Learning @ GW – Page 18 – Postcards from GW

Sunshine at Last – A Trip to Mexico

AdminMarch 16, 2015

After nearly three months in sub-freezing temperatures and constant jacket wearing, it was finally time to trade in the snow boots for swimsuits and head to Cancun, Mexico for a week soaking up the sun and the sand. Spring Break seemingly calls on the mass exodus of a campus worth of college students as they head for some sun, some time at home, some volunteering experiences or some time to tour new destinations. And so, in keeping with tradition, I, alongside three of the other Australian exchange students, boarded a flight to Mexico early Monday morning.

Cancun for Spring Break definitely implies some element of craziness and real ‘Spring Break’ activity/behaviour. To be honest, and I’m sure this is the case with any Spring Break destination, it really is what you make of it. We decided that we didn’t want to have a ‘crazy intense’ Spring Break just because that was what was expected of Spring Breakers. Instead, the week was filled predominately with lounging by the pool, hanging out on the beach, enjoying the sun and taking in the tropical climate we were all craving so!

One of the main reasons for my wanting to go to Cancun in particular was the mixture of beach time fun and history. I have been interested in seeing the ruins in Mexico for some time now so to be that close to one of the wonders of the world, an incredible Mayan ruin called Chichen Itza, was definitely a major draw card. Accordingly, one of the first things we did once arriving at our resort for the week was go ahead and book a tour to take in some of the ancient wonders of Mexico. Three of us decided to go and the tour – which I will talk about in just a moment – was amazing and totally up our alley (which makes sense when you consider that we had two history students – one whose focus is ancient worlds – and an architecture student visiting an incredible ruin that really proves how the ancient world defied often even modern building capabilities).

The morning of the tour was a little rough as it meant another very early morning in a row (we had to be on the shuttle to Dulles at 4am just the day before the tour!), however, once on the bus we began the journey with our tour guide and group to a little town called Valladolid – a city that boasted architecture from three different eras and conquerors – it was very cool! The main town square definitely proved the Spanish influence on the area as there was a clear European influence both in the layout of the square, as well as in the religion of the area evidenced by the large church that stands opposite the small park in the centre. We had a look at the church, took in the bright colours of everything that filled the square and the surrounding streets and enjoyed the smiling locals that filled that park before we had to continue on in order to make it to the next stop on the tour.

Next we went to a Cenote which is essentially a water hole and the particular one that we went to was so deep that they are yet to discover exactly how deep it is. These cenotes – or sinkholes – are sporadically seen around the area and all still join together to supply much of the areas water. Set within a cave, the water, though freezing, was incredibly refreshing and really beautiful as whilst swimming you look up through the open gap in the cave’s roof to see only the sun light imposing in. I would highly recommend a visit to a cenote during a visit to Cancun!

We had lunch nearby to the cenote and were entertained by traditional dancers performing their way through the tables. We were also encouraged to try a really spicy sauce that is apparently a staple item of any Mexican’s daily food intake but I passed on that. I’m all about indulging in a culture and trying anything but I have my limits and my limit is chilli!

Our next stop before continuing on away from the cenote was the so-called ‘tequila museum’ next to the sinkhole. I say ‘so-called’ because museum is really just a glorified way of saying tasting – we went to a tequila tasting where they offered us our choice of fourteen different flavours of tequila to try. After tasting a couple - chocolate and mango definitely being the winners in my opinion – we continued on in pursuit of the day’s main attraction – Chichen Itza. chichenitza

Upon arriving at the site, our group split into English speakers and Spanish speakers and we went on our way – our first stop in the enormous area filed with ruins and buildings representing the traditional Maya way of life, had to of course be the star of the area, Chichen Itza. It really is a beautiful site and the symbolism of each and every detail is amazing. Our tour guide was incredibly dynamic and brought the traditions, sacrifices and way of living to life in each story and detail that he told about both the main temple and the surrounding ruins too. It was interesting too to learn about the ways in which they controlled the people, the sports that they took pleasure in (even if it did result with the winner having his head cut off as a sacrifice to the gods), their abilities in astrology, science and mathematics, and the ways in which they sacrificed their subjects (however gross and graphic the description was).

After an amazing day we began the drive back to Cancun where we all met up again and continued enjoying resort life. We picked to stay at an all-inclusive resort which I would definitely recommend to Spring Breakers – it’s a great way to firstly keep track of your budget, secondly to make decisions easier, like to where to eat, for example – it’s in everyone’s price range because its included, and it was good to know what we had already spent so that we could decide how much or how little more we were each comfortable spending. We found it to be very worth-while and good value for what we had paid and had an absolutely fantastic time!

On our last day we decided to finish off with some jet-ski riding which was so much fun! We all loved it! It was very sad to leave the gorgeous sunshine and crystal blue waters of Cancun but I will definitely be back! And so now, with a full-on week ahead, we are back in DC and ready to resume!

Until next time…

The Weather Changes

AdminMarch 12, 2015

By ilakes2015

The week before Spring break is generally the most chaotic one. Most students have their midterms so a mix between stress, happiness and desire of leaving the city consumes them. This particular week also represents the middle of the exchange program and it turned to be the shortest one as well. Already more than two months in this country, who would have said that?

