The End

I'm now back home in England. The journey home largely consisted of stress, boredom and watching films on those built in plane tv screens (Lincoln, Moulin Rouge! and The Life of Pi if anyone's interested...) with one entertaining incident.

Me: during the flight *tries and fails to turn off overhead light by twisting the base around and round*

Some random person (sitting next to me): "Are you ok?"

Me: "just trying to turn this stubborn light off"...

Random guy: "that's the aircon. The light is operated by a button in front of you, the one with a lightbulb on it"

Me: "oh yeah. Makes sense." *leans over to turn off light*

Randomer: *sees my hoodie* "wait, you go to Oxford? How many Oxford students does it take to turn off a lightbulb? HAHA-

Me: "evidently more than one". *turns out light* (I had had 6. Hours. Sleep. In nearly 2 days)

You have to love the British sense of humour.

So there you have it, 6 and a half weeks later and I'm right back where I started, physically. However, there's a couple of things that I'd like to reflect on to conclude;

Some numbers -

• No. of museums visited - 15 (Air and Space, National History, Natural History and various Smithsonians, the Freer and Sackler and National Art galleries, NYC Metropolitan museum of art etc.)
• No. of other free attractions - 14 (Jazz in the park, Screen on the Green, Kennedy perfoming arts show, National Archives, Botanic gardens etc.)
• No. of students helped/ taught through the summer camps - over 100
• No. of states properly visited - 3 (Virginia, Maryland, New York - D.C isn't its own state)
• No. of states driven through/ stopped in - 6 (Virginia, Maryland, and then Delaware and New Jersey on the way to New York)
• Approx. no. of Metro trains caught - at least 50
• Approx. no. of Fro-yos, cupcakes and donuts - too embarrassing to total...

I met Americans from Alabama, California, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Maryland, Louisana, Texas, New York and Minnesota. Not to mention everyone's favourite Canadian! (You know who you are!)

It was truly an incredible experience. From arriving into a blur of 4th of July parades, and leaving in a crazy rush from my apartment, with the help of a couple of friends, I feel as though I understand a lot more about the American way of life than Walmart and Baseball (though they are a part of it!)

As a museum intern, a tourist, and a Brit surrounded by (mainly) Americans, I was able to witness the similarities and differences between American and British culture, from a variety of perspectives. The general cheerfulness of Americans, and their undaunted determination was a noticeable feature of most Americans, and of their national mindset. I hope in turn that I was able to represent something of Britain, even if this only amounts to correcting randomers on their historical knowledge...if all else fails then I hope that my accent provided some entertainment ("wait, how do you say "aluminium"? or "say something in an American accent. Just try it.") at least I know the woman behind the till in the local Safeway appreciated it.

Thank you to the people who basically made my time in the U.S. Wherever you are in the world, it's who you're with that makes a good experience great, and a great experience memorable.

Week 6, part three, going aboard a U.S Navy destroyer and making glow stick lanterns - OR, How I finished my internship.

Display ship Barry

Seeing as the boys were taken on board the Barry last week, me and some of the other interns had the opportunity to look inside this week, with the girls. The ship was a US Navy destroyer, and from 1954 to 1982 Barry toured the Caribbean, Atlantic and Mediterranean. The ship played a part in both the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's far narrower below deck than you'd think, for a ship of such a large size. I don't usually get claustrophobic, but I did feel conscious of how little space there was as climbed through hatches and up again via small steps. If I felt like that at 5'2, what must it have been like for taller sailors? I suppose they had more pressing matters to adjust to, like other ships firing on them. It didn't help that we were also with around twenty 8-12 year olds, and so every time a tiny 8 year old climbs down a set of metal stairs you're wondering theoretically how quickly you could move in such an enclosed space to catch them.

 

That being said, being able to say that I've been onboard a US retired destroyer ship is very cool. (Well actually, it was boiling on the top deck but much cooler below...) The fact that at several points in its life hundreds of men lived and worked on that ship is incredible, it's like physically standing on a piece of history, or rather, a vessel which made history wherever it went.

 

Just found this, the Barry has its own Wikipedia page! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Barry_(DD-933) 

Adding liquid glow sticks into empty water bottles to make glow stick lanterns!

As an almost complete juxtaposition to the previous week, Girls' camp (Women Make History camp) actually left us with enough space to breath and the ability to think. Though the girls were talkative, they were generally more responsive than the boys and did not embody the whole "I'm going to start a fight every 5 minutes" mentality. Of course, only a minority of the boys did this, but they were a loud and persistent minority.

Anyway, the point is, the girls were able to have a lot more fun. Seeing as they covered more lesson material, and completed all of their craft activities on time, they were able to have a mini-disco at the end of the day. This was made possible by turning off all of the lights in the gallery that we were working in, and using the "water effects" lighting (literally, there were lights for the permanent Cold War exhibit which gave the effect of being underwater). Who would have thought that the middle of a Cold War exhibit, with replica submarine hull nearby, could make such a good dance party backdrop.

I've never seen lanterns made with glow sticks before, but now the sight of 50 or 60 blurry shapes, dancing to Taylor Swift/ One Direction, and clutching illuminated water bottles is burned into my mind. If this is all sounding slightly bizarre, then welcome to summer camp at the museum!

It's amazing what you can make children (and interns) do if promised a glow stick dance party. Regardless, I think the kids at both summer camps had a great time. Whether they were earning points for their "battalion" (complete with self-made banners), cheering when their egg survived its parachute-drop, or generally going mental when it came to collecting prizes at the end of the week. The prize collecting (or rather,  prize purchasing using paper money earned during the camp) involved me and the other interns "banking" a system of paper money, called "Bunny bucks" and trying to solve monetary disputes between 9 year olds...

This is the US Navy's own official article on the camps - http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=75994

From sitting and eating lunch in the park (whilst the children scared us silly by climbing on and over old model cannons and submarine sails, never mind trees...) to attempting to explain to confused visitors what exactly was going on in the museum, these camps were the highlight of my time at the Navy Yard. Weeks of preparing folders for the students, lesson plans, activity instructions and craft material were finally realised, and I have my supervisors as well as the other interns to thank for that. A few interns had to leave before the camps started, or part way through (to those of you that missed Girls' camp - it was awesome) but all of us got to see the fulfilment of their individual and collaboration projects.

