So Yeah…I’ve Been in DC

This whole past round has been a complete bust for this blog. I never even mentioned i was heading to DC, much less write about it at all while actually here. I’ve simply been going about my life here in Washington and blissfully ignoring the fact that this blog exists. I may have even forgotten about it a few times. But clearly that cannot go on. I cant leave people hanging and gloss over this past month and a half. So here is what I hope is a decent summary of my time here.

Being in DC has been incredible! Overall. At first I was bummed out about it (when we got the news) because I was pining badly to go out west, to the other Washington. I wanted the chance to work on a real disaster in the field, and I wanted to see the west coast damn it! But I got sent here. I quickly got over my disappointment because it was still a new place I had always wanted to see and I was going to be living with some good friends of mine on another team.

They set us up in a three story house on the edge of a somewhat sketchy neighborhood in Prince George’s County (PG for short) just outside of the city. It was big and empty and had nothing too special about it besides a decent kitchen and a working laundry closet. We lived with two other teams and split into shared rooms. It was a refreshing change after being cooped up alone in that hotel up north. A few items of furniture were eventually added to make a decent living space but we slept on our cots the entire time. Cleanliness was a recurring issue that led to quite a few heated moments, but no one died so I think everything worked out fine.

Working out of the FEMA headquarters was less than exciting. It was a great opportunity to meet important people and observe big operations, but I did not love it. I didn’t care about most of those things. I appreciated what they were and what they meant, but that didn’t make me enjoy it. We were very lucky once again when it came to our supervisors at FEMA. They were very kind to us and worked to see that we got good work, and for the most part we did. They really wanted to help us grow and develop our skills, and I can easily say they were the best part of working here this round.

DC itself has endless opportunities to see and do cool shit. It was always easy to get into town either by grabbing a ride or taking the metro in. Once there, DC is incredibly easy to walk around in and a lot of the museums and things are free. We did exercise in the National Mall multiple times and I got to check out some of the cooler monuments while running (running to the Lincoln memorial and back quickly became one of my favorite things to do). I got to check out the White House of course and got a tour of the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress. The Capitol was cool but not incredible, unlike the Library of Congress, which was awesome. I also definitely made sure to check out as many museums as I could, even if it meant spending my lunch hour walking around the Air and Space Museum. Besides that I went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the Holocaust Museum, a very heavy and enlightening experience. We had the chance to hear a survivor tell her story and were even showed her tattooed ID number, very intense and very humbling. Don’t do genocide kids, it’s bad for you. I recommend visiting all of these places, for your health.

On top of all that I was able to go hiking and canoeing in Virginia, volunteer at races and school events, check out the zoo, go kayaking in the Potomac River, and go to a freaking TRAMPOLINE PARK!!!! That’s certainly something off my bucket list.

Being in DC really felt like being in the heart of civilization (most likely not actually the case, but it’s how it felt). Foreign embassies and huge museums made the place feel regal, and there was so much culture to take in at once. One day I was walking through the National Mall to meet people for lunch when I stumbled upon a troop of Japanese drummers and dancers performing outside of a museum. They were incredible and I ended up watching them for 45 minutes (I was late to lunch). One weekend I went to a huge Science Expo at the massive DC convention center wherein I saw BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY TALK ABOUT SCIENCE!!! (Another thing off my bucket list) The whole thing was like a massive science fair with a futuristic prototype Walmart Truck (which was actually pretty awesome) and 3D printers galore. We got to see a few science shows and Mike Rowe (that guy from Dirty Jobs) awkwardly interact with a robot (the robot sucked so bad he eventually gave up and answered questions from fans for the rest of the time). I even ended up meeting someone I didn’t even know was one of my childhood heroes, Jon Scieszka. He’s a children’s author that wrote The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, and my personal favorite, the Time Warp Trio series, all books I adored as a kid. Anyway he was there promoting his new book about a kid scientist, and I had no clue who he was until they said what he had written, and then I was so excited! After his presentation I grabbed a free preview of his new book, and I had a chat with him. He was incredibly nice and we had a great conversation, and afterwards he signed the preview I had picked up. It was an awesome day!

Then about halfway through our round a legitimate disaster stuck. Tornadoes tore up a lot of the Midwest and a bunch of teams were scrambled to go help. Not us though. We weren’t the right kind of team, so while we got a spike in our workload, we never left DC. My friend’s team on the other hand was sent out almost immediately. It was good for him because they had nothing to do in DC to begin with. Plus he was able to out and make a real difference. But that sucked for me! I was getting used to having him around! Now what was I supposed to do? Hang out with my team? Horror! I joke, but it did get far more boring back at the house. It did get cleaner though. I spent the rest of my round drawing and watching an impressive amount of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to stave off the boredome. Joss Whedon is my hero.

So I think that’s an apt description of my third and final round with Americorps. DC was an incredible city that I am very thankful I got to experience. I had some great times there with my team, with my friends, and by myself. It certainly wast my most productive round, especially when considering this blog, but I feel like it was a great way to wrap up my year of service. I only have a few days left until I’m done with all this and on my way home. I’ll write at least one more post to reflect upon this year as a whole. It may not be finished until I get home, but it will be done, and so will I. Thank you for reading, until next time.