Sometimes I feel like I'm in a parallel universe; time moves quickly here. If you were to ask me how I spent the last week, I'd struggle to find the words to describe anything--but I'd rather struggle and repeat those struggles here than not at all.
And here we are with today. Where I do my work until lunch, where I can then sit in the park next to Commodore John Barry's statue and write, where I can then go back indoors and work, go to class, and then have meaningful conversations about the future with people who have experienced something similar to life.
There's a meticulous mechanism, a routine that goes on around here; it is nutty. Really it is! But I'm getting used to it. If I got stuck here, if this was my all, it wouldn't be so bad. I don't think I'd feel so lost about things. I'd just tell folks that "Hey, look! I'm doing things here. Watch me as I figure this whole life thing out."
But I love to just walk around aimlessly. It seems to be my favorite. In a city like this, you'll never know what you'll come across until you've already crossed it.
So let's talk about (last) Wednesday! I found myself in Chinatown for the first time! It is such a bright part of town and, of course, smells great. However, I went to place called Clyde's (not Asian in the slightest) to get a bite to eat with my mentor for the program; Isela! Clyde's itself looked like a bar from 20's and gave off a Great Gatsby feel. It had wood siding and high ceilings! I'd like to go back there at some point, don a crazy dress and dance the night away. Anyways, my mentor and I chatted away while other mentor-mentees did the same. To be as young as she was and working in DC, I was impressed with her and maybe gained what one might call hope for my own future.
The rest of the week I spent working, which is kind of hilarious. I feel like half the time I'm productive and know what I am doing and then other half of the time I'm trying to figure out how to keep up this effective yuppie charade and work on my projects. I actually prefer to write grants and do social media over the more technical things, haaaaaaaa--imagine that.
Thursday, I actually spent a couple of hours at the D.C. Superior Court's corridors. I attended a meeting for mental health diversion, and it was pretty fabulous!
Friday, I spent my day in class and then explored the city for a few hours (after realizing I'd left my keys/ids in my dorm). I toured the Textile Museum, sneaked into GWU's law school (interesting story that is), found the cutest second hand book store,where I bought a copy of Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent, andddddddddddd found myself in a French cafe.
My conversation with the waitress went like this:
Waitress: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Oh, um, Arkansas."
Waitress: "Which country is that?"
Me: "Like in America...in the South. Think cowboy boots and farms...country-western.
Waitress: "Ohhhhhhhhh, I love country people!"
*In defense of the poor girl, she was from Ethiopia--so she wasn't necessarily familiar with all 50 states of the grand ole U.S. of A.
From there, I found my way to Massachusetts avenue, where I encountered a ton of embassies! I crashed the Korean Embassy;alas, no one there knew what I was saying. The Cote d'Ivoire Embassy was much more interesting (massive) and had a cool exhibit going on!
The rest of my weekend is history besides exploring the city, being young, and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time (that Holly character is really something).
This current week has lagged a bit (I'm started to feel like a real member of the workforce.), but it is nothing I can't handle. Life is just project after project and the bagels (and the millions of summer birthdays) in between. Yes, you can quote me on that. Yesterday, however, was the quite the day! My favorite Jew roommate's birthday was the cause for celebration, so like any good explorers we ate quality shawarma, smoked some hookah, and found a pie place/ "lonely hearts" kind of bar (really, really it had nothing on the South. I misssss pieeeeee).
My conversation with the waitress went like this:
Waitress: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Oh, um, Arkansas."
Waitress: "Which country is that?"
Me: "Like in America...in the South. Think cowboy boots and farms...country-western.
Waitress: "Ohhhhhhhhh, I love country people!"
*In defense of the poor girl, she was from Ethiopia--so she wasn't necessarily familiar with all 50 states of the grand ole U.S. of A.
From there, I found my way to Massachusetts avenue, where I encountered a ton of embassies! I crashed the Korean Embassy;alas, no one there knew what I was saying. The Cote d'Ivoire Embassy was much more interesting (massive) and had a cool exhibit going on!
The rest of my weekend is history besides exploring the city, being young, and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time (that Holly character is really something).
This current week has lagged a bit (I'm started to feel like a real member of the workforce.), but it is nothing I can't handle. Life is just project after project and the bagels (and the millions of summer birthdays) in between. Yes, you can quote me on that. Yesterday, however, was the quite the day! My favorite Jew roommate's birthday was the cause for celebration, so like any good explorers we ate quality shawarma, smoked some hookah, and found a pie place/ "lonely hearts" kind of bar (really, really it had nothing on the South. I misssss pieeeeee).
And here we are with today. Where I do my work until lunch, where I can then sit in the park next to Commodore John Barry's statue and write, where I can then go back indoors and work, go to class, and then have meaningful conversations about the future with people who have experienced something similar to life.
There's a meticulous mechanism, a routine that goes on around here; it is nutty. Really it is! But I'm getting used to it. If I got stuck here, if this was my all, it wouldn't be so bad. I don't think I'd feel so lost about things. I'd just tell folks that "Hey, look! I'm doing things here. Watch me as I figure this whole life thing out."
But I love to just walk around aimlessly. It seems to be my favorite. In a city like this, you'll never know what you'll come across until you've already crossed it.
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| From the exhibit! |
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| Busboys and Poets! |
P.S. (Next post will mention violins and running in the rain!)
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