I can't help but sit here and smile after yet another glorious week! All signs point to one more for the finale until we depart on Saturday already. For those of you in love with this blog, maybe we'll continue to leave some posts as the next few years will undoubtedly contain a few memories with both of us in CO!
Looking back to last week, I recall a cold start on Monday, intensified by a shivering experience at the National's baseball game. It was exciting to be there, and we had some great seats, but the cold was nearly unbearable, for how we were dressed at least! Tuesday Sean went out to eat after a long day at work. I had a tour that day of the National's new ballpark, which is now under construction, followed by a long night working on some remodel plans for my employer.
Wednesday, always an exciting day, we departed at 9:00am for the National Zoo, where we experienced the pandas, elephants, snakes, gorillas, among other animals. A zoo is always a good time, and we were able to thoroughly enjoy the entire thing by half-past noon!
After class Wednesday we went to the National Mall (park) for a picnic, followed by a visit to our cook's house where Sean and I were able to clean spotless! Needless to say, our evening was nearly shot so we returned home for some sleep.
Thursday I departed at 3:30am for Raleigh (by plane) for a day-long business trip. It was very exciting although I was a bit exhausted throughout the whole thing! I was home by 1:00am, and as you all know, Sean was fast asleep. I'll just say he had a boring day since I forget the details! Friday Sean was able to meet a few players at work, which I am constantly jealous about. It was my last day of work so I packed up my things, printed off a few final documents, said a few goodbyes then went out to a final lunch with my supervisor. Class went well - we had Steven Garber one more time, always a great speaker!
Friday night we relaxed, finishing a few papers. Today we woke for our weekly pancakes, then departed on a round-trip, 44-mile bike ride to Mt. Vernon which has left us exhausted for eternity! The ride was of the most beautiful experiences ever though, on an 80 degree day! We were along the Potomac the whole way, except for when we rode through Alexandria, where I believe we would both LOVE to live. Mt Vernon itself was spectacular. We paid the $13 entrance fee, one of our largest spending sprees yet, and got the mansion tour. We walked around for 4 hours, preparing ourselves for the trek home!
I feel the need to apologize for our amazing experiences here. Just remember that you all have many friends and family to spend time with, while it is just the two of us out here. So we are enjoying this at the expense many relationships! Luckily in a few weeks we'll be seeing a lot of you! Thanks again for your prayers. On many of the excursions we've needed them!
Saturday, April 21
Sunday, April 15
House to the Graves
It's really too bad that before the incentive, we had lived and traveled believing only a select few cared about us two lonely boys on the east coast. If I'd known I would have written twice a week, given this flood of comments! An additional advantage is that I won't have to dig deep into the memory bank to remember what happened - since it was just Wednesday that I last posted!
So, beginning Thursday... We had another exciting full day at work, which ended just in time for a group meeting to prepare for Friday's presentation. About ten minutes into the meeting I received a phone call for two free concert tickets for an Irish group. We didn't go, and this is important to share because it proves how dedicated to our schoolwork we've become! The meeting ended up taking us until about 11:00, and the following day was a little important, so we hit the bunks a little early (for me, not Sean).
Friday morning we arrived back at the apartments after our half day of work and finished up our preparatory work. Feeling confident, we headed to the Cannon House Office Building for our presentation. We felt official, and I'm pretty sure half of our class was quite confident that our decision would be used by the President - meaning it was quite heated, but exciting! We each were representing the US as experts on our respective countries (listed in the last post). Sean and I opened up the show with our introduction speech, leading in to a two hour discussion with everyone desiring any opportunity to voice their opinion.
Following the excitement, we rejoiced to be on the downhill towards completing the semester, although there are many things we'll miss when we leave! Sean had to get up early to begin preparing for DC United's home opener Saturday night so he went to bed quite early, as I wasted some time in my room, then took the lengthened nap.
Saturday, since Sean was at work, I went to my B&D supervisor's house to get some measurements for a plan I am drawing him, and enjoyed some pancakes and fruit as well! I got back, ate some lunch, and took off on a bike ride. I went up Massachusettes Ave, past Cheney's house and hundreds of Embassies from China and Korea to Great Britain, Brazil, and South Africa. I also saw the naval observatory and statues of Churchill, Ghandi, and Sheridan. Quite an amazing place! On the trip back I visited Ford's theater for a short play about the players involved the night of Lincoln's assassination.
