Tag: Washington

By lizalunstroo

Four years ago today, I was in high school, not knowing what my future beheld, closely following the American election. Later, when Obama was elected, I remember the developments surrounding Obamacare, and the Thanksgiving cliff-hanger that went with it. In those four years, the United States went through an enormous process of change. Of course, these four years have not been idyllic: the economic recession has had (and still has) major impacts on people’s lives, and partisan differences in Congress diminished the reach of the Obama Administration in many of its plans. Nevertheless, policies promising change have definitely been delivered. The ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy was eliminated, women’s rights and LGBT rights were further endorsed, a more universal health care system was passed, the war in Iraq was ended, Osama bin Laden was killed, taxes were made more progressive and the US combat forces in Afghanistan are on their way out.

Today, I am in university, studying in the city where it all happens. I canvassed for the President, followed debates closely, openly endorsed the administration and its policies, and am celebrating, still, after Tuesday’s victory. Together with the GW College Democrats, we watched how election results came in slowly, with CNN making the suspense more tolerable. It is impossible to describe the energy and excitement that was buzzing through this room the entire evening. Everybody was fired up, and, as soon as it became clear Obama had won Ohio, essentially securing his victory, ready to go to the White House. The mob of students that took to the streets was enormous. D.C. was buzzing, people climbed in trees on the White House lawn, secret service police had to guard the fence, the national anthem was sung loudly, American flags waved everywhere, people were shouting ‘FOUR MORE YEARS’, some were crying, others were blatantly drunk, and amidst of this chaos I was there. I was there, and I was happy as can be, because I knew that somehow, I had contributed, if only a little, by campaigning for the President, by openly endorsing him, and by talking to people who were not yet entirely convinced.

Obama Victory Reaction - GWU Democrats Nov. 6th 2012. Credits go to Olivia Lewis.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzXr6EoELVY&w=560&h=315]

Obama Victory Celebrations outside the White House Nov. 6 2012. Credits go to Olivia Lewis.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Yt_Y0sBeg&w=560&h=315]

In four years from today, the United States can start to look back on a decade of fresh leadership and progressive policies. Tuesday’s victory means that the President can finish what he started, and create a historical legacy of moving America forward at a time of economic hardship plaguing the American people and the world at large; at a time of a shift from a unipolar international order to a multipolar international order, with all the challenges this brings, politically, economically and militarily; and at a time of enormous divisions that split up the American political landscape. It may not be easy, but, like the President says:
(Best part: from 1.05 onwards)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bumASg2LAmk&w=560&h=315]

“I believe we can keep the promise of our founders. The idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.”

(Obama’s victory speech, Chicago, 11-07-2012)

By lizalunstroo

I would like to begin this week’s entry with a very important announcement: all is well at Foggy Bottom and in DC. We have been extremely lucky, because Sandy’s worst has never even reached the city. The only way we were affected was the cancellation of two days’ classes and the run on water and canned food in the stores here on campus. We currently have quite a stock of canned food and tanks of water, and were prepared with batteries and lights so that we would have been able to live without running water and electricity for a couple of days. All in vain however, because nothing broke down, and by Thursday morning everything had returned back to normal. My thoughts go out to those who lost their lives, and their families, and to all of those who were adversely affected by this disaster.

Seeing that everything was well here in DC, the trip that my friend from Richmond, Danielle, and me had planned for this weekend could proceed, and she visited me here at GW. One of the things I love doing here in DC is switching between being a resident and being a tourist. We spent all Saturday biking around DC, sightseeing and visiting all the important landmarks of the city. The balance of that day: we saw the White House, Capitol, war monuments, Lincoln memorial, Washington monument, Jefferson and FDR memorial, Eastern market area, Georgetown, and even managed to squeeze in a visit to Dupont circle.

We were exhausted by the end of the day and settled for staying in during the evening, admittedly also because the prospects of going out for under-twenty-one-girls in DC are meager. It was lovely to bike around and see everything, and I was quite impressed with how easy it was to do everything that we wanted to in just one day. In August, when my parents and brother were here, we had three days to see the city, but we never managed to see all of the things in those three days that Danielle and I saw in this one day. I blame this on the heat, and on our scarce knowledge of the city at the time (although my family and I did visit a museum, something I didn’t do with Danielle). Sometimes I wish they could come back so that I could show them everything here, from campus to the Smithsonian institutions, to all the memorials, to downtown. It is really pleasant to act as the tourist guide and take pride in a city that I didn’t even know less than a year ago.

