Week 4, part two - Mount Vernon and a watermelon

 

Big butterfly, I'm certain that this is the same type of butterfly that was on the island which we kayaked to.

 Quite a few of us had wanted to see the country estate and farm that the first President of the United States, George Washington, had lived in and retired to. Washington built up his estate his entire life, extending the "mansion" and overseeing all of the arrangements to the land himself. Despite his military and political achievements, he considered himself first and foremostly a farmer. He reminds me of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (Roman statesman, Consul and Dictator, 519-430BC) in that way. We travelled by Metro to Huntingdon and then by bus, past Alexandria and into Fairfax County. This was relatively easy to do, coming from D.C the transport links are ideal for day trips out of town.

The bus journey was long because we didn't get on a direct bus, but instead spent 45 minutes touring through residential estates, and seemingly picking up elderly people and their shopping at every stop...we learnt our lesson for the return journey!

Casual tropical flower...oh and the other day at Arlington, I saw a chipmunk. Forgot to mention that, but it was great, for some reason I forgot that they had them here!

To be honest, I found the whole experience completely commercialised, and it annoyed me that they used an inventory of Martha Washington's possessions to show that she "was an enthusiastic shopper" and therefore to justify selling George Washington themed Christmas decorations, even in July. Only in America.

 

We all found the introductory "orientation" film to be ridiculous too. It contained barely any factual knowledge and instead focused on the "love story" between Martha and George Washington, regardless of the fact that in reality, most 18th c. marriages, especially 2nd marriages (Martha had been married before) were pursued for financial stability. 

Gardens! I saw a humming bird! (Far too fast to photograph)

 Regardless, seeing the way that the grounds had been preserved, and inside the house itself (the dining room was pained an extremely bright, emerald green colour, apparently historically reconstructed - Washington thought that it was the colour least likely to fade). The key to the Bastille was hanging in the passageway, sent by the Marquis de Lafayette, as a gift, for he considered Washington as like a father to him.

View of the Potomac from the back porch...

 This is pretty much the same view as George and his wife Martha Washington would have seen when they sat on their back porch in 1799...

Something that did affect me was the memorial to all of the slaves and free African-Americans who worked and died on the estate. In unmarked graves, and with a stone which was only erected in the 1980s, the lives of over a hundred people are quietly acknowledged. Since the physical location of their bodies is unknown, never precisely marked, and only recorded by chance by a 19th century visitor, there is a tangible sense of "loss". These people are still missing. Worse, was the lack of people who bothered to look around this site, compared to the tomb of Washington, where a wreath is laid daily, and which was crowded with visitors. Saying that, I'm not massively keen on the idea of people photographing people's caskets either. Maybe it's just me.

The "Mansion". 80% of the exterior is original, it's actually made of wood, "rusticated" to look like stone and brickwork, but it's hollow to knock.

 

A chance meeting. Whilst I was in my apartment (on the 2nd floor) I noticed that it had began to rain, heavily. Having been caught in several similar showers recently I looked out of the window and saw two people trying to shelter under a flimsy tree on the sidewalk. Remembering that the house I'm staying in has quite a large porch area, I ran downstairs, opened the front door and called the two women up. They were Chinese, and I soon realised that the older of the two didn't understand English, and this was sooner confirmed by the younger of the two, who revealed herself to be the other one's daughter. During a 5 minute conversation, under the porch (whilst one of my flatmates walked past, confused) I find out that;

 

a) they had been to see the most recent Nats game (baseball)

b) the daughter had moved to the U.S from China after highschool, to study, and had since worked in New York City as an exhibition designer. She is in D.C to work with the Smithsonians

c) She now lives just a few streets from here, but prefers NYC*

 

*She didn't actually say this, but this is the impression I got, especially as she mentioned about how exciting NYC is, and didn't say much about D.C. She's trying to find a job so that she can move back to NYC.

 

The GIANT 1/2 watermelon I found at Eastern Market. I'm going to miss the local fruit & vegetables. Some of the stalls at the market are run by the Amish community.

That piece of watermelon was only $3. Bargain. I also got a nutella & banana crepe...

 

Vocabulary learnt;

 

"called out", to be "called out" - to be caught out, or deliberately made an example of. For example, if someone isn't paying attention during a lesson, and the teacher chooses them to answer a question. Or, if something lies/ exaggerates something, and is found out.

 

"go-to" - this can refer to any item or object which is the most commonly used or which someone uses without having to think about it, such as a food, bag, facial expression, etc. Your 'go-to x' is the 'x' that you will resort to most commonly when you don't have the inclination/time to come up with something more original, or else that you will just go to automatically. pretty much any situation.   e.g., If you're in a rush, you grab your go-to bag.

 

Vocabulary taught to Americans;

 

"blag" - they have the word "bluff", meaning a similar thing, but hadn't heard of our word before!