When in the course of human events....

A Reflectionish moment.

DC will end in 4 days and I am attempting to be reflective about my experience. I remember entering this experience not sure if it was even where the Lord wanted me and questioning how believers are to view the role of government in this world. As my time comes to an end my questions are not fully answered; however, I think I have learned a few things.

I am more sure about:
1) How much the Earth is broken by sin.
2) Our only hope and salvation is in Jesus.
3) I can't do it on my own merit.
4) Ice Cream is expensive everywhere and delicious as well!

I am more confused about:
1) How a nation can be just
2) How to separate a personal connection to a politician and from their actions. Why or why don't we vote for people? Do actions speak louder than words?
3) What is appropriate patriotism?
4) What are the purpose of political parties.

Identity:
- In Washington there is a label for everything: liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, progressive, independent, libertarian, southern, northern, blue dog, socialist, populist....
- Often one label brings with it countless assumptions and no one label seems to fit anyone.
- Business Cards carry a lot of important identifying information in DC.
- You are always asked to defend your identity.
- It is easy to let political opinions overshadow identity in the Christ.

Overload:
-The information and ideas in DC is overwhelming. The news always seems urgent and in your face, there are always conflicting reports and opinions, and everyone is connected by technology (for most hill staffers that is a blackberry).
-Most People rarely take a moment to quiet themselves on capitol hill, it is either work hard or party hard. I've noticed people in my office often comment on how fast time flies by.
- The amount of things that need to be "fixed" and the amount of ways to "fix" them outnumber the cherry blossoms.


I feel like this semester has been a great learning experience and I can't wait to take my lessons back home. I have often felt stilted here. Like I am always waiting, learning, investigating but never acting. I am anxious to be back where I can be productive. The minister of the church I have been attending recently commented that although it will be difficult, it is not to late to be the person God intended. I go back to Charleston with this resolve, that just because it is senior year it is not too late to be the college student God wants.

A List

If you know me as more than a casual acquaintance I'm sure you might have noticed a enjoy a good list. So I have tried to include on this blog a series of lists to enlighten you on my Semester in Washington DC.

Getting Out of Town:

• Alexandria, VA- Good Breakfast, Cute Shopping, Historic flare, Christ Church
  
• New York City- Neon Lights, multicultural, sights to see, Mary Poppins on Broadway, good eating, sleeping on a hotel floor
• Philadelphia, PA- Foundations of our Country, Liberty bell, great breakfast, not-so-scary ghost tours.
• Fredricksburg, VA- The University of Mary Washington, Visiting a new old friend, small-town charm, arts and crafts, my host Lindsey
  

People of Mention I have Met at Work:

• A Delegation of Minsters from the Republic of Srpska
• Own Patterson- Member of U.K. Parliament. Represents Northern Ireland.
• Prime Minster Gordan Brown- okay so maybe I just heard him speak
  
• Tiperu Nusura- Member of Pakistani Parliament
• Yesmeem Rehman - Member of East African Parliament
  
• Prime Minister Hashim Thaci- Kosovo

People of similar merit but less fanfare I have met at work

• Emmanuel Cober- walked 400 miles from Myrtle Beach to D.C.
• Blythwood Middle School 8th Graders!
• A Mother from Columbia, SC who lost her son to the war in Iraq
• A happy group of national guard members
• The entire Richland County Council
  
• A Farmer from Lexington

Words to describe Inauguration:

• crowded
• apocalyptic
  
• exciting
• cold
• patriotic
• dangerous
• star-studded

Bands I have Seen in DC getting my thumbs up

• These United States
  
• Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
• Bishop Allen

Eating Out In DC.

• Moby Dick House of Kabob
• Malaysian Restaurant
• Busboys and poets
• Ben's Chili Bowl
  
• Jaleo
  
• Maggiano's Little Italy
• Wok and Roll
  
• Hawk and Dove- 12 wings $2 Tuesdays and 1/2 Burger Sundays
• Teaism
  
• Pizzeria Paradiso

Theatre I have seen in DC!!

