Sprint to the Finish

So, ultimate fail on my part with abandoning my blog last week, but I had a relatively large research paper due last Friday, work was extremely busy (hurray for an almost government shutdown), and I never made the time to write. Oops.

Well, believe it or not, I'm rapidly approaching my last few days in Washington, DC. This means that this time next Tuesday, a week from today, I will be sitting in my family's house in Puyallup, likely playing an aggressive game of Memory with my little sister, Katie. I'm trying not to think about leaving-it hasn't really set in yet, so I'll simply leave it at that. It's important to live in the present, even if that means taking it one day at at time. Exciting news though: my mom is flying out here, and I'll get to see her on Friday, give her a Capitol tour, and show her the sights of the city.

Since I last wrote, I  spent more time with the cherry blossoms, went to Arlington National Cemetery, pulled my first all-nighter for a paper, visited the National Zoo, ate Lebanese food for the first time, and walked around the National Cathedral.

We watched the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 

 

 

 

National Cathedral

Me and Rachel in the Bishop's Garden near the National Cathedral

As much as I've loved the sightseeing, my internship has also been amazing! I'm going to miss working on the Hill so much. Last week was intense with all of the hype about the government shutdown, and it's been cool to get a different perspective on how our country operates. I also love the people I've been able to work with every day! The next time I write, I'll probably be at home in my other Washington-I'll give a better update of my last few weeks in DC then.

Field Trip #2- Valley Forge and Philly

I've never been to a haunted house before-not even for Halloween (although I've always wanted to go). But on Friday night, my Washington Seminar friends and I found ourselves on the edge of Valley Forge, staying in buildings that were old and huge, with legitimate attics, and disturbingly disproportionate paintings of U.S. presidents and first ladies on the walls. In my building there was also a dumbwaiter. When I first saw it, I automatically thought back to a Nancy Drew book I read ages ago, in which Nancy climbs inside a dumbwaiter in attempt to solve one of her mysteries. Needless to say, I was extremely excited to see one in real life. For those who aren't sure what a dumbwaiter is, it's basically a mini-elevator that servants would use to send meals from the kitchen to the dining room inside of mansions. Some people attribute its invention to Thomas Jefferson. In this particular building, the dumbwaiter's purpose was to take luggage up to the second floor, but despite the fact that there was a "baggage only" sign above the opening, my childhood desire to be like Nancy Drew was irresistible. (I actually dressed up like her for Halloween in fifth grade.) So, with the help of my accomplice and friend Jen, I climbed inside and closed the door, and she pushed the button that sent me downstairs. It was pitch black, very exciting and suspenseful, and the best part was when I reached the bottom floor and heard the voices of some of my friends on the other side of the opening. I successfully scared several of them when I opened the door and jumped out! Anyway, we had so much fun pretending that the entire building was haunted. If I hadn't been so tired that night, I probably would have had a hard time falling asleep!

Inside the dumbwaiter

Our purpose for the overnighter at the haunted house was attributed to our two-day trip to Valley Forge and Philadelphia. Valley Forge was awesome, most likely because our tour guide, Murray was awesome. Murray told us so many interesting stories, and took us to the house that George Washington used as his headquarters during the winter of 1777-1778. That night, in the commons building of the place we were staying, my group gathered for a meeting with General Washington himself. I admit, I originally thought that this guest appearance was going to be lame, but the guy who came and spoke to us is the official George Washington historical actor for the United States. He makes appearances all of the country and the world, and has been in a few documentaries. He gave us a very realistic presentation.

On Saturday we went to Philadelphia. I was so happy to visit the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall- the "birthplace of America." Being in the same room where the founders signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution was incredible! I seriously felt the chills while we were in the Assembly Room! For lunch, a few of us went to the City Tavern, just a few blocks down from. This is the location where many of the founding fathers first met, and it was a known fact that if you ever wanted to know what was going on in Independence Hall, all you would have to do was spend time in the tavern. The food was also extremely delicious!

Hannah and I in front of the Liberty Bell

In the Assembly Room in Independence Hall
Left to right: Winnie, Chris, Alison, Me

At City Tavern

By the time Sunday rolled around, we were very tired from our adventures in Pennsylvania, but we could not ignore the fact that the cherry blossoms are out. So, around 5:30 about twenty of us ventured outside and walked along the Potomac waterfront to see the sights. I can completely understand why everyone raves about the cherry blossoms in DC, because they are beautiful! You feel like you're in a completely different world, and the views of the monuments surrounded by blossoms are incredible!

Me, Hannah, and the cherry blossoms!

