The day they didn't let us in the National Archives because of pocket knifes.

Yesterday I got 2 packages. Mom sent 2 really cool shirts for Abbi and me. Estevan sent me his favorite sweater, my favorite tea from home, and three letters. Going to pick up the packages packages today made me so happy I cried. I am such a big baby sitting here in this sweater missing home so much, when in reality I have only been gone four weeks. I love getting and sending mail while I am here, it makes me feel a little closer to home.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Abbi and I got to participate in some really neat work. We got to spend more time with a veterinarian and even put on scrubs, which made us both feel very official! 

We got off early Thursday and went to the National Archives to see our country's most precious documents. After waiting in line outside (in the rain) we finally make it inside and are about to go through security. Abbi looks at me and says, "I just realized I have my pocket knife". Because qe had came from work ,and most self-respecting West Texans take their pocket knife to work, Daniel also had his. I told her not to try and seek it in just ask them to hold it for you while we go in. Turns out they didn't like that very much and asked us to leave. A much more friendlier security guard outside helped us out with the knife situation and got us back inside. Just more proof that every day here brings some sort of crazy adventure. 

I could not take any pictures inside the Archives, but it is truly an amazing place! The rotunda where the documents are kept is dark and cold to help preserve the ink better. Seeing the constitution was probably my favorite. Another really neat thing was the 2 giant murals hanging on the wall with a 2 scenes of many of the founding fathers. I really loved those paintings! 

Friday we did not have to work and Abbi and I ventured into the city to go to the neweum. Which is a museum about the news. Before we got there we ran across a small farmers market with some really great treats! We also went to the old post office building which has a 12 story tall bell tower that you can go up. I did not like the ride up to the top but I did enjoy the view. In DC you are constantly surrounded by buildings you forget something as neat as Thomas Jefferson's memorial is just a couple blocks aways. It was a really good view of the city and we got to see the official bells of congress. 

I am not sure how popular the newseum is in DC but it has to be my favorite place in the city so far. One of the first things we saw was a very large section of the Berlin Wall. They have an entire section with signs and videos from Berlin in that time period. I did not know much about the wall but learning the story was so fascinating. 

They also had an FBI section with all the popular news stories in the past 60 years or so that pertained to the FBI. One of the things that really stood out to me what the first interview with Bin Laden in 1998. What a horrible person to do such terrible things to people. In the FBI section they also had a war on terror exhibit. They had a lot of pieces pulled out of the wreckage on display. I have a couple of pictures from it. They have a ladies wallet and credit cards that was on one of the flights. It was incredibly sad and very moving. 

They had a large part of the museum dedicated to a temporary JFK exhibit. How JFK was the first president born in the 20th century and how the media influenced his term. I not only saw so much stuff from when he was president but also learned a lot about his presidency and the time period he served in. 

They had a whole room with news articles dating back to the 1400s when a king lost his dog and put an add to help find him in the paper. They had a copy of the paper with the entire constitution printed in  it from when it was ratified. There must have been 600 papers in that room, every major news story was covered. You could look at and read through each article. It was impressive.

Another very moving exhibit is how the media respond to  9/11. They had one of the signal towers from the building on display at the museum. Also they had a very very large wall with over 150 front pages from all over the world the days after 9/11. The pain from that day does not get old. I like the term "never forget" because even though 9/11 is horrific it brings us together as a nation. 

Tomorrow the Brock's and Aaron, Abbi's boyfriend, are coming to visit. I am really looking forward to a little West Texas TLC. We have big plans for spending the 4th in the district (which includes matching outfits). I am looking forward to an exciting week. 

Even though I miss home and am counting down the days until I get back, I cannot believe I am living here this summer. What a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and do the things I am doing. I am so glad to share all my stories on here with my favorite people. Miss you all!! 

Lincoln memorial. Love this photo showing all the stairs. 

The man himself

Tons of these flowers all over are apartment building... Never gets old seeing all this green 

Front of the National Archives

View from old post offic bell tower 

Berlin Wall

A sign from Berlin

Hall with daily front pages 

Great peanuts strip in section dedicated to the funnies 

Pulled from the  9/11 wreckage... One of the hanging pieces is from the airplane

Signal tower from the trade center 

Only a portion of the wall covered with front pages from the days after 9/11

City of interesting smells

I have been living in Maryland for 3 weeks.