Week 6, part two, classical Indian dance at the Kennedy Centre and Georgetown waterfront

The outline of Georgetown University, founded 1789. It's the oldest Jesuit and Catholic university in the United States. 

 Throughout my time in D.C I've returned to the Georgetown waterfront. I've seen it from all angles now, from a kayak in the middle of the Potomac river, walking over the bridge from Rosslyn, walking down from Georgetown itself, and as a passenger in cars driving towards Virginia. I think I can honestly say that it's one of my favourite parts of the city.

The Kennedy Center

Unknown to many, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts gives free performances everyday on its Millennium Stage (6pm Eastern Time), and these performances are then broadcast live over the internet. The idea, similar to that of the Shakespeare Folger library, is that the arts should be accessible to everyone. By their own admission; "these performances of music, theater, and dance feature emerging and established artists from the Washington area. across the nation, and around the world".

 

We were able to watch a performance by the Kalanidhi Dance company. The company is based in D.C, but draws heavily from classical Indian dance, namely the Kuchipudi style (an ancient type of dance focusing on "fleeting emotions, fluidity and religious devotions") . I've never seen Indian dance before aside from films, in which dances sequences were usually Slumdog millionaire style, and performed at the end of a film. In reality you notice the detail and complexity, every finger and toe of every dancer seems to have its own routine, combined with all the other body parts to give an impression of continuous motion. This is then multiplied up as every dancer seeks to be in sync with the others, or working to temporarily define their own solo role within a sequence.

 

Luckily as well as purely expressive dance, there was a narrative to accompany the routines, outlined beforehand. This helped to explain a lot of the context to someone as ignorant as me concerning Hinduism. I can now say that I know several scenes from the life of Lord Krishna, especially his defeat of Kaliya (a giant poisonous river snake) and the dancer portraying the snake was incredible!)  

 

View towards Rosslyn, northern Virginia

So there you have it, where else can you; watch Indian classical dance, watch the sun set over the cityscape, and walk through an entire hall of flags (see http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/virtual_tour/hall_of_nations.html for a virtual tour) on a casual wednesday evening?

Week 6, part one, Shakespeare, cupcakes and Tootsie

Witches' cauldron scene from Macbeth

 It may seem strange that one of the largest collections of original Shakespearean material is found on a corner of Capitol Hill, but I encourage anyone who has not already visited the Shakespeare Folger Library to do so. It is a library, research and educational outreach centre which grew from the private collection of Henry and Emily Folger.

Like all smaller tourists attractions (although the library serves mainly as an academic research centre) the staff are well informed and extremely happy to receive visitors, whom they love showing around and talking to (especially genuinely interested university students) as opposed to some of the larger institutions in D.C, where I expect the staff are sick of the sight of people by the end of the working day. The staff were keen to show us everything and answer any questions we had, including a great question from my friend, who asked about the production of Othello in the U.S during the time of the Jim Crow laws.

As well as a performance area designed to look like an Elizabethan theatre, there is also a Great hall for exhibitions (currently under renovation) which houses exhibits, as well as the wooden "Founder's Room" and various pieces of art relating to Shakespeare's works. There was an original print showing the layout of the city of London from the river Thames during Shakespeare's time, which I'm sure I've seen re-printed in numerous places.

Interestingly, most of the people we saw visiting the place were also British. The building contains some great items, including an original handwritten letter from Elizabeth I to James VI (when he was still King of Scotland but not of England, in 1603 he ruled over both England and Scotland in a personal union, though each was still treated as a separate sovereign state). There is also a first folio of Shakespeare's plays which contains the list of players who were in his company. Having studied Shakespeare throughout school, and watching performances at the Globe (London) and Stratford-upon-Avon, seeing a list of a handful of individuals who first brought these plays (possibly the most famous in the world?) to life is just incredible.

The temporary exhibition was also very moving. It was a copy of the "Robben Island Shakespeare", a book snuck inside the notorious prison during the time of Nelson Mandela's incarceration. It was covered in Diwali cards and smuggled in by an inmate who pretended it was his "Bible". It was actually a copy of Shakespeare's plays, which was circulated amongst the prisoners, and in which they signed passages which they most identified with. Mandela chose this passage;

Caesar: Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard.
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
- from Julius Caesar, Act II Scene II.

He signed his name by it on the 16th of December, 1977.

Exterior of the Shakespeare Folger Library

 The architecture of the building deserves a post of its own. The building at first resembles the white marble of the Supreme Court and the Capitol buildings, but on closer inspection the windows are distinctly art-deco, 1920s style. Here neo-classical and Greco Deco (bas-relief scenes from Shakespeare's plays, marble, engravings of pillars) meet streamline moderne. Currently, work is underway to restore some of the windows to align with the architect's original intentions. In my honest opinion, I am less convinced than most Americans that the building truly bears resemblance to Tudor style, but then again, I do spend a lot of time in Oxford, and come from England, so it's probably unfair to compare a 20th century imitation to the actual thing. Plus, I really liked the fact that (unlike in typical classical architectural design) the bas-reliefs were at the bottom of the facade rather than the top of building, so that they could be more easily seen by passing people and children.

In less intellectual news....I made cupcakes! I'm counting it as an experiment in culturally- relevant cooking...only American student accomodation would have a muffin-tray in the kitchen, but not a decent tin opener. America has its priorities.

 

Screen on the Green is another one of the best D.C traditions. We returned to watch Tootsie, which none of us had seen before, because we loved the atmosphere of the last film we saw on the Mall. Yes, it's crowded and you have to get there over an hour early to get a seat, but it's free, and even more engaging than a cinema experience (though the Rocky Horror Show we saw last week may be an exception to that) especially when everyone reacts to on-screen events. I'm going to miss the spontaneous dancing which occurs traditionally before the Looney Tunes cartoon which precedes each film...

Week 5, part five, U-street and Ben's Chili Bowl

Iconic street view

 

The claim to be a "Washington Landmark" is no exaggeration. Ben's Chili Bowl is featured in every D.C guidebook, and is as much of a staple of the D.C food scene as Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and the various Frozen Yoghurt chains. Even my sister half way around the world reminded me that I had to eat here before I left the U.S.