• Avenue Q- Not a family friendly Musical but full of laughs.
  
• Delicate Balance at Arena Stage - I'm so tired of plays about being a whiny privileged white person. But I understand why it might be entertaining.
  
• Eurydice at Round House. Very beautiful and modern without a weird contemporary message that goes against everything I stand for.
• Winter's Tale at the Folger Library- I didn't know I was such a big Shakespear Fan. It was a really fun night.
  

National Community Church. My Sundays in DC

• Seeking in the shadows- that is how they describe the reason they like the atmosphere of a theatre. People can come and seek in the dark theatre and then become involved in the Church as the Lord leads
• Scars- the current sermon series that speaks about how we scar ourselves through disobidence. It is not to late to be the person God intended, and it is painful and tough to heal from scars and wounds.
  
• Small groups - They have a new push for small groups that convicts me to get more involved when I am back in Charleston.
  
• Sacrificing- They are always pushing the congregation to sacrifce their time, money and talents.
  
• You must be in scripture- every sundsay the minister stresses this!
  

What I won't Miss

• The Federal Government
• The expensive living
• DCers obsession with alchohol
  
• CROWDED SUPERMARKETS
• Going sans Car
  

The members of the house by floor

1. Alex, Adam, Johnny, Jared
2. Leigh, Sophia, Jen, Regina, Jess
3. Katie, Liz, Emily, Sanaz, LouAnee
   

Sights I still Want to See

• Freer Gallery
  
• Sackler Art Gallery
• FDR memorial
• Postal Museum
• Phillips Collection
• American Art Museum
• Spy Museum
• Mt. Vernon

Movies we have seen at our Favorite Indie Theatre E-Street

• Two Lovers
• Revolutionary Road
• The Reader

Books on My Desk

• TimeOut DC
• The Chronological Study Bible NKJV
• An American Life: The Biography of Condolezza Rice

Current Topics I wish to NEVER Hear About Again

• AIG
• Stimulus Package
• Bail Out
• 2nd Amendment Rights
• Earmarks
• Anti-Amnesty
  

Inauguration for us common folk

You have probably seen some inauguration pictures on the Internet, television, or in print. You've seen the masses of people from the viewpoint of a satellite, you've seen Beyonce raise her eyebrows to new heights while performing at the inauguration concert, and you have seen the somber expression of Obama as he accepted the hardiest job in America.

My blog will offer you a new view of the inauguration, the view from below.
And I must say, it was a great view.

Inauguration Concert at the Lincoln Memorial

This is the view of the mob walking towards the Lincoln Memorial to see Hollywood descend upon D.C. We actually made it closer than this and thankfully we got to the other side of the trees. The giant screens could be seen through the heads of the people in front of us, and with the use of my wonderful binoculars I could even see the performers.

A sight to see if you need to........

Here is a view any average Jane will never forget from the 2009 inauguration. 5,000 port-o-johns were provided by the inaugural committee. Some people attempted to climb on top of the portable potties to get a better view. Others like me tried to avoid walking to closely!

Rolling up in a Metro. Don't Hate.

We went to the SC inaugural state ball. We got a lot of strange looks on the metro, but we got there faster than those taking a limo. We also volunteered some of our time to work the event in order to get an invite, but at least we did it all looking as sharp as the VIPs.

I wonder if Obama even woke up as early as we did.

We went to bed at 2am and woke up at 4:30am. Then we stood in the freezing cold from 6am-1pm. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT.

No helicopter for the common folk. We did consider crowd surfing.

A Short Trip Around The Nation's Capital

In order to help us prepare us for big city living and force us to get to know each other our program director sent us out on an all day picture scavenger hunt of the city. I am including the highlights.

The set-up: The 14 of us split into 4 groups. My group included Emily and Johnny. We were then given a list of sites that had point values, a whole evening to plan, and a one day metro pass! Emily was our unofficial team leader and did pretty much all of the planning and energizing of the team. But morning of it turned out Emily had to stay around the house for an interview so Johnny and I were left to fend for ourselves until Emily came back at the end to save us.


