Reminiscing

~Sigh~ 

~That was a wonderful trip~

The smooth-riding elevator slowed to a stop and we stepped off into a small lookout area at the top of America’s oldest monument (the Washington Monument). I couldn’t help but connect the essence of our trip to this moment. It was the visual representation of so many moments up to that point.

In so many ways, our adventure to Washington D.C. was the pinnacle of excellence and growth for each of us. We were among journalist giants, both novice and professional. Just four rows in front of us, Bob Woodward spoke with authority and precision, riddled with nuggets of wisdom worth more than any mere price tag. Our students shook the hands of Jay Harris from ESPN. Marybeth Tinker was among a star-studded collection of journalists, cartoonists, producers, editors, writers, poets, graphic designers, photographers, and advisers who trained our students face-to-face. My Editor in Chief and other Editors were able to reach out to and collaborate with countless other students, editors, and professionals. These experiences were punctuated by our opportunities to “break with a pro” and our “on-site critique” in more private settings. As I’ve described before, this was collaboration and growth on steroids.

Not every expectation was met. As with anything this exhaustive, some experiences leave much to be desired. Some things were cancelled, some were overcrowded, and some weren’t quite as advertised.

However, the overwhelming breadth of learning and exploration from this trip was astounding. One student said, “This was my favorite trip of my high school years.” To this I wanted to say, “Was that worth mentioning? I think that conclusion is a given.”

I don’t mean to belittle other experiences these students have accrued throughout their education to this point. In fact, this may not have been the very best trip for every student. The opportunity for such a conclusion was possible, however. At the very least, I think they can say it was one of their greatest experiences.

I’d like to note a general sense of what we did each day. Then, I’d like to add some anecdotes at the end of this post in order to help each of our readers peer into an experience or two from our time away. 

Wed, Nov 5:

On November 5^th, we embarked to Washington D.C. from Almaty. It was a rough go of it, which included a hefty fine, a four-hour delayed flight, a fight with officials at the airport, threats to remove luggage along with snarky comments such as, “send the little girl home,” and an eventual allowance for departure coupled with a warm cup of “good luck getting back into the country” behind snarled glares.

Alas, we were off, only to discover that we needed a special escort, along with a delayed plane, to allow us to connect with our flight in London. They nearly departed with half of our group on the plane. That would have been interesting to say the least.

In the ruckus of it all, our luggage failed to arrive in Washington DC. We were given $50 and we dashed off to Walmart for our first American-culture experience.

Upon arrival at the hotel, rooms we had booked ended up not being guaranteed (we ended up getting what we wanted anyway, after a quick scare) and our cell phones did not arrive.

It was a long night.

Thursday, Nov 6:

We bustled about in various pre-convention workshops. The pre-convention workshops were varied and intense (some lasting 8 hours). I spent time with other advisers, my former mentors, my former yearbook reps, and registering students.

Thereafter, we grabbed food, if there was time, registered for the convention, acquired our sweatshirts, and went to hear Bob Woodward.

It is a shame that the students, understandably so, were too tired to absorb the content. Bob was sharp and provided both wisdom and anecdotes that will be cherished by thousands forever. In my experiences at the convention, this was the crowning moment. This was the very best the convention gave us.

Late that night, the cell phones finally arrived! Communication at last.

Most went to bed afterward, while a few of us dashed off for Lebanese food late that night.

Friday, Nov 7:

Once again we were at it first thing in the morning. Our luggage arrived around 1am Friday morning. Students dashed down the halls to rescue their kidnapped luggage. With fresh clothes, we could finally turn our attention, fully, onto the work and learning at hand.

This day was a smattering of media tour trips. Students were spread out throughout Washington D.C. and on-site. Upon their return, there were training sessions they attended, a key note address from Jay Harris, write-off competitions, and a team trivia night. They were exhausted that evening.

This was my busiest day. I was invited to breakfast in the morning with my mentor. I was busy involved in a write-off for four hours (interviewed for three straight hours). I was part of an evening of judging along with Mrs. Lawrence. I, too, found myself exhausted at the end of the day.

