First Impressions

Well today was my first full day in Washington DC, and my mom and I spent the day doing the tourist thing before I move in to the dorms at American tomorrow. After successfully navigating the buses from Georgetown to downtown, our first stop was the Library of Congress

This really is a beautiful building. We went on the tour and learned that the library owns 140 million items and accepts 3000 more every day. Few of these items are actually stored at the library though...which was interesting to hear. Besides the ornate decorations and the Gutenberg Bible (which we weren't allowed to take pictures of) the most fascinating part was an exhibition called "Creating the United States". On display are early hand-written drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights complete with cross-outs, inserts, and notes in the margins. Next to these documents were dozens of letters and speeches written by our Founding Fathers including the Federalist Papers, Washington's First Inaugural Address, and a letter from Jefferson to Reverend Samuel Miller on the Separation of Church and State, as well as early copies of manuscripts and essays by notables such as Locke and Paine. It is amazing to think that the hands of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin moved over these pages. Did they know they were in the process of creating a country that would become the most powerful on earth? What would they say to us today about the state of our Union? I've never really been a huge American history buff, but it was really exciting and rather awe-inspiring to look at these documents that contain our essential values, rights, and ideals.

After the Library, we stopped at the Capitol for lunch and pictures, then walked down the Mall, attempting all the while to stay in the shade as it was incredibly hot out. We spent some in the Natural History Museum. The place was pretty packed when we got there with families and little children, but we saw the dinosaur and mammal exhibit and got a look at the Hope Diamond. We continued on and saw the Washington Monument, and managed to see the back side of the White House. I expect to return to most of these places during the course of the semester to explore them more fully.



Tomorrow we head over to American University, orientation starts Thursday, and classes start next week! I hope also to be settling my internship at some point towards the end of next week.

I think I will plan on blogging once or twice a week, depending on what is happening. Again, feel free to comment on anything!

Until next time,
Rachel