Inauguration

Okay, the long awaited post about my experiences at the Inauguration is finally here! Yay! I guess I'll just begin by saying that being here during this historic time of our nation's history was FREAKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

I began the day on January 20, 2009 by walking from the Barlow center down Pennsylvania Avenue and then down to the National Mall. My friends and I left at around 9:00 in the morning and joined the thousands of other people who were excitedly making their way down to the mall in eager anticipation of witnessing our next President be sworn in. My friends and I had plans to watch the inauguration at the reception being held by the Utah Delegation in the Senate Building which is actually behind the Capitol building, but before we went there, we wanted to at least see a little bit of all the craziness that was happening down on the mall. So we joined the other hoards of people making their way in that direction.

If I was looking to be a part of a crowd, I definitely found it. The streets were pretty much filled, but still moving steadily with plenty of space between people, and at that time the south end of the Mall was very busy, but still quite open. As soon as we got near the Washington Monument, however, the crowd quickly thickened into a sea of people that was difficult to navigate through. We had to change directions several times because we frequently found ourselves in spots that were so crowded that there was absolutely no way to move forward, and if we didn't turn around quickly, we would have been swallowed up in the ocean of bodies and would have been stuck out in the cold for the next 3-4 hours with the rest of the crazies.

Luckily, we were able to find loopholes and work our way through the crowd until we found ourselves on the far east end of the mall. From there we worked our way around the city until we could finally get up behind the capitol building. At about 11:15 we found the senate building, and made our way inside, went through security, up to the top floor, and found ourselves warm, comfortable, and happily enjoying cookies and hot chocolate with a nice view of some big screen tvs with a few minutes to spare before the inauguration took place.

Here is a map: you can see my route in Black. :-)

The atmosphere throughout the whole city was one of excitement and anticipation. People were cheering and clapping all the way to the mall. When President Obama took the Oath of Office, everyone was shouting and applauding and spirits were high. I do have to admit that I got warm tingly feelings all over me when I heard Obama give his inaugural address. I wasn't much of an Obama fan before I came to DC, but my opinion of him is quickly changing to one of favor. I think he will definitely bring changes to our country, and I do believe that many of them will be constructive changes that will have a favorable impact not only in our country, but also in many countries around the world that have suffered from hasty and mis-informed decisions made by the Bush administration. From our location at the top of the Hart Senate building, we were able to see President Bush's helicopter lift off from behind the Capitol and fly over the mall as a departing salute as the mantle of power was transferred to our new President.

After the inauguration a few of us decided we would try to make our way towards Pennsylvania avenue to see the parade. However, once we reached the parade route which was completely blocked off with caged barricades and check points, we saw that there were huge lines of people waiting to go through security to get into the parade area. I was tired and sore from having walked probably 6 to 7 miles that day, so I decided to head back to the Barlow Center to watch the parade on TV. I was glad that I made that decision because the parade didn't start until a couple hours after I got back home. I was able to see part of it on TV after I had eaten a nice warm lunch and had changed into comfortable clothes. I saw the Presidential motorcade make it almost to the White House, I saw Obama and Michelle get out and walk part of the parade route, but that is the last thing I remember because the next thing I knew I was waking up after having fallen asleep on the couch and the parade was almost over.

Later that evening, a few of my friends and I walked down to Georgetown to see if we could see any movie stars because we are only a block or two away from the Four Seasons Hotel where many famous people stay and then go shopping in Georgetown. But apparently all those fancy people were already attending exclusive inaugural Balls somewhere else because we didn't see anyone. So we went to this cute little french cafe and had hot chocolate.

I am so glad that I was able to be here for this event. I think I picked a great semester to be here in Washington. A lot of people on the news remarked on how "cold" it was during the inauguration, but I didn't think it was really that bad. It was probably in the low 30's, which is cold, but not as cold as many other parts of the country. And I didnt' really have to stay out in the cold that long because I watched it inside the senate building. Considering that many people who had tickets to get into the areas close to the capitol were never able to get in because they were stuck in a tunnel near the mall through the whole thing, even though what I saw of it was on a tv screen that wasn't much different than what someone in San Diego would have seen on their tv, the fact that I actually got to see what was happening as it was happening and only a block or so away from where it was happening is still pretty cool. The only bad thing about what happened is that I think I got tendonitis from walking around all day in boots that were actually pretty warm and comfortable, but were probably not made for walking around all day in. My achilles tendon in both legs have been throbbing since Wednesday morning and it hurts to walk and go up and down stairs. I guess I should have stretched my legs before and after making such a trek around the city.

Anyway, even in the few short days since the inauguration, Obama has already made some huge decisions that are definitely going to enact a lot of changes throughout the world, so I am excited to see what else will happen under the new administration.

Orientation

I am really blessed to be able to be part of BYU's Washington Seminar Program. Every day I realize even more what a fabulous opportunity this is. I have been surprised at the positive responses I have heard from people when they find out I am from Utah. One of the first things a couple people have asked when they find I am from Utah is if I go to BYU. Apparently we are well known in this city and people always have good things to say about others they have known from BYU. I am blessed to have a nice place to stay that is probably the cheapest housing in town. It is called "the Barlow Center" and it is owned by BYU specifically for the purpose of housing Washington Seminar interns. The building is also used for LDS Institute of Religion classes and for the LDS Church's government affairs offices. I have nice accomodations, even if it is a bit small, it has just enough storage and is certainly a well kept property. I am in a great location located conveniently close to a metro station, and I'm surrounded by other great interns from BYU. My roomate, Ruth, is great and we are getting along famously.