Saturday, Nov 8:

Sessions began as early as 8am. I had breakfast with my former yearbook reps and invited some of our AIS kids. It was a wonderful time. Thereafter, we all attended workshops. This is the busiest day for workshops. We didn’t finish until late that evening. We ended with a party to celebrate Harsha and Katie (former students of AIS, now living on the east coast) that evening and ate too much pizza.

Sunday, Nov 9:

Today was a day of packing up and going to the awards ceremony. It was hard to sit through several hours of awards and not receive any. I think the students are a bit irritated and want to get back here next year and win some awards.[hint, hint: It’s in Orlando around this time next year].

Thereafter, we were bussed to the Pentagon mall to go shopping and spend time with family and friends. We discovered that there were some problems with communication on that first day with our driver; we needed to rectify some things so as to prevent him from being reprimanded. Sophia caught up with a friend, I caught up with a former family from AIS (teacher and student) and Katie and Harsha tagged along with us.

That evening we checked into our new hotel (with additional problems of course). Confusion abounded. At last, all was clarified and we were resting up for what would be a heavy schedule of tours.

Monday, Nov 10:

The places we visited during this day were the Arlington Cemetery, The Vietnam Memorial, The Korean War Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, and Georgetown University.

In the middle of our evening tours of the monuments

We had excellent food throughout.

Tuesday, Nov 11:

In front of the White House. It seems Linda didn't want to be in the shot. ;)

The places we visited during this day were the US Capitol, Kazakh Embassy, The White House, The Jefferson Memorial, The US Marine Corps Memorial, American University, and the MLK Memorial.

We had excellent food throughout.

Wednesday, Nov 12:

The places we visited during this day were The American History Museum, Newseum, The Holocaust Museum, The Archives, The Washington Monument, Union Station, and then back to our hotel to stay in the lobby due to yet another snafu—a 6 hour delay in our flight.

We had excellent food throughout.

At 4am, Thursday, Nov 13^th, we departed for London. Once in London, we had a couple hours to soak in the final moments together on this trip and reflect. We had our final powwow and boarded the plane. Of course, our plane was delayed to inspect technical problems with the plane. After a short delay, we were on our way to Almaty.

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I cherish these trips. I feel like these are the real learning opportunities where a grade isn’t looming over anyone’s head. There’s simply an encouragement to explore and learn at one’s own pace and with one's own methods. The responsibility meter rackets up a few notches and students are left to figure out what they want to learn and when and how.

Another thing I cherish about the environment is the opportunity to communicate with young people as if they are exactly that—young people. I get to be real and human with them. There’s a leveling of the playing field, and this is something I love to see in a learning environment. Sure, I’m still the adult on the trip and there are some obligatory things still in the mix for these “students,” but it’s a far freer environment with which to learn and ask questions. Sometimes we talked about life. Sometimes we simply threw banter around. Sometimes we shared the values of relationships or learning or memorials or integrity or journalistic ethics or freedom or slavery or atrocities or dealing with pain in life or being flexible. It becomes a rich, fertile platform for learning that avoids the hindrance of things such as grades or assessments (formal) or timelines or judgements. They will have learned more in this week than I could possibly teach over many months. I think this growth I’m referencing can be mostly attributed to the freedom, differentiation, and opportunities available on a trip like ours.

 

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There are some memories I value from this excursion:

“Where is Bob?”

This story is more Mrs. Lawrence’s than mine. If you know her and have a moment, ask her to retell this story; she tells it well. Just the few minutes I was included were hilarious; I can’t imagine my story had I experienced the whole thing.

As we prepared for our first key note speaker, I asked the students to be ready by 6:15pm and grab a seat in the auditorium. There wouldn’t be enough seats that evening for the 6000+ people in attendance. The event actually started at 7:30pm and was listed in our schedule as such. Everyone was too tired to check our schedule, though. So when I said it started at 7pm (in order to get us all moving toward the auditorium and to lift spirits due to an earlier start time), no one batted an eye.

