the rest of the weekend

Sunday morning I woke up early and went to the early service at church. Then I went to the grocery store which is always an adventure. I take for granted being able to get in my car and drive to the grocery store at home. Here I walk, take the metro, try to fit my groceries in my backpack, and carry them home. Thankfully I did not need too many groceries.

A group of us decided to go to Old Town Alexandria for the rest of the day. The weather was absolutely beautiful! We sat outside at this cafe, Bread and Chocolate, and I had a delicious apple croissant. We walked along King Street, stopped by Candi's Candies, and played frisbee in a park near the bank of the Potomac River. It was a great afternoon!









I went home and made dinner Sunday night before a group of us decided to go see a movie in Chinatown.

Monday I had the blessing of a day off for President's Day. Bethany and I went to the Library of Congress. They were hosting an open house for President's Day so we were able to go into the main reading room and take pictures. It is an absolutely stunning library. They have an old-school card catalog system so we even explored the back halls full of drawers with book cards on them.









Afterward we went to the National Geographic Museum. They had three really neat photograph exhibits. The President's Photographers: 50 Years Inside the Oval Office had some great shots of presidents and first families. Beyond the Story: National Geographic Unpublished was a wide range of photos taken but not used in the magazine during 2010. And Great Migrations: A Photography Exhibition displayed animals all over the world moving in huge groups. All of the exhibits were really cool, and I tried to think about the composition and what I could apply as I learn to take pictures.

Unfortunately we had class Monday night. Class is just a long time of sitting and learning about American foreign policy. We have a midterm next week so my evenings after work will be filled with studying. Wahoo...

National Cathedral, Woodrow Wilson, and a lot of wind

Another busy week at my internship, but the good news is that I get a 3-day weekend to enjoy the beautiful, warm weather in DC.

Monday night I had class after my internship which makes for a super long day, but our professor pushed back our midterm! Another week to procrastinate studying…
Tuesday night I had a seminar about students’ freedom of speech rights, especially in regards to journalism. It was really interesting and we talked about some interesting, ongoing freedom of speech cases. I hope that sometime while I am here I get the opportunity to go to the Supreme Court and watch the presentation of a case.

Wednesday night I went to a UGA reception at a nearby restaurant. It was a lot of fun, and I met a lot of really great UGA alumni who were excited to share advice and information about their current careers.

Friday night we went to Ben’s Chili Bowl. It is a DC legend, and the atmosphere reminded me of Atlanta’s famous stop, The Varsity. Obviously known for their chili, Ben’s specializes in all things chili. So I had a “Chili Half-Smoke” (smoked sausage on a bun covered in mustard, onions, and chili) and chili cheese fries.

Ben's Chili Bowl


Today I was determined to spend time exploring DC. A weather advisory was issued predicting 60 mph winds, but I was still determined. Good news: I did not blow away, and I had a great day seeing parts of DC that I have never been to before.

A few of us woke up early and went to the Washington National Cathedral. As we approached the cathedral, I was absolutely amazed by the magnitude and presence of this building. It was breathtaking. Construction of the National Cathedral began when the first stone was laid in 1907, but was not completed until 1990.









We were able to take an elevator to the observatory deck. There were great views of the architecture of the cathedral and DC. In the distance we could see the Washington Monument and the dome of the Capitol.







We took a tour of the National Cathedral. It was incredible to learn about the architecture and the history of this magnificent building. I was absolutely amazed. We had a very knowledgeable docent, and I would rank this tour as one of the very best I have ever taken. Our docent explained all of the elements of Gothic architecture. I loved certain aspects of the cathedral: the colors of light through the stained glass windows, the flying buttresses, the lighting, and the pointed arches.

beautiful lighting through stained glass windows




the long nave lined with state flags








the crypt


The history of this building was chilling. President Woodrow Wilson’s tomb is in the cathedral surrounded by iconography and symbols of his life. Stained glass windows display biblical stories, images of nature, and images of American history. One window is comprised of planets and space images to reflect the importance of science and exploration. There is an actual moon rock inlaid in the window (WOW!). Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his last Sunday sermon from the pulpit a week before he passed away. Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, and President Obama all had inaugural prayer services in the Cathedral. Several president’s funerals and memorial services were also held in the Cathedral. There were so many neat stories within the Cathedral. As our docent said, “history attracts more history.”

window with moon rock (black dot inside red circle)


tomb of Woodrow Wilson


A neat thing about the Cathedral was that every hour they have prayers for peace. So everyone in the Cathedral, including those on tours, take a minute, bow their heads, and pray.







After the Cathedral tour, we walked to lunch and tried not to blow away. We ate at Lebanese Taverna which was authentic Middle Eastern food. We shared hummus and flat bread. And we all had different kinds of platters which gave us a unique sampling of foods to “expand our palettes.” It was really delicious.



Our next stop was Woodrow Wilson’s house. Along the way we walked through embassy row trying to guess which countries they represented before we could read the signs. Wilson was the only president to live in DC after his presidency. He lived in the house from 1921 until his death in 1924. It was interesting to see many items from his time in office and learn about the way of living during the period.



Then we journeyed home stopping along the way for coffee and dessert.

a little behind on the blogging...

The week before last we celebrated Bethany’s birthday! I found the best cake at Firehook, chocolate raspberry truffle cake. We also went to Lauriol Plaza for a birthday dinner. They had great Mexican food.

Bethany and her cake


Last weekend I got to fly home which was wonderful. It was so great to see everyone. We even had the special treat of going to Stoney River one night with the family. It was a great weekend to be home.

This week has been incredibly busy, but exciting. My internship is going great so far. And I turned in my first paper for my American foreign policy class.

Tuesday night we had a seminar where we discussed the ongoing changes in Egypt. It was really interesting to listen to everyone’s perspectives, especially since a lot of my fellow students know more about international affairs than I do.

This week was also full of fun mail! I got letters from Alyson and Nana, a box of Valentine’s goodies from Mom and Dad, and a box from Justin which I can’t open until Monday. The suspense is killing me…

Yesterday I went grocery shopping. It is amazing how much time little things like that take. I tried to plan ahead my meals for dinner this week and buy everything that I would need. I also had lunch with my mentor at Matchbox which is famous for baby burgers and pizza. I took a nap to catch up on sleep from my busy week. And last night Bethany and I went to dinner at Mr. Chen’s Organic Chinese. Then we went to Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café. We shared cheesecake and then went book shopping around this neat, independently-owned bookstore. I found two interesting books on foreign policy to read for my class.

This morning I went to church. It was a really great service and the pastor spoke about how God is love. Since then I have been home working on applications for summer internships, a project, and catching up on e-mails.

Me at Chinatown