Work is going well. I am starting to get to know the people at our work a little better. Next week we are going to get to shadow a veterinarian and I am looking forward to that. 

On Thursday Abbi Daniel Megan her roommate Caroline and I all went to eat at a restaurant called Hill Country. This little slice of home was so much fun! Texas monthly and texas licenses plates line the walls. It is a BBQ place with a really great atmosphere. We had the best and biggest slice of red velvet cake! 

Friday we did not have to work so we went to the Spy museum and the American Art and Portrait gallery. It was 9am when we decided to start our day. Our metro ride was filled with the usual 9am crowd until a group of 20 teenage boys with skateboards joined us. Oh and there accompanying police officer. One of the boys told me they were going to a skate for cancer rely. I could not help but laugh because like the police officer that was not what I was expecting. The most interesting people watching has got to be on the DC metro. 

The spy museum was really neat. They had a lot of spy stuff from World War I and II. Also, they had a lot of James Bond stuff there. They had entire sections focused on the KGB influence in America which I thought was really interesting. 

We had lunch and went to the American Art Museum. That place is HUGE! We decide to only stay an hour so we could see the new superman. In that hour we got through one half of the first floor. Holy moly there are so many portraits. I like how they had a description of each persons major accomplishments by their photo. The section we walked through was mainly people from the civil war.  

After seeing superman, which is really good, Abbi and I went a little further into town to make our weekly trek to Trader Joe's. Man I love that place. It is a little health food store and they have the best nectarines. 

Saturday Abbi and I slept in and then decided to try and walk through a little more of the art museum. After 2 and a half hours of ooking through all kinds of pictures, along with a portrait gallery of the president, we needed a break. In the middle of the art museum there is a three story tall square courtyard with a skylight-like roof. I wish I could describe how simple and beautiful this courtyard is. Abbi and I decided that was our favorite part of the museum. I wish I could have captured the elegance in a picture but it was impossible. 

Saturday night we had a great girls night with our friend from work Megan. We all decided we were craving some mexican food and were going to try to find a good place. One bad thing about being out here is you never really know what a place is going to be like until you get there. Should I dress nicely or do we need reservations? The original restaurant we went to seemed a little to formal for our taste so after walking around in a couple of circles we settled on another mexican food restaurant with what seemed like decent prices. Turns out is what a spanish food restaurant with a very expensive menu because you have to order everything individual. The three of us still had a good meal and enjoyed a cupcake from a delicious bakery close by. Another thing about DC is a good treat is always close by. 

I cannot stress enough how glad I am to be here with Abbi. It has been a lot of fun but at the same time there have been some rough moments in the last three weeks. My thoughts frequently drift to Lubbock life. I am really sad to be missing out on helping Heather and Doug move. Thanks again for all the love and support. I am nothing with out all the amazing people who hold me up!

Car from James Bond

Main reason I am not a spy

Preamble at American art museum

This was a picture in the monument section... I knew that hotel the minute I saw the picture

This was absolutely amazing!

Take me here

Saw this at BBQ fest

Scrub day at work... Forgot my badge that day so I had to wear a visitors sticker. 

Had to throw this in here because it's my favorite picture of Estevan and Me

Never expect the escalators in the metro to work

Friday night we wanted to go into town and do something special after a full week of work. After asking around at work we decided to go to Russia House, a very authentic restaurant in the Dupont circle area. It was great to get all dolled up and go into town, especially to a place that had the largest vodka selection in DC.

Our waiter at Russia House was excellent. Since I had never had russian food he instructed us on what to order. For appetizer we had fried  and borscht. Borscht is excellent cabbage soup with a dollop of sour cream. For an entree I had beef stroganoff, it was totally different from any stroganoff I have ever had. Instead of noodles it had chucks of beef and mashed potatoes in the center. Oh man it was so delicious!! I highly recommend traditional russian food.

Today we went into the city and explored Virginia. Daniel wanted to go to the Pentagon. I really didn't know what to expect but I didn't mind going to see what it was all about. I do not recommend going to the Pentagon if you are visiting DC. All you do is walk out of the metro and see a building. Security is really crazy around that building.