Seven o’clock came and went. Behind me I heard snickering and irritation. I soon discover that Mrs. Lawrence can hardly contain her laughter as Nastya repeats her disdain for Bob and his unprofessional ways [part sarcasm mixed with annoyance at me mixed with utter exhaustion]. “How can Bob be late? He’s a professional. He should know better. Where is Bob?” Nastya was going to lose it. Her quiet, inner rage coupled with her tired state made for a comedic moment to kick start our time in D.C.

Conversation over Lebanese dinner

A few of the students and I went to dinner after Bob’s keynote address. It was late and we were the last ones permitted to order that night. We had fun. There was humor, there were moments of lucidity despite our blood-shot, tired eyes, and there were moments of depth where I was honored to share into their lives little pieces of wisdom I’ve obtained through mine. Once again, when the pressure is off and the environment in which I am afforded communication is free, amazing things happen. While they might have felt some obligation to talk with me because I’m the adult leader, I did feel like this was one of the more genuine and potentially critical conversations of the entire trip. We discussed human psychology and rudimentary philosophy and human relations. We tapped into logical fallacies and a bit into effective communication techniques. These are the conversations that inspire me to continue. That is, in the rat race of teaching where assessments and work load and conjured conversations and boxed-in classrooms confine what is possible, every so often we can escape these restraints, either literally or figuratively and explore ideas unashamedly.

Emotions at Arlington cemetery

I’m sure most of my family and friends were quietly rooting for a surreal experience for me in Washington D.C. My propensity is to be critical of my country and I think most people find that I do this too often. I feel that nothing should rise above critique, nothing ought to be given a pass and be immune to criticism; as such, Iapply this mantra to myself, my country, my religion, etc. If said recipient of my critique is strong, accurate, and embedded in truth, and if I'm skilled enough to navigate truth and discover what is reasonable with a sound epistemology, then it ought to withstand any petty critiques on my end.

That said, I must say that my first trip to Arlington Cemetery was highly emotional. I have some loose family connections to war in or by America, but it’s mostly at arm’s length for me. We aren't a family that sends young persons to war. This experience brought it closer to those who do serve and protect. The respect and awe was overwhelming at times.

The students, ever observant as they are, chalked it up to a mood swing by yours truly when they saw my solemn and near-silent disposition throughout. They repeatedly asked me if I was doing okay.

It is difficult to convey the bevy of emotions. The multitudinous thoughts—of honor, respect, frustration, anger, determination, inspiration, etc. As with any ethnicity, being American is a complex lot.

Conversation with my EIC; I cherished it

One of the last dinners out, we were all situated in a long table across the upper floor of a Chinese restaurant in D.C. It was my lucky day to be seated across from my EIC. The conversation about religion and politics and family relations and peer relations and philosophy that ensued was something I will never forget.

Those reading this are probably imagining a “conversation” in which I dominate and talk most of the time. Well, I’m learning how to listen. It’s going to be a life-long struggle for me, but there are pockets of growth. This was one such time. This might have been the first time I’ve ever listened to my EIC like this. The profundity and the eloquence at which she could describe the various things she ponders and posits was eye-opening. I was entranced by the conversation and fully content to ask questions and listen. Occasionally, I jumped in and added my thoughts, but it was so refreshing to hear her side of the story of life.

Thank you, SY. I felt honored to be a part of that conversation.

Seeing our friends

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our time spent with family and friends. Laurie Barnes, Anna Barnes, Katie Barnes, Harsha Jha, Claire Walker, Adrian Matthews, Linda’s sister, Sophia’s friends Cleo and Sam, Tami and Scott (yearbook reps), my mentor (Patty Turley), and other close correspondents (Linda Barrington, Diana Mitsu Klos. Etc.). Laughs, stories, and so much more was shared. What  an honor to have those people in our lives for a few, short slivers of time once again.

Anecdotes from sessions

Occasionally, a student would share out something gleaned from a session. It was wonderful to see so much absorbed even if some sessions were sub-par. The gleam in their eyes was wonderful (especially after the media tours).

Do they do it on purpose?

