, a quaint, cobble-stoned area right next to the waterfront. We then had a wonderful time eating crabs, crab patties, crab dip, and other delightful treats. After that, we had free time to explore the area, take some pictures, and wander in and out of the shops. We boarded the bus around 5pm to return to D.C., stomachs full and hearts content with the knowledge that someone out there is making sure our toothpaste is free from radioactive material and that our future children will be playing with lead-paint-free toys.

-Catherine