And once again, since I am so incredibly late with updating my blog, it's the middle of the week, and you'll never guess what I got to do last night!!!

I went on a night Capitol tour with a congressman! The crowds were gone, and there were only ten of us walking through the building, which meant I got to see a few places I've never been to before. I particularly loved going onto the Senate floor (I touched John McCain's desk!), and then we went out onto the Speaker of the House's balcony! It was also great to hear the Congressman's version of some of the stories- he knew a lot, and I love the Capitol even more because of last night!

On the Speaker's Balcony
Katie, me, Kathy

Excursion to Hampton

We were standing in a 7/11, surveying our limited options on the the minuscule medical shelf. I looked at my friend Megan and asked, "Do we really want to spend $8.99 on sunscreen?"

You have to understand- the bottle was only a few ounces- but in the end, the economics of the situation got the better of us. You see, when something is in high demand, you can charge outrageous prices for the good or the service (apparently I did retain something from my Econ class). And the $8.99 bottle of sunscreen at 7/11 happened to be worth the price to us that day, because we were at the beach.

That's right- I spent my entire Friday in Hampton, Virginia, relaxing on the sand and playing in the Atlantic with a group of my friends. And it was 78 degrees. Jealous? You may want to hold off. After a four hour bus ride from D.C. to our destination, my group of ten got the vibe that Hampton wasn't exactly tourist material. We arrived after midnight Friday morning and realized that our hotel was at the end of a three-mile walk down an unfamiliar road. But wait-we walk all the time in D.C., so a little midnight jaunt wasn't going to hurt us, right? Well, we didn't get hurt, but about a block away from the bus station, we realized that the sidewalk had ended, and that we were walking through a dark cemetery. (I'm dead serious, no pun intended!)

"Maybe we should cross the street," Nate suggested.

We did. That's when the cop stopped us.

"What are you guys doing out here?" he asked.

I guess we did look kind of strange- nine college-age students carrying bulging backpacks, with a tenth companion in tow with a rolling suitcase (ahem...that would be Chris). After Nate brilliantly explained our situation, what did the cop have to say?

"Well, get moving then. You guys are in a really bad part of town."

Dun, dun, dun...Thus, the trek of fear began. We were just waiting for someone to jump out at us with a gun, but luckily, we were okay. Safety in numbers? Maybe. Or perhaps the cop was just lying to us so we wouldn't hypothetically cause trouble. He did drive past us five more times during the course of our walk, but at the time, I sincerely believed it was for our safety.

When we finally arrived at the hotel, we discovered that it was actually a motel called the Travel Lodge. The key to the girls' room didn't work when we first tried it, and after we had settled down for bed, I'm pretty sure the yelling and swearing we could hear was someone getting arrested outside. Needless to say, I was highly skeptical about the quality of our beach excursion at that point.

But the next morning, we woke up around ten (hurray for sleeping in!) and discovered that it was sunny and warm, and that the people we encountered throughout the day were actually friendly! "Have a blessed day," the man on the bus told us in his southern drawl. And it was a blessed day! We had so much fun at the beach, and Megan and I were even more blessed by our decision to buy that sunscreen. All of our other friends got fried! Case and point: I've never seen anything redder than Nate's face in my life! In comparison, Megan and I are as white as ghosts, though I still determinedly tell myself that I have a little more color in my cheeks than I did before our trip...yeah right!

So Hampton didn't end up being as scary or terrible as I thought it would be- but the area of town that we were in certainly wasn't used to having visitors, so it was a very interesting experience all in all.
  

At the beach!
Left to right: Me, Jen, Megan

Getting burried in sand!
Left to right: Chris, my head



The group (minus the two U of U boys who are taking the pictures)
Left to right: Chris, Jen, me, Alison, Casey, Kameron, Nate, Megan

On the Metro at 2 am- sooooo tired!

Saturday was glorious as well. We had made it back to D.C. around 2:00 am (thank heavens for late Metro schedules on the weekend). Around lunchtime, some of my friends and I went on a picnic near a large duck pond off to the side of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, and then visited the Albert Einstein Memorial nearby. Later on in the day, another group of us walked over to Roosevelt Island (it's really an island in the middle of the Potomac, dedicated in honor of Teddy Roosevelt) before exploring the waterfront along the Georgetown area of town. Then, that night, after a glorious BYU basketball victory over Gonzaga, I very enthusiastically got another group together to go look at the "largest moon in the last twenty years," as CNN had reported earlier in the day. The fact that the moon looked exactly the same as it usually does resulted in an excessive amount of justified teasing that was entirely directed at me. Apparently though, I was kind of right based on an article and some pictures of the moon over D.C. that my friend Rob showed me on Monday. I guess we just went at the wrong time. At any rate, we ended up walking to the Lincoln Memorial and back. On Sunday, I mapped out how far I walked on Saturday, and it was over ten miles! The entire day was well worth the extra exercise.

