(no subject)
My Spring Break is going amazingly! I've done so much in the last... has it only been four days? There's so much to do and see in DC that I've decided one visit could never be enough. I'm totally spoiled by all the free museums, not to mention I'm here for the beginning of cherry blossom season!
But the overwhelming kindness and generosity of my friends is what has truly made this trip wonderful. I came here with almost no concrete plans and have been abundantly cared for every step of the way. I love my friends. You are my greatest blessings in this life.
Here is a brief rundown of my exploits.
Sunday: I arrive at Dulles at about 9 pm, and Lasa meets me at the airport. She is even better in person! Her eyes are full of joy and warmth. She takes me to her beautiful house, near the city yet surrounded by gorgeous woods, introduces me to her kind husband and her hyper and loving terrier, and shows me her studio and her portfolio of knitting patterns she's designed and sold. I sleep in her spacious guest room under an amazing mural of a tree that she did herself.
Monday: Lasa and I get up early to take the bus to the city. She gives me a personal tour of the Mall, benevolently amused at my perpetual awe. We see the Geology exhibit of the Museum of Natural History, a very little of the National Gallery of Art (including a DaVinci and two Van Goghs), all of the new American Indian Museum, and highlights of the Air and Space Museum, including the Treasures of American History exhibit, which contains such wonderful things as Lincoln's top hat and Dorothy's ruby slippers. We go home and make dinner: I pull off Spinach and Chickpea Curry, she makes that one salad with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella which tastes like summer, and we top it off with decadent chocolate cake and wine from a local vineyard. We have Good Conversation for the rest of the evening until I, worn out by her energetic tour, must go to bed.
Tuesday: Lasa drives me to the bus station before work and I go to the city by myself this time. I aim to see several more sights that day but end up spending most of my time in the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I would highly recommend it; it has an incredible amount of stuff presented in a way that feels powerful and... as comprehensible as these things can be, I guess. I also see a little bit more of the National Gallery, including their exhibit of Renaissance bronzes, all on classical themes of course. It starts to rain lightly on the bus ride home, and Lasa heats up two kinds of soup that she made with her daughter last time she was home. After dinner, we soak in her hot tub surrounded by the aforesaid gorgeous woods, with more local wine. We talk for hours about faith, her kids, and marriage, until it's time for bed again.
Wednesday: Lasa and I say our goodbyes bright and early. :( I ride downtown again, since Saira just happens to work right by Capitol Hill. While she works, I go to the National Archive, which Robyn has highly recommended to me. I have to wait an hour and a half to get in, but it's so worth it! [Edit: Forgot to mention that it's also the anniversary of the Iraq War, and just as I am going in to the Archive building, a Veterans Against the War demonstration starts outside.] I get to see the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and enough presidential memorabilia to keep me occupied for the whole day. I meet Saira at the Department of Ed at the end of the day and become another volunteer tutor for an hour. Then we commute back to her apartment and make a delicious quiche for dinner, and again we talk until I pretty much fall over.
Yesterday: Saira has to work again. I see her to her office building, which is right next to the Supreme Court, then walk to the Folger Shakespeare Library a couple blocks away. I get to see a First Folio and a sweet exhibit about the conscious creation of modern British history. My favorite part is a woodcut about the Gunpowder Plot, which graphically depicts the conspirators being hung and disemboweled and their heads impaled on spikes. Saira and I go out for Japanese on her lunch break. Then I check out the Library of Congress, not really knowing what to expect... man, it looks like a palace in there! Everything is made of marble and gold and stained glass, every available surface covered with highly symbolic sculptures and paintings. There is a hallway the tourists don't go down because it leads to various meeting rooms, but I idly wandered in and it's lined with life-size paintings of the nine Muses. And this is all just the entrance hall! We got to look into the Reading Room from above. When I come back, I am so getting a card just so I can get in there. I am also seriously considering making "become the first female Librarian of Congress" my new life goal. So I hung out there until Saira got off of work, and we went to meet Bitsy and see her apartment. Henry joined us at a cool gay and lesbian bookstore in their neighborhood, and then we went to a chocolate tasting and out to Ethiopian food. Didn't get home until 11:00 and, you guessed it, I immediately fell over asleep again.
Today: I got to sleep late! We're pretty much vegging today. That and getting the apartment ready for Saira's mom to come back from Pakistan tonight. I'm so excited. I love her family. Maybe I'll learn another amazing recipe.
The near future may hold: Seeing pandas at the zoo, meeting up with Meg (maybe for church on Easter Sunday), convincing Bitsy and Henry to play hooky from work and go to the Postal Museum with us, thrift store shopping, pizza, and more!