As the weather has been crazy, last Thursday was declared as a snow day, the second one since I got here. Is the global warning trying to tell us something or what? While on Wednesday everyone was freaking out, praying and checking the news to know if they had to stopped studying for their exams or not, I was checking my email praying to not receive a “flight cancelled” message. I did not have exams because I’m going to have them the week AFTER Spring break, what means that instead of being full relaxed, my mind eventually would be thinking about the million things I have to study. Anyway, I stayed up writing until 4am when I assumed that GW was not going to cancelled classes and I went to sleep. The light of the sun woke me up the next day. My roommate had turned off my alarm clock when she read the most expected email. At that time my flight was still not cancelled so my friends and I decided to go outside and build a snowman together before I had to leave. This time instead of going on Spring Break together, as we wanted in the first place, we ended up going to 5 different places and I was the one that was leaving first. After lunch we met in front of E Street and Dion and I started building the snowman. I must say, build a snowman is more complicated than it looks like. It was still snowing so the snow did not compact so after 4 different tries and 40 minutes later we kind of found the best way to create our little cute monster. After that, we decided to walk to the Lincoln Memorial and spend some time there. On our way we took the long walk so we saw the frozen river and the ducks lying on top. We approached a little and the ducks started walking through us so we got scared and continue walking to the memorial. When we finally made it we realized that the Washington Monument had “disappear” in the middle of the mist. Everything around us was white and everything looked nice so we ended up playing like little boys with the snow. After the snowman, the walk and the snow war, we ended up all wet and cold so we run to my place for some tea and a warm shower before I had to leave to the airport. When all of these happy things were happening I forgot the reason why I had an extra day: the snowstorm. My happiness didn’t last much. When I was saying bye to my friends and leaving my apartment, an American Airlines call destroyed the smile in my face. I had to return to my place, call the airline to change my flight to the first one available, call my family and friends waiting for me in Miami and re organize my whole week. After almost two hours and 3 different calls I finally changed my flight to Sunday morning. That meant that instead of being the first one leaving, I was now the last one. That also meant that instead of having the following week to study, I had to organize almost all my writings in two days.

On Thursday night I had dinner with my friends and we watched a movie together. I was supposed to be travelling but instead I had Spaghettis, homemade brownies and “The Italian job”. Actually, a really good replacement.

Last week I also used my time to cook. I’m not a really good chef because I never practiced but living alone makes you learn new things either you like it or not. Fortunately for me, I really enjoy cooking. The past week I decided to eat some of the things that I had on my fridge and never cooked before. Homemade hamburgers, spicy rice, tortilla de papa, calabaza rellena, chicken wok and croissants were some of the dishes I prepared. For being my first time, I must say I did a really good job. Not that someone else tasted it but for me those looked and taste really good.

The weekend was also not as bad as I expected. It was my roommate’s birthday so I surprised her with a delicious cake and 22 candles. We spent the day studying but at night we went out to celebrate. Also, my friend Vicky and me decided to go to swim at the gym so we spent almost two hours doing some exercise. I also called my parents and my best friends with Skype and I stayed up studying until 4 am on Sunday when I had to leave to take my flight. At the airport I did the security and check in things in less than an hour so I had plenty of time to have breakfast and look into the duty free stores. At 7am I was ready to leave and I must say there was nothing as beautiful as looking the sunrise from my window. A whole week was reaching its end, a new day was starting, A city stayed behind while two hours from that moment the beautiful warm Miami was waiting for me. Spring Break is about to start and too many new adventures are waiting for me. So let’s close my eyes, sleep and wait for it..

One Way to Enjoy the Snow Day

AdminMarch 12, 2015

By train1110

I can proudly say that the second snow day in GW was one of my best days in DC. To begin with, the snow day notice saved my life. I was to have a test that day that I did not prepare enough – for I had started studying for that course from after midnight on that test day – just to find out that the materials that needed studying was way too much to study overnight. I was literally going to stay up the whole night for that test when I heard of the possibility of another snow day in GW. I was quite worried though, that the snow day rumor may not be true, with my American roommate saying things like how GW is tries to avoid announcing snow day because once in the past there had been too many snow days announced in GW that a law school student sued GW for canceling classes too frequently. Anyways, the moment I got my email from GW security at 5 am, I nearly jumped with joy, closed my books and went to bed right away, and woke up past 12pm.

After cooking something for lunch, my friends and I went to the Pentagon City Mall to do some shopping for the upcoming spring break (we were going on a cruise to the Bahamas), only to find out that it was an unwise decision. It did snow a lot – even Uber charged extra $15 due to the weather – yet still we thought the shops in the Pentagon City Mall would be open because the Pentagon City Mall is an indoor shopping place. Yet our guesses proved to be wrong, and when we got there most of the shops were all closed, with only a few food stores selling food. We had no choice but to come back without any gains.

Yup, so my snow day started off not so great. Yet there’s a saying: “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase”. I guess my snow day was a day that exactly fit to those words. My friend invited me to join dinner with her friends in the dorm, where we cooked food together. I made some fried chilly shrimp and lemon cake for dessert. Most of her friends were American, GW students who already had their experiences of Study Abroad in some other countries. There even was a guy who did his studying abroad in Korea, my home country. We talked mostly about our experiences of studying abroad, and those American friends there seemed very interested in the reason I chose to do an exchange program at GW and about my current life in DC.

