DC Days

Wow, how long has it been since I wrote my last post? Far too long, perhaps.

Leaving the early morning San Francisco fog!

The view from my window.

Here I am at Georgetown University, and no single day has failed to be surreal. It started with a flight to Salt Lake City, and a plane ride with a stranger who happened to be my age that was flying with his group of friends back home to the east coast. When I arrived at the Baltimore airport on July 7th, two days after my mother's spinal surgery, it was difficult to find my transportation. I was told that this shuttle  would be labeled with the name of the transit company, but, first of all, it was late. Then, it was not labeled. Still, I was the first to find the man who was rushing out of the car with a piece of paper: Georgetown University Community Scholars Program, in hand. I traveled to the university with three others. What struck me at first was, quite literally, the heat. Running in between different airport entryways in the heat frantically looking for my ride did not help at all.

Exorcist stairs. Some people work out on these extremely
steep steps!

DC Cupcakes has a line reminiscent, yet longer, of Bi-rite.

PNC Bank: a towering, shiny presence on my
 Wisconsin St. walks.

My first impression of the city was how rustic it looked. Then I arrived at the university and saw the large building with the clocktower that I saw on the front of every Georgetown flyer: Healy Hall. Apparently, the "California kids" were the latest to arrive, according to my roommate. At our commencement meeting, there were tacos, and of course, I met the most awkward kid who would, of course, become my hanging-out-eating-lunch together buddy. The group of 52 scholars and 5 RAs (resident assistants) played a game of "connection," which went to the point of people desperately started yelling out very general conditions. Well, as bad as it was, I guess it really did work as an icebreaker. It wasn't until later that night that I was able to begin unpacking in my room, an upperclassman housing, Copley Hall.

Right across from CVS Pharmacy is the very
inappropriately-name cafe: Avocado Cafe....

Our mascot-in-training, Jack Jr., or J.J.--in all his
un-neutered glory.

Look at this pampered pup!

That Sunday, we had a scavenger hunt that had us running around the school during the hottest and most humid weather. My group, enlisting the help of a current student, were able to take all the snapshots of the location and win a $10 gift card to a DC restaurant, The Tombs. My RA was the most perky and kind sophomore I've met. And later during the day, we received our free textbooks: STATS :( and Persepolis.

The following day, we had our first English class, and as for a few others, their first Statistics class. The math class was a bit tedious--just like any other math class. But today, we also signed up for our GOCards, the card that you need to scan everywhere on campus and took our reading diagnostics test (for some reason I still don't understand). I ventured for the first time outside the city and bought a planner (I'm using July 2013, since there's no July 2012), the Student Advantage feature of the GOCard, a lanyard for my room key, and a GU mug I use to eat oatmeal every morning (and plan on making banana cake in).

On Tuesday, everyone took a math diagnostic test and received our first essay prompt (500 words). I purchased most of the necessities online on drugstore.com and Amazon that day as well. Wednesday, I fixed a neighbor's laptop, for which I was given $20, but it was a 6-hour ordeal as well...that I wouldn't be able to have gone through without my brother. I had a meeting that night with one of the leaders of the program, who happens to blog as well. That Thursday, not only did everyone rejoice that it was the end of the school week, but we all had a financial aid session, where I discovered that most of the people were going to school free of charge! GU is an entirely need-based aid doler, I discovered...

10 points to anyone who can identify this. It's in the
National Mall...

Clouds over the Potomac River indicate an impending
 storm.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Newly erected and standing strong.

The roof of the mysterious structure.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
 only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that."

Washington Memorial at night.

National World War II Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial.

House upon exiting a hiking trail...

Another castle-esque house.

The woods where I got a bug bite that I'm still
 draining today...

Friday, the NHS students met with their deans, and we had a writing workshop for our essay with the  friendly TA. We also went on a night tour of the National Mall. The next day, I walked around DC again to buy baking ingredients and leggings. We went hiking, and I got the most troublesome blister ever (today, I still am draining it twice a day). Monday, I must say, was pretty fun. We went to the English MLK Birmingham presentation. I got a job application at Comfort One Shoes. My buddy lost his backpack, in which had another friend's homework, and for which he woke up early the next day to retrieve it in the dining hall bathroom, but not without a nighttime hunt for it which involved filing a report to the DPS, who chided us for laughing too much (ok, probably aimed at me). I went to Vital Vittles for the first time to buy the medical supplies to treat my blister and to the Bookstore to buy duct tape, 500 Chinese flashcards and a Twilight graphic novel (both of which were on clearance for $6 and $0.99 respectively).

The days following that were not as adventurous, since everyone is now in their own schedules balancing schoolwork and having, more or less, exhausted city exploration within a quarter-mile radius of the school. But this weekend, things are definitely going to be happening...