February in DC

During winter break, instead of lazing around for a week, I took an Immigration Policy Advocacy course in Washington D.C. This was the first time for me to visit the capital!

I was amazed at how much power is concentrated in such a small portion of the city. Literally only a few city blocks the US Treasury, US Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Labor, Education, and the list goes on, are all housed right next to each other! The World Bank is located across the street from the IMF (International Monetary Fund), which is only a short walk to the White House which is a short walk to the Washington Monument (see photo of me and friend with face plastered to the Monument below) and Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, then walk down past all the FREE-entry Smithsonian museums and you reach the Capital Building which is directly behind the US Supreme Courthouse!

The architecture and layout of the city was quite impressive. I wasn't impressed with the amount of homeless people sleeping in city parks and along businesses at night, especially with the strong presence of police in the predominately African-American part of town where I stayed. Class issues are clearly visible in the capital (DC) and in my opinion they are also clearly reflected throughout the country as a whole.

The bright side of the trip was to learn that Senators and House of Representatives are accessible in the capital! I was able to walk into Senator Patty Murray's office, and although she was away, I was able to speak to her staff for 30 minutes to ask questions about her stance on specific issues. Other classmates were able to walk into their Senator's office and sit right down with them! It's nice to know that many public officials do try to work for the people and make themselves available to their constituents as much as possible - especially at the legislative level! I took some pride in realizing the power that individuals (and especially organized people) can and do have in this country.


Once the course was finished, I took two days to visit as many museums as possible with my travel partner and classmate, Yuki. There is so much to see and explore, and did I mention it's all FREE?!! Then my friend and classmate, Yuki and I, slept most of the ten hours by train back to Brattleboro, Vermont to start new classes the very next day!



Although I don't think I would ever like to live in DC, I am grateful to have been able to visit and learn more about how my country is run, and how I, as a citizen, can effect change.