Then a large group from ASP headed to the soccer game. We had great seats next to a drunken fan club lighting smoke bombs and throwing toilet paper the whole game, which made it an experience! After the game I got a picture with Eddie Johnson, arguably the best striker from the United States World Cup team. That ended Saturday.
Today we slept in til 11, made the 11:30 service at Union Station, then took a nap and traveled across town to Arlington Cemetery; one of the most beautiful places in the area! We arrived 'home', and I went to play soccer in the Naval Yard for a few hours. I just arrived back to the apartment and have not seen Sean yet, so that's all I can do for now. Hope that wasn't boring... the experiences are limited with the short timeframe! Thanks, and we'll see most of you soon!
So, beginning Thursday... We had another exciting full day at work, which ended just in time for a group meeting to prepare for Friday's presentation. About ten minutes into the meeting I received a phone call for two free concert tickets for an Irish group. We didn't go, and this is important to share because it proves how dedicated to our schoolwork we've become! The meeting ended up taking us until about 11:00, and the following day was a little important, so we hit the bunks a little early (for me, not Sean).
Friday morning we arrived back at the apartments after our half day of work and finished up our preparatory work. Feeling confident, we headed to the Cannon House Office Building for our presentation. We felt official, and I'm pretty sure half of our class was quite confident that our decision would be used by the President - meaning it was quite heated, but exciting! We each were representing the US as experts on our respective countries (listed in the last post). Sean and I opened up the show with our introduction speech, leading in to a two hour discussion with everyone desiring any opportunity to voice their opinion.
Following the excitement, we rejoiced to be on the downhill towards completing the semester, although there are many things we'll miss when we leave! Sean had to get up early to begin preparing for DC United's home opener Saturday night so he went to bed quite early, as I wasted some time in my room, then took the lengthened nap.
Saturday, since Sean was at work, I went to my B&D supervisor's house to get some measurements for a plan I am drawing him, and enjoyed some pancakes and fruit as well! I got back, ate some lunch, and took off on a bike ride. I went up Massachusettes Ave, past Cheney's house and hundreds of Embassies from China and Korea to Great Britain, Brazil, and South Africa. I also saw the naval observatory and statues of Churchill, Ghandi, and Sheridan. Quite an amazing place! On the trip back I visited Ford's theater for a short play about the players involved the night of Lincoln's assassination.
Then a large group from ASP headed to the soccer game. We had great seats next to a drunken fan club lighting smoke bombs and throwing toilet paper the whole game, which made it an experience! After the game I got a picture with Eddie Johnson, arguably the best striker from the United States World Cup team. That ended Saturday.
Today we slept in til 11, made the 11:30 service at Union Station, then took a nap and traveled across town to Arlington Cemetery; one of the most beautiful places in the area! We arrived 'home', and I went to play soccer in the Naval Yard for a few hours. I just arrived back to the apartment and have not seen Sean yet, so that's all I can do for now. Hope that wasn't boring... the experiences are limited with the short timeframe! Thanks, and we'll see most of you soon!
Wednesday, April 11
Please come to Boston in the Springtime.
I just took three minutes to think about the way I seem to often begin my blogs, and have realized that the reason I no longer post every week is that I enjoy apologizing? So once again, sorry for the delay, but I will run you through the last ten days as educationally as possible, including an exciting trip through eight states!
The second and third of the month were far from special, filled predominantly by frantic notetaking and exciting interviews for our foreign policy presentation. We got in a few days of lifting before our four day weekend began Thursday morning, and enjoyed a few filling college meals as well. Wednesday we made another trip to the two senate buildings (Russell and the other one), raking in 6 personal interviews with LAs and LCs to Obama, Clinton, Lieberman, Harkin (Iowa), Murray (WA), and a Colorado one. Feeling a bit accomplished, we left for our rooms to get a quick bite before class, which was super exciting (I think that was sarcastic this time?). Following class, we purchased a few bus tickets, packed our backpacks, and stole some solid shut-eye.
