Wrapping up Washington

It's ridiculous to think that it's been four months and two weeks since I left Washington, DC. It's also ridiculous to realize that this has also been the length of my summer break. That's right: thanks to the differences between the semester and quarter system, after four months, class is just now about to begin at Santa Clara. Tomorrow morning, I will fully accept that I will not be leading quite the glamorous life that I had just a year ago. Instead, I'm back in California, beginning my senior year of college. 

Wow.

So, with this reality becoming absolutely inescapable, I'm going to finish this blog now.

We returned to Washington happy to be back but also somewhat sad, knowing that we only had two to three weeks left in the District of Columbia. Between class and my research paper on the role of religious rhetoric and religious leaders in the Cyprus conflict, I was very busy and not sleeping much. (Notice a pattern yet?) But I wanted to take advantage of everything there was to see, and so I got to enjoy my last few weeks at American University.

A friend and I rented bicycles and rode through the city,
along the Potomac River, and down to the National Mall.
And no, I didn't bike into the river this time, thank you
very much (long story).

The Foreign Service Institute: the location of my internship!

Ahmed and Lopo, goofing around during our last lunch break at ADST.

It was actually a pretty spot - too bad we were stuck in
front of computers the whole time...

The mesmerizing escalators of the DC Metro. I am so proud
of myself for never once falling down these - even while
running in heels!

Some friends and I got to attend a talk with Ian MacKaye, lead
singer of the bands Minor Threat and Fugazi. This was really
exciting for me.

A group of friends and I attended an all-day music festival near Baltimore.
Jens, me, Laura, Alejandro, and Lopo

And while we were waiting, I made everyone take an album cover photo!

I was definitely sad to leave Washington. Surviving the trying class that was PCR led to some really great friendships. And unfortunately, these friends were from all over the country and the world. It was really hard for me to leave all of these wonderful people: friends, my lovely roommates, classmates, hilariously ridiculous floormates, the guy I was dating, and my fellow interns. I'm so glad to have met all of them, and I'm especially glad that I made the decision to go to Washington.


Oh, and yes, I happened to be in Washington the night that Osama Bin Laden was killed. We actually went straight from the festival to the White House - not to celebrate but to observe the craziness. I've never heard so many rounds of the Star-Spangled Banner or "USA! USA! USA!" It was an interesting night and quite a way to end my DC experience.