I hesitated putting this in our blog for obvious reasons, but in the end, I just couldn’t resist. As our tour guide spoke of a sinister past of a politician, she briefly noted how one such individual was caught sniffing glue at school.

This experience was foreign to our kids as was the concept itself. I couldn’t hold back the laughter as they said things like, “Glue, like real glue?,” “Did they do it [sniff it] on purpose?,” “Where did they find this glue?,” “Why would they do that?”

The innocence was so adorable.  

A student’s first Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I have video evidence)

One of our students had an “amazing” experience, trying Reese's for the first time. His “brain was tingly” and he was beside himself with giggles and joy as he consumed one after another. Indeed, peanut butter and chocolate are divine together.

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In March 2014, when I first began exploring the possibility of this trip, I recall sharing with our administration that this trip is the “single, greatest event I have ever experienced with students.”

Behind the support of our administration (while taking into account this trip’s interruption to the school year), I was privileged to join another faculty member and 13 Almaty International School students in delving into yet another phenomenal trip. The density of this trip was awesome.

I think it lived up to my hype and then some.

Thank you, parents, for your support. It can’t be easy allowing this kind of interruption in your child’s education and lives. Thank you for giving this gift to them. Thank you for trusting them; I hope they made you proud. It will be a gift that pays off in so many ways in the future. 

Indeed, for some of them, this might have been their "favorite trip of [their] high school years."

-Mr. Joshua Smalley

We’ve Packed All, Except the Memories

We could have a similar trip, but it would never compare.

Time. That’s all we really need. How does it all pass by so quickly?

Currently we are in the airport in London, England. After almost seven hours of relaxation on the airplane, I have finally created a whole image of the past days.

It all started from a delayed flight that lead to an extreme rush to our second flight. Along with that, it also caused the late arrival of our baggage (two days).

Skipping over our Walmart experience would just leave a gap in the entire story: buying cheap clothes and food because we basically had nothing and the following day was our first day at the convention.

So as you can see, all began well…all was chill.

The next day was my first workshop, which took me to the National Zoo, where I discovered how friendly Americans are and how fresh and welcoming the atmosphere is. But nothing amazed and made me smile more than finding out we get free refills. Really, nothing.

Some random people I met
               that seemed cool

Later that day we joined 4,000 students to go see Bob Woodward. Although for some, this may be considered a once in a lifetime opportunity, not all, for instance, me, knew what speaker they were going to soon see on stage. Sure, I knew his name and had previously learned a few details about him, but my interest was not strong, which is precisely why jet lag took over so easily and got me sleeping throughout almost his entire speech. Funny thing is, I was not the only one; I was not the only one fighting a battle with sleep. In fact, I don’t remember seeing more than a couple of us not leaning over to rest.

Believe it or not, this was probably the hardest part for me: getting over jet lag. So as soon as applause came around to cheer and close up Bob Woodward’s presentation, we went to our rooms, forced ourselves to bed. Yes, I had to force myself.

One of the dozen of pictures Kabul and I took at CNN

Nevertheless, our baggage came just in time as I woke up fresh the next morning, ready for CNN. This media tour, I have to say, was my favorite part of the convention. Kabul and I got to actually enter the CNN building, get inside, interview a professional broadcaster, and take dozens of pictures in their private rooms. We also passed through Union Station and then joined Mrs. Lawrence for lunch at a sushi restaurant (my favorite).

The third day at the convention was a day of serious tough work. I went to session after session from the beginning to the end of that day’s program. Unfortunately, not all sessions were worth it, which is why I spent so much time wandering through the building in search of new ones. On the other hand, half of the sessions were pretty awesome. Not only were they extremely educational and useful, but they were so entertaining I was recording the whole time laughing along with the rest. One in particular, entitled “5 Steps of Revision”, I will never forget. Although I arrived a few minutes late and the gigantic room was full, I found space and instantly put my phone to record everything. The lady teaching us was hilarious and so charismatic.

It was the first time I laughed naturally that day.

That night, we threw a mini party with Katie and Harsha, who used to go to AIS. We ordered way too much pizza, played games, and made just a tad bit of noise (sarcasm).

