Another Face of D.C.: Eastern Market

The first feeling came to my mind about D.C. is that it was such a western political city, with those white giant government buildings designed in the style of Ancient Greek and those high heels walking on a super fast pace every morning. However, right in the Northeast corner of the Capital Hill, there is a place that is just so unfitted in such a political and formal environment what so ever. It is a farmer market, called Eastern Market, where various food, fruits and crafts are gathered by the local farmers and merchants. Many of them are very special stuffs that originally come from the Non-west. When I first got there, it suddenly reminded me of the market that is filled with the cheapest clothes and accessories in my hometown in China. I was so amazed that how such rural market could have a replication in the Capital of the United States. The Eastern Market reveals another face of D.C. that has not been seen by many people, which is its diversity against its stereotypical fast-paced life, formality and fractious zealotry.

Today was one of my last three days in D.C., and I went to the Eastern Market for my last time. I was thinking about my hometown while walking around that place, including the very similar market I mentioned. However, this time’s feeling was so different from the first time visiting here. Eastern Market appeared to be so special that could no longer resemble my hometown market, and I eventually figured out the real difference is the fact that this distinctive little market is located in a large environment into which it does not inherently fit. This is the charm about Washington D.C. After exploring the city for the past weeks, it seems to me what have always been going on in the city are the dynamic struggles among the diverse elements. Some people struggle for their interests, some for their career ladders, and some for culture and identity just as the distinctiveness of the Eastern Market. Hopefully, I will come back here again someday to fit in an environment that does not seem to be fit in our first glance with my own distinctiveness.

Top Ten

As I put the final touches on my research paper and prepare to head back to Ohio, I can't help but reflect on a great quarter. I have had an incredible experience in Washington, DC this summer. This will undoubtedly be a summer I will never forget. I have learned more than I could have imagined, seen more than I had even hoped for, and met more incredible people here than I thought was possible. That is why I am wrapping up my summer with a top ten for the Washington Academic Internship Program, Summer of 2011.

10. The Congressional. Not one room is the same as another. A great location with a bit of personality. I will miss my small apartment.

9. The security guard at the Hall of States. Quite possibly one of the happiest people on earth. Being greeted by his radiant smile every Friday morning was a great start to my day. Stay classy my man.

8. Studying at the Library of Congress. Probably one of the neatest experiences of the summer. Merely sitting in the main reading room is an experience in itself.

7. Fourth of July. My family was in town. As usual, when trying to coordinate a family vacation, it was hectic and slightly stressful, but at the end of the night it was a successful birthday celebration for the greatest country on earth.

6. Seersucker suits. Need I say more?

5. Friday morning breakfast. Eating breakfast with my roommate, Steven, every Friday morning as we prepped for class. Well, except for that one Friday... oops.

4. The Metro. Love it. Hate it. I experienced both of these feelings towards this method of public transportation this summer. I will miss it, except for the smell.

3. The CIA. I will assume everyone is a spy until you prove otherwise. This was an incredible trip that made me want to be in the CIA. Although now I am quite paranoid about my daily interactions.

2. Orange juice on Saturday.

1. Gabrielle Giffords. I witnessed a moment in history as I sat in the gallery to see the debt ceiling pass. This brave congresswomen made her inspirational entrance to the House floor to cast her vote. I joined the entire room for multiple standing ovations.

So long DC. It's been a fun ride. I'm sure I'll be back for more. Ken and Mike - hold down the fort after I leave.

JF

The Most Important Meal of the Day...

My mother has always taught me that it's important to treat yourself nicely and reward yourself after hard work. With that in my mind, I knew I'd have to find something fun to do during my last week here in DC after working for 9 weeks, taking class, and writing a research paper. My very first day of work, as I was walking to the office, I passed the Sofitel Hotel. I immediately was captivated by the very fancy breakfast that they were serving at the hotel's restaurant, ici Bistro. As I have passed by the hotel and restaurant everyday to and from work, it didn't take me long to decide that breakfast there would be my treat to myself for a summer of hard work.

I convinced one of my fellow John Glenn-ers to splurge and spend the money on a super fancy breakfast. We made reservations last week and have been waiting in anticipation for the day of our elegant breakfast to finally arrive. And oh, it did not disappoint.

We arrived and were ushered to very comfortable chairs outside on the patio. They served us our coffee in a french press and orange juice in a wine glass. They also brought a basket of croissants and other breads to eat with our plates of scrambled eggs. All the staff was very friendly and all had French accents, though I forgot to ask where each of them was from. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and my favorite type of food, this was an excellent way to start off my second to last day of my internship.

