the-absolute-funniest-posts:

Person: What are the hunger games about?
Me: 24 kids being forced to murder each other
Person:
Me:
Person:
Me: its not as weird as it sounds I swear

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Hahaha but it is…

(Source: peculiarchildren, via the-absolute-funniest-posts)

Washington D.C. Week 2

The week started off similar to the previous week except now that the interns had almost all moved in I was not completely alone anymore. I was still eagerly awaiting a phone call from my office to find out when I would start work. Although I was having a good time at my self-proclaimed job of professional tourist, I was ready to begin what I had come here for which was to work and gain valuable experience. 

That Monday a fellow intern and I decided to take a walk around the mall to visit the Smithsonian castle and the Hirschorn art gallery. The Smithsonian castle is a fantastically unique building which sticks out like a sore thumb in it’s surroundings of other typical Washington D.C. architecture buildings. The Hirschorn is an art gallery and sculpture garden which was currently displaying the an exhibit of an Andy Warhol art piece named “shadows.” The piece was intriguing and after a long day of staring at artwork we were ready for a change of scenery. 

In a bipolar weather change that I would expect from Texas but not D.C., it began snowing after being fifty degrees the day before. We made our way to the crowded metro full of people chattering about the snow and headed over the Catholic University. The campus was absolutely beautiful, especially the national chapel in the center of the university. The building’s architecture was very detailed and you could see the school’s historical roots. 

The rest of the week I decided to occupy my time to get my mind off waiting for a phone call from my office. That Tuesday I decided to take a visit to the spy museum only about a 25 minute walk from my apartment. They have admission prices half off on Tuesday’s and I had always heard how amazing the museum was. I was not disappointed, entering into a briefing room where I was instructed to learn a new identity and to memorize it throughout my visit. The museum was very hands on and included the history of spies all the way to modern day espionage and counter terrorism. The gadgets were brilliantly clever and overall the museum was very entertaining. After departing from the spy museum I decided to hop on a subway and head to our president’s house on 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.   As I approached the front of the house a security guard told two women that they weren’t allowed to go through to see the front of the house for “security reasons.” Curious and somewhat disappointed I began to walk back to my apartment. Just as I turned the corner I hear motorcycles and see several secret service vehicles coming my way. I stood in awe as the president’s motorcade passed just 15 feet in-front of me and managed to snap a quick picture. 

That Thursday I finally met my room mate and helped him in moving and settling in. We combined our resources and were beginning to accumulate somewhat of a decent stock of food. The apartment was becoming more and more livable and I now had someone living with me again which was a relief after a week and a half of solitude. After a Friday and Saturday of no word from my office I headed off to Richmond, Virginia to visit my brother.  Richmond is quaint city only a couple hour ride from D.C. which was a easy ride on the bus. My brother and I went shopping and stocked up on even more food and I finally had enough food to be comfortable with for a while. 

Washington D.C. Week 1

Passing by the stadium and familiar landscapes going down I-35 to the airport it began to sink in that I was leaving. I had been preparing since I received the call for this day but the realization that I would leave my friends and family for even just a semester did began to have an impact on me. I arrived at the airport and realized that this was it. It was time for a new adventure, a new experience, and a completely new city. My whole life I have never lived further than a few hours away from my hometown of Irving, Texas. Now I would be living in our nation’s capital, practically a far away foreign land for a born and raised Texan. 

I landed that afternoon and took a cab and really began to realize how different this new surrounding was going to be. I noticed a juxtaposition between passing a homeless center and the unbelievable monuments the city was embellished with. I arrived at my apartment and once I had unpacked and sat down for a second to get settled in I remembering thinking “well this is it.” Although I felt like I had grown up after leaving my parents house and living on my own, this was definitely an affirmation that I had truly grown up. 

My first challenge would be finding a grocery store in a brand new city by myself. Being the first to arrive I had the responsibility of finding a store close enough to buy food for myself and survive at least for a couple week before my room mate arrives and I can compile groceries between the two of us. I managed to find the target which was definitely not like the targets I was used to. Just go get there I had to take the subway two stops, transfer, and then three more stops to Columbia Heights. The target was two stories high and cramped full of shoppers. I got the bare essential I would need and quickly headed out and back on the long journey back home. 

On only my second day I was beginning to feel the loneliness of being in a city all by myself, but managed to overcome it by exploring my amazing new surroundings. My apartment is literally right down the block from the Supreme Court building of the United states of America. I explored and got my reading card for the library of congress, and browsed through its abundant amount of books and records. I explored the national mall including most of the Smithsonian’s, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln memorial. I had a captivating and emotional experience at the national holocaust museum which left me baffled at the dark nature of some human beings. I was inspired by the monuments across the pond from the monument of Thomas Jefferson, F.D.R. and MLK and amazed by their bravery and how radically each of them has affected our country. I gawked at the original founding documents at the National Archives, staring at the parchment that laid out the foundation of our entire government. I stood in awe at the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem. After the first week of my adventure, even though it was somewhat lonely at times I saw some of the most amazing treasures our country has to offer.

That Friday, Drew a fellow intern, finally arrived. We went to further explore capital hill and I took him to the supreme court building and then we did a tour of the inside of our nation’s capital. We marveled at the building’s architecture and the enormity of the inside of the capital dome. That night we decided to take a stroll (two mile walk) down to the lincoln memorial. Drew was quickly finding out the amount of walking I had embarked on all week long. The next day another fellow intern Christopher arrived and we ventured to the national gallery of art. We have all been getting a long very well, and watched the republican debate and football that night. Today on the last day of the week we decided to take advantage of beautiful sunny day and explored Dupont Circle, Morgans Adam, and finally the Smithsonian national zoo. We definitely got to see a piece of D.C. many tourist do not get to see. The national zoo was probably the best zoo I have ever been to and the most amazing part is it was free, one of my favorite parts about the museums around here. 

I’ve learned how to survive on my own in a brand new city. I also learned how much walking is required in D.C. when you don’t have a car. The other mode of transportation, the subway, I learned can be very inconvenient and slow on the weekends especially during construction. I’ve learned my way around the city (at least our little neighborhood) and much more in the museums than I ever would have from just reading a book. I found out what office I will be working for this semester, the U.S. department of Education, which I am very excited about. I am anxious to learn how my new work environment is going to be and all the new things that I am going to learn about how our government functions. Can’t wait to see what else awaits me and although I miss my old friends I am making new ones everyday and very hopeful about my experience here in D.C.