We woke at literally the break of dawn to catch our morning bus enroute to Boston, with a few stops along the way. We drove north through Baltimore, into Pennsylvania to Philly, dropped off a few people, snagged a picture or two and left for New York (through Delaware and New Jersey first). In New York we hit Chinatown and walked to two blocks to our new bus, which was conveniently located next to a 1/4 lb. $0.92 jumbo hot dog shop, claiming to have the best weiners in NYC! We graciously accepted the offer, and have now tried the best hot dogs and the best pizza in New York.
Our second bus was a bit nicer than the first, and more time-efficient... We drove over the Manhattan bridge, through Queens, along the coastline into Connecticut, and north into Boston, where we caught the "T" at South Station. A general note about Boston: beautiful city, great skyscrapers and architecture (and history), clean, easy-to-understand subway, and friendly people. Well we took off for a friends house (member of ASP), where we stayed the night after checking out the Atlantic for a bit.
The next morning we awoke and hit the city, seeing the Garden, capitol, Cheers, graveyard w/ Hancock among others buried, Quincy market, and a bunch of other visuals. I met up with my friend AJ from the navy (currently stationed in Connecticut) and he joined us for that day and the next. It was a great time as we rested by the harbor, then left for a different view of the Atlantic. It made me realize how lucky we "coasters" are to have the ocean RIGHT THERE! I'm going to be taking a little greater advantage of that come summer!
Well we stayed the night at this friend's sister's house in New Hamphire, adding to our list. In the morning we went downtown to Kitty O'Shea's pub to watch the DC united soccer game. We were given a private area where we could have the volume up... as not to annoy the regulars I presume - I guess there was an exciting Masters on? The night ended with a drive around, another stop at the ocean, and a late night crash. Oh, and we had a GREAT homecooked lunch in Northern Mass Saturday!
We summed up the trip with an 8:00 Easter service which was excellent, then an amazing brunch before we caught the bus back home. Monday and Tuesday were awful days filled with lots and lots of homework, preparing for today's presentation which went EXCELLENT. Ask Sean or I what the US policy in Iraq should be and we'll have the best answer, slightly tainted to the interests of Jordan :).
Well, now it's time for a bit of sleep to prepare for our second presentation Friday. Our "senior members" enjoy doing this to us. As I will to any students I may ever be in charge of... so help them. Take care and thanks for the replies. I'll make a deal and say if I receive 5 replies by Sunday night I'll write again then. It's up to you... and I'm not even sure if that many people read this still! Night.
The second and third of the month were far from special, filled predominantly by frantic notetaking and exciting interviews for our foreign policy presentation. We got in a few days of lifting before our four day weekend began Thursday morning, and enjoyed a few filling college meals as well. Wednesday we made another trip to the two senate buildings (Russell and the other one), raking in 6 personal interviews with LAs and LCs to Obama, Clinton, Lieberman, Harkin (Iowa), Murray (WA), and a Colorado one. Feeling a bit accomplished, we left for our rooms to get a quick bite before class, which was super exciting (I think that was sarcastic this time?). Following class, we purchased a few bus tickets, packed our backpacks, and stole some solid shut-eye.
We woke at literally the break of dawn to catch our morning bus enroute to Boston, with a few stops along the way. We drove north through Baltimore, into Pennsylvania to Philly, dropped off a few people, snagged a picture or two and left for New York (through Delaware and New Jersey first). In New York we hit Chinatown and walked to two blocks to our new bus, which was conveniently located next to a 1/4 lb. $0.92 jumbo hot dog shop, claiming to have the best weiners in NYC! We graciously accepted the offer, and have now tried the best hot dogs and the best pizza in New York.
Our second bus was a bit nicer than the first, and more time-efficient... We drove over the Manhattan bridge, through Queens, along the coastline into Connecticut, and north into Boston, where we caught the "T" at South Station. A general note about Boston: beautiful city, great skyscrapers and architecture (and history), clean, easy-to-understand subway, and friendly people. Well we took off for a friends house (member of ASP), where we stayed the night after checking out the Atlantic for a bit.