After dinner, at around 10pm, some fellow exchange student friends and I went out to take a walk to the monuments and have fun in the snow. It wasn’t as cold as expected, yet the roads were very slippery. We first headed to the Lincoln Memorial, where we lied down and made snow angels on the untainted, pristine white snow field. We also tried making a snowman, but the snow was too soft. We found an already made snowman and took a photo with it instead 🙂 (thanks to whoever built that snowman). It was a nice night-walk, to leave our footprints on untrodden clean snow, getting a sense of being purified mind and body by looking and touching the white snow, in the cool night air. With hot chocolate in our dormitory afterwards our stroll in the snow, there was practically nothing else that we would long for!

Time to Explore

AdminMarch 12, 2015

By carlyfisher4

After what felt like a long week of late night study sessions and multiple exams/assessments, Spring Break has finally arrived! With Thursday being called a snow day, Spring break began prematurely throwing off everyone’s countdowns. Nonetheless having spoken to many of my friends who are dispersing all around the country, there is no denying that the excitement for this week off is palpable!

I am heading off to Mexico for a week with 3 other Australian girls – more on that in my next blog once I have finished enjoying what I hope will be a week of sunshine and very warm temperatures!

I decided, however, before leaving for Spring Break I would spend the weekend here in DC and use it as an opportunity to go explore some of the sights I haven’t yet seen, and spend some more time with friends and roommates before we all split for the week. Thanks to this decision, yesterday I had time to go and visit the Smithsonian Museum of National History which archives American culture, politics and transformations. I’d been warned that the museum is big and even though they are currently renovating the entire West Wing, with just the East side to explore, you still needed to allocate hours to the museum – this advice was really true and I would definitely recommend leaving yourself a few hours if you are to visit this museum…which I would also recommend because it is a beautifully organized museum with tons of interaction, and also immerses you into the American culture as it changed throughout history.

After talking to the lovely lady at the information desk and asking her to give me a run down of what was where, I decided to begin my exploration through the museum on the second level where the original star spangled banner is on display. The enormous flag, which was sewn by Mary Pickersgill, a professional flag maker in Baltimore, with assistance from her daughter, nieces and staff, was raised at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry celebrating an important win over British forces in the 1812 war, flew high in September of 1814. The sight prompted Francis Scott Key to compose the lyrics to what is now the American National Anthem. There is something incredibly powerful about the exhibition, American or not, as you feel undeniably moved by the significance of the flag before you as you stand in a dark room with various renditions of the anthem playing in the background – the sounds, the excitement of others around at seeing the flag, etc epitomize, to me, the sounds of patriotism.

From that exhibition I continued on in search of the ‘American Stories’ exhibit which contains some of the most revolutionary and culture changing items, clothing and artifacts from American history. My journey in that direction was halted, however, by a bench with four stools at it that sat in the middle of what is essentially the hallway that lies between two different exhibits. The bench, I recognized quickly, was one at which the fight for the end of segregation was fought. In particular, this was a piece of the counter from the Greenboro Lunch Counter where, in 1960, four African-American students intentionally sat down at the ‘white’s only’ section of the counter in an act of protest. This sparked many ‘counter-top’ protests around the South especially as people fought for their basic civil rights. The enormity of seeing this particular piece on exhibit after the patriotism experienced in the room right next door, proves how well thought out this museum is!

Arriving at the ‘American Stories’ exhibit, I was very excited to find that there was no crowd around the particular item I wanted most to see, although the nice information lady had warned me that there always is. The original ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, lay before me and I got my own time to take photos with them as the museum was pleasantly quiet as it was a Friday. There were many other interesting items in that exhibition, however, the ruby red slippers were certainly a highlight for me!

As you head upstairs, the top of the escalator takes you to the entrance of the military exhibition where America’s involvement in battles are traced from as early as those led by George Washington, right through the Civil War, Wars of Expansion, World Wars, Vietnam, Korea, etc. As well as looking at the militaristic side, the exhibit notes the individuals worldwide responsible for playing large roles in each war, highlights the rise of the role of women as a result of wartime efforts and shows the cultural changes that occurred on the home front following each war. Emphasizing the role that wars played on even those not enlisted in armed forces, there is part of the exhibition devoted to those who served in other ways, for example, those who went to entertain, and those who entertained on the home front. To that end, the piano of legendary theatre maker Irving Berlin is placed on display, and whilst this may seem random and insignificant to many walking through this particular exhibition, I for one was very excited by this – being the theatre nerd that I am and all. The exhibition is meticulously put together and the combination of mediums by which the information is offered certainly makes it an exciting and informative way of tracing an incredibly long and involved military history!