Picnic at the Mall!
Left to right: John, Kameron, Jen, me, Rob

At the Albert Einstein Memorial (he was huge!)
Left to right: Me, Megan, and Einstein

At the Georgetown waterfront (Roosevelt Island in the background)
Left to right: Rusty, Alison, John, me, Rob

Me and the moon at the Lincoln Memorial

What the moon looked like four hours earlier- we missed it! :(
(Thank you Washington Post for justifying my quest...http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/super-moon-over-washington-dc/2011/03/21/ABZr4V6_blog.html)

Before I go, can I just say the weather has been beautiful out here! The world-famous cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, and the peak will be this weekend. Pictures coming soon!

Field Trip!

I felt so bad for my Washington Seminar friends on Saturday morning. We had to get up early (considering that it was the weekend) in order to board a bus to Gettysburg, Pennslyvannia, and while everyone else was still waking up, I was wide awake and had the song "Stuck Like Glue" in my head. Luckily, our professor brought the movie "Gettysburg" for us to watch. That calmed me down, I stopped singing, and we watched the movie for the duration of the day, every time we were on the bus. I'm so glad we did, because it really helped me understand the events of the battlefield we were touring. While we were in Gettysburg, we went to the museum there, drove around the area with a tour guide, and stopped at the Soldiers National Cemetery where thousands of Union forces are buried. This is also the location where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address back in 1863, four months after the battle. It was extremely sobering to be at Gettysburg, and it gave me a lot of perspective on the extent of the sacrifices both sides made during the Civil War.

Cannon at Gettysburg Battlefield

At the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg
The monument marks the location where Lincoln gave his speech
Left to right- me, Megan, Kameron

After stuffing our faces at a local buffet, our group got back on the bus, and drove down to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. This was the location where abolitionist John Brown tried to lead a raid on a federal armory in order to gain access to weapons he could use to arm slaves. I didn't really understand what was so cool about Harpers Ferry before we went, but after arriving, I loved it! If anything, I wish we could have had more time to explore the little town that's situated on the banks of the Shenandoah River. People still live in Harpers Ferry today, but it's so small! We visited a church on a hill, found some ruins of a previous church that had burned down, hiked to a beautiful cemetery, and stopped at a place called Jefferson's Rock where Thomas Jefferson visited. Apparently Jefferson said that the view from the rock was "worth a voyage across the Atlantic." It's probably nicer in the summer, but it was cool to overlook the river and see where the Shenandoah met the Potomac. 

In front of the church at Harpers Ferry, WV
Left to right: Alison, me, Megan, Tanner, Wade, Kameron

At Jefferson's Rock

It was such a great day, and it was nice to venture out of DC for a while and see what the countryside looks like. Too bad I ended up being in a terrible mood around half-time of the BYU-SDSU game that night.  At least we beat New Mexico on Friday and watched Jimmer score 52 points in that game! By the way, I filled out my first bracket ever last night, so I'll finally be watching March Madness attentively this year. It's also been extremely interesting to be outside of Utah with Brandon Davies no longer playing for the team. His suspension got so much media attention, and I've lost track of how many people have questioned me about the team and BYU's honor code whenever they ask me where I go to school.

Before the New Mexico game on Friday, my friends and I went to the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars to hear a briefing by Canadian astronaut, Julie Payette.  She flew two mission to the International Space Station, once in 1999 on Space Shuttle Discovery, and again in 2009 on Space Shuttle Endeavor. I loved listening to her talk, and she showed us some very cool footage of the ISS! While I was there, I decided that I either wanted to be an astronaut or watch an episode of Star Trek. The astronaut thing probably wouldn't work out at this point since the government is ending the space shuttle program. :(

Anyway, it was certainly an educational weekend-it's crazy how much you can learn when you're away from school!

Headlines and Highlights

Whenever I walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in the direction of the Capitol, I always pass the Newseum. The name is cheesy, I know (it's a museum about the news), but it actually turned out to be one of my favorite D.C. attractions! I loved the exhibits, and highly recommend this place to visitors. Admission is about $22 per ticket, but somehow my Washington Seminar group got to go in for free, so that fact alone made the experience more enjoyable. Below are a few descriptions of the highlights.