The next morning we awoke and hit the city, seeing the Garden, capitol, Cheers, graveyard w/ Hancock among others buried, Quincy market, and a bunch of other visuals. I met up with my friend AJ from the navy (currently stationed in Connecticut) and he joined us for that day and the next. It was a great time as we rested by the harbor, then left for a different view of the Atlantic. It made me realize how lucky we "coasters" are to have the ocean RIGHT THERE! I'm going to be taking a little greater advantage of that come summer!
Well we stayed the night at this friend's sister's house in New Hamphire, adding to our list. In the morning we went downtown to Kitty O'Shea's pub to watch the DC united soccer game. We were given a private area where we could have the volume up... as not to annoy the regulars I presume - I guess there was an exciting Masters on? The night ended with a drive around, another stop at the ocean, and a late night crash. Oh, and we had a GREAT homecooked lunch in Northern Mass Saturday!
We summed up the trip with an 8:00 Easter service which was excellent, then an amazing brunch before we caught the bus back home. Monday and Tuesday were awful days filled with lots and lots of homework, preparing for today's presentation which went EXCELLENT. Ask Sean or I what the US policy in Iraq should be and we'll have the best answer, slightly tainted to the interests of Jordan :).
Well, now it's time for a bit of sleep to prepare for our second presentation Friday. Our "senior members" enjoy doing this to us. As I will to any students I may ever be in charge of... so help them. Take care and thanks for the replies. I'll make a deal and say if I receive 5 replies by Sunday night I'll write again then. It's up to you... and I'm not even sure if that many people read this still! Night.
Sunday, April 1
An exciting weekend
Hello again! In my phone calls across the country I understand you all would have loved to be here this past weekend! Washington's getting the rain, Colorado the snow, and Iowa the cold. We have a beautiful weekend with some great memories once again. Before I forget, a special thanks to grandad and granny for the 'gift', the coons for the easter snacks, scott for your box and M&D for yours! I believe receiving mail is among our favorite things to... do, and a box tops that!
Well this past Wednesday was a little disappointing since I managed to get off of my cold just as Sean began his session. So Wednesday was a sleep day for him as I worked on checking a few things off of my to-do list. It's good that Sean is feeling better, but he's at sleep a bit early after another busy weekend!
Thursday and Friday were a bit of the same with Sean hitting the hay early. Saturday, there was an adult soccer tournament next to the reflection pool, and DC United sponsored the event. The only two staff members 'supervising' were Sean and the other intern. Sean and I each held a two hour session as the mascot of DC United, a talon (eagle), which was quite the experience. It's exciting when every person you walk by wants to meet you and get a picture taken with you. Although we made over a hundred kids happy, Sean managed to make a couple cry and I made an enemy in a golden retriever! It was fun none-the-less as you'll see in the posted pictures!
The tournament was Saturday and Sunday, which virtually took up our whole weekend. Tonight was opening night for MLB, which is exciting for a few people I understand. We had a wiener roast and watched part of the game, but decided 3 innings was enough.
After we left the game we went outside, where likely the most memorable experience of our time in DC happened! We walked outside and went to cross the street, but there was a parked car that blocked Sean's vision. Anyway, he ran our into the road and got hit head-on by a Dodge Caravan. Luckily the car was beginning to slow for a stop sign, so he just fell backward and rolled a bit on the ground. After getting up he felt OK so we didn't have to go to the hospital or anything, which was nice - because it was late and we're tired!
Among these thrills, my mother and father, along with Buhee, were led to believe that Sean and I got arrested this past weekend for stealing from the Air and Space Museum, forgetting today is also April 1! Sean's parents were led to believe that I was engaged. We're not always the sweet little angels over here :). You can re-read the last paragraph with today's date in mind if you wish. Hope you all have a good start to the week... here's to some nice weather!
Well this past Wednesday was a little disappointing since I managed to get off of my cold just as Sean began his session. So Wednesday was a sleep day for him as I worked on checking a few things off of my to-do list. It's good that Sean is feeling better, but he's at sleep a bit early after another busy weekend!