Love you all! Hope you're having a fabulous Holy Week/Spring!
But the overwhelming kindness and generosity of my friends is what has truly made this trip wonderful. I came here with almost no concrete plans and have been abundantly cared for every step of the way. I love my friends. You are my greatest blessings in this life.
Here is a brief rundown of my exploits.
Sunday: I arrive at Dulles at about 9 pm, and Lasa meets me at the airport. She is even better in person! Her eyes are full of joy and warmth. She takes me to her beautiful house, near the city yet surrounded by gorgeous woods, introduces me to her kind husband and her hyper and loving terrier, and shows me her studio and her portfolio of knitting patterns she's designed and sold. I sleep in her spacious guest room under an amazing mural of a tree that she did herself.
Monday: Lasa and I get up early to take the bus to the city. She gives me a personal tour of the Mall, benevolently amused at my perpetual awe. We see the Geology exhibit of the Museum of Natural History, a very little of the National Gallery of Art (including a DaVinci and two Van Goghs), all of the new American Indian Museum, and highlights of the Air and Space Museum, including the Treasures of American History exhibit, which contains such wonderful things as Lincoln's top hat and Dorothy's ruby slippers. We go home and make dinner: I pull off Spinach and Chickpea Curry, she makes that one salad with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella which tastes like summer, and we top it off with decadent chocolate cake and wine from a local vineyard. We have Good Conversation for the rest of the evening until I, worn out by her energetic tour, must go to bed.
Tuesday: Lasa drives me to the bus station before work and I go to the city by myself this time. I aim to see several more sights that day but end up spending most of my time in the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I would highly recommend it; it has an incredible amount of stuff presented in a way that feels powerful and... as comprehensible as these things can be, I guess. I also see a little bit more of the National Gallery, including their exhibit of Renaissance bronzes, all on classical themes of course. It starts to rain lightly on the bus ride home, and Lasa heats up two kinds of soup that she made with her daughter last time she was home. After dinner, we soak in her hot tub surrounded by the aforesaid gorgeous woods, with more local wine. We talk for hours about faith, her kids, and marriage, until it's time for bed again.
Wednesday: Lasa and I say our goodbyes bright and early. :( I ride downtown again, since Saira just happens to work right by Capitol Hill. While she works, I go to the National Archive, which Robyn has highly recommended to me. I have to wait an hour and a half to get in, but it's so worth it! [Edit: Forgot to mention that it's also the anniversary of the Iraq War, and just as I am going in to the Archive building, a Veterans Against the War demonstration starts outside.] I get to see the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and enough presidential memorabilia to keep me occupied for the whole day. I meet Saira at the Department of Ed at the end of the day and become another volunteer tutor for an hour. Then we commute back to her apartment and make a delicious quiche for dinner, and again we talk until I pretty much fall over.
Yesterday: Saira has to work again. I see her to her office building, which is right next to the Supreme Court, then walk to the Folger Shakespeare Library a couple blocks away. I get to see a First Folio and a sweet exhibit about the conscious creation of modern British history. My favorite part is a woodcut about the Gunpowder Plot, which graphically depicts the conspirators being hung and disemboweled and their heads impaled on spikes. Saira and I go out for Japanese on her lunch break. Then I check out the Library of Congress, not really knowing what to expect... man, it looks like a palace in there! Everything is made of marble and gold and stained glass, every available surface covered with highly symbolic sculptures and paintings. There is a hallway the tourists don't go down because it leads to various meeting rooms, but I idly wandered in and it's lined with life-size paintings of the nine Muses. And this is all just the entrance hall! We got to look into the Reading Room from above. When I come back, I am so getting a card just so I can get in there. I am also seriously considering making "become the first female Librarian of Congress" my new life goal. So I hung out there until Saira got off of work, and we went to meet Bitsy and see her apartment. Henry joined us at a cool gay and lesbian bookstore in their neighborhood, and then we went to a chocolate tasting and out to Ethiopian food. Didn't get home until 11:00 and, you guessed it, I immediately fell over asleep again.
Today: I got to sleep late! We're pretty much vegging today. That and getting the apartment ready for Saira's mom to come back from Pakistan tonight. I'm so excited. I love her family. Maybe I'll learn another amazing recipe.
The near future may hold: Seeing pandas at the zoo, meeting up with Meg (maybe for church on Easter Sunday), convincing Bitsy and Henry to play hooky from work and go to the Postal Museum with us, thrift store shopping, pizza, and more!
Love you all! Hope you're having a fabulous Holy Week/Spring!