 

I'm happy to report that despite its fame, Ben's Chili Bowl was still full of locals, as well as tourists, and has remained true to its modest origins (e.g., they only accept cash).The place retains its American Diner-with-plastic-booths feel, despite the photos of Barack Obama and other celebrities who have eaten there, and helped to earn its landmark status.

 

There is a sign behind the counter of "people who eat free". The first person on the list is Bill Cosby  (famous African American comedian, actor, author, turned educator and activist) next is the "Obama/ family". No one else is on the list.

Side mural

Ben's Chili Bowl is a D.C legand as it is a true survivor of the city's turbulent history. It began in the late 1950s, before the Civil Rights Act, and survived the race riots after the assination of Martin Luther King Jr., during which most of the U-Street area of D.C was burnt to the ground. Then, in the 1980s, this down-to-earth diner survived the building of the modern Metro system, at a time when the drawn-out construction process caused other business to flee the area.

I had a bowl of their famous Chili, served with (as ever) Saltine-crackers, and a cherry "shake" (milkshake). I know I should be more excited about the chili, but to be honest, I'm still excited about the milkshake, I've never had a cherry flavoured one before!

The entire U-Street corridor is also pretty lively in the evenings. After dinner we headed to a place called "Busboys and poets", which was a bookshop, combined with a restaurant, and which also appeared to host a lot of local entertainment events, from poetry readings and meet-the-author sessions, to stand up comedy nights. Here I tried my second interesting drink of the night, Pomade. It was like cloudy lemonade, but with pomegranate juice, which turned it an awesome pink colour!

Some of the literature I've read describes U-Street as D.C's version of Harlem (see NYC post). Having experienced both recently, I can't help but think that U-Street seemed to have a lot more of the immediately obvious kind of attractions, for tourists at least. (Feels strange to refer to myself as a tourist after 6 weeks, maybe "temporary resident" is a better term? Or "short-term resident"?) Maybe locals would see it differently. Besides, Harlem does have the Harlem Shake, and i-HOP (International House of Pancakes!)

More info on the history of Ben's Chili Bowl; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben's_Chili_Bowl

Week 5, part four, "Home", Georgetown, and the Rocky Horror picture show

I took pride in cleaning te apartment and actually opening the blinds/ turning on some lamps as soon as my roomates moved out....I've even used the lamps as replacement roomates. They're quieter, brighter and actually provide light & warmth.

With all of my roomates stuff removed, I discovered something incredible. There is actually space to move in this apartment. (Plus...I found $5 in change!)

I returned to Eastern Market once again this weekend! What am I going to do without my fresh, local grapes and cherries, and more to the point - my Pennsylvania peaches? Fruit will never be the same again.

The Amish are really very good at farming. The food I get here is the same price as the supermarkets at home, but the taste is amazing, and has genuinely made me buy an excess of fruit...when I say an excess, I'm still talking around the 5-a-day level, but for me that's an achievement. I normally only manage 3 or 4.

Before I get too carried away with congratulating myself on my fruit and vegetable intake, I also have a confession. I think I am addicted to Fro-yo (frozen yoghurt, it's like soft ice cream). It comes in all flavours. It has so many toppings. Fruit, chocolate, cookie dough pieces, hot fudge sauce. You serve yourself as much as you want, then add stuff on top, and then pay by weight. I really hope this never catches on in England, or any attempt I make to live a healthly life could be endangered.

We also returned to Georgetown! Georgetown genuinely has the best cupcake shops in D.C (we're fast becoming experts on this...) especially "Baked & Wired".

Something weird happened in Georgetown (sounds like a film title...) first, I was in a bookshop with some friends when I picked up a travel guide for the British Isles (always fun) and was annoyed to find that the University of Cambridge was featured as a major attraction, for the age of the institution and the architecture of the city, but Oxford was not, only "Oxfordshire" was mentioned. When I decided to voice my opinion on the matter, loudly and sarcastically ("haha, it describes Cambridge as "the seat of academia" in Britain, I mean seriously...") to my friend who is also at Oxford, a guy our own age turned around from a nearby bookshelf.

My first thought was "oh, he might actually go to Cambridge. This is awkward." However to my amazement he said, "oh, do you go to Oxford then? I'm at Magdalen, where are you at?" I was so surprised that I didn't say anything for a moment, by which time one of my friends (who is at Magdalen and in his year) stands up and greets him. Turns out that they were old tutorial partners. Weird.

Anyway, we were now over this and headed to a cupcake shop, which was less crowded than "D.C cupcakes" (see previous Georgetown post) and finally sat down with our food. The wall had napkins on which people had drawn on, and written messages, and then pinned them up. We decided to write one saying "Oxford loves Baked & Wired!" and then draw our college crests on it. (People had put up places from across the world)

As we put our napkin on the wall, two girls who were sitting at a breakfast bar in front of us stopped their conversation and said, "wait, do you go to Oxford?" We then discover that one of the girls graduated this year, from my own college.

On the one hand the chances of 2 Oxford students meeting 2 other Oxford students in seperate places, in a corner of D.C seems strange. The more I think about it though, Georgetown kind of is the "Oxford of D.C", if you know what I mean. Georgetown is upmarket, academic, "historic", and full of bookshops. Perhaps it's not so much a coincidence that Oxford students in D.C tend to head to Georgetown (and to book/ cupcake shops), though it is insane that we happened to be in the same place at the same time as other Oxford students, twice in one afternoon.

No explanation needed.

 

I went to a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Show at the E-Street cinema in Downtown. I feel as though this event itself deserves some kind of landmark recognition, because let me tell you, it was like participating in a cult. There were props, there were actors running around during the film, there were "regulars" (who watched the same screenings at least once a month, and knew th dialogue, as well as the songs, off by heart). I love the way in which throwing giant playing cards, or making audience members participate in acting out the on-screen drama was not seen as particularly  extraordinary. Nor was encouraging people to dance in the aisles during the Timewarp routine. For someone who had never seen the film before, I feel as if I'll never be able to think of it again without the accompanying sarcastic commentary of the person sitting behind me. That being said, I wouldn't have had it any other way, it way another one of those "only in America" experiences. 

