Be cool.

Visit D.C.

Seriously, it's been pretty chilly here lately.

Change: An amazing gift

"Nothing is so unchanging, so inevitable as change itself." -Marvin J. Ashton

 

"When we're through changing, we're through." -Bruce Barton

While there were many years where I would have rather started out perfect in my every pursuit, I now love and cherish the changes in my heart and mind that I experience. I love that moment when your eyes are opened and you realize that you were wrong. Why? Because when it comes, despite the fact that I often have to humble myself and apologize to others, I can see both worlds. And in seeing both perspectives, I am better prepared to help others. My vision is expanded.

That is not to say that we should not strive to be our best every day, but rather that we should not be afraid to move forward in life even if we are not guaranteed perfection right away. Sometimes the challenges we face are bigger than our prior experiences and our previous capacities, but as we struggle and persevere, our abilities are strengthened and our understanding is increased. We are able to not just survive, but flourish!

Over the last few years I had some experiences where I felt like others took a snapshot of me, a dynamic and constantly-changing woman. Have we not all made a similar error to some degree or another? I felt like they used this snapshot to judge my past, present, and future. It hurt. Perhaps they did not know me well enough to know my deep commitment to improvement and progression. Maybe they did not know how far I had come and how hard I had worked to achieve that snapshot that they critiqued.

Let's commit ourselves to refrain from doing this to others and instead to understand others in context: as a product of their past with great potential ahead. If others put us in a box and do not allow us to change, let's recognize it for what it is--a misjudgment--and continue progressing in our lives.

We can remember: "The time to make up your mind about someone is never." The same holds for ourselves. If you have something that you know you need to change, change it! That is what I am working toward in 2014, being my best me.

I love you all, friends and family. If I ever fail to give you the opportunity to change, please let me know. I believe in you and I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all things are possible.

Ways I changed in 2013:

• I accept non-closure regarding race and class disparities in the world. Legacies of injusticies are complicated. While I continue to strive to do my best to make this world more just and to support the under-represented and forgotten of the world, I give up judging the motivations of others. I drop my feelings of prejudice toward and my judgment of those (including myself) who benefit from unfair systems.
• I'm a teacher. I chose this profession. We're underpaid and underappreciated. Asi es. Shoganai. We also have many opportunities to make a meaningful and positive difference in the world. 
• I can now say that I like California, Utah, Idaho, and Texas and the people who live there. I would be willing to live in those states and happy to raise my children in any one of them.
• I cannot change others and I relinquish the desire to. Sometimes others give you the courtesy of explaining their hurtful actions and other times they do not or cannot. I accept that.
• My classroom attitude shifted from resembling: "And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things--stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord. I say there was nothing short of these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from going down speedily to destruction." to: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only be persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;"

Questions to consider regarding change in your own life:

• How is change a gift?
• How did you change in 2013?
• Have you ever felt put in a box or that others did not allow you to change? How did you get out of that situation?
• What progress do you look forward to making in 2014?

I would love to read your answers to these questions in the comments below. Happy 2014!

DMV Slang

Last year I was introduced to a whole new lexicon when I started teaching middle school in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. So in the event that any of my blog readers visit DC, I am providing, as a public service, a dictionary of common DMV lingo, complete with real-life examples. Enjoy!

Bama: A "bama" is kind of like a "punk" or a "loser" or a "fool." It comes from the word Alabama and apparently originally reflected how Alabamans seemd backward to DMVers.

"I'm sick and tired of all these bamas."

Blow: To blow is to annoy or frustrate.

"Ms. K, you're blowin' me!"
"This homework assignment has got me blown!"

Champ: not cool

"That party last night was champ."

Cised: excited, stoked

"I'm cised about the new Wale CD."

Do too much: try too hard, doing more than what needs to be done, "freaking out" or getting overly emotional or upset

"Ms. K is always doin' too much."
"Don't do too much."
"You're doin' too much."

Hungry: Fat

"We all know Joey wants a twinkie cause he's hungry."
"Shut up, you hungry, boy!"

Guh: annoyed/annoying

"You got me guh."
"My mom is so guh."
(After someone does something stupid) "Awww, you guh!"

Jone: joke, tease

"It's not a big deal, I was just jonein'!"
"Oh, so you jonein' now?"
"She was jonein' on me."

Kirk off: freak out

"Ms. K, you better get out of my face before I kirk off and smack you."

Moe: Dude

"Chill out, moe."