Thursday and Friday were a bit of the same with Sean hitting the hay early. Saturday, there was an adult soccer tournament next to the reflection pool, and DC United sponsored the event. The only two staff members 'supervising' were Sean and the other intern. Sean and I each held a two hour session as the mascot of DC United, a talon (eagle), which was quite the experience. It's exciting when every person you walk by wants to meet you and get a picture taken with you. Although we made over a hundred kids happy, Sean managed to make a couple cry and I made an enemy in a golden retriever! It was fun none-the-less as you'll see in the posted pictures!
The tournament was Saturday and Sunday, which virtually took up our whole weekend. Tonight was opening night for MLB, which is exciting for a few people I understand. We had a wiener roast and watched part of the game, but decided 3 innings was enough.
After we left the game we went outside, where likely the most memorable experience of our time in DC happened! We walked outside and went to cross the street, but there was a parked car that blocked Sean's vision. Anyway, he ran our into the road and got hit head-on by a Dodge Caravan. Luckily the car was beginning to slow for a stop sign, so he just fell backward and rolled a bit on the ground. After getting up he felt OK so we didn't have to go to the hospital or anything, which was nice - because it was late and we're tired!
Among these thrills, my mother and father, along with Buhee, were led to believe that Sean and I got arrested this past weekend for stealing from the Air and Space Museum, forgetting today is also April 1! Sean's parents were led to believe that I was engaged. We're not always the sweet little angels over here :). You can re-read the last paragraph with today's date in mind if you wish. Hope you all have a good start to the week... here's to some nice weather!
Wednesday, March 28
Tiresome Traveling
Well we had one of our busiest weeks, followed by an even busier weekend... Monday and Tuesday were much like Mondays and Tuesdays always are, with a little added calamity finalizing hotel and travel plans for our coming weekend. Wednesday we stacked a 4 hour moving session on top of our kitchen cleaning which brought us well into the morning. However, we had plenty to talk about given an exciting day on the town! Sean had reluctantly woken at 7am, which is a feat in itself, to run with me to the Washington Monument, where we got in line to receive tickets to go to the top - only a limited amount of people make it up each day. The tickets sold out in the first half hour, and we hear the online tickets, which cost money, are now booked through July! Concluding, the trip to the top was remarkable, and we finally understand the 'smallness' of DC, as we got to see Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon, as well as where the waterways run. DC truly is a beautiful city!
Thursday we learned of two papers that were due Monday night... not a problem unless you're leaving for New York on Friday for the weekend! So we rushed to get a start on those, which didn't end up happening because we still had to throw some clothes together, work full days, and lift weights. Thankfully we managed to have a spell of free time on Monday night to complete the two - although fellow students continue to question us as we always seem to take less time - but receive decent grades none-the-less. All due to a Dordt education we tell them.
On Friday evening we stepped aboard a bus enroute to Chinatwon NYC! The bus smelled bad... extremely bad. But we managed to complete the four and a half hour trek, only to find ourselves lost in a whole new country! Literally, Chinatown NYC is 10 times that of DC. But we followed a kind couple for a 15 minute stroll to the subway. We found New Yorkers to be among the nicest people we have met in our entire lives! Virtually everyone we asked went out of their way to show us how to get places - I guess we got lucky?
Well we found our hotel, got a good night's rest, and woke around 9:00 for breakfast. Our parents would be ashamed to hear we ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, but it was well worth it (in addition, we ordered delivery Friday night at midnight). NY pizza is like nothing else! We went on our tour of the city, catching Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, The Late Show, Central Park, plenty of monuments, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center site, many cathedrals, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and Bank, Staten Island (momentarily), and plenty more. I know you're thinking of something I missed, but believe me, we probably made it there! We've been exercising for this vacation every week in DC so we were eager to save a little money and walk rather than ride the subway too much, although we did experience it plenty still!
All in all, we were thrilled to get back to nice, little, quiet Washington DC. Odd that when we left DC was a place we'd never live because of its fast-paced lifestyle, we now have a COMPLETELY different opinion of it. NYC was something completely out of the ordinary for us. However, we will be stopping there on our way to Boston next week. Wednesday we take off for Philadelphia, then leave Thursday afternoon for New York (QUICK stop) then Boston through Sunday. Should be another unforgettable weekend!