 

The place where Lincoln was shot!

Since the film began at midnight, by the time we left it was pretty late, which provided an excellent opportunity to photograph landmarks without other people getting in the way. Walking through Downtown D.C at 3am was eery,  but oddly rewarding at the same time, as if we had somehow earned the right to see what most people, even residents, usually miss.

Week 5, part three STEM camp and other things I've learnt from work...

View from the docks at the Navy Yard. Across the river is Anacostia, and visible is "Barry", a life size display ship.

Blurry photo, but this was made for me by my friends at work. It reads "This is called a Button". Americans/ Canadians refer to badges (what British people call badges) as "buttons", although they also refer to "British" buttons as buttons too. Although I would argue that what distinguishes a badge and button is that a button holds together material, a badge is pinned onto it, they say that a true "badge" is usually something official, like a police badge.

So this week was STEM (focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and "Math") camp at the museum. It was also "Sharkweek", a popular American television event in which the Discovery channel shows programmes solely related to sharks, shark attacks and what would happen in the event of a "shark apocalypse". Since I didn't watch much of Sharkweek (which has also featured in the wider world, e.g. I was in a cupcake shop which made reference to it in its advertising...) except for a Youtube clip (at my co-workers' collective insistence) I'll talk about the camp instead.

The Navy Museum's summer camps are split by gender, so the first week is STEM focused for the boys, the next week (this week) also includes STEM elements, but has more History in it, for the girls. Hence, we often refer to the STEM camp as "boys' camp" and Girls Make History camp as "girls' camp". This is not me saying girls cannot participate in STEM, it's just that girls aged 8-12 can get through more lesson material, generally, than boys aged 8-12, so we have more time to include some historical context for the girls' camp. The boys usually only did one sit-down lesson a day, and even that pushed the concentration capability of some. Most of the boys, like the girls in the next camp, come from the surrounding area (D.C, Virginia, Maryland, Prince George's County) and are either part of the public (state) school system or are home-schooled.

Most used phrases of last week;

"Stop".

"No, you cannot hit him with your car".

"Don't touch that". "No, seriously, don't touch that."

5 minutes later

"Oh, you got Superglue on your hands?"

Naturally, some of the boys were more interested in the activities than others. They were put in "battalion" groups and had their own flags and everything. We also had a point system to try and encourage good behaviour. However, when a group got into minus numbers, we would try and help them out, because that's just depressing to tally up.

One of the activities involved building cardboard rockets to be launched outside (after an accompanying lesson concerning mass and acceleration etc.). We couldn't launch the rockets in the grounds of the Navy Yard because apparently there are anti-ballistic systems on the roof of the main building which would literally explode if anything flew over them. You read correctly, the United States navy systems just can't handle cardboard rockets. Although we all agreed that this would be great to watch happen, I don't think that department of Defense/ Pentagon would be too impressed if a security alert was issued over a handful of children's science projects.

Therefore, we walked out of the yard (or rather, waited around with 30 hyperactive boys whilst security hesitated to let us, a group of interns, teachers and children, through a gate which led off-site...) and into a nearby park. What could possibly go wrong.

Well, within seconds of launching the first rocket we realised that they went higher than anticipated (nice job boys!) and as everyone looked skyward to watch the rocket return, it began to make a beeline for the huddle of kids. Naturally, they all turned and ran, besides one boy with glasses who literally watched the rocket hit him in the face. He wasn't hurt, I should add, for his glasses took the blow and the lens fell out. I think he was just slightly dazed. In a seperate incident, he also ran into a gun (a mounted cannon we have in the museum) during "recess", and was accidently hit in the face again, this time by a plastic snake (I kid you not). I really hope he didn't go home and tell his parents all of this...

After moving everyone to a safer distance, us interns could relax a bit and one of my friends showed me the Chinese character 坐 - zuò ("to sit"). This is cool because it looks like two people sitting on a bench. She's Chinese/ American, and insists that even native speakers have to study Chinese characters their whole life, as there are so many, and without regular use, they can be easily forgotten!

At the end of work, once "boys' camp" was finished, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. This is, according to the American interns, the epitome of America. There were games machines, stools instead of chairs, more tv screens than people (well, almost) showing every kind of American sport (American football, Baseball, Golf, even online Poker). There were also plently of "wings" (Chicken) served in cardboard boxes, battered, and coated in different sauces. The amount of grease involved was unreal, and led to me (to the amusement of everyone else in the restaurant) using a knife and fork. In addition, refills of drinks were brought to the table even if you had a full glass of something right next to it - until you physically told them to stop.

My experience so far of American cuisine has been pretty comprehensive. My friends at work even brought me Chicken & Waffle flavour "chips" (crisps). I wasn't massively keen on those.

A clip from a tv show which often ends up being discussed between us at work, as presenting a very interesting side to modern American family life; it's from a show called "Here comes Honey Boo-boo"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzt7oCFN3ek

Week 5, part two, suburbia in Maryland

The street was like that of any other American "movie". I guess I've never really thought about it, but to Americans that must mean that most streets in films are designed to be quite similar to their own. The mini-post boxes on the street, the white pathways, the coloured rooftops and white painted wooden-looking exteriors with multiple cars per house...

 Earlier this week I took up my friend's invitation to stay at her house, in the state of Maryland (which borders D.C) and experience a typical, home-cooked American meal, as well as seeing around her "neighborhood". I use the American word neighborhood because it is entirely different to a British neighbourhood. Instead of local councils, communities, based on geographic proximity, seem to interact and depend on each other here.

The neighborhood was announced by a polished metal and wooden sign, marking the beginning of one area and end of the previous one. It reminded me of accomodation sections on holiday or camping sites abroad.

I was lucky enough that the day I stayed was a "neighborhood social", meaning that people from the surrounding streets gathered in a park with kid's activities and free pizza and ice cream. What with the music and everything it was like a large family party, only the people were connected by their housing. According to my friend, these events (and ones similar to it) are organised by the resident's association, which every household pays a fee to be a part of each year.

So, the "back yard" was about the size of half my street...although apparently a lot of the land technically belongs to everyone in that area. The house also backed onto some kind of woods, which is atypical for most English housing estates.