Mug: really/a lot

"Ms. K, your teeth are white as a mug!"
"It's hot as a mug in here!"

Pressed: worried, stressed, bent out of shape

"Everybody was tellin me that I should talk with him, but I'm not that pressed."

Real life: for real, I'm serious

"Ms. K, you better get him away from me or I'm gonna smack him, real life."

Sike nah: Just kidding

"Hey, Ms. K, I didn't do my homework... sike nah!"

Thirsty: Bad breath

"Nah, I don't go with that girl. She's thirsty."

Thought it was: "That's what you thought" or "The joke's on you"

Person 1: "Isn't that assignment due tomorrow instead of today?"
Person 2: "Thought it was."

Finding Common Ground

The seventh graders were going crazy in the hallway. Twelve of them were jumping up and down the stairs, running, hitting, pushing, grabbing, and screaming. In the midst of it all, one young man stood out to me. He was taller than the others with a caramel complexion and a gray kufi on his head. Saying, "Where do you all need to be?" in an authoritative voice sent most of the twelve scattering, but he continued relaxing on the stairs.

"And where do you need to be?"

"I'm supposed to be in class, but I'm waiting for somebody."

"Hmmm... Young man, what does that cap on your head mean?"

"Uhhh... well it is for my religion. It's supposed to set me apart."

"I'm glad you said that. I knew what your cap represented before I asked you because it does set you apart. I can relate. I also wear a reminder of my faith and I know what it means to hold yourself to a higher standard. It means that even if every other person in this school isn't doing what they're supposed to be, you and I have to have higher expectations for ourselves and do what's right because that is what we have chosen. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I can. I'll go to class."

Forty-five seconds after the our conversation began, the young man turned around and walked straight to his class.

This happened two weeks ago. On Wednesday, I was walking down the hallway with a large, heavy bag of papers to grade. This young man saw me and offered to help carry my things to the car.

Conversations like ours build respect and understanding. They are what can truly mold a young person's character. I am thankful for my faith and the expectation it places on me to live my life according to high standards, God's standards. I am grateful for other people of faith and how we can hold each other accountable when we are weak.

Thank you

Today a student was struggling to put his answer on paper. He knew the answer. I knew that he knew it. He knew that he knew it. But he just could not commit to it enough to write it, even in pencil, on his paper. I knew that he wanted to write it and move on; he just needed that extra push.

My natural inclination:  "You have ten seconds to write an answer down on your paper."

You taught me that my natural inclination can be bossy and off-putting.

Thanks to you, I paused before speaking. "You have the answer inside of you. I can tell. Why don't you write down your best guess?"

A softer touch was what he needed.

Waiting in a Supermarket Line: Lessons on Leadership

Last week I was in the mood for asparagus pizza (thanks, Lynne!) and decided to stop by Safeway on my way home from a long day of work to pick up some mozzarella cheese, the only ingredient I was missing.

It was right after work so all of the lines were long as people stopped by the store on their way home from work. I was the fourth person in my line. Everything seemed fine until the woman who was ringing up her groceries got to paying for them. She started complaining to prove a point to her son:

• The cashier had charged her 98 cents a pound for something that was supposed to be 95 cents
• The price of an item was not what she had expected. Wasn't it on sale?
• How could that possibly not be included on her stamps?
• She couldn't find her cash
• She wanted paper and not plastic bags
• How much of a gas bonus was she going to receive? (Cashier: You can see that on the receipt. Woman: I want you to show it to me on the receipt right now.)
• Etc.

As the woman continued on (and on and on and on), I maintained a calm facade and keep trying to assure myself that this was not much of an inconvenience and in the long run of my day, this would be only a few minutes of delay. However, on the inside there was a festering annoyance with the woman, yes, but almost more with the cashier than anyone else.

My thoughts over the ten minutes went something like this: Why was he letting her continue on like this? Can't he he can see that the store is crowded, the line is long, and we have been waiting for here for ten minutes? Why doesn't he call the manager to come deal with her? I know that he is being patient with her, but he is being too patient. She is clearly taking advantage of him. He is being too nice, too calm. He needs to speak to her in a firm voice and get this situation under control. He is clearly new. Would someone say something to her? How did I get stuck in this guy's line?

My friendly neighborhood Safeway

These thoughts were probably overly-dramatic for the situation, but they did teach me something important. My last thought was: Wow. Now I understand what my students want in a leader and in a teacher.

