Blogs from Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 6

First off, I decided to head to the Capitol Building as I had only seen the back of it, when taking a walk a couple of days earlier. I would liked to have gone inside, but they are very strict and with the high humidity I was unwilling to give up my bottle of water for their no liquids policy. So I settled on taking a walk around the outside. The Capitol Building or to give it its proper name, the United States Capitol sits atop Capitol Hill and is home to the United States Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the US federal government. The building is huge and very elegant looking. I was a bit gutted that some restoration/construction work was going on, meaning that in my photos the bottom half ... read more

How many Americans does it take to change a lightbulb?. 2. One to change the lightbulb, one to wave the flag. Seriously, the relationship with the flag is overpowering. You buy a toothbrush (made with imported materials) and it has the flag on it. A homeless person sleeping under a tarpaulin has a flag on their belongings. The Washington monument is surrounded by flags which he would never have seen (50 stars not 13). About 1 in 10 are wearing some item of Stars and Stripes clothing. Television ads are 50% medical products, 30% dog products(including dog medical) and the rest about credit services. Inbetween are old movies and bad reality tV. The collections in the national gallery are almost obscene in their opulence. A room of el Greco, a room of Raphael, 2 rooms of ... read more

Ah my dear friends and family: You know what they say about all of the best laid plans... In my last post, I detailed the plans and path surrounding my Master's International candidacy and upcoming Peace Corps service. That post marked my original departure date as July 22, but - as many of you have been aware - that date was later moved to, well, Thursday, July 14. That being the case, I think all of us expected this post to look a little different than it's about to. This platform seemed the most appropriate to make my final, firm announcement that those plans - yet again - have changed. On June 30, I received a phone call from Peace Corps explaining to me that my legal clearance had not been processed due to an administrative ... read more

Getting to know my group members. Lots of techies! About ready to board. Full belly after saw an Oreo shake that was calling my name. This should be a great adventure. ... read more

It is not like we planned to spend a week outside of D.C. it just kind of happened. I wasn't even suppose to tag along at all, but after signing up for an event in the City on Saturday we figured we would head on down to D.C., do a little exploring in the afternoon and return Monday after the SCHEDULED eye doctors appointment. Sounds so nice and simple, so how did I end up spending a week in D.C.! Since Derik is in the military he can't just go to just any doctor to get an eye consultation, oh no. No he has to go all the way down to Walter Reed Medical Facility right outside of D.C. to be told whether or not his eyes are compatible with LASIK or PRK. Although originally I ... read more