entering the world of a washingtonian

I'm finally here (as of yesterday) and I am surprised to announce that I am in love with D.C. Maybe a part of that contributes to the fact that no snow is on the ground (except for a few patches) and I walked outside in a light jacket this morning without feeling death. Another part is that I feel in my element...for some reason I love the city atmosphere, from the busy sidewalks to the local coffee shops. It's only been two days but so much has already happened.

So for a quick brief: the plane ride here was a lot smoother than I expected. I left at 5 a.m. for the airport and landed around 3:30 p.m. (D.C. time, which is 12:30 in Cali). From the start, I met helpful people including a couple from North Carolina who owned a seafood restaurant and took a liking to me on the plane. They gave me their contact information if I visited NC and helped me find my luggage. I took a shuttle to my apartment, which is located ten minutes from the Capitol building (you can see it from our rooftop!) and climbed four floors to get to my apartment that overlooks an urban residential area. The picture to the right is across the street, very San Francisco-esque housing and all different!

I live with four other girls, three of which are involved in the American Studies program (which shares our living areas/building) and another that is involved in my program. They are all fantastic, sweet girls who have so much in store for them this semester. The journalism student (Heather) is interning with me but with the editorial department and another (Grace) with media relations at World Vision! Just a taste of some of the opportunities here!

After a welcome dinner, I kept in mind the advice to try to get out into the city and decided to take a trip to Target. Now at home, this may be an easy task. Without a car and in a new city, it's a whole other adventure. After a fifteen minute walk, two transfers on the metro and another ten minute walk...we got to Target and back in two hours. Another group got to one in three hours. Even the mundane here becomes an adventure and I love the thrill of it all!

Here's what the metro stations look like underground. You feel like you're in a different world and there's rules to learn in this world. One: One the escalator, DO NOT STAND ON THE LEFT! People will get mad and push you out of the way! Stand on the right to leave the left side open for people in a hurry. Everyone seemed to know this rule except me and I got a few impatient grunts. Two: Always have your metro pass out, you need if to access entrance to and out of the station. People are in a hurry here and get easily impatient with tourists.

The next morning was spent getting to now my other 15 classmates, with a brief lecture on how our program started. We were then assigned a scavenger hunt assignment that will last over the course of this weekend. Instead of taking photos though, we will be documenting our journey with video and posting to youtube for a competition to win coffee gift cards. Today we found, with much success even though we left our directions and addresses at home, the Watergate office building and a famous restaurant in town. We were not able to find the actual door where the Watergate scandal took place but delighted in the view of George Washington University and the Washington monument. Everywhere you walk in the city, there is some surprise to be found.

We ventured to another spot on our list, Ben's Chili Bowl. This place only offers free meals to Bill Cosby, a frequent customer and recently President Barack Obama who made a surpise visit. I order Ben's Orginial Half-Smoke which is essentially a massive chili dog with a side of potatoe chips. SO DELICIOUS! As we ate, the manager relayed to us the history of the place and how the secret service contacted him to save a seat for the then president-elect. He then introduced us to a busboy at the place who is a human calculator, really he solved problems like 17 times 30 divided by 4 in his head. There are so many interesting people here.

Our group then ended the night deciding to walk to the Capitol which was illuminated (look below!). There was no one out and it was so peaceful. We also walked to the Supreme Court before heading back to our apartments to share stories with other students and catch up with e-mails and facebook.

Tomorrow is more scavenger hunting but not before a morning trip to the Coffee shop next door, Jacob's. More to come, thanks for reading!