Having said that, time is ticking, and I have only seen two out of all the Smithsonian institutions (really cool, free museums) here, so I need to hurry up. Last week, the residential staff of my building organized a trip to the Newseum, not one of those institutions, but nevertheless the best museum I have been to in a very long time. It had huge exhibits on the FBI, the presidential campaigns, 9/11, amongst others, and showed an exhibit displaying actual sections of the Berlin Wall. It was also possible to be a reporter, reading news about Congress against the background of the U.S. Capitol. Of course I took that chance and also peeked into the official ABC studios that are housed by the Newseum. It was a great day well spent.

Like I said before, time is ticking, and the semester is already past its halfway-mark. Sometimes it is depressing to think how fast time goes (cliché but true: time flies when you’re having fun), and how much stuff there still is left to do. Inevitably, I am going to have to prioritize and settle for less, but there are still some weekends left, in addition to the time I can use after the GW semester ends. Hopefully the time that remains will give me enough opportunity to see more of this beautiful city and country.

By lizalunstroo

This week is Halloween, which is a lovely American tradition. Although I did go to the occasional Halloween party in the Netherlands over the past couple of years, I have never before experienced such enthusiasm and fervor in relation to this particular holiday. For the Dutch amongst us: the scale of this tradition is a little smaller but still of comparable size to Sinterklaas back home (when the time is here I will expand upon this very peculiar Dutch tradition).

Being here in the U.S., I threw myself into the Halloween celebrations. Last Wednesday, I bought an enormous and quite heavy pumpkin and went to a pumpkin carving party (yes they exist, just like presidential debate watch parties). Quite an aggressive enterprise, since you’re carving out an enormous piece of fruit that has quite a thick skin, with juices oozing out of it and a mess of seeds and threads everywhere. I could literally find pumpkin all over my upper body, with most of the stuffing ending up in my hair. But what are showers for if not to clean up? It was a lot of fun and I was quite satisfied with the result.

This was not the end of the Halloween experience. On Friday, my friends and I went shopping for a Halloween costume. In the end we settled for simple costumes, since we won’t be able to bring everything back home in December anyway. Nevertheless, I think we looked quite witchy and Halloween-appropriate.

The time of our costumes’ inauguration came on Saturday evening. We had booked tickets to the Crime and Punishment Museum here in D.C., which had been transformed into a haunted house for the occasion. This is where culture shock stepped in. I can honestly say that I do not understand what the fun is in being chased by people in masks with chain saws and genuinely frightening outfits. It took us about twenty minutes to do the haunted house tour, and by the end of it I was ready to have a drink. Of course we went for one, so I ordered my first ever cocktail in the United States (except it was a mocktail, since I am still under twenty-one). Anyway, it was relaxing to sit back and enjoy downtown DC for a bit by watching all the people walk by that were dressed up either really funny or really indecent.

Halloween weekend passed by so quickly – but the celebrations are not over yet. Perhaps this week we will go trick-or-treating at the embassies – one of the perks of living in D.C. In addition, there is a drag queen race being organized that we would like to go watch. However, I still have some midterms to study for, and more importantly, hurricane Sandy is quickly approaching D.C., so there is the chance that everything will get cancelled. My roommates and myself are now preparing for that by stocking up on food and bottled water – there is a fair chance the power and water supply will be shut down. Hopefully Sandy will be merciful and let the Halloween-celebrations proceed. I cast my spell and am hoping for the best. Witchy greetings to all folks out there!

By lizalunstroo

Like I promised last week, this weekend I joined the College Democrats on a campaigning trip to Columbus, Ohio. Extended bus rides, gym floors, canvassing, middle class and beyond, a visit from Charlie Crist and Ted Strickland, and more made this weekend remarkable and unforgettable.