As I ventured off to the president and first lady exhibitions around the bend, I was stopped along the way by a giant wooden ship, placed within its own room, called the Gunboat Philadelphia. It was a very impressive boat and interesting to see. Once at the front of the presidential exhibitions, I made the decision to first go through the section devoted to the first ladies where their crockery and many of their inauguration ball gowns are preserved and on display. As the woman at information had said, it really was a beautiful exhibition and certainly highlighted the fashion changes throughout the various terms of the forty-four presidents. I really loved seeing all the dresses in particular – wow some of them were stunning! In particular, Michelle Obama’s dress, which I remembered thinking was beautiful at the time that it’s picture was plastered all around the globe, I am now completely obsessed with and want very much to wear =)

Within the exhibition on the presidents, obviously a lot is covered! The exhibit is so well put together and showcases some really incredible pieces, for example, the top hat that Lincoln wore to the theatre the day he was assassinated. It also has a podium and screens from which to read off where you can pick one of the inauguration speeches and try to read them off the tele-prompter. There is a lovely section based on the lives of the white house children, and many items that are certainly exciting to see! On the way out of the exhibition I stopped to watch a History Channel documentary where they interviewed many of the past presidents asking them what they thought of the job and how they wanted to be remembered – it was very interesting.

Having finished the upper two levels, I headed for the base level where they currently have a Warner Brothers exhibition in the main lobby showing off some of the original costumes from movies, etc. After looking around at the items on display in the foyer, I went in to have a look at the current exhibition on food and on the ‘story of money’ where they have the 100,000 dollar note on display – needless to say, its no longer in print.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time at the museum and would highly recommend going to see it if you have not been yet – or even if you have, its large enough that I’m sure I could do it again and have a completely different experience!

Saturday morning and the sun was finally showing its face again! Eager to take advantage of the gorgeous weather (I'll point out here that it was still cold and the snow was ankle deep) I headed out for a walk to re-explore the monuments and enjoy the beautiful scenery. GW is in an awesome position - it's literally a 3 minute walk from my dorm building to the national mall! I took in the sights of a snow covered WWII memorial and the Washington monument. I walked around the frozen over lake and over to the Jefferson monument. From there I continued on to the Roosevelt (which I remembered as my favourite one from my visit to DC years ago) and to the MLK Jnr memorials. I walked back along the mall and decided to stop at the Art Museum of the Americas which was filled with modern artworks and interesting designs. I decided to walk up past the buildings surrounding the White House and only then back towards campus. All in all, it was a gorgeous day out!!

What an amazing city DC is!!

Until next time…

DC Living!

AdminMarch 2, 2015

By carlyfisher4

DC Living

Some advice for those on their way and applying

Having now lived in DC for almost two months, I thought I would use this blog to write about some of my experiences to give those who are reading this blog wondering what to expect if they apply/have been accepted to GW a better idea of what life here is like. Before I begin though, if you are reading this trying to decide if you should apply here – DO! It’s such a fantastic school in an awesome city with lovely people. And if you have just been accepted, congratulations! Get ready for some of the best months of your life thus far!

As well as this week marking my two months here, it is also the week before midterms which means stress levels are a little bit higher. This has definitely meant that the amount of time studying has increased (although somehow the amount of Netflix watching time has not decreased…), the trips to the library are more frequent (apparently it’s the most productive place to work although I have found it to be the most social place to study) and the line at the Gelman Starbucks definitely seems even longer. In saying all of this, although there is a fair amount of work assigned, it is definitely manageable!

Perhaps the most difficult part of living here is the conflict you face when you know you need to get your work done but also really want to go and explore the city. I think that many of us are aware that our time here is really going to continue flying by, as it has been, and therefore are mindful of how much DC as a city has to offer, whilst still not wanting to leave ourselves with too many late night cramming sessions either. It is definitely tough sometimes trying to find the right balance between getting the work done, seeing the city and just socializing with friends.

So – to those on their way – if you are rolling your eyes or laughing at this thinking ‘as if, I’m never going to even see the inside of that library – I’m going to have fun’ – don’t worry! I totally understand because I said the same thing! But I think that a more realistic view of what to expect would be this – I get the work done (often last minute but still…) and still have plenty of time to socialize and travel on the weekends. The truth is that once you are surrounded by others who are working, you will too. Furthermore, no matter how much or how little your grades count when you go back home, there is no one that I’ve met here - from any school – that doesn’t at least require you to pass and therefore you have to make some time for the work.

I think people will also be surprised by the dorms. To be totally honest, when I found out that I was going to have to share a room I was nervous! I am an only child so the idea of having no space of my own was a strange concept to try and wrap my head around. Yet somehow it just seems to work so naturally – which I definitely think is aided by the fact that all my roommates are lovely and so we all get along really well. So, if you are nervous about that – don’t be! Just cross your fingers for a really nice group of roommates – and don’t be afraid to reach out to them before you get here – I did and it made the meeting process that much smoother.

But now to the things that you really care about – the fun parts! DC life is awesome! You get all the benefits of being at college – like friends and social activities – whilst being in a fantastic city that has so much on offer! If you are into museums – this is the city for you, if you like cool bars and nice restaurants – this is the city for you, if you are interested in history – this is the city for you, if you like city living but don’t want to be overcrowded - this is the city for you – basically if you want to have a good time living on a city campus – this is the city for you!