After a tiring closing-of-the-convention ceremony, we left Marriott and headed straight towards Pentagon Mall where we spent time either shopping, eating, or simply spending time, for approximately four to five hours. After that, we headed towards a new hotel, much different than Marriott.

(By this time we were over our jet lag).

Dayana and I in front of Georgetown University

The next morning I had a hard time eating breakfast, so I sleepily ate two loaves of bread and then hopped on the bus that drove us to the Arlington Cemetery. I, here, have to ask, is it wrong to think a cemetery is not a visiting center? Anyway, after we had a very pleasing lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, recommended by our guide, she took us to Georgetown University, and then to memorials (Korean War, Vietnam War, and Lincoln). What was special about these was that we got to see them during sunset and afterwards at night. And of course, we had another short shopping session at the biggest mall in Washington.

We came back late to the hotel exhausted, just to wake up early again the next day to ride to the US Capitol, The White House, The Kazakhstan Embassy, The American University, The Thomas Jefferson Memorial, The Martin Luther Memorial, The Franklin Donald Roosevelt Memorial, and finally, The US Marine Corps War Memorial. That day we had another healthy lunch at Panera Bread and dinner at famous Chinese restaurant Meiwah.

At the White House

Kabul and Yash capturing the outstanding sunset nearby the Franklin Donald Roosevelt Memorial

Perfect sunset.
               With these nuances, anything was beautiful.

One part of the city you can see
                from the Washington Monument

Our last day in Washington is when our saddened faces began the countdown. I was personally missing my family and Almaty, but at the same time I knew that as soon as I would arrive home, I would miss America so much. Luckily, we did not have to wake up as early, but after we did, we directly went to visit the National Museum of American History, the Holocaust Museum, the Washington Monument, and then the Newseum. That day, we had another healthy lunch at Cosi cafe. As if our flight knew we desired not to leave, it was delayed six hours. We had dinner at Union Station where some of us did a little more shopping, and then we went back to our hotel (surprisingly we were aloud) and simply waited. 

When the time came, we drove to the airport. To my surprise, at least, the place was completely empty and all shops were closed. We spent about three hours either sleeping, playing cards, working, listening to music, or just wandering around. At a moment, I recall, everyone but Ildar and I looked dead, sleeping on the floor or in weird positions on chairs. When boarding time arrived, we got onto our plane and...well, I didn't really get to say goodbye to Washington. Everything happened so fast. Moreover, I was so tired I fell asleep the moment I got a blanket wrapped around me (before the plane even took off). 

And this is where we all are now: next to Starbucks in the London, England airport. Saying that words can't describe our experience in America would be a lie; there are enough words to paint what we went through. I'm glad it was us who decided to group up and head to America. I'm even glad we went through all these troubles (flight delays, late baggage arrivals, wearing Walmart clothes at the Journalism Convention, small conflicts with new people, other flight delays, and so on). I am so glad. I am glad we came to Washington. Because now, although I have packed everything as we're going home, I still have the memories with me. 

And they will stay with me.  With all of us.

Feeling slightly hungry seems trivial after visiting the Holocaust museum, but because our stomachs are basically bottomless pits, we went ahead and got lunch anyway. Cosi’ is a small cafe within walking distance of all of the museums. We were chewing on delicious sandwiches and salads when Mr. Smalley got an email alert of our flight being delayed by six hours. After confirming online, Mrs. Lawrence and him came up with a new schedule. With the help of our wonderful guide Jennifer, we were able to get permission from the Comfort Inn we stayed at the past few days to stay in their lobby until it was time to leave. After everything was sorted out, we were on our way to the Newseum. As you can probably tell by the name, the Newseum is a museum about journalism and the media. Liza, Ildar and I decided to go as one group. The first exhibition we saw was Pulitzer Prize Winning Photography. That was probably the best exhibition I have ever seen. The Holocaust museum was tough, but this exhibition took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. The photos were so powerful, looking at some of them made me feel as if someone was poking my heart with an icicle. I am an aspiring photographer myself which made the exhibition even more amazing. The photographer who took this photo killed himself a year later. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the photo. Many were furious as to why he did not try to comfort the child. 