The house itself is bigger than practically any other family home I've seen in England. It may not surprise people that the house had 4 bedrooms, at least 2 bathrooms, a basement (converted into a space with a tv and sofas) a double garage (with automatic doors!) and two living room areas. To me the house felt stereotypically American, but I think that this was due to the size of the fridge and the numerous American high school sports team photos of my friend and her brother through the years. The so called "wall of fame", in which the childrens' achievements are proudly displayed in the family home, with photos and sports trophies, is not a myth!

In all honesty, everything from the family dog (a golden retriever named Chad) to the dinner (pork chops, French fries, green beans, grape soda) satisfied my imagined ideal of an American home. Obviously, some things, like the exchanges between siblings, the meal time duties and family rituals, are universal.

If anyone's wondering, after dinner (which was delicious! I've never had pork chops before, especially not with that kind of seasoning) and the "neighborhood social", we watched tv (So You Think You Can Dance by Fox) just to complete the cliché. Thank you Jess!

Vocabulary taught;

"Estate" - when I said "the estate I live on" I think Jess' family thought I was referring to something like Sandringham. I soon pointed out that neither me nor my family own anywhere near as much land as the Queen, and that I meant my neighbourhood/ housing estate (not "neighborhood", in the way I described above).

"Hench" - ok so this is just an example of my embarrassing subconscious use of English slang. I use the word "hench" to mean "massive" or "big" or very solid. I can't remember the context in which I used it, but I justified it by saying that "hench" was like "henchmen" which are supposed to be big and beefy, so it made sense.

Week 5, part one, New York City/ The Big Apple itself

Central Park zoo. We managed to get a view of the sea lion enclosure (during feeding time) without actually having to pay to go into the zoo itself. Success.

 Last weekend I made the 4 1/2 hour trip to New York City, New York, to meet a friend who is currently undertaking an internship in Boston. Conveniently, NYC is actually an almost equal distance from D.C and Boston. The thing that surprised me the most about the coach journey was that the coach had no seatbelts, seriously, I think that's illegal under EU law.

Central Park, lower Manhattan. It's bigger than you think. Big, as in two adults can walk for about 45 minutes in roughly a straight line and only end up 1/2 way along its length!

 My main memory of arriving in NYC is that it was raining, but still fairly hot, and that I had never seen so many people in my life. Whilst me and my friend struggled to locate Times Square (it's harder than you think when you're hemmed in by people, dodging yellow cabs, and surrounded by buildings and hige moving ads on all sides) I kept skywards, as the buildings practically blocked out the sun.

The landmark skyscrapers. Since 9/11, the skyline of NYC has been changed forever, but what seems to get missed in films/ TV, or at least, certainly in my own mind, is the number of moderately high buildings that are in downtown New York. The skyscrapers are world-famous (and are seen from a good distance if you enter the city from the south) but there are loads of buildings which in any other city would seem ridiculously high, but are dwarfed in comparison with their taller companions.

 We managed to cram so much into 3 days, that in retrospect it seems like some kind of insanity. In total we;

• Visited the 9/11 memorial.

The main memorial consists of two pools of falling water, with the names of those who died carved around the edges. It's simple, stone, metal and water. It's also effective. The falling water is channelled into the middle of each pool in a way that reveals the metal structure behind it. It's also impossible not to note just how many names are recorded, especially when walking around what feels like a relatively small geographical area. I like the fact that the stationary (metallic/ stone structures) is combined with the living and things in motion (the water, trees). Life goes on, but the names cannot be erased.

• Visited the Metropolitan museum of Art

Highlights included Monet's The Water-lily pond, Van Gogh's Cypress Trees, some Jackson Pollock, and a ballet dancer by Degas. I impressed myself by identifying The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David. There was also an amazing roof garden, which we were informed of, but was otherwise (deliberately?) not clearly advertised (we asked a guy at the bottom of an elevator if we could go up). The view was outstanding and it was a lot less effort and money than getting to either the top of the Rockefeller, or probably the top of the Empire State building.

• Saw the Trump building/ Rockefeller plaza/ Apple store (why not)

They're shiny.

• Visited the Statue of Liberty (on its own island)

Got on a (less crowded) ferry and walked around the statue like true tourists, listening to an audio tour. Also passed the Governor's Island, and Ellis island, currently closed due to Hurricane Sandy.

• Got on a ferry to Statten island (one of the five boroughs of NYC, I think?)

Interestingly, the ferry is part of the subway system, as some people live there permanently and commute into the city everyday, therefore the trip was free and provided great views of the cityscape!

• Went to some kind of Tiffany's outlet on Wall Street / saw the New York Stock Exchange

There were no prices on anything in Tiffany's. It was weird.

• Went to the Smithsonian's museum of the American Indian

I felt so much better informed than at the start of the summer. I even identified the location of the tribe of an American Indian girl who I've met in D.C.

• Went to the International House of Pancakes! (twice, their breakfast menu was incredible)

I had chocolate pancakes one day (with different flavoured syrups!) and French toast with glazed strawberries the next morning. I've never been so happy to be up and out at around 8am.

• Walked around Central Park

Like I said, it's pretty big. It has a zoo and a reservoir in it.

• Found Times Square (?)

Well, I think we were in it, for at least some of the time...it was very crowded, and I was more concerned about getting completely lost.

• Visited Grand Central Station

Had to be done! The ceiling contains constellation-like artwork, then there's the iconic gold clock, and an infinite number of tracks and train departures...not to mention shops and restaurants. It was like Union station (where I caught the bus from in D.C) but on a much grander scale.

I also managed to spot the Woolworth building and obviously, the Empire State building, which is exciting just because of its cliche status!

Interesting facts; firstly, the statue is hollow, and was originally a shiny bronze colour, like a new penny (before the copper oxidised). Secondly, despite the fact that Liberty is portrayed as a woman, women were not allowed at the unveiling ceremony for the statue. Boats of women circled "liberty island" in protest.

 On the book she's holding is inscribed in Latin the date of American Independence. She's dressed in Roman style, with her robe and sandals, facing the "old world", i.e., Europe.