I think something else that most people on their way here want to know about is the ability to travel. Can you leave the city and explore on the weekends? Absolutely! DC is really conveniently positioned and with a couple of airports and a big train/bus station, which makes getting in and out of the city is really easy. There are so many places to go and see in America and if you are anything like my friends and I here, you will definitely want to go and see as much as you can! Most of us are lucky and we have Fridays off - which definitely helps – but irrespective of this, picking places that are not too far from here still leaves you with enumerate options and awesome places to go and see. We are all currently planning more weekend and after exam trips so there are definitely plenty of opportunities to go exploring and traveling with the friends that you meet.

On that note – I think that it is important to mention that if you are interested in this aspect of the exchange experience, it is important to make friends with the other exchange students. This is not to suggest that your exchange group should stop you from making American friends too – it definitely shouldn’t! However, the other exchange students are the ones who will also want to see DC and travel around on the weekends too. Having made an amazing group of exchange friends as well, it is definitely nice knowing that I always have people to do things with!

For those coming in the Spring semester like we are in now, you will be here for Spring Break – which is not next week (exams, remember) but the week after. Deciding on where to go and who else was going to go, was tricky. If I have any advice on that process I would definitely recommend finding a little group first and picking a place and price together. Then, if you want to travel with a larger group, have a big meeting altogether but go in with a place and some research already done. We started off trying to go away together in a large group of 14 people, however, we quickly realized it wasn’t going to work and so we split off into smaller groups. I think that this is the most realistic situation of what will happen but that doesn’t discredit how excited we all are for Spring Break and for the adventures we each chose. My group is off to sit by the pool in Cancun for the week and I couldn’t be more excited!

That’s another piece of advice for Spring Semester students – It’s cold –like really cold! Bring lots of warm clothing because it’s now nearly March and we are still getting snow and freezing temperatures. We had a lot of snow the other day so Wilson, a Singaporian exchange student, and I tried to build a snow man - it was a bit of a fail but we tried :). So, my advice – bring a coat…or three!

There is so much about your upcoming experience to tell you but if I shared it all now I would have nothing for a final blog later this semester. I hope this has helped you decide whether or not this experience is for you! I can only recommend it with the highest regard – I absolutely love it here and its only been two months so far!

George Washington's Birthday Celebration band!

So, until next time…

A one time event

AdminFebruary 26, 2015

By ilakes2015

Since I got back from New York the weather started changing and getting colder. Those days snowed a lot and the roads and access to the city started being more complicated so Tuesday was declared as a snow day what means that people does not have to go to work. After this, GW also cancelled classes. I had arrived DC at 2am in the morning so I got really happy knowing that I could sleep longer. On the afternoon I went to my weekly course of the “Maimonides Leaders Fellowship program” where speakers come to talk about certain topics and in that particular class we prepared Jala (Is like a special bread). That night I went to the cinema and my brother came to my house to have dinner so I baked the Jala and he prepared a delicious meal for both of us.

On Friday Night I had an “Emoji party” what meant that each person had to dress up like one of the emoji icons that you use when texting. In my case, I had a lot of different ideas but I finally decided to go as the cat emoji, which was the easiest one. Animals, ballet dancers, smiley faces and even the Japanese twins where some of the customs that people had chosen. One of my friends borrowed my hat so he could be the Russian guy and one of my favorites was my friend Wilson who decided to go like the 3 monkeys: blind, deaf and mute. The party was really good, I caught up with people I haven’t seen in weeks and the best thing was that the party was in my building so I didn’t have to get cold on my way back home.

The last weekend was an interesting weekend. My friend Dion invited me to the Opera on the opening night of Dialogues of the Carmelites and because of the horrible weather we got the chance to sit in the middle of the theatre in 300 dollars seats for free! This powerful Opera about an order of Carmelite nuns who refuse to renounce their beliefs during the French Revolution, turned to be the most remarkable event of my week. Not only because of the interesting topic but also because I ended up feeling the most naïve and lucky girl of the room. The Opera was 3 hours long and there was an intermission of 20 minutes so my friend and I drank something and went to the bathroom. When I tried to go back inside, the play had already started so I sat in a different seat until the change of scenes. The women there didn’t seem pleased when she moved her purse but 5 minutes later I returned to my original place next to my friend after I made stand up all the people there. The end of the play was kind of shocking but it received a standing ovation from the crowd. When the Director took the stage, I realized she was the woman that moved her purse to let me sit next to her! (Yes, now we understand her angry face). Apart from that, and before going to the Opera house backstage, I realized that one of the people that I gently asked to stand up 50 minutes before was with the secret service. When I asked, we found out that the important person seating next to me was the famous Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg!! Of course at that time I didn’t know but I felt really happy and ashamed at the same time (In my favor I’ll say that everyone there looked important and famous) So we can say that I touched the most important two people in the audience that night even though I was not conscious about it and the funny part is that was my unawareness what made it happen. I believe ignorance sometimes let you do things you would never do if you knew. Ignorance sometimes frees you from judgment, your judgment. No fear, no shame, no thoughts of other people opinion. In this case, ignorance gave me the opportunity to look into the eyes of one of the most important persons of the country. As we say in Spanish: "Si lo hacia a propositio, no me salia tan bien"

Another New Year’s Day!!