I guess we will work backwards because I do not know how to move the pictures. This was our last stop. Ben's Chili Bowl in the Shaw neighborhood. This is an up and coming diverse neighborhood that many of Obama's new staffers have moved to. Mr. Obama ate here just the other day!

Right next to Ben's Chili bowl is the Lincoln Theatre. That teddy bear in the middle acted as Emily's stand in. If you look closely you will see that it has a name tag and everything.

Emily's Triumphant return to the fold in front of the African American Civil War Memorial.


Johnny and stand in Emily in the Panda House at the National Zoo!

Hanging out with stand in Emily on Embassy Row with Ghandi.

Spontaneous Oral Histories

A Quick Explanation: I started this blog to complete an assignment in my Technology for Teachers class. You might notice that my first post is an assignment I created about federalist and anti-federalists. I thought that the title History Alive still fits my current situation as a intern in Washington D.C. Not only is our nations capitol pack full of history, it is also a historically important time. You can tune into my blog to find out what I am up to and maybe learn a little about history and current affairs.

More than a monument: Sight seeing in D.C.

This has been a blessed first weekend in Washington D.C. My parents were kind enough to escort me up here and do a little sight-seeing. Today we got our Smithsonian on, walked the National Mall and took a moonlight trolley tour of D.C. Our first stop in today's chilly weather was the new WWII memorial which sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It is a beautiful and simple memorial with pillars with the names of each state (including American Samoa and the Philippines) that sent soldiers to fight the Tyranny in Japan, Germany or Italy. The monument also has a stirring wall with 4,000 gold stars each representing 100 soldiers killed in battle. The best part of the memorial is clearly the two Harry S Truman Quotes.

While admiring one of the fountains decorated with the names of key battles in the Pacific theatre we were approached by a senior adult bearing a clip board and a smile. The man wore a cap covered in pins and reading U.S.S Hector. A small America flag stuck out from his 1980s purple and white ski coat. He asked if anyone in our family served in the war and my father explained that my uncle Weldon was killed at the battle or St. Lo and my grandaddy was a sea bee in the Pacific. He then handed us a card that listed the website where you can search, add and edit the registry of those who served in the war. Here is a link in case you are interested http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp&subpage=intro.

On his clipboard was a copy of his entry on the registry and a picture of the Navy Repair Ship he served on during the war. My dad commented that he still looked like his picture as a young Navy recruit. At this he laughed and proudly admitted that Saturday will be his 91st birthday. He explained that he joined the Navy in 1942 and was stationed on the U.S.S. Hector as a radio operator. His unit was given the special project of scrambling radio transmissions before the battle of Okinawa so that the Japanese would not listen in on America's plans to capture the island. He went onto describe his life after the war working for the government. He invented the brushless engine that NASA used to send satellites into space. The very same engine was used for the Mars Rover and most recently for the electric car! He explained that to see his first prototype we need merely walk down to the air and space museum walk in the entrance and look to the right. He explained that the biggest mistake of his life was getting frustrated in a meeting with NASA and storming out of the room. We thanked him for his service and in true form my dad added that Jesus loved him. To this the man confidently replied "Oh, I know he does."

I am so thankful to have heard this amazing story. As time marches on, we lose our last remaining WWII veterans, making this spontaneous oral history session all the more priceless.

Check him out on the internet.
http://madisonwhoswho.com/member_profile.php?id=148737&f=1

Mom and Dad in front of the WWII Memorial

Mom and I in front of the gorgeous Sunset at the Washington Monument

On a lighter note: My dad carries a pocket knife with him everywhere he goes. He didn't realize that in order to enter most buildings in D.C. you have to go through security. So, at both the museum of U.S. history and the Museum of Natural history he descretely stashed his knife in the bushes and fished it out again after we were through. You know you're a redneck if....