I didn't want the cashier to disrespect the woman, but I certainly wanted him to rein her in. I realized that after working in an urban environment I had started to have a different outlook on patience and kindness. I have realized that sometimes the truly loving thing to do is to speak to someone directly and not allow them to walk all over you. When you are responsible for a group of people (children in my case) you must not allow the whims of one person ruin the experience of the rest.

It took an experience like this for me to actually empathize with my students. For me to feel what it is that they want and need.

That is what my students had wanted all along. They want to learn and they want to be protected from those who selfishly take advantage of the kindness others and disrupt the learning environment.

My students want a strong leader who is willing to take charge and get things done. They may protest like all children do, but they really like to be told what to do and they like to receive consequences, good and bad, for their actions.

And they don't want to hear in a soft tone: "Could you please sit down?" They want: "Sit down, get your paper and a pencil out and begin working on the activity. Now."

They want someone who loves them enough to set a clear boundary. They want someone who loves them enough that they will not allow failure or disrespect or laziness even be an option.

I am certain that this was a learning experience provided by a loving Heavenly Farther who knew that Ms. K was looking for ways to better understand her students and how to serve them.

10 Dimensions of a Healthy Marriage

This summer I interned at Child Trends in Washington, DC. One of the projects I spent some time working on involved testing Child Trends' previously conceptualized definition for a healthy marriage. These are the ten dimensions they identified:

1. Commitment

2. Satisfaction

3. Communication

4. Effective Conflict Resolution

5. Lack of Violence and Abuse

6. Fidelity or Faithfulness

7. Intimacy and Emotional Support

8. Friendship and Spending Time Together

9. Commitment to Children

10. Duration and Legal Status

What do you think?

Commuting Adventures

Commuting to and from working can get to be downright boring if you don’t do it correctly. How does one commute “correctly,” you might ask. Let me show you.

Before I arrived in DC, I starting memorizing a map of the city and all of the possible walking/bus/Metro combinations I could take to work. When I arrived in the city, this meant that I was daily presented with an almost limitless number of commuting options. So about a month into my internship I started a little game to try to find the fastest and most efficient route to work. I am such a capitalist. 

Every day the light would change at a different moment  or I would be behind people walking various speeds down the sidewalk. This forced me to make split second decisions: “Should I cross now or keep walking and make the next light?” Or, “based on the traffic this morning, should I continue on this street or take a left?”

The people I walked past probably wondered why I was smiling. Little did they know it was because I was cheering that yet again I was approaching an intersection right as the light was changing. Boo-ya!

The same thing worked in the Metro. Every day I made it a little game to guess where along the platform the train would stop and what door I would need to sit near to exit the train at the base of the elevator at my stop.

Commuting has so much potential to be boring—walking the same route every day, seeing the same people, passing the same stores—but  I experienced a small amount of pleasure (and dare I admit it, challenge) in daily changing up my routine. There are so many patterns to be enjoyed in life all around us, if only we will make the effort to keep them fresh.

Recording of Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise

Here is a recording of Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise/An Angel from on High with Jason Black on the Piano and me singing. We performed this in sacrament meeting for the Washington DC 2nd Ward this summer. Don't worry, the recoding was not made at church. It's not the best, but I hope you like it. Jason made up the accompaniment and I used the basic melody of the hymns with a few improvisations. It takes a few seconds before the music begins.

Seeing the End from the Beginning

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace."

Spencer W. Kimball

"Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene--one step enough for me."

Every time I sing these words, I am lead to question the sincerity with which I profess to desire to walk down uncertain paths. A good friend once observed that often times we prefer the certain path to the right path.

Sometimes I am surprised to hear someone speak in absolutely certain terms about a decision they have made about an important aspect of life that will not occur for months or years. I know, often times we talk about things in certain terms to avoid sounding shiftless.

But I wonder, should we? Or if we do talk about things in absolutely certain terms, should we also think about them unflinchingly? Or rather, should we think and talk about our lives in terms of the next step instead of the "distant scene" as is expressed in Lead, Kindly Light.

When the thought occurred to me (after I had taken the LSAT) that law school might not be the next step for me I was at first incredulous and disappointed. How could I have spent hundreds of hours preparing for something that would not lead to the originally desired outcome?

But then I realized that I was not prompted to be a lawyer, nor to go to law school, nor to apply for law school, but to prepare for law school.

Preparing for law school has provided a richness to my life and my education that has been unparalleled. It filled me with a renewed desired to apply myself to academics and to serve those around me which eventually lead me to intern in Washington, DC, an experience that forever changed my life.