AdminFebruary 24, 2015

By train1110

I’m writing this blog posting with deep gratitude to Wilson Koh, who organized the event, prepared and hosted the lunar New Year’s Day party in his dorm last week, on the 16^th of February. (You’re awesome Wilson!! 🙂 )

In Asia the use of lunar calendar had been dominant in the history, before modernization and adopting the Western solar calendar. For this reason, a lot of major national holidays are based on lunar calendar dates. New Year’s Day is one of those holidays, so nowadays Asians tend to celebrate New Year’s Day twice during the year, one on January 1^st on solar calendar, the other on lunar calendar – of which the date is not on a set time in solar calendar. This year, the actual date for Lunar New Year’s Day was February 19^th, but because it was the President’s day on 16^th of February and everyone got a break from school that day, we decided to celebrate the Lunar New Year’s Day a little earlier than its actual date.

On Lunar New Year’s Day, families including relatives all gather around, enjoy the time together, say New Year’s greetings to each other, eat and do customary, traditional things for the New Year’s Day. Such customs and traditions differ from country to country in Asia, though the idea of families coming together and spend time with each other seems to be basically the same. In Korea, on the New Year’s Day, we say greetings to each other, bow (in a traditional style) to our parents, wear traditional clothings called ‘hanbok’, eat New Year’s Day food (which is represented by ‘Ddeok-guk’, a rice cake soup carrying the meaning of getting a year older) and play some traditional games together. Love of family is the most important virtue on the Lunar New Year’s Day.

Here in DC, close friends are like our families, for as exchange students most of us came here alone, with families or relatives staying in our home country. Having a Lunar New Year’s Day party together meant a lot to us, not only in terms of sharing different cultures but most importantly, being thankful for each other’s presence as family-like friends, to whom we could rely upon and share feelings together in a foreign country.

Wilson (who is from Singapore) was the host of this Lunar New Year’s Day dinner event, and asked me and my friends to join the cooking. He himself cooked a lot of dishes and the rest of us usually cooked and brought one or two dishes. All put on one table, the dinner was the congregation of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Singaporian dishes. After the dinner, Wilson introduced a Singaporian custom of the New Year’s Day which is called yusheng (or lohei). Yusheng is the food Singaporians eat on the New Year’s Day with their family, and the ingredients they put in the food each has different meanings, such as luck, wealth, success, youth, happiness and so on. Every participant for this yusheng says out loud the words that signifies all such good remarks and blessings and together, mixes all the ingredients like salad using chopsticks. We shared the food afterwards. It was a fun and memorable event, and above all another new and energetic, friendly start of 2015!

The Kennedy Centre and the Carolinas

AdminFebruary 20, 2015

By carlyfisher4

When I left off from my last blog, we had just had a fantastic weekend in New York, and after we got back to DC on the bus (after some horrible traffic), we pulled out from Union Station and looked to our left to find the glistening Capitol Building seemingly welcoming us back. Although the Capitol is under construction/repair at the moment and is therefore covered in scaffolding, there is something that is still so beautiful about it at night – it looks to me like a croquembouche decorated in spun sugar. Actually, that’s what I have been calling it since we first went on the tour inside it – the croquembouche building.

After a theatre-filled weekend in New York it seems that I was just not ready to have it stop as I headed back to the Kennedy Centre for another Tuesday night at the theatre. This time I went to see ‘Gigi’ with Nicola, another Australian exchange student, and Elif, an exchange student from Turkey. As this was the show’s preview before hitting Broadway, I was curious to see how it was – as much as I have seen at the theatre, this was my first time seeing an out-of-town preview, so that was pretty exciting, at least to me. I was also really eager to see ‘Gigi’ having seen the movie before and knowing that it is one of my grandma’s all time favorites.

The production was filled with seasoned Broadway veterans, some who I had seen before in other shows, as well as having Vanessa Hudgens as their celebrity name. On a whole the show was really well cast and, on a separate note, the set-design was great. I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the show and how well it translated from screen to stage. I hope it is as well-received by Broadway audiences as it seemed to be in DC!

After only a few short days (in which I crammed in four assessments!), Mads (Australian exchange student/my best friend from home) and I were off again for the weekend, keen to take advantage of it being a long weekend. We went down to South Carolina where one of my really close friends lives to visit and explore two states of the US I had never been to before. After flying into Charlotte, North Carolina we met up with our friend, Marissa, and drove down to Columbia, South Carolina.

Whilst Columbia isn’t known for being the tourist hub of America, we definitely enjoyed seeing the sights it had to offer on the Friday that we were there. The state capitol building was definitely an impressive structure surrounded by a variety of sculptures each symbolizing an important event or individual. We also saw the Supreme Court building as well as a couple really pretty churches. Next we went in search of a little district known for its boutique shops and once finished there we made our way to Finlay Park. Although too chilly to enjoy the park in its entirety, we saw some really lovely water features and enjoyed ourselves on the three person swing that sits above the park’s main water fountain.

The next day we continued our exploration of the historically significant Carolinas but heading down to Charleston, South Carolina. We began our morning there by taking a carriage tour (with our driver Baba, and our two horses, Butter and Grits) from which we were able to get a lay of the land as well as a great introduction to the history and myths of Charlotte from our very knowledgeable driver. From the carriage we saw some lovely churches, gorgeous cobblestone streets, amazing mansions, the harbor, other historical structures and the much-anticipated Rainbow-Row.