After the Pentagon we decided to go walk around Arlington cemetery. It was so humbling to see all the graves of people who have served our country. We were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider. It was a really neat ceremony, the soldiers who guard the tomb take their job very seriously. The cemetery is absolutely beautiful. It is such an honor to be a member of such a great nation with a military as amazing as ours.

Here are some pics of what my apartment looks like

My bed is the blue one

Changing of the guard 

Day thirteen

Everyday is an adventurer and most days bring new and interesting challenges.

Spending the weekend with mom and Jerri going to DC's gay pride parade and pride festival was so eye opening. The parade did not center around "being gay", but rather acceptance. Everyone was just happy. Happy to be in a place they could completely be themselves without any judgement. I loved being in that environment and interacting with so many happy people. Especially getting to experience all of it with my mom.

This week we got into the lab and start working, all of my coworkers are so great. My team is composed of 6 FDA workers along with 3 other interns. Everyday Abbi and I learn a little more and get a little more independent. It is really satisfying to know that the work we are going to be apart of this summer has a real impact.

This week our county has been under a tornado warning 2 nights. Severe weather is very different here.
No one seems to care when a tornado is just a few miles away, while Abbi and I were on red alert seeking shelter. Apparently tornados here last a very short time and are very weak in nature.

Overall it is about the little things. Having people at work invite you to lunch along with a perfectly timed bus transfer can make my day. Being in a city always reminds you of your roots. We always have conversations at work about how many Sonics are in Lubbock or the frequency of Haboobs. I am having a great time experiencing new things and continuing to step out of my comfort zone.

None of this means that I do not miss home. It is depressing to think that I have only been here a week and a half and I already miss my family so much. Skyping with Estevan always cheers me up, but I hate missing out on so much at home. Every adventure comes with a sacrifice and I know this experience is going to teach me so much. Love you all!


Here are some pictures from this week

Super official FDA lab coats 

From Lincoln memorial 

Pride parade 

Frozen yogurt in the mall

Legit monks I ninjaed a pic on metro

Capitol

The Ethiopian food mom and jerri took us to eat

Trying to settle into a normal life

Today marks one week and one day since I have been living in College Park. Honestly, it feels like I have already been here a month. I miss home but I think once things start to pick up at work and I settle into a routine and it will be better.

The last time I checked in was on Monday after Abbi and I decided to go to Target. Monday night watching Band of Brothers with Abbi and Daniel I realized I was running a fever. I stayed at home sick on Tuesday and walked down the street to a local clinic that afternoon. Two things I have learned is I hate being sick away from home and if I get sick again I am defiantly not going back to that clinic. Even though they are across the country Estevan and Heather talked me through the day and kept my spirits high. I am thankful to be here with Abbi because she did an excellent job of nursing me back to health.

Thankfully I felt good enough to go to work Wednesday afternoon. We sat through a couple of training meetings at the FDA and met two other interns. Thursday we went to the main FDA campus in Silver Spring to get our badges. Wow, what a building I was kind of hoping to see the president walk by or someone equally as important. I feel pretty legit having an official FDA badge. We start working in the lab on Monday so Dr. Yancy gave us the rest of the week and weekend off.

Thursday we got up and went to the National Air and Space museum. I am surprised that it is the most popular museum in the world. It was pretty impressive, especially the 3 story missiles we saw.

Mom and Jerri came into town Friday about 6pm. Since we were off we slept in and decided to go for a quick lunch in a part of DC called Adams Morgan. Navigating the DC metro system is painless but learning what bus to get on in a real pain in the ass. It took us a few tries on 3 different buses to arrive on the edge of Adams Morgan. By that time we were famished we just went into a place called Amsterdam Falafel. Whatever I ate it sure looked and tasted like a hush puppy sandwich. We got home in one piece and collapsed until mom and Jerri arrived.

I was not having a bad week but having mom and Jerri here is just what I needed. Friday night we went out to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant right off the Union Station metro stop. It was amazing. Mom and Jerri have a similar place back home so they knew just what to order. 2 huge sampler plates a bowl of lamb steaks and some sort of fish all came to the table along with baskets of rolled up bread. We didn't use forks just tore off the bread and used it to scoop up some food. If anyone feels the urge to come visit us in Maryland, I will be taking them back there!!