The next exhibition we went to was 9/11. After watching a short but touching video about the attacks, we walked around and looked at other pieces of the exhibit. What really stood out to me was the personal belongings and camera equipment of a photographer whose photos survived the aftermath, sadly, he did not.

After going to the last floor terrace to see the stunning view of DC, we went to the video broadcasting exhibition where we saw some of the other members of our team. Trying to imitate legit reporters was a difficult task. Keeping up with the teleprompter and trying not to burst out laughing was something most of our team could not do at the same time. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop us from trying. 

After our lame attempt at video broadcasting, our group went to see parts of the Berlin Wall. The Newseum was closing soon so we were quick. At around 5:00 PM we met up with the rest of our team and headed down to Union Station for an hour before going back to out hotel. When we got to the Comfort Inn, we quietly (not really) settled down in the hotel lobby. Some of us went to sleep, some did homework, and some just sat around on their phones. Smalley being the responsible teacher that he is, decided to check the schedule flight time again only to discover that the website stated there was no delay and our flight was on time. Not showing any signs of panic, he called Kabul’s mom who was already at the airport. She told him that she was standing in line with about a dozen other people about to check in. This gave us about an hour to get to the airport to try and make our flight. Still not showing any signs of panic, Smalley talked to a lady at an information desk at the airport who confirmed that the flight is indeed delayed. Everyone was relieved and a little more awake now. What was Kabul’s mom doing at the airport? What flight was she checking in on? Where is she now? I don’t know. As I’m sitting here at the Comfort Inn, Kabul looks like his usual sassy self so I am not too worried. Today was a great day and a great end to an amazing trip. 

Day 8, Part I

For me, the morning started early. I am notoriously bad at dealing with jetlag, so one week after we first came, I am happy to be able to say I slept all the way until 5 AM. This morning I didn't even try to stay in bed longer, so I went to the breakfast area and found out that they do, in fact, serve breakfast at 5 AM... 

To a crowd of almost exclusively construction workers and game hunters. So that was fun.

Then there was a bit of panic as everyone packed their suitcases, trying to find space for new purchases among dirty clothing before Ms. Lawrence came at 8:15 to check. Many of us (myself included) had not thought ahead and didn't leave extra space in our luggage. When Ms. Lawrence did come around, the amount of clothing designated to be left behind shocked her. Thankfully the clothing was saved by Ildar, who brought a suitcase big enough for all of us. Props to Ildar, whom we teased in Almaty for having a suitcase big enough to smuggle three small children in. We were wrong. You were right. Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt.

And then we were off! Off to the National Museum of American History, which we found underwhelming. The exhibition to space ratio is really skewed. There will be lots of space for small amounts of objects. I am from DC, so I understand that this ratio is purposefully skewed to accommodate the masses of tourists that come from like April to September, but to first-timers in the off-tourist season, I'm sure it does seem lame.

From there we went to the Holocaust Museum. It was very well done. Everything was presented in a . . . very personal way. There was no censorship of information, of photos, of stories. At the beginning they ask everyone to take a card from a stack of cards. On the inside is the name, photo, and story of someone who died in the Holocaust. It felt like we were traveling through the exhibits with ghosts in our pockets. In one room, photos from a shtetl (jewish community) filled the walls from floor to ceiling. That entire community was exterminated in the Holocaust. The Nazis killed so many people, ruined so many lives. The whole experience was eye-opening and sobering.

After the museum we walked over to the Washington Monument. It was very windy. We enjoyed the view. We enjoyed lunch almost as much. 

Day 7: Tours, memorials and memories

Today was the day of new memories and experience. Our group has visited The U.S. Capitol, The White House, The Embassy of Kazakhstan, American University, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther Memorial, Franklin Donald Roosevelt Memorial, and U.S. Marine Corps War memorial.We gained valuable knowledge and unforgettable memories. While learning the history, we learned the culture. While learning the culture, we had fun. :)

Waking up early, we ate our breakfast. Soon after we were done, at about 7:30 we filled the bus for our, yet to come, amazing journey. First stop was at the United States Capitol.