Having only ridden through the historic district, at the conclusion of our carriage ride we embarked on foot to see the rest of the town, as well as to revisit some spots that we wanted to investigate further.

We started with the slavery museum, which is housed in an old slave auction house, adding to the significance and horror of the information presented in the displays. Comprehending the information within that environment really enhances its reality as a horrific mistreatment of innocent people and a total violation of human rights. As we learnt, more than 40% of the African Americans brought to America as part of the slave trade went through Charleston’s port – that’s approximately 200,000 enslaved people going through the one, relatively tiny, town. The statistics meant a lot more to me standing within Charleston and especially within the museum than they have ever meant to me before.

From the slave museum we walked up in pursuit of the Dock Street Theatre – the first theatre ever built in America. As a total theatre nerd, this excited me greatly and I was desperate to see the birthplace of American theatre! It is a beautiful theatre from the outside and if I find myself in Charleston again, I definitely want to go on a night that they are performing a show!

We had a look around the beautiful mansions, as well as the harbor and the houses along rainbow row. We explored a nice market and had some lunch there and then later, at dinner, I tried she-crab soup and grits and therefore now consider myself a true Southerner- if only I’d had something monogrammed whilst there! All-in-all, Charleston is a really cute little town and a great day-trip if you are somewhere nearby – I would definitely suggest seeing it, although I don’t think that your stay there needs to be too long.

We spent the next morning in Columbia before driving back to Charlotte (perhaps with a slight detour to a couple malls on the way) to spend our last night and day there. Charlotte definitely came across as more of a business hub than anything else. Unfortunately, as we were there on the public holiday, the city seemed rather empty and the cold disrupted our plans of seeing the parks that Charlotte has to offer.

And so ends another wonderful week in DC! I can definitely feel that the cold is about to kick in even stronger which I can’t say I’m looking forward to! I just hope it passes soon – so ready for spring and sunshine - I am Australian after all!

Until next time…

Newyorkila

AdminFebruary 19, 2015

By ilakes2015

A rough week of exams and papers had come to the perfect end when I traveled to New York for the long weekend. Not being the perfect weather, minus 15 degrees is a bit cold even if you love wintertime, my first weekend trip turn to be the most peaceful and warmest of them all.

It was said this particular weekend was the coldest of the season and even if NY is colder than DC, my 4 days there weren’t as bad as it sounds. I arrived on Friday morning with the bus and I went directly to Google to meet my friend Lucas who works there. We hadn’t seen each other for 7 months so I was really looking forward to see him again. At Google we had lunch together and he showed me his office and the cool things in the building. Yes, everything you’ve ever heard about the different and original stuffs that Google provides is less attractive than what they really have. Is not only the floor that is design according to the 4 seasons of the year, or the playroom with Pool and massage chairs, or the Lego area where anyone can play while having a snack or the acoustic room full of instruments, or that every employee can go from one side of the building to the other side with a scooter what makes you understand that any lucky person that worked hard enough to get there, receives amazing things in return. It’s the comfortable environment at Google, where they take care of every detail, what would definitely make a person work with energy and passion and the desire of doing his best for the spectacular company he is working in.

After really cold walks, my friend and I visited every store in Times Square, we did some shopping, ate some traditional Argentine Empanadas, visited some neighborhoods, almost got Broadway tickets for 25 dollars and we ate at Katz’s Delicatessen, the best Pastrami place in the world. Most people know it because of the famous movie scene in “When Harry met Sally” but most of us know it as the famous Jewish pastrami place that is top one in your Must Do list and is even more important than going to Central Park. So if you are trying to be a vegetarian, well, I strongly suggest you never go to this place! fame

This weekend I also spent time with my family that lives in Manhattan. My cousins and their kids gave me the hugs and kisses that my body needed to warm up. On Friday night we had Shabbat Dinner together and it made me feel at home. We took pictures; we played games and watched a movie while we ate homemade cupcakes with the shape of a heart (my five years old cousin was the fantastic cook). On Sunday I had brunch with one of my cousins and I finally met his beautiful baby. We spent a few hours together catching up and after that I walked around until I met my other cousins for teatime. My weekend was surrounded of babies and kids full of energy to play, run and be amazed of small things. That’s what young children remain us; even moving shiny color lights reflected on the floor are good enough to make us smile and have fun in a freezing weather.

It was Valentine’s Day and everyone was really happy, cold and in love. There were flowers, chocolates, balloons and red things everywhere you looked. That night Lucas, his roommate,his French friend and I had dinner together in an Asian place. I had an exquisite Ramen soup and after that we travelled to Brooklyn for the pregame at one of his Argentine friend’s place where I met grad students. The food, the decoration of the house and even the napkins were red. I must say that is a really strange thing for an Argentinian because we don’t really care about this particular day. Some couples do receive and buy gifts for their partners but is not something as relevant as it is for the Americans or the New Yorkers in particular. The nightclub was also a special place because one of my friends took the balloon with the shape of a heart with her and every time she moved we could find her just looking up. It was a bit funny and as I called it, Love was in the Air!