Things I liked about NYC; the mixture of 1920s and pre-1920s architecture (Chrysler building, Federal building, and the building which houses the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian) with the sleek, glass look of modern times. I also liked the contrast between all of the buildings and the surprising amount of greenery amount. Battery park, Central Park, and numerous other little gardens (e.g., around the Metropolitan museum of Art) make NYC a true "concrete jungle".

 There were some really interesting memorials in Battery park too. In particular we spent some time trying to identify flags on the Korean War memorial, as it's one of those conflicts I know little about. The numbers of the "missing" are astounding.

The city that never sleeps...it's amazing that moderately shabby looking buildings during the day are much improved by darkness and the display of midtown/ downtown's multi-coloured lights.

I would conclude that although D.C is the political capital of the U.S, I think that NYC is the cultural and financial capital. It's strange, because London in England seems to serve as both, the "City" is the financial heart of the UK, yet Westminster is the political centre, and the Mall/ Buckingham palace is the historic focal point. Culturally too, London is diverse, e.g. from the East End, Camden market, Fleet Street, the West End. Had we had more time in New York, I would have liked to have seen Greenwich and the East Village, or maybe Chinatown (supposedly the best in the U.S).

Needless to say though, 3 days of sightseeing were physically exhausting, after miles of walking everyday and hours on the subway (Metro) which was dirtier and busier than the D.C system. Also, the New York subway was far bumpier and industrial looking, the inside of the underground stations was black and plain, the carriages had a shiny metallic finish. On the plus side, it ran all night.

I don't think I could live in NYC. It's put D.C in perspective, and I think even London might be less hectic. As a point of interest, we stayed in a YMCA hostel, out of the centre of the city, in Harlem.

Forget what you've read, I think we'd both agree that staying in the Harlem YMCA was a great experience, and has made us consider travelling around in hostels again. Harlem isn't the most touristy area of NYC, but it has a character of its own. Whilst staying at the hostel we met everyone, from a Dutch guy travelling around Europe, to two German brothers going along the East coast of the U.S (one simply shook his head frequently whenever we joked about going into the Bronx area of the city, and the other was interested to know what English people thought of Germans).

Additionally, we met a 29 year old accountant, working in Mid-town, who laughed at our age and incongruity (he demanded to know why two Oxford students were in the Harlem YMCA...) and explained that he was living in the hostel temporarily whilst he brought a new apartment after divorcing his Turkish ex-wife, who is a lawyer. His stories and advice to us were hilarious, and he constantly stressed that although he'd gone to an "average" US school, achieved a 3.0 GPA, and came from a modest Southern background, he earned more from his NYC accounting job (and spells of Wall Street trading) than my family lives on a year. I'm sure he'll soon be back in a penthouse on the upper East-side, or Queens, as he's willing to compromise...

Week 4, part three - the Supreme Court, the Capitol, and Banana bread!

I have no photos of the Supreme Court, because it is currently undergoing major restoration and surrounded by scaffolding. It's a beautiful neo-classical building covered in engravings and references to ancient culture. It was actually constructed in the 1930s, as for a long time the Supreme Court was without a building of its own. The East side of the buildings has a design which reflects the eastern law-giving tradition, with figures including Moses, Confucius and Solon. I really liked that. Other significant features include allegorical presentations of Justice (a blind-folded woman holding a set of scales) America (as a young woman), Commerce, Law and Wisdom.

The Supreme Court is the Judicial branch of the U.S government. It interprets all laws, tries cases affecting entire states, and foreign representatives. It also reviews the decisions and procedures of lower courts.

Other facts learnt today;

•  Princeton was founded in 1746 and known as the "College of New Jersey". I know this through looking at the college in which all of the old judges went to.
• The phrase "Equal Justice under the Law" was made up by the architects of the Supreme Court building because the letters fitted the space allocated! It doesn't have any great historical/ Biblical precedence.
• The first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O'Connor, who came originally from rural Texas, in a house that had neither indoor plumbing nor electricity. She says that this taught her the value of hard work. I think the exhibit on her life was one of the most intriguing parts of the Supreme Court.

Close-up of the Rotunda in the Capitol Building. 13 dancing women (representing the original colonies) and George Washington (seated, with a lavender robe) ascent to Heaven.

Our tour of the Captiol took us all around the Legalislative branch of the U.S government. The Capitol is responsible for making law, approving Presidential appointments, treaties made by the Whitehouse (the Executive branch of the government) and raising public money. The Capitol also overseas the expenditure of public money, trials Federal officers, and declares war.

In the Rotunda (the dome structure) I got to see John Gadsby Chapman's painting The baptism of Pocahontas (1840)*. However, there were so many people, and our tour group moved through so quickly, that I only got a very blurry photo. I'm still happy I saw it though, I saw in on Wikipedia (Googling "Pocahontas" after visiting the National Museum of the American Indian) a few days ago and was intrigued.

*Link to picture; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism_of_Pocahontas.jpg

Close-up of painting (although it looks like an engraving!) around the rim of the Rotunda

 Just on a side note, before we could enter the Capitol for our tour, there was a security incident of some sort, and everyone got moved from outside the Visitor's centre to the plaza in front of the Capitol building, whilst police, firefighters and men with dogs closed in. In the end, it was just someone's luggage which had been left, probably accidently. It's a reminder of the security risk that is a constant presence here. Our tour guide, who was an older woman, told us (at the end of the tour) about her day at work on the 11th of September, 2001.

She told us about how much more comprehensive the original tours of the Capitol were (e.g. visitors used to be allowed along the underground tunnels). She then told us about running for her life out of the East door of the Capitol with 7 members of the British parliament behind her. Her expression as she recounted turning around for what she thought was "one last look at the United States Capitol", and seeing the emotions of the rest of our tour group, it reminded me of how much 9/11 really has changed the mindset of the U.S forever.

Banana bread = success!

On a lighter note, my Banana bread did not fail despite use of "baking powder" (whatever that is) instead of Baking Soda. Nor did the fact that I used Balsamic vinegar instead of, I don't know, Malt vinegar, or whatever the normal type of vinegar is. Or, the fact that I was using a recipe which used "cups" as a valid unit of measurement. I switched between the BBC's recipe (not a stereotypical "Britain abroad" thing at all...) and some stuff I found on the back of the flour packet which was in the cupboard.

