Today was a wonderful but HOT day. My roomies and I started our adventures at about 1:00 pm (sleeping in on Saturdays are the best) and decided to head on down to the festival at the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian puts on a festival once a year for a week that is related to a nation, a state and an agency. This year it was Bhutan, Texas and NASA. Upon our arrival, there were a bunch of people (mostly, if not all, tourists) lined up around a Bhutan temple and others passing through various tents that included arts, food, stories, photos, etc.


This monk in particular was hand crafting this wonderful image with colored powder. Using only his fingers, he steadily pinched each color to produce this beautiful product. It was absolutely amazing.
(PS- you can click on the picture for a bigger version. I recommend doing this for the following)

After a few minutes of walking around, we were all pretty tired so we decided to take the opportunity for a couple of photo ops. Then, we figured it was best to put something in our stomachs while deciding what the game plan was going to be.

(From left: Perry, Andrea, Daria, Emma, Me, Jimmy)

Roommates: Emma, Andrea, Me, DariaAfter our happy-family picture, we skipped on over to Potbelly's--a yummy sandwich restaurant that was recommended to me by a friend back at home. Despite the sweltering heat, we managed to keep a positive and ambitious outlook for the rest of the day. After lunch, we were going to go across the street to see the Constitution at the National Archives but there was a very long line so we decided to save that for another day. Then, we made our way to the National Museum of Art but only had 15 minutes. We limited ourselves to only the Impressionism Era and concluded that we would come back at another time.

The famous Degas piece. I never thought I'd see it in person.

Optical illusion: the never ending ladder

Since the museum closed, we walked on over the Natural History Museum in the Smithsonian. On the way there, we took a break and eased our ill-stricken feet.

I had to take a pic of these two lovebirds straddling each other as families w/ small children sat nearby. Idiots.

After being disgusted for about 10 minutes, we waddled (because of our feet) on over to the Natural History Museum. Great place but a little too tired to appreciate it....I'll have to go back.

I'm amusing myself...

The Hope Diamond: 67 1/8-carat diamondSo, that was my day. I was pretty pooped by the end. I made the horrible mistake of wearing really painfully flat sandals that just did nothing for my flat platypus feet. Walking barefoot was way more comfortable.

Tomorrow, our group will be canoing on the Potomac...I'm not sure how many pictures I'll be able to post since my camera isn't waterproof but I'll try...

Until then...ciao ;-)

dc evolution

I've decided that this blog will be a perfect way for family and friends to see what's going on in my life during these 10 weeks here in the nation's capital. It will force me to post pictures and document everything that happens here for you guys. On one condition, you have to let me know you're reading it--in other words, I just need to know that I'll be doing this for a reason...even if it's one person that is reading it, I'll do my job.

So let's begin, shall we? First off, I am interning for ServeNext, an advocacy group dedicated to expanding national service opportunities in America by building the political will to fill the need for national service. My internship specifically deals with the journalism aspect of it which includes: blogging, reporting, attending meetings and site visits to network and gain support, updating of the website, engaging in conferences, etc. It's a great internship and as the days unravel, it only gets better. For example, I was planning on taking the metro everyday to work which is fine because the metro is wonderful.
However, it can get expensive. Well, come to find out, they moved into a new office just yesterday which is only about 5 blocks from me....walking distance...yay! In addition, they are very flexible with schedules. If there is a day I can't come in, they are very understanding. They also understand if I want to take some time off to travel, since I am traveling here for ten weeks with a group of students. Not to mention that what they work for is absolutely amazing!

Yesterday was my first day at the office. I wasn't there very long because I simply went to get a tour of the place and pick up a key for myself. However, I now see why locals wear sandals to and from work, then switch to their heels once they reach their offices. If you don't, your feet will fall off!!!!! I have blisters everywhere...yuck!

After that, I went to the mall with my roommate to return her suit for a smaller size. This mall was amazing--HUGE!!! But, I wonder, just because we're in DC, does it have to look like this:


We only stayed for a short while because we had to get to a group pizza outing an hour and a half later.

(Roommate Daria and good friend Nick)

After pizza, the entire UC Center (every group from every UC) partook in a DC Night Tour and it was absolutely beautiful. I got a few good pictures, but I have to go back for others like the Lincoln Memorial and such. Believe me, these pictures DO NOT do justice to it's true beauty and power. I literally felt the tears building up.

So those are just a few pictures from the night tour. Like I said, I need to go back for the other monuments but hopefully you can see how spectacular they are.

I hope you enjoy...