Tomorrow we have another day off so the plan is to knock off our last two museums, which we have already completed in part, make a stop at the bank, and enjoy the weather. Hope you are all doing well. Remember us in your prayers as we head into the final leg! Are we supposed to be having this much fun because it seems as though the rest of the ASP students are missing out! We're killing ourselves non-stop, but it's all worth it. See you all soon!
Thursday we learned of two papers that were due Monday night... not a problem unless you're leaving for New York on Friday for the weekend! So we rushed to get a start on those, which didn't end up happening because we still had to throw some clothes together, work full days, and lift weights. Thankfully we managed to have a spell of free time on Monday night to complete the two - although fellow students continue to question us as we always seem to take less time - but receive decent grades none-the-less. All due to a Dordt education we tell them.
On Friday evening we stepped aboard a bus enroute to Chinatwon NYC! The bus smelled bad... extremely bad. But we managed to complete the four and a half hour trek, only to find ourselves lost in a whole new country! Literally, Chinatown NYC is 10 times that of DC. But we followed a kind couple for a 15 minute stroll to the subway. We found New Yorkers to be among the nicest people we have met in our entire lives! Virtually everyone we asked went out of their way to show us how to get places - I guess we got lucky?
Well we found our hotel, got a good night's rest, and woke around 9:00 for breakfast. Our parents would be ashamed to hear we ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday, but it was well worth it (in addition, we ordered delivery Friday night at midnight). NY pizza is like nothing else! We went on our tour of the city, catching Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, The Late Show, Central Park, plenty of monuments, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center site, many cathedrals, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and Bank, Staten Island (momentarily), and plenty more. I know you're thinking of something I missed, but believe me, we probably made it there! We've been exercising for this vacation every week in DC so we were eager to save a little money and walk rather than ride the subway too much, although we did experience it plenty still!
All in all, we were thrilled to get back to nice, little, quiet Washington DC. Odd that when we left DC was a place we'd never live because of its fast-paced lifestyle, we now have a COMPLETELY different opinion of it. NYC was something completely out of the ordinary for us. However, we will be stopping there on our way to Boston next week. Wednesday we take off for Philadelphia, then leave Thursday afternoon for New York (QUICK stop) then Boston through Sunday. Should be another unforgettable weekend!
Tomorrow we have another day off so the plan is to knock off our last two museums, which we have already completed in part, make a stop at the bank, and enjoy the weather. Hope you are all doing well. Remember us in your prayers as we head into the final leg! Are we supposed to be having this much fun because it seems as though the rest of the ASP students are missing out! We're killing ourselves non-stop, but it's all worth it. See you all soon!
Monday, March 19
Coon Vacation
Well we thoroughly enjoyed our week off, but sadly it's back to the routine studying. However, Sean and I are a bit more excited that we'll be looking into the US-Iraq foreign policy over the coming 4-5 weeks. We took full advantage of this past week and weekend, which began last monday with a normal week opener - the highlite being our mealtime. Tuesday I can hardly share any news since I worked on a side project at work until 11pm, and when I arrived home Sean was fast asleep. We woke up early Wednesday morning, got our lifting out of the way, and took off anxiously in the 75 degree heat for the Washington monument. Our plans were crushed when we learned the available tickets/day had already been sold - making our three mile run pointless (apart from the tremendous health benefits). We immediately set out our plans for the 21st to arrive at 7:30am to assure a seat in the elevator to the top!
Given the nature of the city, we knew there had to be something to drain our spare time, and we walked the block to the holocaust museum and walked right in (which was amazing since there were 200+ in line on our way out!). After the tour and the heighted dislike for Hitler, we made our way on the grass towards the capitol, up the hill and back to our apartment where we relaxed on our rooftop deck in the sun.
The night held another great experience, as we were treated by our program to dinner at a middle eastern restaurant. The joys of the sun were immediately dashed the next afternoon as the temperature faded, clouds rolled in, and we were graced with a temperature in the 30s and a thunderstorm for the remainder of daylight lasting til bed. This would have been perfect for sleeping, but DC United had their semifinal match of the CONCACAF cup vs the Chivas - mexico's number one soccer team. The excitement replaced the sobering rain, as the score ended in a tie via a United goal in the 92nd minute (last couple minutes of the game)! The intensity of the fans was astonishing - but then again it didn't feel like we were in America as we were outnumbered 100:1 mexicans to americans. Americans seem to be 'fare-weather fans'.
