Hey everyone out there
Sorry for the delay in posts. The last few days have just been crazy and have flown by. I can't believe i have already been here a week!! Everyday the idea that I am living in D.C. just seems crazier and crazier. Before I know it, the entire experience will be over and I'll be back in NKY.
The last few days I have made some great friends. Literally these are people who I already know I will see after this all experience is said and done. We have journeyed to the local bars, ventured into the Metro, and just generally absorbed all that is Washington, DC.
On Tuesday i went to the Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian, Museum of American History. I cannot say enough how amazing both these museums truly are. I have heard from friends, family, and random people for years how incredible the Holocaust Museum is but I can say with absolute truth, that words cannot express how truly unique, touching, heartbreaking, inspiring, this museum is. It's incredible to look at the evils our world has experienced and how we have overcome those injustices. One of the most inspiring exhibits at the Holocaust, was the exhibit on Rwanda and Darfur. It is important that every American and everyone in the world for that matter, know that the Holocaust was not the only time our world has faced genocide and intrinsic evil. The world is again facing a genocide, one that is playing out in refugee camps and third world countries of Africa. For anyone who is not aware of what is going on in Africa, I implore you to rent Hotel Rwanda. This film shows just how horrible the genocide was in Rwanda. A genocide that happen in the 1990's. One of the most haunting, chilling, and dramatic scenes from the movie is when Joaquin Phoenix's character, a camera man, describes how the world let this genocide happen. He said people will turn on the news, and see the horrible things that are happening in the world and say how awful that is, and then they turn off the TV and go on eating their dinner. For too long our nation and our world has turned their backs on those that truly need our help.
The nations that really need our help are those nations that do not have oil, they do not have riches, they do not have a valuable resource. These nations our ruled by evil men who want nothing more than to see the destruction of an entire people. After seeing the Holocaust Museum you leave feeling enraged, anger, and wanting to do something. We cannot let those feelings drift away like the screams of those murdered drift away into the African night. We must stand above it and show the world that we will not let another group of people become an endangered species.
*I now get off my soapbox
I also went and toured all the monuments, memorials, the White House, and the National Archives. Tip? Do not try and do all of these in the same day haha. My legs were killing me when it was all said and done. The monuments and the war memorials are amazing! They are all unique and special in their own way. The Vietnam Wall was solemn and I think did a great job of representing the Vietnam War. The Korean War Memorial was beautiful and haunting with the statues of the soldiers in real life poses. My favorite two monuments are probably some of the least visited because they are off the beaten path. The Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial are on the other side of the Tidal Basin and require a bit of a hike to get to but are plenty worth the trek! The Jefferson Memorial is just beautiful. With its huge dome and the writings of Jefferson carved into the walls, it is a fitting tribute to a great president. The FDR Memorial was probably my favorite memorial. The memorial is separated into four different sections that represent FDR's four presidential terms. Water and landscaping is used to symbolize the feelings and events of each term. All over the walls are quotes and speeches that FDR made. It was so great to be completely immersed in the quotes of statues of FDR and his amazing wife.
Later on this week, me and some of my friends ventured off into Georgetown to get some food and try the local bars. Umm.. wow. I thought I've seen preppy but I was mistaken. You have not seen preppy until you have gone to Georgetown. As my one friend said, it was a "prepedemic." Needless to say Gtown is not my kind of town. I need the hole-in-the-wall karaoke bar, a place where there's peanut shells on the floor, and you always know someone there. Pretty much I like a place like Cheers with pool tables haha. But the place we went to had great food so it wasn't a total waste. We next went town to the National Mall. Let me tell you, you haven't seen the National Mall until you've seen it at night. All of the monuments and memorials look so different and so beautiful when they're all lit up. Plus, totally less crowded.
I ventured out on Saturday to Silver Springs, Maryland to visit a friend of mine who was interning at Walter Reed Medical Center. This hospital is huge! I mean I have never seen a hospital have this big of a campus. It is a beautiful facility and it was amazing and inspiring to be in the presence of some of our brave soldiers. We also got to visit the National Medical Museum where we saw the actual bullet that killed Lincoln. But the best part was just to see a familiar face. (By the way, we got dinner and instead of choosing one of the hundred or so amazing restaurants that are unique to D.C., we ate at Red Lobster).
Well I think I have rambled on enough for one evening. Tomorrow I start my actual internship! I have to be at the Longworth House Building at 10am. I have to get my security clearance and start my training classes. As an intern I have to give my Representative's constituents a tour of the Capitol. That's right, I will be conducting tours of the United States Capitol building. Who knew working the exhibits at the Newport Aquarium would actually help me in life?
Anyway, wish me luck!