Pulitzer Prize Gallery: You really understand the phrase "it pulls at your heartstrings" when you look at photographs from all over the world depicting some of the best and worst moments in the past century. Here are some examples: http://www.newseum.org/exhibits-and-theaters/permanent-exhibits/pulitzer/videos/pulitzer-prize-photos.html

Hurricane Katrina Exhibit: Lots of pictures and stories from reporters who were on the scene at New Orleans and in Mississippi.

9/11 Gallery: There's huge wall covered by newspapers with headlines about the terrorist attacks, and an intense video that features reporters who were at the scene in New York. Talk about hitting an emotional brick wall! The exhibit also features the mangled broadcasting antennae from one of the towers. :(

Antennae from one of the towers

Berlin Wall: There was a section of the Berlin Wall in the basement, in addition to an exhibit about the Cold War. 

Me in front of the Berlin Wall!

The President's Photographer: Did you know that every president since LBJ has granted a personal photographer "unlimited access" to the daily doings of the White House? Needless to say, there were some very interesting and casual pictures of the presidents. One of my favorites:

LBJ with dog

The Story of News Exhibit: You walk into a dimly-lit room and see a huge collection of newspapers featuring headlines from the very beginning of America until 2008. There were stories about the Boston Tea Party, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the end of prohibition, Pearl Harbor, the 1980 Olympics hockey game between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Oklahoma City bombing, Obama's election, etc... It was a fabulous way to look at history. Here's a famous original:

Although I LOVED the Newseum, the best part of my weekend started at 6 am on Saturday morning. Most of my Barlow friends and I woke up early and got rides to a church in Virginia, where one of the Apostles of our church, Elder David A. Bednar, came and spoke to a huge congregation of young adults in the area. Since we arrived two hours early, I got to sit dead center in the fifth row from the front. It was such an incredible experience to be taught by someone we sustain as a prophet, sear, and revelator for our church in that particular setting. Elder Bednar didn't have a prepared talk, but instead he opened the meeting up for questions. I learned so much and loved every moment I was there!

Other highlights of the weekend:

-I ate a raw oyster for the first time. You have to slurp it from its shell! Quite the experience, and the taste made me think that I was literally eating the "smell" of the ocean. 

-I saw the Adjustment Bureau. I liked it (Matt Damon running for Senate=golden combination), though I probably would have been okay with seeing it after it came out on DVD.

-Seventeen of us went to Fridays on Saturday night to celebrate DJ's birthday (Barlow friend), and I experienced sweet potato fries for the first time. Delicious!

-I found out that my roommate Keisha is engaged! Landon is a very lucky guy! :)

And...since I'm a few days late with updating my blog, here are a few highlights of the first half of this week:

-One of my friends from my internship came over to the BC on Monday night. It was my turn to cook for my dinner group, so he ate with us and then stayed for FHE!

-I got to go sit in the House chamber during a joint session of Congress today. The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, spoke, and you know how Members of Congress always stand up during the State of the Union when they clap? Well, the frequent standing ovations are apparently the norm. I lost track of how many times everyone in the room stood up and sat down. 

Anyway, that's the update. This weekend should be exciting since we're taking a field trip to Gettysburg, PA!

Jimmer, Tornadoes, and Mafia- Just a Typical Week

Jimmer, Jimmer, Jimmer, Jimmer! Don't worry my dear friends in Provo. The fact that the Barlow Center is 2,096 miles away from the Marriot Center Ticket Office, does not mean we've been neglecting the basketball season over here. We watch every game we can, and yes, we know about the letter to the Daily Universe and the Facebook frenzy that followed. I bring this up now because the game against SDSU on Saturday was awesome, and it felt great coming into my internship today because guess who I work with? A bunch of Southern Californians! I feel like I should be conflicted about missing out on the sights of DC for basketball games, but I'm just not, and that's how it is.

 

Beyond basketball, I've been feeling a lot of Cougar pride this week because my sister Mariah got her BYU acceptance letter! I'm so excited for her to go to one of my favorite places! Yesterday, I went down to the basement to play the piano and have some alone time for a while (you have to make a major effort to be by yourself here), and I had a flood of random flashbacks to a ton of high school and college experiences from the past six years that made me so happy. I still keep in touch with some of my fellow RHS Rams, and can I just say that I've had incredible roommates at BYU? I have no idea how I've been so lucky, but the people in 233 Whitney Hall, Madison 8, and the Apt 340 have been some of the greatest blessings in my life, and I've learned so much from these wonderful girls! And then there are my 328 (class of death) buddies, the Yorktown 7 and 4 boys, BYU 84th Ward friends, and now my Barlow family. When I think of BYU, I think of my friends, and I love that, and when I'm not at school, I'm at home with the greatest siblings and parents I could have hoped for. So, with that said, it doesn't really make sense that I just started working on my mission papers this week.

