Happy Birthday America!! :) :)

Fourth of July weekend was definitely one of the greatest experiences that I have had in DC so far.  The previous week of preparation and enthusiasm still did not have me ready for the excitement of America’s birthday in the capital!

My friends from home arrived late Friday night, but Saturday morning we were up early to try to beat the crowds touring the city.  The first thing we did (and only because we were in the area…literally, walking right by it) was go to the Botanic Garden near the Capital building.  Now to be honest, I am not sure how I convinced my friends (or myself!) that going to a garden, in what looked like a giant greenhouse, on a nearly-100 degree morning would be a good idea.  But somehow, largely out of curiosity and convenience, we made our way into the garden only to be amazed by the jungle-like atmosphere we had entered.   I really do not know a thing about trees, plants, flowers, or anything of the like – but I would recommend the Botanic Garden to anyone who has ever wondered where those picture-perfect flower backgrounds for your computer desktop come from.  While those pictures may not be from this particular greenhouse, there is no shortage of images to capture.  AND – there is even a constant mist being sprayed on all the plants!  While that might sound completely irrelevant, my worries about melting while inside the greenhouse quickly vanished as the mist was well received by all visitors.

Next stop was Bullfeathers for lunch.  The name might not strike you as being particularly appetizing, but this is easily one of my favorite lunch/dinner spots in DC.  I have now been there about a handful of times, and have enjoyed happy hour specials, as well as both the lunch and dinner rush on more than one occasion.  Small and casual, and conveniently located just across from the Capital South Metro station, we stopped here for a bite to eat and continued our tour of the city.

On our way to show my friends from home the DC monuments, we walked through the folk festival and watched a few Asian cultural performances, learned how to make tequila at a Mexican demonstration, and bought smoothies from a veryyyyy busy street vendor.  Our walk to the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial was full of tourists enjoying the city, and also bustling with police and workers getting ready for the Capital Fourth celebration to take place the following day.

Sunday morning felt like Christmas to me, which may or may not seem like an unnecessary amount of excitement for a 21 year old to have on the fourth of July.  But, in my defense, July 4^th has always been my favorite day of the year, and the chance to enjoy it in DC definitely had me itching to get going with the celebration.  Myself, my friends from home, and my friends from the WII program spent most of the day on the roof of the Hampton with food, drinks, and games.  The sun was HOT, but I think we all hung in there in spirit of the holiday.  After a free pizza dinner from the apartment building’s company owners, we all trekked to the Potomac River to sit outside to watch the fireworks.   I have to say, DC sure does know how to do fireworks, and the patriotic atmosphere had all of us raving about the day/night long after we left.

There is nothing like celebrating America in the nation’s capital – this past weekend was one of the best I have had here.  I am already planning a weekend visit for this time next summer!

Counting down to the Fourth!

I wrote this post last week, but of course, I am only posting it now.  Will update on this weekend soon!!

Sorry for not updating in a while! I did not have much to report last weekend, as I was home for a family graduation party.  As much as I loved being home spending time with my family though, I have to say that I missed life in DC while I was gone.

This week was mostly filled with making plans for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.  The 4^th of July just happens to be not only my favorite holiday, but also my favorite day of the entire year—so I am extra excited to be spending it in DC!  At work everyone has been talking about the three or four day weekend they have managed to plan, and our office is discussing which building around us we can go to to enjoy the fireworks from on Sunday (our own building apparently has another building behind it that would block the show).

Though discussing weekend plans around the office has been fun, work and deadlines have definitely been keeping me busy.  In all the jobs I have ever had through high school and college, I have generally gotten used to working a standard eight-or-so hour shift and then going home.  Since beginning my internship, I have come to understand that my job requires time spent outside of the office to manage the work that I am required to complete.  I have been spending time each night working on research for work – which, though tedious, has actually turned out to be really rewarding.

I am required to have two concept research papers done by Thursday of this week (just before the 4^th of July weekend).  The papers will ultimately be used at the Truancy and Dropout Prevention Leadership Forum in September.  There, leaders from the federal government, state governments, and school boards across the country will read my papers to gain a better understanding of what the truancy issue in America is about – and how we can effectively fund and sustain successful prevention programs to combat the growing problem.  Given two weeks to complete the work, so far, I feel more proud of these two papers than just about any paper I have ever written in school.   Maybe it is because I feel like my work is going toward a meaningful project, or maybe it is because for the last two weeks, all of my work energy has been spent working on these topics.  Either way, all of the work I am doing for the ABA thus far has been significant, worthwhile, and definitely a learning experience.

This weekend, friends from home are coming to visit for the Fourth.  I am excited to show them the city, and give them a taste of what I have been doing for the summer.   People have asked me where I am going to take them when they come to visit, and to be honest – I have not been able to decide!  There has been so much that I have enjoyed, that it is hard to pick just a few places to show them in the short time they are here.

It has been a quiet week—full of work before our big three day weekend—but hopefully next week after the Fourth I will have much more to write about!  I am looking forward to the Capital Fourth being an experience, as opposed to just a show I watch each year with my family on TV, miles away from the real thing.  Looking forward to a fun weekend – Happy almost July Fourth!