Only one more week left in DC until my program ends! I can’t believe how fast time has passed. I’m upload a few more pictures and a final queue because at least for now we’re drawing down to the end.
At least blogging will make for a nice reprieve from the 3 papers I have to write to the End the Semester.
So this morning, I had the opportunity thanks to Wash U to take a tour of the White House. It was a self-guided tour, so we got to see many of the cool areas and rooms in the East Wing. More on that next post.
My favorite moment though: seeing the President’s dog, Bo. He is shown here in his official portrait—but he’s actually a lot bigger than that now. I used to have a smaller dog and Bo was about twice his size. Maybe about 45 poundsish? This is how it happened:
Me: DJ, look it’s BO OBAMA!!!!!
DJ: Uh, dude, it’s probably not him.
Me: But what other dogs can walk around the White House?
Matt: *laughs*
DJ: Good point.
He was well trained and only around us for a few moments. He was following the Secret Service guy into a marked off area—but all of the tourists were in for a treat. Maybe it’s a common occurrence but how cool is it to see the White House Dog?!
I sit atop the steps below the Capitol Dome. Not much else to say here. It was a bit of a cloudy day when this photo was shot. Not nearly as nice as the nighttime shot a few posts below.
This is where I have been working. Not sure if I’ve shown this year… but my office is in the Russell Senate Building. So every day, I take the train to Union Station and get a nice walk to Russell before starting my morning duties.
So I like to take as many walks during the weekends as possible to keep exercising and see some of the going ons around my area in DC. Since I”ll only be here for a while, it makes sense to explore the area. Here are some pictures (and captions) from one of my walks. I hope you enjoy, just click on the pictures to see the captions.
In particular, the Planned Parenthood Shot (which isn’t very good), had the greatest impact on me. There are people that stand out there every single day trying to dissuade individuals from getting an abortion. What a difficult thing for a person to walk through into the building. That on top of an already difficult situation. I don’t know the right call on that one—which is to say, what side would I fall on—but the whole thing seems very hard and sad, with the protestors making it even more difficult.
A view the East of Capitol Hill—at night. Taken after seeing Othello.
Time to recap some of the other things that I’ve done while in DC! I went to a baseball game with some friends. We saw the Nationals play and lose. It was an awesome experience for the ball park though!
It was my first time having Shake Shack, there was a fireworks show afterwards and there was awesome live music played throughout the entire night. The seventh inning stretch, the Presidents Race, was really funny to watch: the gist is that Teddy never wins. You always hope that he will—and he always seems to get close but it never happens.
There was even a “Let Teddy Win” Campaign at the end of the Nationals last ballpark (which was recently demolished), but that failed to deliver Teddy the “W.” Maybe if they win the World Series or make the Playoffs?
Anyway, this was an awesome night—happened around late September, when the Nationals were already way out of the running.
So last night I took a night off from the usual student activities to catch a play at the Fulger Shakespeare Library. They have 3 plays per year and chose to start this year’s play off with Othello. I’m an English major, so sometimes I enjoy doing artsy activities, if only once in a while (like poetry readings, plays, etc).
For those who haven’t read the play in some high school class, Othello is a tragedy about a black Turkish man who weds a Christian Venice white woman. This version takes place during the crusades—and Othello is the general of the Crusader Army (against the Turks). There is an interesting dynamic set due to the race and religious relationship between the “Moor” and the others due to these differences.
One of the more memorable characters, is the sinister Iago, who is the character that puts most of the play into action. He is witty, hilarious and pretty evil. His goal throughout is to take the place of Othello and his Lieutenant, Cassio. To do so, he plays on the “green-eyed monster” of Othello’s jealousy for his wife Desdemona. Does Iago end up winning out or does true love conqueror all?
Well, if you know Shakespeare the answer is: they all are (mostly) killed. I won’t ruin exactly what happens, but it is definitely one of my favorite plays for all the reasons mentioned. The set last nice was awesome: a sort of Arabian scene as well as usage of the middle aisle near the audience. Though it is always hard to understand Shakespeare, the performance of the actors makes it all the easier. If you are in Washington in the next month and have an evening to spare to culture, I’d recommend seeing Othello.
