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

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 18^th 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

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, Lenáe, Jake, Eric and I had a great day at the zoo last weekend!

Aaron Clapper

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

Food Truck Frenzy

Washington, DC is home to a terrific culinary culture. From gourmet cuisine to hole-in-the-wall places, our nation's capital has it all. Not to mention food trucks. Driving around the District from location to location, food trucks serve up a wide variety of lunchtime cuisine to hungry workers.

Over the course of my semester in DC, I took full advantage of the food truck scene. I made it a weekly ritual to dine at the food trucks once a week, and was exposed to the wide variety of food that they can offer. From Ethiopian to Japanese to American barbecue to Mexican, there's a food truck out there serving up whatever you're craving. 

I decided to document my food truck lunches (in anticipation of this blog post), and have compiled a list of my lunches to give you a taste of the DC food truck experience.

Pork, beef, and chicken tacos from Far East Taco Grille

 Bento box with miso soup from Tokyo in the City

Lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound

Fried catfish with red beans and rice from the Cajunator








Those are just a sampling of some of my many food truck lunches! Food truck dining was fun, eventful, and made the lunch hour enjoyable. I would highly recommend trying a food truck this week and seeing all they have to offer!

It's been real, DC!

-TB

Some of the Highlights from Spring 2013

Our trip to the Library of Congress

Tour of the National Building Museum

Michelangelo's David-Apollo Came to town so we paid him a visit!

Carlyle House, Alexandria, Virginia

Carlyle House 2.0

Outside the Supreme Court preparing for our courtroom lecture.

End of the semester lunch at The famed Monocle.

Shout Out

Just a shout out to anyone who was affected by the Boston Marathon explosions!  My thoughts are with you!

 

Gabrielle

Spring Has Sprung

As my time here in D.C comes to a close I am overwhelmed with the thought of all my experiences over this semester.  There are many things I have learned and many people I have met along the way that I will keep in touch with.  This internship has been an extremely rewarding work experience and I intend to apply what I have learned from it in my future career.

 

Gabirlelle

DC Sports Weekend

Some Buckeyes taking in a Nationals game

While Washington, DC is often thought of for its politics, food, and performing arts cultures, a little less known major culture in the nation's capital is its sports culture. Home to professional sports teams in all the major sports leagues, Washington, DC is a great place to catch a game and cheer on the home teams! A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to check out the DC sports culture by attending a Washington Nationals baseball game and a DC United soccer game in the same weekend.

Friday night was spent cheering on the Nationals in Southeast DC. Nationals Park is a great venue to watch a game, especially because the ballpark only opened 5 years ago. One of the best parts of the stadium is the number of unique food concessions available at the ballgame, including DC's famous Ben's Chili Bowl. Famous for their chili specialties, enjoying a world famous half-smoke "all the way" at the Nationals definitely completed the game experience. Passionate fans, a great ballpark, and terrific food made attending a Nationals game one to remember. Plus, what could be more American than taking in a baseball game in our nation's capital?

The next evening, I headed to RFK Stadium to continue my DC sports weekend. Having grown up playing soccer, the idea of attending a DC United game was on my to-do list while spending the semester here in Washington, DC. Playing their rival the New York Red Bulls, the DC United match was the best game I could have possibly seen. Sitting at midfield in the supporters fan section, I had never experienced a soccer game like this before. Standing, shouting, and cheering on the home team, the supporters section was home to raucous fans who absolutely live for DC United. I quickly learned many of the cheers and joined in the cacophony hoping to will the home team to victory. Although, DC United lost the match, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game experience.

View from the supports section at the DC United game

Having experienced only a small part of the DC sports culture, I can attest to passion and fervor of sports fans in the District. If you have the opportunity to attend a DC sporting event in the future, I would highly recommend it. Although, their teams have not always been the most successful, the tide seems to be turning, making it an exciting time to be a sports fan living in Washington, DC.

-TB

Mount Vernon

In front of George Washington's mansion

A beautiful view of the Potomac River

This past weekend, two other students and I visited Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate. We were able to tour the mansion, see the tomb of George Washington, enjoy the beautiful view of the Potomac River, and walk around the gardens. We also went on a “National Treasure” tour, which highlighted the locations of Mount Vernon that were filmed in the movie National Treasure 2. The weather could not have been any more perfect since there was not a cloud in the sky! If you are ever near DC, I highly recommend visiting Mount Vernon!

-Samanta