 

I've been thinking about serving a mission for my church since last August, and I've been going back and forth on this decision on an almost daily basis. But after talking to my parents and some friends out here, I realized that the only way I was going to figure it out was if I took action and measured how I felt during the process. I met with my bishop two weeks ago, and I felt good about going, and on Friday night, I finally got access to the online system to start filling out papers. I still think it's a go. Assuming everything goes according to plan, I'll probably end up leaving to some unknown destination sometime this summer or early fall. So yeah, I'll keep everyone posted on that.

 

As much as I love running through my memories and speculating about my mission prospects, it's important to live in the present, right? So here's what's been going on in my D.C. life besides a lot of Jimmer love. Those who know me really well probably remember that natural disasters fascinate me, but I have never been in one myself. This means that I'm very excited right now because when I looked up the forecast on weather.com a few minutes ago, I saw that it is supposed to get up to 74 degrees today, with a 95 percent chance of severe thunderstorms, and a TORNADO WARNING!!!! It could be a very interesting day!

 

This week has been a little bit more low-key than usual, but it's been nice at the same time. I've had a lot of great conversations with friends at the Barlow Center. A few of us even managed to talk about the possibility of a government shutdown and the political upheaval in the Middle East for three hours on Tuesday night. (Honestly, who cares about going to bed?)

 

On Friday, we went on a tour of the Pentagon, and I talked to a member of the Honor Guard for almost thirty minutes. I'd heard about the Honor Guard in one of my classes before, so it was cool to meet one them in person and ask him questions about guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetary, the military, etc... Here's a link to info about this specific group: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/ceremonies/sentinelsotu.html. While we were at the Pentagon, we stopped by the 9/11 Memorial there. If you're like me,  when you think of September 11th, you automatically picture the Twin Towers in New York City, but there were 184 deaths at the Pentagon between the military personnel and the victims on flight American 77. That's kind of a big deal too, so when you remember the events of that day, keep the Pentagon in mind. In preparation for our tour, we had watched the movie Taking Chance on Thursday. It's about a Marine escort who takes a soldier's body back to his family. Watch it if you want a perspective check.

 

Friday night, I went on another walk to the Jefferson Memorial, and on the way back, my group stopped at a Thai Restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue. I was skeptical at first because I haven't really tried a lot of foreign foods, but oh my goodness, that was one of the best meals I've had since coming to D.C. I've been converted on that front.

 

Saturday morning, I went back to Eastern Market in order to investigate whether or not the renowned buckwheat blueberry pancakes that everyone in the area raves about were as amazing as their reputation suggested. They were good, but I thought they were a bit overhyped. Case closed. Next to Eastern Market, we found the craziest old used-bookstore I've ever seen! There were seriously shelves and stacks of books everywhere- on the windowsills, in the bathroom...I was amazed, slightly claustrophobic, and I kept thinking, "what would happen here in an earthquake?" If you ever go to Eastern Market in D.C., make sure you stop by the little bookstore just to experience the sheer physical power of the written word.

That's about all I did in terms of sightseeing and exploring- I was really busy this week with work and school stuff. Saturday evening, after the basketball game, we stayed at the Barlow Center, watched the new edition of the Return of the Jedi, and then played three frustratingly good games of Mafia. I love my Barlow buddies!

Potomac Fever

Last Friday was an incredible day. First, it was 70 degrees and gorgeous. Second, I diagnosed myself and several of my Barlow buddies with the ailment that many D.C. newcomers experience after being in the city for several weeks. This is going to sound super picturesque, but this is honestly what it was like. As a bunch of us sat on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial, staring across the Potomac River at the Washington Monument and the White House, with a full moon rising and gentle music playing in the background, it dawned on us that we were getting infected with a strain of Potomac Fever. According to dictionary.infoplease.com, Potomac Fever is "the determination or fervor to share in the power and prestige of the U.S. government in Washington, D.C." This isn't exactly what we're experiencing. I enjoy my internship, but it's the city itself that's becoming addicting! 