On Sunday night we watched the NBA All-star game at a bar. Of course it was not the same to watch the game in the TV than being there but we had a great time together with the rest of the fans there, my Chinese friend Andy included, who is also an exchange student and we met in NY. It was really nice to find new friends, to get to know them and spend time with people that I really liked. valentines

But it was not all about family and friends; I also got the chance to do a few touristic things. I lived two blocks from Times Square so I definitely went to every gigantic store there, I took the classic picture on the stairs and finally I did the “15 seconds of fame” on the big screen. Believe it or not, this was my third time in the big city but I never tried to take those pictures before. One thing I can definitely thank about that freezing weather is that not too many people wanted to be outside so all the touristic places were not as crowded as those use to be.

Also, I went to the Natural History Museum with my little cousins that run all the time but still enjoyed the petrified animals. After the Museum we got back to their house uptown so we walk by the frozen Central Park, which is marvelous.

When I started thinking about my long weekend and the places I wanted to go, I only knew that the World Trade Center, the memorial of 9/11, was the only place I was definitely going. The last time I’ve been in NY, the monument was still being constructed so I only had an idea of how it was going to be. Next to the new building that replaced the twin towers there are two gigantic square fonts with all the names of the victims written to the side and once you get there you can feel the majesty of the place; you can feel the cold. The memories about that day, some people crying and the breeze in your face reminds you that is not only a touristic place in the city, is not another monument or funny attraction where you can loose money and most important, is not a place you could easily forget. I didn’t have the chance to visit the twin towers when I was younger but if only one building made me feel small, I can’t imagine the symbolism and power that represented the original ones. Now there is only one. Now we are here. We are alive and is our obligation to never forget, to stand against terrorism. Not only for us but also for them. nyc

Family, old friends, new friends, touristic places, Google, nightclubs, reflections, warm homes, delicious food and the freezing weather in only 4 days. Definitely, New York is the City that never sleeps.

The Scent of an Old City

AdminFebruary 19, 2015

By train1110

Trip to Philadelphia, during probably the coldest weekend I've ever experienced in US east coast. Having forgotten to bring my hair dryer, I had to start my days in Philadelphia with wet hair, which were to freeze within less than 5 minutes. Walking straight was even hard due to the strong, icy, cutting cold wind that blew from the opposite direction. The winds occasionally blew with heavy (nearly blinding) snow. To summarize how my trip was, I would say it was cold, windy, snowy and yet again, cold. But even the worst weather did not prevent me from becoming immersed into the attractions of Philadelphia. The impression I got from Philadelphia, especially in comparison to DC, was the scent of an old city.

Full of historical buildings, places with incredible importance in American history, along with many museums that preserve paintings and sculptures, Philadelphia was a city that showed the traces of time without any alterations. The Old City district in Philadelphia was where all the historical places and artifact were congregated: Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Franklin Court, Carpenters Hall, the first and second bank of United States, Penn's Landing and also, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. After 4 hours in bus, the first place my friends and I visited was the Penn's Landing. It was where William Penn set his first foot in 1682, where the history of Pennsylvania began, and where we started our 3 days trip in Philadelphia. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge was also visible from the Penn's landing.

Liberty Bell, the highlight of the trip to Philadelphia, was actually quite smaller than I had thought. Before seeing the bell through my own eyes, I somehow imagined that the bell would be grand, relating to its importance and great significance as an emblem of freedom and liberty, the most upheld values in the United States. It was there, a cracked small bell, yet it had still influenced so many people who fought for liberty and their right as human beings that changed and shaped the world we live today and continues to do so. With the solemn aura of the Liberty Bell, The Liberty Bell Center evidently showed the American pride for their shared values of liberty and equality, history and national pride. The similar atmosphere could be felt in the Independence Hall and the Franklin Court. Philadelphia was the initial capital of United States for 10 years, before Washington DC was established and became the national capital city. Such significant political decisions were made at that very hall and court of Philadelphia that shaped the national identity of the United States. The old capital was then substituted by a new one, and this significance was what reinforced my feelings of this trip, travelling from DC to Philadelphia, as travelling from a shiny bright city to an old, historical, archaic one. There were also horse carriages offering a city tour, standing on one side of the road, making the area all the more historic. For a while, I felt as if I have been travelling not in 2015 Philadelphia, but in 18th century Philadelphia.

The Center City, Museum Districts were also places that were memorable and attractive. The Center City reflected the vitality and vigor of bustling city and people, which could be felt especially in the Reading Terminal Market. On the Valentine's Day, all 6 of us took our first group photo in front of the LOVE sign in the LOVE Square (everyone else who took photos there apart from us were all couples... ). The day we visited the Museum District was the coldest day throughout our entire trip, so we tended to huddle inside the museum, avoiding going outdoors as much as we could.

The 3 day trip in Philadelphia was not short, yet there were places that made us want to visit again when the weather gets warmer. Though sometimes cold weather can do us some good (Snow Day!), these days I cannot stop wishing for spring to come. And when the spring finally comes, the first thing I'll do would be to go visit as many places in DC as I can.