Union Station.This was the first Metro station that I saw properly, having got as coach from the airport and then joined the metro line at West Falls Church. Emerging from Union station for the first time all I remember is the view of white marble, statues, giant American flags, and a view out towards the Capitol, obscured slightly by the rain and humidity.The station also contains a shopping mall on several different levels!
View of the Potomac from a bridge that we walked across to get into Georgetown, which residents have deliberately kept slightly exclusive, by opposing any attempt to connect it to the Metro lines.
This is the sign from a cupcake shop me, some interns I work with, and their roomates went to, in Georgetown. The shop is famous because it has its own TV show. The fashion in the U.S at the moment is in making reality TV shows about people's everyday businesses (the most pipular seem to be bakeries, or those in the luxury industry, such as "below deck", concerning the life of a yacht crew) or the lives of "celebrities". I put that last part in quotation marks because I, to the shock of my flatmates, have no idea who any of these people actually are, or why they're famous. I get no entertainment from watching people drive around in limos, buying designer clothes or having "issues" (always on camera of course) with their family/ friends. Issues which are always resolved by extensive shopping trips, holidays, or spas and retreats.
Back at Georgetown, and having queued to physically get into the shop to buy a cake (only in America) my expectations were high. Luckily, having only seen cupcakes with a handful of different coloured toppings before, I was not disappointed. There was an actual cupcake menu for this place. They also did take-away. I chose "red velvet" because it wasn't chocolate (we may have already stopped to try chocolate chip pancakes earlier in the day...) and was just thinking about how ironic it would be if, after all that effort, I dropped my cupcake, when someone I was with accidentally knocked their bag against me and my cupcake hit the floor. I feel as though I have never known true heart break until that moment. If only my life were a reality tv show, then the sad, classical music would start playing, and the weird freeze-frames and close-ups of my face. Then I'd have an argument with the girl (who was extremely apologetic!) and it would be resolved by us buying more cake, and then giving interviews individually about how we felt about the incident.
However, what really happened was that a very kind staff member saw the whole thing and got me another one for free!
View of the Capitol building from the lawns. I like the fact that you can casually walk through the lawns to get to places, I suppose you can walk past the front of Buckingham palace, but the high gates and constant crowds mean that you'd never get a view as nice as this!
View of a old-looking building (they stand out in D.C) in Georgetown (possibly part of the university?) from the bridge we walked over, reminded me of Prague, or somewhere European. I'm glad we had a bit of a walk into Georgetown, in retrospect (at the time it was extremely humid and then rainy, so we cheated and got the Circulator bus back to Union station). When we left the Metro at Rosslyn we had technically left the District of Columbia, only to walk into it again a fewe minutes later. Once we were in the State of Virginia (beyond the border of D.C) the buildings instantly became more high-rise. Something notable here is how low the buildings are compared to most capital cities, D.C is completely unlike New York in that way. Strangely, the low-rise, modern look of D.C does occasionally remind me of my hometown, Milton Keynes (also built on a grid-system).
The rule is, no building inside D.C can be taller than the Capitol building or the Washington monument. Kind of like how in Oxford no building/ spire is higher than the spire of the University Church.
I've met people my own age from all different parts of America now, and a Canadian! It's been amazing to listen to stories of "a coyote ate my cat", or "I live on a ranch". A girl from Oklahoma told my about the time a "twister" (my nan reminds me that this is an American word so I'm putting it in quotation marks) went through her backyard. A Canadian girl told me that the temperatures of an English winter are like a summer's day where she comes from. In return, me and some other Oxford interns are happy to talk about Formal Hall, the College system, and Sub-fusc*, which to be honest are bizarre even to most English people!
Something that stands out in particular is a girl I spoke to who is of American Indian origin. I learnt that the term "Red Indian" is considered offensive, and that the law surrounding the rights of women on reservation land has recently been changed. She's in D.C to work with the Division of Indian Affairs here in Washington, and wants to eventually become a lawyer to represent the people of her tribe, the Choctaws.
Vocabulary learnt;
"toque" - a type of wooly hat with two long tassles, this is actually a Canadian word (the Americans I was with didn't know it either). We have these hats in England, I just don't think they have their own name.
"noodling" - when you put bait on your hand and then catch a fish with it. A Texan assures me that although she's never tried this fishing technique, people do it in the "creek" at the back of where she lives.
*Sometimes I forget that not everyone understands Oxford vocabulary! Sub-fusc is the black and white clothing (white blouse, black skirt/ trousers, black shoes, and then the "academic dress" which includes the mortar board and gown) that students at Oxford wear for exams, matriculation (joining the university) and formal hall.
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