This was our first ride on the metro on our way to church.

If you would like to know more about the Washington Seminar program, check out this link:

http://washingtonseminar.byu.edu/ProspectiveStudents/information.aspx

I have had a busy first couple of days getting oriented to the city and learning more about my internship. I have learned a few interesting things about Washington DC. One humorous fact is that people here tend to freak out about the smallest chance of inclement winter weather. At my internship they said that if there is any threat of snow or ice, often the federal government will call a "delay" where they notify people coming into the city to delay their commute by 2 hours or more so people arent rushing to get through traffic, or if there really is a storm, they will shut down altogether. Now, for someone coming from Utah where we have heavy snow storms on a regular basis, this all seems a little silly, but I guess people here consider themselves more important than the weather.

Anyway, yesterday we spent the day becoming familiar with the metro system and finding our internships. I saw my first motorcade parading down Pennsylvania avenue. I'm not sure who was in the big black suburban, but they must have been pretty important because they shut down all the side streets and the suburban was accompanied by a parade of motorcycle police, an ambulance, a firetruck, and several other big black suburbans with serious looking dudes with guns looking out the windows. It might even have been the President!!

I walked by the Capitol building, bought a metro card with a commemorative photo of Barack Obama, and almost got stuck in the metro doors because they don't wait for you to move before they close. :-\

I found the place where I will be interning which is in an office 3 floors underground beneath the Smithsonian Castle. The entrance to the building is a little structure that has a roof that looks like an upside down tulip. The great thing about my location is that its one of the safest places to be if there was any kind of attack or anything. The bad thing is, that if there was an attack, I would likely be stuck underground for 3-4 days with the rest of my co-workers. So they advise us to pack an emergency bag to keep at our desks with food and water to last for a few days. Also, since I am so far underground, I get absolutely no cell phone reception, so if anyone wants to contact me while I'm working, sending me an email is probably the best way to get in touch. I am located right on the national mall, so sight-seeing after work or during lunch will be quite convenient for me.

This is the inside entrance to my office at "The Smithsonian Associates." The entrance is nice, my cubicle is okay, but my computer makes a strange sound that makes me think it is going to self-destruct in 4.5 seconds. ;-)

I learned a little bit about what I'm going to be doing, but didn't have much time to do a lot today, so I'll save the details for another post!

Visit with Family and the Battlefields at Antietam

Before beginning my internship in Washington DC, I decided to visit my family members that live in the DC area. Just before New Year's I flew in and spent some time with my in-laws who live in Virginia and West Virginia. I love this area of the country! It is so beautiful with the gentle rolling hills and trees everywhere. Right now everything is kind of brown and icky, but it is still a beautiful landscape. My father-in-law and I have an ongoing debate about whether or not the "mountains" out here on the east coast are "better" than the rocky mountains back home in Utah. I think we have agreed that though both landscapes are very different, they both have very admirable qualities that make them beautiful in their own right.

My father-in-law lives on a beautiful farm in Delaplane, Virginia. He recently acquired a flock of turkeys, chickens, and guinea hens that make all sorts of noises. Our favorite thing was to interpret what they were saying like "Who's that?! Who's That?! Who's That?!" or "Hi, Val! Hi, Val! Hi, Val!" or "Hey Frank! Hey Frank! Hey Frank!"

I love visiting this farm for many reasons. The first reason is because it is absolutely beautiful. The quaint farmhouse is so unique and has all the charm you would expect of a century-old Virginia homestead. The rolling hills are covered with trees and everywhere you look is as picturesque as a postcard. The second reason is because I love the people there. My father-in-law, John, is a great man. He always tells entertaining stories that make us laugh. Sometimes he doesn't say a lot, but what he does say is always either packed with a punch line, or very meaningful in other ways. Uncle Robert and Aunt Sally and Cousin Megan live just up the lane on the farm and I like to catch up with them whenever I stop by. I am very blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. And the third reason why I love this place so much is because it reminds me of my husband. I remember the first time he brought me to the farm and he showed me all his favorite places. I knew I was in love with him before he brought me there, but I quickly fell even more in love with him and in love with the landscape after being here a short time with him.

They say Virginia is for Lovers, and I agree. Even though Lucien is no longer here with me physically, I sense his presence here in these places that he loved so much. With that being said, though I will always love Lucien and know that he loves me, I also recognize that I need to move forward with my life and allow myself to love again. So one of the hopes that many of my family have mentioned to me is that I can find another wonderful young man who I can continue to build dreams and make memories with. Who knows... maybe he will be here in Washington DC! ;-)


Antietam, Maryland:

I found out that my mother-in-law lives just a few miles from the Antietam battlefields in Maryland, so we decided to make a little visit. If I had realized sooner that she lived so close, I would have visited before! Oh well, now I know where it is and can visit again.

For those of you who aren't U.S. History buffs, Antietam is where one of the worst battles of the Civil War was fought. It is the place where the bloodiest single day of the war took place. There were over 23,000 soldiers killed there. Other battles had more deaths, but those battles were longer in duration. The majority of these soldiers were killed in less than 12 hours. It is very sobering to see so many graves and think about what these people died for. There are a lot of graves for unknown soldiers.

To learn more about what happened here, visit the official website:

http://www.nps.gov/anti/