After class on Friday afternoon, a few of us ended up going outside to enjoy the sunshine, and we literally just sat on a wall on the west side of the Capitol for a glorious hour. We chose to sit on the wall because I accidentally exposed my fear of squirrels after six successful weeks of keeping it a secret. As we made our way towards a bench on the Capitol grounds, I saw movement on a nearby tree trunk. Squirrel! I froze, and when someone asked me what was wrong, the best thing I could say was, "Oh, there are too many branches on that tree." Yes, I know. Pathetic Kels. And guess what? My friends saw the squirrel too and right through the ridiculous lie. It's okay though- I'm actually getting so much better with overcoming my fear. By the time I leave, I will love the evil little creatures.

For dinner that night, we ended up eating overly-priced, but delicious Obama Burgers. To work off the grease, we decided to walk two miles down to the Jefferson Memorial, and that was probably the best decision we could have made. If you ever come to D.C. you WILL go to Jefferson. It sits right on the bank of the river and is set outside of the city, so it's extremely peaceful and has a fantastic view! On the way back to the Barlow Center, we took a route that leads past the FDR memorial and the Lincoln memorial, and I've decided that this path is my favorite place in the city, hands down! Warm weather, a full moon, glowing monuments, and great company led to an awesome start to our Presidents' Day Weekend.

On the wall in front of the Capitol- Look! No Coats!
Left to right: Me, Hannah, Rachel, Nate, Megan, Alison, Peter

We're facing the Jefferson Memorial (WA Monument behind us)
Left to right: Alison's head, Wade, Josh, Megan, Rachel, DJ, Hannah, Nate, John, Me, Jesse

Jefferson Memorial view from my favorite path

On Saturday I experienced a different kind of fever...not an actual fever I guess, but I was kind of sick- mainly fatigue and headaches. So, the only thing I did that day was go to Eastern Market for the first time. Eastern Market is kind of like a small flea market with a lot of little stands set up everywhere. There were several produce stands there that had samples of apples, strawberries, tomatoes, berries, cucumbers, cantolope, and watermelon, and everything was delicious! Despite being sick, I did one of the most impractical things I could have done on Saturday night, meaning I stayed up super late with my Barlow friends, watching Star Wars and then talking and laughing for hours after that. I think I had a renewed sense of energy because that afternoon, Kim, one of my wonderful roommates from last semester, called to tell me that she was engaged! According to my friend Josh, I exhibited the "essence of a woman" because my enthusiastic response to Kim's announcement was heard throughout the entire Barlow Center. Oops. Since I love engagement stories, especially when they happen to my friends and roommates, I felt hyper and happy, and I was suddenly good to go! Luckily, by Sunday afternoon, I was completely back to normal health-wise, which was great because that day ended up being extremely busy.

At this point, I would like to introduce the Sowby's. They are an LDS missionary couple responsible for running the Barlow Center, and they just arrived last week from... (you'll never guess)... Utah! :) Last Thursday, I had gone over to help them clean their apartment, and on Sunday afternoon they invited me and a few other Barlow friends over for a delicious dinner. When we were about to leave, Elder Sowby asked if we wanted to go with them to the D.C. Temple Visitor Center for a "Why I Believe" fireside. My friends, Chris and Alison, and I jumped at the opportunity to go since there are no good public transportation options for us to go on our own. The Sowby's took us in their van (it was so weird to be in a car again!) and we got to see the outside of the beautiful temple and hear some incredible speakers at the fireside. (For my non-LDS friends, firesides are basically supplementary church meetings for those interested in going, and here is a basic explanation about temples if you're curious: http://lds.org/church/temples/frequently-asked-questions?lang=eng.) Many of the speakers were new converts, and it was a great reminder for those of us who were there as to why we really believe what we believe, why I'm spending an hour and a half on the bus every Sunday to go to church, etc...It was awesome, and I actually ran into a guy from Puyallup, Kevin Danner, who is a missionary out here. Craziness!

Washington D.C. Temple

Me and Alison in front of the Christus statue in the Temple Visitor Center

Presidents' Day was great this year because I actually did something presidential. My friends and I have had our eyes on Mount Vernon for a while, and we were overjoyed when we discovered that the only day of the year when admission is free was a day we had off from work! So, at 11:30 a.m., we gathered in our typical meeting place (the lobby on the guy's floor), and then embarked on our metro/bus journey to Alexandria, Virginia. Mount Vernon is huge and beautiful, and we spent hours walking around the grounds and going through George Washington's mansion. We also saw the tomb where Washington lies. There was an incredible sense of reverence at that spot, I'm not even kidding! 