I look forward to all that God has in store for me and all of those I love. Until I see the end, I will continue to make myself available for His wonderful blessings!

"I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead thou me on!"

Gone

On Saturday I boarded an airplane heading away from D.C. I've started on a journey that somehow I still do not know where it will take me.

Minnesota Nice

Apparently "Minnesota Nice" is real. Today one of my co-workers (from Wisconsin and alum of the University of Minnesota) said she could tell I'm from Minnesota because I'm so nice. Better to be nice than mean, I say.

Not everyone in the United States agrees with me. Not even the cashier at CVS Pharmacy who told me to "read the sign" yesterday when I asked if what I was purchasing rang up as the correct price (and then said, "I was right," when he showed me the sign). Nor the waiter in New York who told me that my method of payment was annoying. Nor the doctor's office receptionist who had a completely flat facial expression and didn't even try to make nice conversation with me...

I admit it, I have unrealistically high expectations. And it probably isn't healthy that internally I feel upset when strangers aren't nice to me (I even talk about it later with an incredulous tone - Can you BELIEVE what he said to me?!?).

However, I am slowly coming to grips with the "real world." Every day I learn how to be kind to those who are unkind and to forgive even strangers who I will never see again. Without the discomfort I have felt here on the east coast, I likely would never have learned these lessons.

But I still like Minnesota nice. :)

I'm an Art-aholic

Since I've been out East, I've had the chance to attend many art museums and I've discovered... that I'm an art-aholic! So far my favorites have been the Metropolitan Museum of Art (top) and the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum (bottom).

Paintings just aren't the same in a textbook as they are in person. Sometimes the most important aspect of a piece of art is its actual physical size. Other times, the vividness of the colors does not hold in the reproduction. Mostly, there is something about looking at the actual canvas that Picaso, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, Raphael, Cassatt, or Degas painted that is thrilling.

I love impressionism. These paintings are meant to capture the impression of scenes and often portary everyday events or landscapes. The beauty of the brushstrokes and the capturing of the feeling of an event or scene can make me feel serene.

Back at BYU I went to a lecture on annunciation paintings and now I just love them. To illustrate this, at the Met in New York I specifically sought out an exhibit that I thought would have annunciation paintings. I walked through, enjoying the artwork but noticing the lack of annunciations. Then I turned a corner and **BAM** there was a wall-sized annunciation and I gasped! Audibly. The rest of the rooms of the exhibit had several annunciations and I took pictures of them so I could study and ponder them later. If you don't believe, see photo of the annunciation painting below. They are packed full of symbolism, which makes searching for symbols like an eye spy game, and I am impressed with some of the consistencies across the paintings. Ask me later if you want to hear more about my love for them.

But as you can see from the quizzical look below, I still have a hard time understanding modern and contemporary art. We thought this one (at the Musem of American Art) looked like a thought bubble. The plaque described it as an example of delicacy despite it's large size and some other stuff that I didn't buy. If anyone has any insights, feel free to share.

Yay art!

Washington: Week One

Wow! Our schedule this week has kept us busy almost every minute of every day.

After FHE on Monday we went on a walk down to Washington Harbor and over to the Kennedy Center. Here is Juliana, Meghan, and me next to a fountain at the Kennedy Center. Below, Alicia (my roommate) and I are copying JFK's great facial expression.



Tuesday was the first day of work. I'll post another entry later about my internship and what I do there. Let's just say that I love working at Child Trends, a research organization for children, and I especially enjoy working for my boss. She is one of the most productive people I have ever met. I know that I will learn a lot from her this summer. The only problem is that she is brilliant and has had her PhD and been working as a researcher for 30 years. Sometimes it is hard for me to catch up with her!

On Thursday a group of us headed down to the Mall. Not the shopping mall, The Mall. Alicia and I were still eating dinner when everyone else left so we met up with them at the Lincoln Memorial. Here is an excert that Alicia wrote in her journal when we got home late that night: "We left after the others and had to play catch up - but we played it together which made it better." We had a big laugh the next day when she re-read it to me. :)

This is me at the Lincoln Memorial with a penny... because the Lincoln Memorial is on the penny... It was nice to be there right at twilight when everything is saturated in that characteristic deep blue color. There were, however, a lot of tourisits crowding around. I think I'll try to run down by the memorial in the morning sometime when there are fewer people around.


Sorry this picture is blurry. It was the best one that I got of the inside.


We also stopped by the WWII monument. I had to take pictures in front of the engravings for my two most recent homes.



