On July 27, I spent my last free day in D.C. seeing what few things I had not gotten to already in the previous three days. Ranjani and I started out in the National Gallery of Art, where we saw works from the likes of Titian, Van Gogh, Raphael, Monet, and Picasso.
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| I love this sort of art! "Multiverse" by Leo Villareal |
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| Still can't believe I saw some of Van Gogh's work! |
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| Contemporary art makes for some great pictures |
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| On our way back from the museum, Ranjani and I had some comments for Eric Holder, but he wasn't in. Capitol Police, were, though, and came over to keep an eye on us |
And with that - I had thoroughly explored all of the National Mall! Next was heading to Ranjani's neck of the woods, Georgetown.
Our visit to Georgetown started with a visit to the craziest gardens I've ever been in, Dumbarton Oaks. This huge maze of greenery was extraordinarily impressive.
We continued with exploring Georgetown by walking through the neighborhood and visiting the Georgetown University campus for a quick visit.
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| I couldn't get over how skinny all the houses were. Of course, given their location, they are all still worth millions |
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| John Kerry's house. He was definitely home - he wasn't traveling at this time, and there were an armada of Secret Service cars outside his house, including one with a running engine and an agent inside of it |
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| Georgetown's campus is amazingly beautiful. They also have 2 cemeteries on campus. Healy Hall |
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| Chapel on campus |
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| Inside Healy Hall |
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| We left the Georgetown Campus and headed back, stopping at Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. This waterway operated from 1831 to 1924 to transport agricultural goods, wood, and coal. Mules pulled the boats along |
The next day, the real work began as a Professor from American University spoke to us about culture shock. Both he and the program administrators acknowledged our spirits would be lowest in the middle of our program year but would pick back up before it was time to head back home.
Next, officials from our program's ultimate parent, the State Department, came to talk to us! They emphasized the value of our program in how it strengthens the German-American relationship, and we started to feel generally important.
Our role as young ambassadors was further explained to us at the Capitol building a few hours later. There, the German-American Ambassador, Peter Wittig, spoke to us about how the personal ties we will be forming are crucial to bringing the two countries closer together. Congressmen Jim Gerlach, Chris Gibson, and Rob Bishop also stopped by to congratulate us and explain the significance of the program for German-American relations. An article on our seminar in the Capitol is available here.
After we all met with our Congressional representatives or members of their staff (alas, Congressman Campbell was on the floor and thus not able to meet with me), we had the rest of the day to ourselves. I headed out with some of my new friends to wander around the National Mall a bit and eat one final Mexican meal before our departure. And what a meal it was! Not only was it authentic and delicious, but some of us tried their cricket tacos. You should know that crickets, even in a tortilla, taste pretty much like pure exoskeleton. Would not recommend.
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| My CBYX D.C. crew for the day |
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| Getting any sort of photo of the Library of Congress with no people in it is a miracle in itself |