Well Friday was the beginning to our great weekend, please stay with me because the excitement continues! After work and class at the American Institute of Progress (great discussion on Iraq!), we met with the Coon family. I actually spent a bit of time at my office celebrating deadlines, but met up with Aaron Coon and Sean later for some pool and NCAA basketball.
Saturday morning we began our role as tourguides, and following our weekly pancake breakfast across the hall, met up with the 'parents' for a day in DC. We experienced the metro, plenty of Irish restaurants to celebrate st. pat's day, a handful of monuments and museums, a trip to the steamrooms, and enough walking to deserve a great night of rest! Sean, Aaron and I decided to view the monuments once more lit up in the night.
Sunday began with some time at the Union Station church, followed by lunch, and a LONG nap for Buhee and I, while Sean was lured in to work for a few hours. A relaxing afternoon and another night in the steam room ended my weekend with the Coons. Great food, company, and Irishness will always make for an unforgettable weekend!
Now the bed's calling - a full day tomorrow including a spell in the Old Executives building (beside the white house) for class. Thanks for reading, rest the eyes, and I'll try to condense it next time. Oh, and welcome Klara Mae, my 6 lb. 5 oz. niece, into our lives (Scott & Manda's second)!
Look, the world's comforter, with weary gait,
His day's hot task hath ended in the west:
The owl, night's herald, shrieks--'tis very late;
The sheep are gone to fold, birds to their nest;
And coat-black clouds, that shadow heaven's light,
Do summon us to part, and bid good night.
Given the nature of the city, we knew there had to be something to drain our spare time, and we walked the block to the holocaust museum and walked right in (which was amazing since there were 200+ in line on our way out!). After the tour and the heighted dislike for Hitler, we made our way on the grass towards the capitol, up the hill and back to our apartment where we relaxed on our rooftop deck in the sun.
The night held another great experience, as we were treated by our program to dinner at a middle eastern restaurant. The joys of the sun were immediately dashed the next afternoon as the temperature faded, clouds rolled in, and we were graced with a temperature in the 30s and a thunderstorm for the remainder of daylight lasting til bed. This would have been perfect for sleeping, but DC United had their semifinal match of the CONCACAF cup vs the Chivas - mexico's number one soccer team. The excitement replaced the sobering rain, as the score ended in a tie via a United goal in the 92nd minute (last couple minutes of the game)! The intensity of the fans was astonishing - but then again it didn't feel like we were in America as we were outnumbered 100:1 mexicans to americans. Americans seem to be 'fare-weather fans'.
Well Friday was the beginning to our great weekend, please stay with me because the excitement continues! After work and class at the American Institute of Progress (great discussion on Iraq!), we met with the Coon family. I actually spent a bit of time at my office celebrating deadlines, but met up with Aaron Coon and Sean later for some pool and NCAA basketball.
Saturday morning we began our role as tourguides, and following our weekly pancake breakfast across the hall, met up with the 'parents' for a day in DC. We experienced the metro, plenty of Irish restaurants to celebrate st. pat's day, a handful of monuments and museums, a trip to the steamrooms, and enough walking to deserve a great night of rest! Sean, Aaron and I decided to view the monuments once more lit up in the night.
Sunday began with some time at the Union Station church, followed by lunch, and a LONG nap for Buhee and I, while Sean was lured in to work for a few hours. A relaxing afternoon and another night in the steam room ended my weekend with the Coons. Great food, company, and Irishness will always make for an unforgettable weekend!
Now the bed's calling - a full day tomorrow including a spell in the Old Executives building (beside the white house) for class. Thanks for reading, rest the eyes, and I'll try to condense it next time. Oh, and welcome Klara Mae, my 6 lb. 5 oz. niece, into our lives (Scott & Manda's second)!
Look, the world's comforter, with weary gait,
His day's hot task hath ended in the west:
The owl, night's herald, shrieks--'tis very late;
The sheep are gone to fold, birds to their nest;
And coat-black clouds, that shadow heaven's light,
Do summon us to part, and bid good night.