In front of Washington's mansion at Mount Vernon
Left to right: Me, Wade, Alison, Chris, Heather, Sarah, Megan

Outside of George and Martha Washington's tomb

That's my weekend in a rather large nutshell. As much fun as it is out here, there are also so many serious things going on in the world that I've become very aware of through my internship. The continuing resolution that just went through the House and is now up for debate in the Senate is a big deal, no matter how you feel about it. And the protests in the Middle East are turning a lot of heads in that direction. Luckily, I have a lot of "happy places" I can go to now, when things get crazy. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm here- I just love D.C., which is apparently my personal symptom of Potomac Fever.

Manners, Mormons, and Everything Else

Happy Valentines Day! I had forgotten that today was even a holiday until I opened my bedroom door this morning and saw the beautiful sight of paper and chocolate down the entire length of the hallway. The fourteen boys at the Barlow Center had written anonymous notes to each girl and secretly placed them by the appropriate doorways along with bags of candy. Talk about a major ego booster and an excellent start to the day!
Everyone, for the most part, is nice in D.C., and not just the Barlow boys. When you eat with a group, no one takes a bite until everyone has food. I regularly see people give up seats on the Metro, and men are always opening doors for the ladies. It’s not awkward or chauvinistic like some people would assume- it’s just the way it is. There’s a sense of general etiquette in this city that I haven’t really noticed to the same extent in other places I’ve lived. Then again, I’m not driving here (not a day has gone by that I haven’t heard sirens or honking horns). I’ve heard horror stories of east coast drivers, but at the same time, I received comfort in the words of a stranger while crossing the street the other day. Amused by the fact that I was running across the crosswalk, a man asked,
“Are you not from D.C.?”
“I’ve been here for a month,” I replied.
With raised eyebrows, he said, “Then you should know that the cars will stop for you!” 
I forgot that I’m not in Utah anymore!

Returning to my etiquette tirade, here’s one more little story.  Last week I got lost in one of the passageways in the Capitol while looking for an elevator. I found a “Members of Congress Only” elevator, but recognizing that this particular option was off limits, I turned around to find a different route. At this point, a Congressman had come up behind me, and sensing my confusion, he let me ride up the elevator with him. Not only was this nice, but he also let me walk out of the elevator first when we reached our floor. So yes, even people in the government have good manners!

Last week was awesome in terms of my internship. I feel like I’ve been fully integrated into the office ever since I successfully played a prank on one of the legislative assistants with the encouragement of my supervisor. Now I feel very comfortable when it comes to laughing during lunch break, or randomly talking to people if there’s ever downtime. On Thursday, the Mormon jokes officially began, ranging from Amish to alcohol, but it was all in fun, and I really enjoy the people I’m working with.

Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

-Within 24 hours I was in the Capitol, the D.C. Court of Appeals, and the White House. How’s that for all three branches of government in one day? Friday morning I gave a Capitol tour to some of my Dad’s interns who were in town. Then, that afternoon, I attended a briefing by an appeals justice in the actual courtroom for the D.C. circuit. Fabulous! The next morning, a large group of us went on a tour of the White House. It was fun to go bowling with Barak-never thought I would get to do that! (Just kidding). But hey, at least we got to walk out of the front doors of the President’s residence! Random observations: There was a ball sitting out on the south lawn, and once we got outside, we noticed a butterfly decal in one of the windows-maybe Sasha or Malia’s doing?

Some of our group in front of the White House
Left to Right: John, Alexis, Sarah, Jesse, Keshia, Peter, Me, DJ, Winnie, Chris, Alison, Nate

-A group of us went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and watched money being made-literally.

We don't love money- we're just kissing it goodbye!
Rachel and I at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

-My friend Alison and I stopped by the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue. We’ve decided it is a secret treasure of D.C. There’s a great, relatively inexpensive food court inside, and then you can take an elevator up twelve floors to the top of the building’s bell tower. The view was incredible-even better than the view from the top of the Washington Monument in my opinion! And guess who forgot her camera? Yep-BIG oops!
-Several Barlow buddies and I went to a concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It’s a beautiful building, just west of the Lincoln Memorial, and while it hosts the National Symphony Orchestra and other performance groups, there are free concerts every evening at 6 pm for smaller groups! I can’t believe we haven’t been taking advantage of this, especially when these concerts are a four minute walk from the Barlow Center! When we went, we listened to a violin-cello-piano trio, and it was awesome, and extremely relaxing. It made me miss my violin sooooooooo much!

Part of our Kennedy Center Group
Left to right: Nate, DJ, Hannah, Robert, Me, Chris, Megan

-I also made another stop at the Natural History Museum (I've gone three other times). I looked at the dinosaur exhibit, and then my friends (Megan and Alison) and I went to the rocks/gems gift shop on a different floor. We’ve been there before, but oh how we love looking at the rocks!
-And then, Saturday night, after everyone was burnt out, we watched National Treasure 2 and freaked out every time we recognized a street or a landmark from D.C. (which happened often)!