Leaving Friday afternoon, we departed on what was to be a very long and exhaustive bus ride. All in all, it took us 9 hours to get to Columbus. Due to the fact that I tend to compare situations here to situations back home, it is interesting to consider I would already have been in Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg when riding on a bus for that amount of time. Notwithstanding, the greatest surprise came when we arrived at the hostel where we were going to stay: it turned out we were literally sleeping on the floor of a gym. Not much fun (I only brought one blanket), and causing a very sore back on the way back home, but it was all worth it 100 percent.

That was it for the less appealing aspects of this trip; the real fun started on Saturday morning, kicked off by a huge sponsored breakfast in a very typical American diner. This all soothed the experiences of the night before and got us ready and fired up to start the actual campaigning. I was very afraid I was going to be out of my league, talking to undecided voters and it was quite hard to come up with a sound rationale as to why they should support Obama, because there is just too much to say on the subject. For that reason I settled for telling people why I support the President: his support for women’s and LGBT rights. In addition, the most important reason for me to support Obama is the difference that distinguishes Barack Obama from Mitt Romney: Barack Obama truly cares for all American citizens and this is reflected in his policies of the last four years. His opponent is clearly not, and willing to say anything to appeal to voters, even if the words he speaks are completely the opposite of the truth. This big difference affects every single policy stance and attitude of the candidates, which is why I think the choice this year is easier and clearer than ever. Nevertheless, people need persuasion and encouragement, which is what we were in Ohio for.

Canvassing, or going from door to door to talk to people, is scary in the beginning but becomes encouraging the more people one talks to. Fortunately, no one goes alone, because everyone is divided up into pairs and walks with a partner who you’re constantly close to, in case anything happens. I have been to three different neighborhoods in and around Ohio this weekend to canvass, and all had their specificities. There was one which was clearly blue and did not need any more persuasion; people were pro-Obama and proud to tell me about why they supported the President. It was truly moving to hear some stories about why they were so convinced of Obama. One woman showed me pictures of her entire family with a cardboard Obama, another started to tell me everything that was wrong with Romney and his attitude, and another told me about how important the equality of opportunity that Obama stands for is to her.

There was that, and there were the fanatic Romney supporters. These people were less fun to talk to, not because they did not support Obama, but because some of them were just very uncivilized and unpleasant to me. Some did not want to look me straight in the eyes, others opened the door and quickly shut it again, and some just didn’t open the door at all. Of course, I can see that it can be annoying when people are bothering you with political talks, but I do not see what is so hard about telling me calmly they are not interested - it is what I would do. Luckily, I have quite a thick skin and was not bothered by these talks at all, and they did not ruin my resolve to knock on people’s doors and reach out to the community.

Being in Ohio also showed me another side of the United States. DC is a very urbanized area, where people are used to quite a wealthy lifestyle, especially around campus. In contrast, some of the neighborhoods I canvassed in where clearly poor. Some friends visited places that were truly terrifying and shocking, with drug addicts and criminal practices. Some of the houses I saw were confiscated and shut down with huge locks on the front door: the people who used to live there are now homeless. These things are shocking and clearly show why the elections are so vital, because the policy choices that are being made to revitalize the economy influence people’s lives in a very real sense. It also reinforces and strengthens the realization that I need to keep in the back of my mind: I have been very privileged my entire life and am extremely lucky to be able to live up to the opportunities that come across my path.

The second night in the hostel was much better, which I ascribe to our mental preparation of where we were going to sleep, and probably more significantly, our complete exhaustion after the first day. On Sunday we undertook another canvassing session, after which we departed for Washington, DC, on another 9 hour-long bus ride. The commitment that all GW students made this weekend to go all the way to Ohio and try to convince people to vote for Obama was quite impressive, and this commitment was strengthened by a visit from former Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, and former Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland. Former Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, used to be a Republican but basically turned away from this party after he openly embraced President Obama after his inauguration - a very civilized and normal thing to do in his eyes, but not in the eyes of the GOP. These two men were inspiring and made my commitment a little stronger by telling us personally why they are supportive of the President in the upcoming elections. In addition the good care and all the food that was bestowed upon us by the campaigning staff made the weekend a lot more productive. The balance at the end of the campaigning weekend was very impressive: together the GW students knocked on more than 1000 doors and more than 800 people signed up to vote early. This was amazing to hear, and very satisfying.