The loaf tin that I discovered in Safeway worked well! In short, the fact that anything I bake turned out edible is little short of a miracle. Hence the bananabread deserved a mention in a post alongside the US Capitol & Supreme Court.

Vocabulary learnt;

"s'mores" - a traditional nighttime campire treat, made up of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sanwiched between two pieces of a cracker. My American workmates could not believe that I hadn't had one before, until I reminded them that in England, people don't usually have the opportunity to sit out on their driveways at night, toasting marshmallows.

President [Card game]. The aim of the game is to become "President", by getting rid of your hand of cards before the other players. To get rid of cards, you can put down pairs, and cards that are the same suit or number as the previous card laid down by another player. When someone puts down a "double" (two cards of the same number) the next person has to miss their turn. You have to put down a number higher than the previous card on the table. Hence, lower cards are a nuisance and are usually played first. Being left with two 2's is bad, I can't remember why. The best part of this game is the fact that the winner becomes "President", the next person to finish is "Vice President", after them is the "First Lady" and then "Constituent". The person who comes last has to give their two best cards to the President in the next round!

When asked if we had this card game in England, I replied that the answer was obviously no, as we don't have a President, and casually enquired whether the Americans in the room knew how to play the card game "Kings". They did not.

Week 4, part two - Mount Vernon and a watermelon

 

Big butterfly, I'm certain that this is the same type of butterfly that was on the island which we kayaked to.

 Quite a few of us had wanted to see the country estate and farm that the first President of the United States, George Washington, had lived in and retired to. Washington built up his estate his entire life, extending the "mansion" and overseeing all of the arrangements to the land himself. Despite his military and political achievements, he considered himself first and foremostly a farmer. He reminds me of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (Roman statesman, Consul and Dictator, 519-430BC) in that way. We travelled by Metro to Huntingdon and then by bus, past Alexandria and into Fairfax County. This was relatively easy to do, coming from D.C the transport links are ideal for day trips out of town.

The bus journey was long because we didn't get on a direct bus, but instead spent 45 minutes touring through residential estates, and seemingly picking up elderly people and their shopping at every stop...we learnt our lesson for the return journey!

Casual tropical flower...oh and the other day at Arlington, I saw a chipmunk. Forgot to mention that, but it was great, for some reason I forgot that they had them here!

To be honest, I found the whole experience completely commercialised, and it annoyed me that they used an inventory of Martha Washington's possessions to show that she "was an enthusiastic shopper" and therefore to justify selling George Washington themed Christmas decorations, even in July. Only in America.

 

We all found the introductory "orientation" film to be ridiculous too. It contained barely any factual knowledge and instead focused on the "love story" between Martha and George Washington, regardless of the fact that in reality, most 18th c. marriages, especially 2nd marriages (Martha had been married before) were pursued for financial stability. 

Gardens! I saw a humming bird! (Far too fast to photograph)

 Regardless, seeing the way that the grounds had been preserved, and inside the house itself (the dining room was pained an extremely bright, emerald green colour, apparently historically reconstructed - Washington thought that it was the colour least likely to fade). The key to the Bastille was hanging in the passageway, sent by the Marquis de Lafayette, as a gift, for he considered Washington as like a father to him.

View of the Potomac from the back porch...

 This is pretty much the same view as George and his wife Martha Washington would have seen when they sat on their back porch in 1799...

Something that did affect me was the memorial to all of the slaves and free African-Americans who worked and died on the estate. In unmarked graves, and with a stone which was only erected in the 1980s, the lives of over a hundred people are quietly acknowledged. Since the physical location of their bodies is unknown, never precisely marked, and only recorded by chance by a 19th century visitor, there is a tangible sense of "loss". These people are still missing. Worse, was the lack of people who bothered to look around this site, compared to the tomb of Washington, where a wreath is laid daily, and which was crowded with visitors. Saying that, I'm not massively keen on the idea of people photographing people's caskets either. Maybe it's just me.

The "Mansion". 80% of the exterior is original, it's actually made of wood, "rusticated" to look like stone and brickwork, but it's hollow to knock.

 

A chance meeting. Whilst I was in my apartment (on the 2nd floor) I noticed that it had began to rain, heavily. Having been caught in several similar showers recently I looked out of the window and saw two people trying to shelter under a flimsy tree on the sidewalk. Remembering that the house I'm staying in has quite a large porch area, I ran downstairs, opened the front door and called the two women up. They were Chinese, and I soon realised that the older of the two didn't understand English, and this was sooner confirmed by the younger of the two, who revealed herself to be the other one's daughter. During a 5 minute conversation, under the porch (whilst one of my flatmates walked past, confused) I find out that;

 

a) they had been to see the most recent Nats game (baseball)

b) the daughter had moved to the U.S from China after highschool, to study, and had since worked in New York City as an exhibition designer. She is in D.C to work with the Smithsonians

c) She now lives just a few streets from here, but prefers NYC*

 

*She didn't actually say this, but this is the impression I got, especially as she mentioned about how exciting NYC is, and didn't say much about D.C. She's trying to find a job so that she can move back to NYC.

 

The GIANT 1/2 watermelon I found at Eastern Market. I'm going to miss the local fruit & vegetables. Some of the stalls at the market are run by the Amish community.

That piece of watermelon was only $3. Bargain. I also got a nutella & banana crepe...

 

Vocabulary learnt;

 

"called out", to be "called out" - to be caught out, or deliberately made an example of. For example, if someone isn't paying attention during a lesson, and the teacher chooses them to answer a question. Or, if something lies/ exaggerates something, and is found out.

 

"go-to" - this can refer to any item or object which is the most commonly used or which someone uses without having to think about it, such as a food, bag, facial expression, etc. Your 'go-to x' is the 'x' that you will resort to most commonly when you don't have the inclination/time to come up with something more original, or else that you will just go to automatically. pretty much any situation.   e.g., If you're in a rush, you grab your go-to bag.

 

Vocabulary taught to Americans;

 

"blag" - they have the word "bluff", meaning a similar thing, but hadn't heard of our word before!

