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| First, some snow. |
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| Snow! (And my dorm, Capital Hall) |
Through Santa Clara, I'm participating in the Washington Semester program at American University. I'm living in the dorms here on the international campus, which is about a 20-minute walk or a quick shuttle ride from the main campus. Though we're kind of far from campus, we are closer to stores and the Tenleytown Metro stop (DC's subway, which we take on a daily basis for classes, internships, and fun times).
We're not downtown, but we are still in the District of Columbia. It's a pretty nice location, actually, fairly residential and safe. And then, as we walk between Tenley campus and main campus, we pass the Swedish and Japanese Embassies, NBC News, and the Department of Homeland Security. And that's just the stuff that's obvious... (who knows about all of DC's top secrets?) Oh, and American University is ranked as the #1 most politically active campus in America. Yup, I'm definitely in the middle of everything here - and I love it.
There are 400 or so students participating in the Spring Washington Semester, from all over the country and the world (about which, yes, I expressed.my excitement before), in one of 14 (I think?) different programs related to politics or international issues. I made the wise choice to participate in the Peace and Conflict Resolution, which I absolutely love. Our professor is an expert in the field (currently involved in 4 different international conflicts) whom we call "Lefty" because we have too many problems pronouncing his Greek name properly.
In this program, though, classes are a little different. I'm only technically taking a class, but it's a class to which we devote our entire Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. (Also, I'm doing a research project here, so that's another class in itself, but also with Lefty and writing this 50-page paper on a PCR topic). But the main class is not just some boring, predictable class with set hours from week to week. Instead, we have more standard classes some days, speakers during others, and visits to museums thrown in every so often. For example, last week:
- Wednesday: first class on campus from: 9 am - 3:30 pm
- Thursday: visit to the Library of Congress, lunch, and meeting for the research project: 9 am - 3:00 pm
- Friday: visit to the Holocaust Museum and meeting a survivor: 9 am - 3:30 pm
Obviously, it was an interesting first week. Friday was a little depressing, but one thing that I've found very encouraging is the attitude of the people we've met thus far. I haven't seen much of the jaded and corrupt Washington sleazeballs that you might expect. That's not to say that they don't exist, but I'm glad to have already heard from people involved in Peace and Conflict Resolution who are still optimistic after decades of working in DC. It gives me hope for my own future as a Poli Sci major who wants to make a difference in the world and not just become a part of the messed-up system.
Working alongside so many other interesting, interested students is really encouraging, too. People are interested in the world! We had a little group watching the Daily Show in the dorm last night, and something as simple as that made me really happy.
Or then, last Friday, there was a massive event on campus. The Westboro Baptist Church (the religious crazies who have been going around protesting at soldiers' funerals with their hateful, homophobic signs) protested American University itself. And being a political campus, the students and the university rallied right back with a show of support for all its students. The turnout was fantastic and encouraging, with hot chocolate and a cappella performances and hilarious/thoughtful signs. I was thrilled to see such a positive display at the university, countering the destructive attempts of the seven people across the street from campus.
And we've been going around Washington, hitting up a few events and museums, and it's just all been so interesting. I'm so glad to be here.
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