Even though I cringed when the bill came, as I have cringed a lot this summer when I realized how much I owed different establishments around the city, I didn't regret the decision to eat there. It was just the relaxing time that I needed to get me through my last week. It really made me stop and think about how much I've enjoyed my time here this summer, how much I've learned and how much I appreciate all the wonderful people I have met, both in the program and at my work. While the breakfast only lasted about an hour, this whole summer has been awesome and I know I'll continue to appreciate the opportunity I had here for a long time to come.

Two Tasty Restaurants

In spite of the humid weather, summer life in DC was fun and pleasing. Being able to stay here for about two months, I gradually grew into a proud tour guide of this great city. When my friend Tyche visited me last weekend, I took her to all my favorite places in DC. Other than the famous museums and monuments, we also had a little food tasting tour around DC.

The first stop we made was We The Pizza on Penn Avenue. The place was not quite big and was crowed with local professionals, as well as tourists. There were eleven different kinds of fresh-baked pizza, along with chicken wings, side dishes and delicious flavored soda. I ordered my all-time-favorite BBQ pork pizza with crispy onions as topping. Tyche however, as a big fan of spicy food, got the spicy Mexican pie with chicken, peppers and tasty homemade spicy source on the top. The environment at We The Pizza was delightful and casual: there were interns from the Hill in their business suits chatting with each other, on the other end of the room there were also tourist families in their “I LOVE DC” t-shirts.

Another special place we tried was Korean restaurant Mandu on K Street. Earlier this summer, I went to Mandu with my office at their DuPont Circle location, as a farewell lunch for our Korean colleague, who was leaving during that week. The meaning of Mandu was dumplings in Korean, which was also the restaurant’s logo. Their decoration was unique and modern - light green wallpaper with traditional Korean cranes decor fly across the ceiling. According to my Korean coworkers, their food was also quite authentic. Their Korean brunch special during weekends was definitely worth trying.

- T.H.

China TOWN!

There have been talks about people going out or "packing" Friday after our send off event. Last weekend (which has been my only Friday in DC), me and a few others went and wandered around China Town. It was a great time. There was any and everything there for anyone: Japanese Bars, Chinese Bars, Irish Bars, and even dancing (ask Alexa). Even though some bailed, it was a good time had by all (and mostly me in the end). Keep this in mind for your last weekend in DC. It's not everyday one can go play in China Town in a major capitol, let alone DC. We all know you can't do it in cbus, so why not?

CBB

One of Our First...A Must Last!

On one of our very first trips, we went to the Pentagon. It was definitely a great tour. Getting to see and hear the history of the building and what the do is something most people don't get to do! The best part by far was the 9/11 Memorial. Upon leaving, it was suggested by Dr. K to go check it out at night to get the full experience. He was right! The memorial at night has an entirely different feel for it.

There is no one around at night, its quite and almost serene. Looking, walking, and just sitting there are night gives you a since of sadness while at the same time a since of pride. The people that lost their lives on that fateful day are American Heros and should be treated as such. Whether you are the patriotic type or not, this is def. a must see at night for all. With only two, maybe three more nights left in the city, the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon should be at the top of your list.

I know a lot of you like to walk/run at night to see the different memorials...you would almost be stupid not to go check this out at night! Who knows the next time you'll get the chance, or if you ever will again.

CBB

The Home Run Stretch

With only a few days left before the end of my quarter here in Washington, I still have a lot to do. There’s the standard packing up all my worldly belongings that are here and cleaning the apartment that occurs at the end of any time abroad. There is also the standard end of the quarter shuffle--finishing projects, papers, and paperwork. Unlike other quarters, I also have to wrap things up at my internship, and that may not be by the end of the quarter.

At my internship, my to do list has slowly been whittled down to two major projects: first, the creation of a foreign lobbyist database; second, I am writing a long piece for out blog.

I have been a part of the development process of the database from the beginning. I gathered the data, and after it was roughly transformed into a database, I have gone through identifying and fixing problems in the database. I know I won’t be able to fully finish editing and correcting the foreign lobbyist database, but I have been able to diagnose many of the problems in the database, fix a lion share of those problems, and detail how the diagnosing and fixing process should occur so that it can be replicated.

My second project, the long piece, for the blog won’t be done before the quarter ends. As a result, I will have to “write from beyond the grave”, as the communications department says.

KMS

Meeting THE Wolf

As I watched President Obama's interview in Iowa with Wolf Blitzer it made me realize that I never shared my story of meeting THE Wolf Blitzer when I toured CNN. A couple of weeks ago I was granted a tour of CNN's DC Bureau. A former Ohio State graduate, who is currently the political director for CNN in Washington, told me when we met last fall to send him an email when I was in town and he would gladly show me around the building. I contacted him after I was settled in DC and we eventually set up a date to meet at his office.

I arrived after a long day of work at the CNN office, which is tucked away behind Union Station. I met Steve in the lobby and we went up to the main offices where many of the CNN political stories are born. The building, as a whole, was very nice, but the CNN offices were much more impressive in comparison. The entire office had been under renovation and parts still were, but most of the projects were complete.