We have to walk to take the bus to the grocery store so we can only buy what we can carry. Thank goodness there is an Einstein's bagels in front of our apartment because this first week we did not have much food. Mom and Jerri brought so many goodies from Kentucky because really needed so much stuff. On top of that since they drove to Maryland, they took us to Walmart and we loaded up the car with tons of groceries. Having a full pantry really makes me feel more at home. I could not be more grateful to mom and Jerri for really saving us this weekend.

Between getting sick and learning to use the bus system this week has really been a test. I am happy to be here but the overwhelming feeling of this huge city has not left me yet. Mom and Jerri really brought a piece of home with them this weekend that I will be holding on to until Abbi's mom arrives in a few weeks.

I know this was a long post and I haven't even told you about hanging out in the city with mom and Jerri. I will work on a more fun post in the next couple of days. Love to all and feel free to send prayers.

And the fun begins

Sunday was our first full day in Maryland. We decide to find a close church to attend and ended up at the College Park Church of Christ that meets at the Holiday Inn across the street from our apartment. This local church only had about 8 members and were the kindest and most welcoming people I have met so far. Everyone was so friendly and wrote down all of their contact information incase we need anything. Even though the Church of Christ is not what I am use to it was so nice to just be welcomed and prayed for by a great group of Christians.

After church Dr. Laughlin took us into downtown DC to practice using the metro. We got off near the mall area, where all the Smithsonian's are located, and just walked around for a couple of hours. Getting to know how the metro works is pretty easy it is the bus system that is more complicated and will be a little harder to figure out.

Our morning commute to work consisted of two bus rides. It took us about an hour and a half total to leave our apartment, get on the bus, travel, wait for the next bus, and finally reach the FDA. We met our boss who gave us a tour and told us about the projects we are going to be working on this summer. Along with working on some really cool research projects our boss is going to try and organize a behind the scenes tour at the Smithsonian and see if we can spend the day shadowing the head veterinarian at the national zoo!!! When he told us that I about fainted! What a fabulous summer this is going to be. I could not have asked for a better boss. He brought us home from work and told us, "I live just down the road from y'all so I will just start picking you for work in the morning". Oh man what a relief that will be.

 Since there was nothing for us to do at work today but fill out paperwork, we got home about 11am. After a good nap Abbi and I decided to make our way to target. I am happy to report that we made it to a target completely on public transportation and carried all of our groceries back with us.

It is such a joy to just be here on my computer talking to Abbi and Daniel about what movie we want to watch tonight while we eat our home cooked meal. This summer is going to be relatively stress free, and just about working hard at the lab and enjoying the city.

I am feeling really blessed and supported by all of my family and friends. Here are some pictures of our day downtown. 

The hope diamond in the Natural History museum 

A giant 3 toed sloth in the natural history museum 

Abbi and I in front of the National Archives where they keep the Declaration of Independence

We made it.

Made it to College Park! Traveling here was painless, our plane rides were smooth and we didn't have any delays. Dr. Patty (our trip coordinator) had us picked up from the airport in style. A black Escalade brought us from the Baltimore's airport to our apartment in College Park. We arrive at the apartment right at 5pm, which was great because we caught the apartment workers right as they were leaving.  They helped us get into our apartments and made sure we had all the right keys. The girl who helped us did not have the southern hospitality that I am use to, but after Abbi and I chatted her up she warmed up some. 

Abbi and I are the second floor and our companion Daniel is right under us on the first. Our apartment is a single bedroom and it came furnished with all the necessities it has 2 TVs and a washer and dryer!!  I am so happy with our living situation and the apartment has very good security. Another bonus about this place is our balcony and the pool! 

We walked down the street to the grocery store and got some food to last us through the weekend until we can figure out the bus situation and make our way to walmart. I am glad our professor Dr. Laughlin came with us and is going to help us practice getting to work on tomorrow, so that on Monday we know what to do. I am not use to public transportation but have a metro card and ready to become a true city girl. 

I am excited to be here and so happy I am with Abbi and Daniel. I am also looking forward to starting work on Monday.

Love you all!

Pics of my apartment soon.