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.