The first level we stopped at held many of the policy analysts and journalists that are working around the clock to stay on top of all the big stories in an attempt to break the next big one. The floor was designed with clusters of desks and monitors together based on what area in Washington they focused on. There was a team for the White House, another for Congress, and even one for campaign politics.

The office was full of flat screen TVs and Apple computer monitors with CNN programs playing or pictures of the building renovations cycling on a slide show. There were even pictures of the day that the building lost power minutes before Wolf Blitzer was about to begin his show. They quickly made some last minute adjustments and shot the show outside by sunlight.

After meeting a few young journalists Steve and I headed upstairs to see a couple of the studios. We slipped into a silent studio that is the set for John King USA and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. It was clear that the crew was getting ready for the next show. As I looked around what was a much smaller studio than I had imagined the door that I had just entered through opened behind me. I turned around to see Wolf Blitzer smile at me and stride by me onto the set.

Steve was nice enough to introduce me to the one of the most recognizable political talk show hosts in the country. I traded small talk about Ohio State with Mr. Blitzer for a minute and then posed for a photo op on the studio floor with Wolf in the background. It was an incredible experience--one that I will never forget.

Unfortunately, I still do not have the photo in my possession. I am waiting for Steve to email it to me. Considering what the summer has been like for Washington politics and those attempting to cover all of the hoopla, I'll give him some time.

JF

Novels, Cultures, Opinions

As a last blog post, I recommend to current, past and future Glenn fellows interested in learning about cultures to read the following novels. This blog post idea came to me while I read Samuel P. Huntingotn’s The Clash of Civilizations? (1993). Though, I must clarify that I do not agree with his argument that the only cause of conflict among people is cultural. Having said that, I will go through parts of the article as my ideas came to me:

“The interactions between peoples of different civilizations are increasing…” This is where my first thought occurred; I agree. Since there is an increase in globalization, more people should be aware and knowledgeable about other cultures and ideas.

“An Ibo may be… an Owerri Ibo or and Onitsha Ibo in what is the Eastern region of Nigeria. In Lagos, he is simply an Ibo. In London, he is a Nigerian. In New York, he is African”. A well-known Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, writes about cultural clashes in his novel, Things Fall Apart. His follow up novel is No Longer at Ease, where the main character experiences cross-cultural pressures.

“…the carnage in Bosnia and Sarajevo”. Slavenka Drakulic keeps true to this carnage in her novel S. A Novel about the Balkans. She focuses the story on a woman and what she goes through, being a woman, during the horrors of war. Needless to say, this was a very desensitizing book. She has also written other novels such as, Café Europa and They Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly about the Balkan culture and the Balkan war criminals, respectively.

“Modern democratic government originated in the West. When it has developed in non-Western societies it has usually been the product of Western colonialism or imposition”. This idea is explored in William Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden. He argues that the West must take responsibility of the negative consequences that have occurred from the West’s help in poor developing countries.

“Mexico has stopped defining itself by it opposition to the United States and it instead attempting to imitate the United States and joining the North American Trade Area”. There have always been migrations from Mexico to the United States. Now it has become a much more sensitive issue with so many deaths being reported. Luis Alberto Urrea follows 26 men that attempted to cross the U.S./Mexico border in his novel, The Devil’s Highway.

Finally, the article mentions Confucian-Islamic ideas. Snowflower and the Secret Fan novel by Lisa See goes into the old tradition of foot binding in China. The other is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini that follows the life of two Afghan women.

All these novels, fiction or nonfiction, are a great way to inform you about different cultures and opinions. I encourage you to pick one up and immerse yourself in a story and culture.

CFC

Traveling Underground

When I took the metro in DC for the first time, I was quite amazed by the Metro station decoration. The style was full of grey color with a heavy exposure of concrete squares all the way up to the ceiling. I’ve been to many other cities with metro transportation; their metro stations usually have their own personality. No matter it was a traditional underground train station, or a modern palace with colorful decoration, none of them were quite like the giant “tunnel” here in DC. My friend Singmi, who came to Unite States from India for the very first time told me that DC Metro was “way too dark”, which was a little scary for her.

Adapted from late 20th century modern architecture, DC Metro was famous for its unique ceiling design. Architect Harry Weese was the master behind scene and the Metro was the one of the most famous representative for brutalism architecture style.

All in all, DC Metro is definitely the magic chain that connects different part of the city. It is quite convenient to get around by Metro - as long as it’s on time. The summer delay of Metro seems like inevitable due to heat of the track. Sometime trains need to “take a break” before operating again to prevent potential “blackouts”. However, I am still very grateful for the great metro system here, especially during peak hours.

- T.H.