Sunday, March 11
apologies
Many many apologies for the time since the last post. Many things have changed since the first of March, most favorably the weather! Today we enjoyed our walk to church in the 65 degree weather, just below yesterday's 75... Our 'spring break' as our program pathetically calls it has been quite an enjoyable time here in DC. Our possible trips to Philly and Chicago both gave way due to conflicting schedules so we enjoyed a few of the cities offerings instead.
Looking back for a quick recap, Sunday night was the night our procrastination ended. Our papers were due monday - final draft tuesday - so we decided Sunday night would be a good time to pump them out. However, with 45+ sources it is difficult to write a 5 page, double-spaced paper on such a complex debate. It ended up being a little more time-consuming than originally planned, and two nearly sleepless nights took their toll on our bodies. Luckily we had Wednesday off of work and slept deservingly until 12:30. We awoke, and proceded to the kitchen to make and serve lunch, immediately followed by a one hour class, then cooking and serving dinner, followed by cleaning. Seven hours of work in all, followed by a half hour of spreading salt after our one inch snow storm! Thursday was our last day of work for the week, so we celebrated, lifted weights and went to bed.
Friday was another exciting day where we began the early afternoon with a visit to the Smithsonian Art and Portrait Museum. Quite the place indeed, and we saw a lot of interesting work of our presidents among others. We then walked around Georgetown a bit, watched some NCAA basketball and returned to our apartments.
Yesterday was quite possibly the greatest day of our time here yet! We woke up at 10:00, had our pancakes that some of our 'leaders' prepare every Saturday, then ran to a gym on the other side of the district. There we played basketball for 2-3 hours with some decent competition, winning a few games, enjoying most all of them. We ran from their in search of a Chipotle, but found a McDonalds instead to which we held coupons. We filled ourselves and then ran to the mall area in front of the capitol. We played soccer there for about an hour with a group of guys that meet every Saturday, then went back to our rooms. We ate a bit more, lifted and ate again. We both fell asleep exhausted and woke three and a half hours later, refreshed. We checked some basketball scores, watched a few games, then went back to bed. A very relaxing and quite entertaining day :)!
Again my apologies on the untimely post, and I will work a bit harder in the coming weeks. Hard to believe we're under seven weeks now! Time flies, take care.
Looking back for a quick recap, Sunday night was the night our procrastination ended. Our papers were due monday - final draft tuesday - so we decided Sunday night would be a good time to pump them out. However, with 45+ sources it is difficult to write a 5 page, double-spaced paper on such a complex debate. It ended up being a little more time-consuming than originally planned, and two nearly sleepless nights took their toll on our bodies. Luckily we had Wednesday off of work and slept deservingly until 12:30. We awoke, and proceded to the kitchen to make and serve lunch, immediately followed by a one hour class, then cooking and serving dinner, followed by cleaning. Seven hours of work in all, followed by a half hour of spreading salt after our one inch snow storm! Thursday was our last day of work for the week, so we celebrated, lifted weights and went to bed.
Friday was another exciting day where we began the early afternoon with a visit to the Smithsonian Art and Portrait Museum. Quite the place indeed, and we saw a lot of interesting work of our presidents among others. We then walked around Georgetown a bit, watched some NCAA basketball and returned to our apartments.
Yesterday was quite possibly the greatest day of our time here yet! We woke up at 10:00, had our pancakes that some of our 'leaders' prepare every Saturday, then ran to a gym on the other side of the district. There we played basketball for 2-3 hours with some decent competition, winning a few games, enjoying most all of them. We ran from their in search of a Chipotle, but found a McDonalds instead to which we held coupons. We filled ourselves and then ran to the mall area in front of the capitol. We played soccer there for about an hour with a group of guys that meet every Saturday, then went back to our rooms. We ate a bit more, lifted and ate again. We both fell asleep exhausted and woke three and a half hours later, refreshed. We checked some basketball scores, watched a few games, then went back to bed. A very relaxing and quite entertaining day :)!
Again my apologies on the untimely post, and I will work a bit harder in the coming weeks. Hard to believe we're under seven weeks now! Time flies, take care.
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