Going to the U.S. Capital

When we arrived to the U.S Capitol, we were given a small introduction by our guide, Jennifer. She talked about the statues and the history of the building; knowledge we couldn't get regularly like the special evacuation rooms. Right after that we watched a small movie about the Capitol's history and took a tour through some parts the building. 

One of the statues

Not only we learned a lot of new things in the tour, but we had our "meeting new people" experience. During the tour and completely accidentally Jasmine and Ildar met a guide that spoke 60 languages!

We continued our journey and the next stop was the White House.While we observed the surroundings, our guide Jennifer talked about the White House. There we took some photos, and went to the gift shop.

The view of the White House

After seeing the White House, we headed to the Embassy of Kazakhstan. It turned out we were not expected to come, but we still got a warm welcome. 

Golden Man

We were shown around and explained about Kazakh culture. We shared our thoughts and ideas, our experiences and memories with others. 

Kazakh Culture

After taking some photos, and sharing our thoughts we headed to the American University. 

American University

Guided by Jennifer and her friend, we were shown around the campus. We also got a chance to learn about the university itself. 

Inside the AU, getting overall explanation

After seeing the university we headed to have lunch. For lunch, we stopped on a street with different and diverse restaurants. We were given one hour to go eat and return to our meeting place. So most of the people strolled down the street until we found a place to eat (actually, we just followed Mr.Smalley and the others.)

Bianca eating Ceasar salad and a sandwich 

After lunch, we went to visit Thomas Jefferson memorial, Franklin Donald Roosevelt memorial, Martin Luther memorial, and U.S. Marine Corps War memorial. 

Thomas Jefferson memorial

Franklin Donald Roosevelt's statue

Linda and Jasmine coming to the river side after visiting the Franklin Donald Memorial

Bianca taking a picture of Seo Young and Yash near the Martin Luther statue 

The U.S. Marine Corps War memorial

For dinner we ate at Meiwah Restaurant, a famous Chinese restaurant. After that we've returned back to the hotel and most of the people took a shower, packed their bags, and went to sleep. This day was exciting in its own way. We got to go on several tours, visit many memorials, get unforgettable memories, take extraordinary pictures, learn new things and have fun!

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By Adel and Nastya

Day 6: Tours

On the first day of our tours we had a chance to see many different places such as Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown University, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial. First, we went to the Arlington Cemetery, which serves as nation's premier military cemetery. We got a chance to see the Changing the Guard Ceremony while walking around the tombs. After that we went to have a lunch in the Vietnamese restaurant. Next, our guide took us to the  memorials. It was getting dark outside, so we observed them at night, which was a beautiful view since the monuments were lit up with various colors. At last, we went to the shopping mall for about an hour to see friends  and to buy SAT prep books. 

Day 5: Off To Having a Glimpse of Washington D.C.

Post the 'Awards Ceremony', we all headed towards having a glimpse of one beautiful, great and green city, Washington D.C. To be precise, we headed towards Pentagon City to shop at the Pentagon Mall. This time was majorly given to us for shopping and meeting our dear and near ones who live in Washington D.C.  Most of us hauled at different stores in the mall, but, me, Kabul and Ms. Lawrence had slightly different plans.The three of us got to know that the Pentagon, the Pentagon Memorial and the Air Force Memorial were located at a walking distance from the mall, hence, we first decided to pay our respects at each of the mentioned above.

The Pentagon

 Above: We got a close view of one the most important governing centers of the United States of America-the Pentagon.

Pentagon Memorial

 Above: Visiting the memorials, one realizes how due to an act of terrorism, many suffer. 

We then headed to the mall to shop a little and have our lunch.

 Later in the evening, we finally make it to our new hotel. Within a few minutes everyone was in their rooms, just about to sleep, and eager for an even more eventful next day. And me really tired... 

Just Me after a long day

Was busy trying to complete my blogs for I didn't want to see Mr. Smalley angry again!