The journey does not stop here: upcoming is the next presidential debate on Tuesday; on foreign policy no less, and there are 26 days left to election day. A lot can happen this month and hopefully I will be there to report back on some of these events. Until then: FOUR MORE YEARS! (not kidding, I don’t like slogans, but I had to put this one out there).

By lizalunstroo

I am not an expert on American politics, nor on the current electoral environment that I find myself in, but precisely because I find myself in this situation I would like to dedicate some of my blogs to this topic. Although I am not an objective observer (as you will notice shortly), I think it is safe to claim that I am less partisan than most Americans.

The House representative from DC has no vote (besides on procedural matters and in committees) and there is no DC representation in the Senate whatsoever (because DC is not a state, technically). This explains the slogan “Taxation without Representation” on all DC license plates. Therefore, it is ironic that the residents of this district are nevertheless very interested in politics. In addition, DC happens to be the most liberal spot in the entire country, with almost 40% of the residents identifying themselves that way [Gallup Politics]. This fact distorts my reality a little bit, because I have not come to know any other city as well as this one. Visiting Richmond last week did alter my perspective somewhat, showing me that there is also a large, strong base of Republican voters in the United States.

Having said that, I did find myself sitting in the wrong section of the audience that came out to watch the presidential debate last Wednesday. Even though I have mainly met Democrats here, I found myself surrounded by Republicans, cheering on Romney and booing in response to Obama. I stayed put there the entire debate and it was fun to applaud for Obama now and then, just to see people turn around trying to stare me into silence. In general, the debate was fun to watch, although I must admit it got a little bit too detailed from time to time. I would have liked to hear about the most fundamental differences between the two candidates, but instead they (especially the President) engaged in discussions on details of each other’s policy proposals, both trying to appeal to voters in the center rather than their traditional left and right wing voter bases, which is not surprising, but it does not make for a great debate. In addition, I would have expected for Obama to pick up speed and go for the easy kill by bringing up Romney’s “47%” videotape that was leaked several weeks ago. I think this video is critical in illustrating the difference in approach between both candidates and where they are coming from: Romney, the white, older millionaire, and; Obama, the black, younger candidate, from a less wealthy background. Even though most people have probably already seen the video, I have included it for this sake – note the quote “And so my job is not to worry about these people” - Shocking!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nvqHERTcytI]

Throughout the rest of October we will have two more presidential debates and this week we will have the delight of watching the two running mates, Paul Ryan and Joe Biden, try to outdo each other in the debate arena. The other two presidential debates hold a lot of promise now that we have not been given the pleasure of seeing Obama in full-fledged frontal attack yet. In addition to looking forward to these debates, next week I am joining the George Washington College Democrats on a campaigning trip to Ohio. I have absolutely no idea what to expect but I am looking forward to seeing another part of the country that is not outspokenly Democratic. Consider this blog an introduction to my next entry where I will report on this trip, which will hopefully turn out to be very exciting.

By lizalunstroo

The story of how a weekend with a friend turns my conception of home upside down

The past weekend I left DC for the first time this semester, to visit a very good friend who is currently studying at the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA. It was so good to talk to my friend – we’ve known each other since we were twelve and it was such a relief not to think about the language and share each other’s experiences coming from a similar background. We had a lovely dinner in the Cheesecake Factory, attended an a cappella concert, walked around campus, partied a little and had nice brunches in the dining hall. Besides that, visiting a different university involved adapting to a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a change of people. Many changes, but was it very different from GW?

In some ways, yes. The campus of Richmond university is very rustic - it literally lies in the middle of a forest. There's a huge lake, with bridges connecting the different parts of campus to each other and very pretty residence halls and apartments, that reminded me of the campuses in Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, it has a very large dining hall, where everyone has breakfast, lunch and dinner, making every meal of the day a very social event, and a delicious one at the same time, with its provision of many different foods.

In other ways, this university was not that different from GW at all. College life seems quite similar. In those three days that I spent on campus, we attended several dorm parties, with the same kinds of beer pong games and the same degree of temporary insanity. Moreover, even though the campus is much prettier than GW's, students are, like GW students, spending their days inside -the library or their dorms - studying.