Our room is freezing and nothing we do seems to change the temperature! Here is Alicia in her warm jammies after adding a few blankets to her bed. I was never cold before Alicia started to feel cold and now I am constantly shivering in the room. Is it really cold in here or is it psychological?


After class on Friday a group of us headed over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It's a pretty fun place and I'm sure Dad would love some of their newer exhibits. Alicia, Sisi, and my favorite exhibit was the History of Western Cultures. There, they chronicled Western history from before the Ice Age to ancient Rome. We loved comparing and contrasting our experiences today with people who lived thousands of years ago.

After the museum we headed up to Chinatown. DC's Chinatown is kind of lame (one block of Subway and McDonald's written in Chinese characters...), but we did find a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant for dinner. In the picture below you can see the nice decorations. The bathrooms were frightening, but luckily that adds to the atmosphere of Chinatown.

Here is most of the group in front of the Chinatown gateway (L-R: Me, Taryn, Audrey, Marie, Matt, Ericka, Michelle, Genevieve, Sisi, Matt, Jason, Alicia, Erik, Linda, Juliana).


Saturday we went on the Passport DC tour of some of the embassies in town. We started with Colombia and went on to Indonesia, the Bahamas, Haiti, Korea, Iraq, and Nepal. The Indonesian and Colombian embassies were especially beautiful. Here is me, Michelle, and Mindy at the Indonesian embassy.

The Indonesian embassy had a gamelan group! We learned all about this in my World Music Cultures class so it was fun to see an authentic group performing live! I dazzled (or bored) everyone with information on gamelan music and it's cultural significance. If you get a chance, look up Gong-Kebyar gamelan music on YouTube.

The Iraq embassy was awesome. This is me by the plaque right before we went through security. Iraq has a long and interesting history. Many events in the Bible took place there. All of the people in the embassy were very friendly and the ambassador to the US from Iraq was just standing around greeting the guests.

The backyard was the best part of the Iraqi embassy. This is a video shot from the balcony of some of the embassy employees performing traditional dance and singing Iraqi music. They also provided a sampling of Iraqi food.



The National Cathedral is HUGE! I have been to Cathedrals before and I'd seen pictures of the National Cathedral and I thought it looked beautiful, but I did not realize how massive it is (the 6th largest cathedral in the world). The St. Paul Cathedral does not even compare to this. In this picture I am still a pretty good distance away. Let's face it, you need to visit it to appreciate how large it is. It's a good excuse to visit me this summer!



The inside is also beautiful. There are high vaulted celings with four large stained glass rose windows.


Sisi and I went up the elevator to the seventh floor of the tower. You can see all around DC from there. From this window, you can see the Washington Monument.


Here is a small part of the group on our way back home (L-R: Erik, Marie, Sisi, Michelle, me, Matt).


We were also able to listen to the choir practicing. Cameron and I have attended midnight mass a few times on Christmas Eve and I have always loved cathedral music. It has such a pure, vibrato-less timbre. The organ also has a powerful presence in the building. The day started with the gamelan music and then onto Iraqi music and ended with the music in the cathedral. They were all very different styles, but it was interesting to see the similarities in place music plays in these cultures.



Okay. That was my week in review. Stay tuned! Next week we're going to Valley Forge and Philly.

DC: Day 2

We woke up early in the morning to get our grocery shopping done. The weather was perfect and Safeway was only a ten minute walk south down 25^th, a street lined with beautiful restored row houses and tulip gardens.

After lunch, we took a walk around George Washington University’s (GWU) campus. It reminds me of the University of Minnesota where the city blends together with the university. I will have to go back and look at their law school because shortly after we got there, we had to meet some of the men in the program at the Metro station to go to Costco.

After being slightly embarrassed because I didn’t swipe my Metro card right and had to have the station attendant help me, I finally had my first Metro ride. It was very crowded but also really convenient and took us right to Costco. After our shopping spree, we packed up all the food in the suitcases we brought (thanks, Ryan!) and got back on the Metro. We received some interesting looks by walking around the streets of downtown DC with suitcases of food, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Most of the other interns arrived later in the afternoon and evening. They were all hungry and went out to eat, but some of us had food and just ate in the Center. After dinner we went on a walk to the White House. Right after we arrived, it started to rain so we weren't able to spend much time there. It's not too bad of a walk and we'll probably visit again next week. The thunderstorm was beautiful and I realized how much I missed those powerful Midwest thunderstorms.

