Dear DC

Dear DC,

Well, I've been home for almost two days now and as much as I enjoyed every minute of my time with you, I can't say I'm missing you yet. There's definitely something to be said for the serenity of the rolling hills of West Linn. They bring about a peacefulness that your exhaust fumes, ambulance sirens, and public transportation can't quite measure up to.

But before I get too deep into explaining why I'm so happy to be home, I want to thank you, Washington, DC, for such an amazing summer. The past eleven weeks truly felt like a once in a lifetime experience. Not only was I living on my own for the first time, it was the first time I had a real job with a real company and the first time I had no one to answer to except myself (and my bosses).

I learned a lot about myself this summer. I learned I truly hate grocery shopping. Some people complain about laundry, but I would do loads and loads of laundry if I meant I didn't have to go grocery shopping in the city again. I learned that I am capable of successfully completing projects that people throw at me, sometimes with little direction. I learned that I enjoy being able to decide 100% of what I do in my time off of work. And lastly, I learned that no matter where I go or how much fun I am having in that place, home truly is where my heart is. Then again, anyone who knows me probably has known this for a long time.

As a city, you have so much to offer. Thank you for showing me your museums, your food, and the quintessential "summer in DC" experience. There were a few weeks where I thought I might melt from your unforgiving heat and humidity, but you must have heard my complaints, because my last few weeks were quite pleasant. As the weeks went on, I came to trust you and feel like I belonged—not like the obnoxious tourists who continually block the escalators on the Metro. You showed me a world I have never seen before and for that I am grateful. Five hours on a plane is a long way away from my small Oregon town, but someday I'll be back. For you, DC, I'll make an exception to my anti-East Coast feelings. West Coast will always be the best coast, but a small piece of me will always be in DC.

Thanks for everything, but mostly, thanks for sending me home with all the wonderful memories I created over the last 11 weeks. Be sure and keep in touch.

Fondly,

Jennifer

Last Minute Destinations, Bites, and Musings

As my time in DC quickly comes to an end, I've been trying to squeeze in as many last minute tourist destinations as possible in my time off of work! Last Saturday, my roommate and I took a trip back to Eastern Market to try out their famous blueberry buckwheat pancakes, which were worth the 30+ minute wait, even with the smell of freshly caught fish in the stall beside us! (Think Pike Place...) Later that afternoon I met up with my fellow CMCers in the city as we traveled to the CMC DC new student party. The best part of the day was getting to reminisce on all the amazing, fun, wonderful things that CMC has to offer with people I already have so much in common with. It's always nice just to be with people who know you and you have things in common with. It did make me a little sad I won't be going back to CMC in the fall, but I'm sure Spain will be just as fun!

On Sunday we took the metro out to Old Town Alexandria to check out the harbor and the shopping. There really is nothing like spending time on a boat out on the river in the summertime. So, who's taking me when I get back???

Monday I convinced my fellow PPI intern to go with me to Ben's Chili Bowl for dinner. Now, if you haven't heard of Ben's Chili Bowl you clearly haven't read up on your DC dining hot spots. It is the definition of a DC staple, made famous by people like Bill Cosby and President Obama. Regardless of how you (or I) feel about Obama's politics, he knew what he was doing when he came here immediately after being elected president. Never have I had such amazing, or spicy, chili cheese fries. This was definitely a yolo moment, but I could really care less. They were worth it.

The remainder of my week consisted of attending a WNBA basketball game with my cousin Bree and playing MAJOR tourist on Friday as I went on a personal tour of the Capitol given by my roommate, which including seeing the old Supreme Court room and the old House chamber, checked out the Library of Congress, and went back to my favorite place in DC, the Supreme Court building. I finished off the day by heading back by the National Archives to do more research for my paper on their Documerica exhibit and stopping by Serendipity in Georgetown with the roommate for a sundae that included fried oreos...I guess another yolo moment.

Saturday and Sunday we checked out two very different brunch spots, Founding Farmers and Lincoln's Waffle Shop. Founding Farmers is based off of the fresh, wholesome food movement and you could totally taste the fresh flavors in their food, but the banana pancakes at my uber sketchy Lincoln's Waffle Shop are pretty hard to beat. If you've ever been to a dive diner run by a huge family where they decorate the walls with calendars you know what I'm talking about. Also, if you've ever met my dad or heard the stories about the Mexican restaurant he found literally under the train tracks in Indio with the bars on the windows you know what I'm talking about. We also took the time to visit the National Zoo on Saturday, where I was mesmerized by the lions, tigers, and panda bears, which I guess are very rare for American zoos!

Now, before you begin to think that all I've done in the last week is go all yolo with my feasts, I will say that I've upped my running mileage in the past two weeks as well. In fact, as I was returning from one such long run this evening, I ran into my high school journalism teacher! On the National Mall, on the other side of the country!! DC is a very small place.

Now, I know this post wasn't that insightful, but I needed to update you—my wonderful, loyal readers—on all the fabulous things I've done in the past week ;) Now I'm tired and need to mentally prepare for my last two days of work. And pack. Wish me luck. Good night to you all and see you in four days!