Week 4, part one, outdoor movies and bright yellow schoolbuses

The "Screen on the Green"

Earlier in the week me and two other interns went to the National Mall, in order to watch an outdoor screening of E.T. This was a completely new, yet great experience. There's just so much atmosphere with outdoor performances, you can hear people talking, sirens, and all of the usual activity of the Capitol. You can have the cinema-sized screen without the cramped seats. The right temperature, without the noise of air conditioning or heating. The best thing was that during particularly dramatic/happy/sad moments people would cheer and clap together. At one point, during the credits, people from the back began spontaneously dancing, and this spread in a Mexican-wave type movement until everyone was up & moving!

I finally got a picture of one! (Georgia!) This is the culmination of every American highschool film that I have ever seen. Even in the summer, most kids seem to attend some kind of summer school or camp, to either catch up or get ahead.

Today, there was a power cut at work, and we got to leave after lunch! I should add that I do actually really enjoy my work, at the moment I'm just doing the initial reading to create a homeschool curriculum based on the WW2 Homefront. However, having a power cut meant that we got to eat cake, make shadow puppets with our hands and torches, and then head to the pub (where I had a coke, on account of being 19...) to say goodbye to one of the interns who has been at the museum for months now. I think it's fair to say that we're all going to miss his renditions of Disney songs and epic movie conversations in the lunchroom!

We've been very spoilt at work recently, considering our supervisor brought in Dunkin' Donuts the day the Royal baby was born, and on thursday there was a 21st birthday in our department, so, courtesy of the girl's "mom", we had a "birthday buffet"! It's been a good week!

Week 3, part seven, National Archives

National Archives

On the weekend I was able to see the National Archives, with the U.S Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. In addition, they had a 1297 copy of the Magna Carta! Rooted in Anglo-Saxon law and written in Latin (though not the samw Latin studied today) Magna Carta means "Great Charter", for anyone (including David Cameron) who didn't know! It was originally signed in 1215 by King John, at Runnymede. It was designed to try and appease the King's Barons, and promises fairer rights for widows, inheritance, and most importantly, ensures trial by jury and justice regardless of status. This was the foundation for much of the later U.S documents, yet (after waiting by the deserted Magna Carta display for half an hour) I discovered something else of note; 75% of Americans had no idea what it was. Alternatively, I can't prove that more than 25% of British people would know what the Magna Carta is...

Best comment - "Ooh the Magna Carta, isn't that one of the amendments to the Constitution?"

I mean, it's not like British people know what the Declaration of Independence is, or the Constitution? Oh wait, we do. To be fair, there was one American father who insisted that his children saw the Magna Carta and read that display before getting in line to see the three U.S documents (the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights). The U.S documents were kept in a shrine-like area, surrounded by guards, marble and paintings. There was a strange, almost religious reverence surrounding these documents. The Magna Carta, by contrast, is in a side-area with no queues (not that Americans know what that means!) but has a great exhibition around it!

Interesting things;

1. Regarding the U.S Constitution - Benjamin Franklin has neater handwriting than George Washington. I couldn't make out much of the document, only the signatures and the capitalised words FREE and INDEPENDENT. Maybe they're all that's important.
2. The American founding fathers wrote in a handwriting known as "English roundhand" - ironic!

The Archives also have collections of Presidential correspondence, recordings and photos of the U.S Presidents when they were children! I think too many people, including Americans, overlook the Archives as a worthwhile attraction. It has rotating modern exhibits, including 1970s American photography, and if you're a U.S citizen you can look up your family history using their records. This is what my Indian American (known in Britain as "Native American") friend intends to do, to look into her tribe's past.

I left a message in the guestbook, saying that the Archives would always hold special interest for British as well as American visitors, and thanking them for doing such a good job on the Magna Carta display.

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984

Week 3, part six, the National Museum of Natural History

The saddest-looking stuffed animal I have ever seen...

I've finally visited the National museum of Natural History! I have to say, one of the things that impressed me the most was that I left my sun cream and insect spray on a pillar outside the building (to comply with security regulations) and came back to get them 2 1/2 hours later, and they were still there! Ok, I had found a pretty stealthy place for them, but even so, that made me happy. I did enjoy the museum too, by the way.

However, a couple of things were noticeable;

1. Some adults with children were unable to recognise even (what I'd always thought) some of the world's most well-known animals. For example, I watched a woman tell her children that a ring-tailed lemur was "a big squirrel"
2. Some people, of all ages, but especially young people, simply took photos of things on display, without even reading any of the surrounding information. They then went on to photograph other things. That made me sad.
3. The most popular exhibit was a gallery of diamonds and gemstones, "all that glistens..." (saying that, I did get to see some of Marie Antoinette's earring, though it's the Diamond Necklace Affair that really went down in history)
4. The way to avoid crowds was to take the stairs. There were no Americans on the stairs, only non-English speaking tourists. So that was stereotypical.

From the 2nd floor balcony...reminds me of the film "Night at the Museum"!

As well as the objects on display, there was also a wildlife photography exhibition. The winning photo was of a gorilla with her baby, reading a book with a photo of a gorilla in it. Meta. I think the reason it may have won may be that to us as humans, the gorilla "reading" and appreciating its own image, with its baby by its side, just seems so human and therefore familiar.

Smithsonian castle building from the National Mall

Most interesting facts learnt;

• distinctive earbones are what set mammals apart from other animal kingdoms, as well as being covered in fur, giving birth to live young, and being fed by a mother that produces milk
• (especially for my sister's interest, this is for you Georgia!) - the most common species of wild rabbit was introduced into Australia, from Europe, in 1858
• 50 million years ago, the Artic was not cold, but forestland. Admittedly, 50 million years is a long time, but I guess I've never really thought about either of the polar regions just not being cold...
• Corundum (a crystalline form of Aluminium Oxide) forms gems, which are known as rubies if they are red in colour - but all other colours are known as sapphires!
• Polar bears evolved from brown bears who became stranded on a glacier off the coast of Alaska. Their fur had to change to match their new surroundings.
• After a meteorite slammed into Earth and killed the dinosaurs, 70% of all animal species died. Mammals now had the advantage as they were smaller, and had primarily lived underground. Being warm blooded, mammals could survive the fluctuations in climate which occurred immediately after the meteor and subsequent dusty darkness. Gradually mammals evolved to become bigger, and more dominant.