I’m still having a blast! When I’m not interning, sightseeing, or doing school (believe it or not, I am taking twelve credits right now, and don’t get me started on how badly I procrastinated my last paper), my Barlow friends provide an ongoing source of entertainment, good conversation, and out of control laughter. When nothing is going on, I’m generally trying to keep up with five or six games of online Scrabble that I’m playing with some of the overly-intelligent people here (in other words, I keep losing all of my games). We’re already dreading the end of the semester, and we haven’t even reached the half-way point yet!

Explosion at the Capitol

Okay, so the explosion didn’t actually occur inside the Capitol building. It happened at one of the House Office Buildings next door. (FYI: members of House do most of their work in these buildings and only go to the Capitol to cast votes in person.) Here’s the story:

There was once a lovely intern who decided to be proactive by restocking the mini fridge in the backroom of her office with water, lemonade, and “soda” (people don’t say “pop” in D.C.).  A split second after the intern grabbed a can of lemonade out of its box on the top shelf, the rest of the cans decided to come crashing down, which of course created an embarrassingly loud sound. If that wasn’t bad enough, two of the cans received severe puncture wounds, and the lemonade sprayed all over the room.

That was the explosion.

And yes, I was obviously the lovely intern. The best part about humiliating myself was when I proceeded to clean up the mess. I looked under the little sink in the back room and luckily found some Clorox Disinfecting Wipes just waiting for me. But wait, what was the scent of the wipes? LEMON. Life is just a little too ironic sometimes.

I really can’t say a ton about my wonderful internship online, but here’s one observation I am willing to share. Acronyms are everything here. What on earth is the Department of Defense? Oh wait! It’s the DoD. And apparently “Capitol Visitor Center” is simply too much to say in one breath, so we’ll call it the CVC. Then of course there’s the EPA, OGR, RHOB…

I guess we do this at BYU (Brigham Young University) too with the buildings on campus (HFAC, JFSB, SWKT)…Now that I think about it, I suppose it’s not entirely unique to have acronyms all over the place. So why do I even bring this up? Because one day, someone at work asked me if I could run over to the CPK with him so he could run inside while I sat in the car and prevented any lurking cops from giving him a ticket for parking illegally. What was the CPK? California Pizza Kitchen- the restaurant. And now I feel entirely ridiculous because I just Googled “CPK” out of curiosity, and “California Pizza Kitchen” was the first thing that came up on the screen. Apparently I’ve been oblivious to the whole acronym over-usage thing until starting my internship.

Speaking of my internship, I regularly walk home, and on one occasion, I took pictures on the way back. These are sights I get to see every day, and they still take my breath away!

Treasury Building

On a different note, this week has been great! I had good experiences every single day including excellent workouts, lectures, sight-seeing experiences, and excursions with friends!

Like my internship, I’m not technically supposed to say a lot about the speakers from my Friday class (what they say is “off the record”), but after one guy talked to us about the economy, I wanted to either live in a hut in the mountains with my own garden, or add a ton of money to my retirement account. A word of advice to everyone, including people my age: you need to start an IRA or 401-K account NOW. It will be worth whatever you need to sacrifice for a while to get it going.

 I also learned from a different speaker that if you want to join the FBI, you need a bachelor’s degree and have to apply between the ages of 23 and 34. Oh, and based off of another briefing, I’ve decided that being a natural disaster reporter sounds like the coolest job in the world!

After class on Friday, a group of my Barlow buddies and I went to Ford’s Theater, where Abraham Lincoln got shot. Below are pictures of the outside of the building and of the balcony where the tragedy occurred.

And this may be showing an extremely sick side of my sense of humor, but I just had to take a picture of this sign when I walked in the theater doors.

An interesting fact about this theater is that there are still performances that happen here on a regular basis.

After going to the theater, my friends and I did the only thing a group of BYU interns could possibly do on a Friday night: get on the metro and eat dinner…at Costco. It was so much fun!

Yesterday (Saturday), I spent some more time at the American History Museum and saw the First Ladies’ Dresses exhibit. The dresses below are the ones that Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama wore at their husbands’ inaugurations. 

I also saw C-3P0 be standing in the hallway.

Once again, I wrote too much, and the frustrating thing is that there are so many other things I could go on and on about. But I won’t. This is enough. But before I forget, here is what the Washington Monument looked like yesterday! It was partially covered up by clouds!