This weekend was a breath of fresh air (literally), but it also made me realize something I had not given real thought before, and something that I had not expected to occur so early in the semester. On my bus ride back to DC I was sleeping and looking forward to my own bed again. However, once the bus entered the city, with its Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial on the left, and all its majestic, marble buildings throughout the rest of the city center, a surge of happiness suddenly overcame me. And in that moment I realized: DC has already become the place I consider to be home. At the moment, the place I perceive as home is not Nieuwkoop, my home town, and nor is it Maastricht – it is DC. It was very uncanny for me to realize this, but at the same time it was an honest moment of happiness – feeling so close to a place I only lived in for a little less than two months.

DC as my home – I would never have believed had somebody told me this a few years ago, and realizing that I feel this way is definitely food for thought.

P.S. Answer to last week’s question on whether I hit the ball or missed? It seems kind of obvious looking at how far I am standing from where the ball was going to be thrown: alas, I missed.

By lizalunstroo

As a short introduction to the topic of culture shock, I recall a conversation at our dinner table in one of the first weeks here at GW – my roommates and I were having dinner together.

V: “We used to eat those specific kind of noodles all the time..., you know, those long, flat, thin, white noodles.”

L: “Like Me?”

V, puzzled: “You?”

L, confused: “Me?”

V, mystified : “What do you mean, like you?”

L, bewildered: “Huh, why, like me?”

V: “yeah, you said: like Me, so what do you mean, like you?”

By this point of the conversation the other two roommates, who were whipping their heads from V to myself like we were at a tennis match, were almost under the table with laughter. Once V and myself saw how bizarre a turn the conversation had taken we looked each other in the eyes for a moment after which we both cried with laughter for the next 30 minutes. Of course, the crux in this conversation is that I am not talking about myself at all, but about the specific kind of noodles V was talking about – Mie. However, due to the implications of the English language, V thought I was talking about myself when she was describing something as long, flat, thin... You get the point.

Of course, this is a simple misunderstanding, ending in hysterical laughter among friends, but in a different context, certain misunderstandings could escalate. However, in terms of actual culture shock, I have to admit that the cultural differences between the USA and the Netherlands are not that big. In general, we have the same values and ways to go about things. For instance, the personal space Americans appreciate when talking to one another, is something I completely endorse, and conversation topic taboos here are the same – do not make inappropriate political-sensitive comments when you do not know the other person that well.

(I think this is a cultural faux pas that many people commit, but, luckily, students at GW do so themselves as well – it is completely normal here to have a political discussion with people that you only met once or twice. DC is, in that sense, an exception to the rule, or so I’ve been told, and that makes sense: being the political capital of the country, people are bound to have an opinion.)

Yet there are some habits I had to get used to. For instance, American people are really into making superficial small-talk. As a general rule, when meeting people, I learned the standard greeting here is ‘Hi, how are you?’ (a question you NEVER answer, but reply with ‘Hi, how are you?’), and ‘It’s nice to meet you.’. To be sure, I have already adapted unconsciously -  I caught myself using the same phrases (and others) that I would not have used had I not come here.

Little quiz: did I hit or did I miss? – Answer will be up next week

Another difference are the types of sports that are really hot here, but those cannot account for a culture shock – it is more fun than shocking. Now, this is not my area of expertise, but it is generally known that Americans are really into baseball, American football and ice hockey. Unfortunately I could not come to the organized trip to an American baseball match because I had to attend class, but I did go to the practice session that was held prior to that trip, to ensure everybody more or less knew what the game was all about. This was really fun – just playing a bit of baseball (not with the actual equipment – we were too amateur for that), and relaxing on a sunny Saturday afternoon – the photo illustrates my very fanatic attitude that day.

As a conclusion then, I did not encounter a culture shock here, or maybe I am just really good at denying this, but I can honestly say that so far I have enjoyed most differences between home and DC. I am not saying that the differences are better, nor are they worse – they are just as good. I am definitely looking forward to the very American holiday season that is about to start – we’ve got Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas coming – and to the culture shock any of those might hold for me.