Week 4 finds me attending a celebration of Black History Month hosted by Condi, visiting the whole host of Presidential monuments in D.C. (None of my Jefferson Memorial pictures turned out, sorry), and touring the Pentagon (No cameras allowed here, either).
In other news, if you're anywhere near Calvin College, SNUH (Students for the Non-ignorance and Understanding of Hilarity) is bringing Tony Campolo to town to talk about the Simpsons. Even though I can't be there, you should be.
Ok, ok, I confess: Fala's quote is not on that tile in real life.
Ok, maybe the title is pushing it a bit. Hey, I can't be creative all the time. Highlights of the week: visiting the National Archives and starting work at the State Department. Be sure to check out my Washington photo gallery, it's updated with new pictures.
Of course, the Archives are most famous for having the big three documents from our nation's history: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. I didn't get any good pictures of them, since no flash photography is allowed, but I did ask the guard if they employed the same security system as this movie. Turns out that that system was outdated and was slated to be completely replaced anyway, so that's how the movie was allowed to show it.
Other highlights include seeing my birthday on the wall and reading a letter written to FDR by a young Fidel Castro asking for a $10 bill. If you're planning on coming to D.C. solely to see the Presidential photo exhibit, it kind of stinks. Don't bother unless you're already in town.
I also started work. Things were a bit slow for me this week; most of my work surrounded reading the 9/11 Commission Report. But hopefully they'll pick up soon.
It's raining right now. There hasn't been snow on the ground for more than a week. I can deal with that. I guess that's all for now.
So, I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but I managed to take everything I'll need for the next three months in D.C. in 3 pieces of luggage. I was pretty impressed with myself. Furthermore, when I unpacked, I discovered that none of my shirts even needed ironing (in my opinion, at least...). How's that for a good job of packing?
So what has Phil been up to lately? Well, when you last checked up on me, we were planning on going on a tour of the Capitol building on Wednesday. That turned out well. We got to see the Rotunda in the big room with the dome and take as much time as we wanted to look at the pictures. So I was sure to take the advice of a wise man and get a good long look at all the pictures. Sorry there aren't pictures right now, my camera battery ran out, so it's currently being charged.
Our Capitol tour guide told us how to get House gallery passes, which enable us to sit in the House Chambers and watch the proceedings. But then he told us, "And I heard just today that they have a few extra tickets for the State of the Union tonight!". Now, I'll admit, I didn't stop to think about that statement simply because I got very excited about maybe going to see the State of the Union. So our Professor goes to a Congressman's office, gets House gallery passes for all of us, and then asks about the State of the Union tickets. Before I tell you what the staffer said, I'll remind you how big the House chambers - the location of the State of the Union - actually are (because they look deceptively large on TV; at least to me). There are about 440 permanent chairs in the lower level (I counted when we visited - hey, Nancy Pelosi was talking, so I had to keep myself entertained somehow). In the above level, there are maybe 200 chairs. So, if every House and Senate member comes to the State of the Union, plus the Chiefs of Staff, plus families of the important people, plus honored guests, plus the media, that's already pushing 650 or so. And I'm sure there are other people slightly more important than 21 Calvin students who might snatch up any extra tickets. So, obviously, the staffer laughed at our Professor.
Anyhoo, so a couple of us were wandering around the Dirksen Senate Office building after our tour, and we stepped out of the elevator to see none other than John Kerry himself. He was hauling down the hallway. I couldn't get a picture in time; he seemingly disappeared once he turned the corner. It was a little creepy. So, that's my famous person sighting for this week.
Stay tuned for pictures.
Hello friends and family. I'm currently sitting in my apartment looking out the window at Union Station in Washington, D.C. In case you're wondering what I'm doing in here, I'm participating in Calvin's Spring Semester in Washington, which is an opportunity to take some classes and work as an intern in our Nation's capital.
But I guess, first and foremost, I should inform my loyal readers that Laura Klamer and I got engaged just last week. Yep, that's right. I was not a little sad to leave for Washington after that happened. So, anyways, we're thinking that we probably won't be getting married until sometime in May, 2006, what with us both being college students and needing money and all. In fact, if you'd like to donate to our 'Help Phil and Laura get married sooner cause', send checks or money orders payable to Phil Boonstra or Laura Klamer, at Calvin College....
So yeah, our Calvin group is currently just visiting organizations (ie interest groups, etc) that are based in Washington to get a feel for the city. Today, we talked with employees of the Family Research Council. Tomorrow, we're going on a tour of the Capitol building, where, hopefully, we'll get to stick around the Rotunda a bit longer than my parents did and not have to tell half-truths to the security guard to get one last glimpse of the artwork on the walls...but I'm not talking about anyone in specific.
Some fun things I've learned about Washington and myself since I've been here: 1)I'm willing to walk many a mile to save the $1.35 (or $1.75 during rush hour) metro fare. 2)There are a lot of ambulances and police cars here. 3)I think that I stick out pretty badly among native Washingtonians. Pulling out my Frommer's Map of the city in the middle of Constitution Ave. probably doesn't help. I guess that's all for now.