Back at the Center we watched the Jazz game. I stayed until half-time, but it was sad to see the Jazz losing and it was getting late so I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Rebecca and Sisi asked me to come over to look at something in their room and we ended up sitting around talking. We heard load shouts and sirens outside so we hurried to get dressed and ran downstairs. When we got there, Matt and Ryan told us that there had been a big protest outside but it had already passed. Next time we'll have to do a better job of planning ahead for protests to watch :)

This us is in the morning at the Watergate Complex where Safeway is. (L-R) Me, Juliana, Rebecca, Sisi.

Our first time on the Metro!

Packing the suitcases full of groceries. (L-R) Ryan, Matt.

(L-R) Juliana, Ryan, Matt, Jon

Waiting for the Metro with our food. (L-R) Jon, Cameron, Matt, Ryan, Juliana, Me, Rebecca, Sisi.

At the White House! You can tell it was raining. The other day we were walking around Georgetown and saw some Obama PJs. Maybe I'll buy them and take a picture in front of the White House in them ;)

Ms. Andrea Goes to Washington

WARNING: Travelogue ahead

The day started early. 5:00 a.m. to be exact. Two hours after I had gone to bed. Katlyn called (she had been up all night cleaning) and came over to help me with my last little bit of work. Nicole also woke up and helped me finish cleaning my room before I left. I have the best friends ever. The apartment was still a mess when I left and I felt terrible, but I had to catch my flight.

Ryan came over a little after six and we headed up to the airport. He was full of great D.C. advice and I think he might just be my favorite person to ride places with. Especially when the seated heats are on.

Don’t ask me what I was thinking (I’m usually very good at saying no), but this morning the Sky Cap attendant asked me if I wanted their help and I said… yes? Shucks. There goes $10 that Ryan had to loan me. Then, somewhere between security and boarding the flight I managed to lose my driver’s license. I still haven’t found it. Lesson learned: I don’t function well on two hours.

While my flight to Denver was pre-boarding, I saw Cameron from Washington Seminar sitting near the terminal so I went over to talk with him. He was taking a direct flight (lucky) to Dulles (lucky). We planned to get a group together to see the city later that night.

I have never flown Southwest and I found they have their pluses and minuses. Pluses: inexpensive, two free checked bags, and yummy treats! Minuses: being herded like cattle onto the airplane and not being able to choose my seat beforehand. Lesson learned: beggars can’t be choosers.

On the flight to Denver, I sat next to a very nice and quite man. He was older, but such a gentleman. And he gave me his NY Times when he was finished with it. Instant friendship. I thought I would cry or feel some strong emotion when I left Utah, but I was way too tired and stayed in a half-sleeping, half-thinking state for the whole 45 minutes.

While being herded onto the flight to Baltimore, I met a nice couple from California going on an East Coast vacation to New York, Philadelphia, and D.C. All Utahans, listen up. When they asked me where I was from, I immediately said, “Utah.” Oops. Sorry, Minnesota. What’s happening to me? They also asked me about my internship and told me that we need more people like me to save the world. Awww. Not everyone gets an internship with built-in warm fuzzies.

The first thing I noticed when I looked out the window over Maryland was trees! I missed them. After I collected my bags, I played solitaire on my laptop while I waited for Sisi and Rebecca’s flight to land. Lesson learned: you win some you lose some (or most, if you’re me).

Rebecca and Sisi are roommates. I know Rebecca from our Freshman year and we met Sisi in the prep class. Rebecca’s parents met working as spies in DC (true story) and Sisi grew up in Hong Kong but now her family lives in Shanghai. Our shuttle driver was born in Hong Kong so Sisi was able to speak with him in Cantonese. After a long drive through DC traffic, we finally arrived at the Barlow Center at about seven.

Only about seven interns arrived on Friday so we went out to dinner as a group at the little restaurant next door. After dinner, we took a walk through Georgetown. What a busy place! I have never seen so many people out doing things so late at night. You can look at the video I will embed below for a better idea of what it is like. The buildings in Georgetown are so quaint and there are cobblestone sidewalks. We’ll definitely be back!

This is (L-R) Rebecca, Sisi, and me relaxing in the shuttle.

At the restaurant next door. This picture is so funny because it was taken with my camera and I am the only one completely cut-off. Haha. (L-R) Matt, Sisi, Rebecca, Matt, Juliana, Cameron, Ryan, and me.

A typical Barlow Center room. Alicia, my roommate, doesn't arrive until Sunday.

Here are the closets and the bathroom entrance.

This is our group walking down the streets of Georgetown.