from Iran's Nuclear Program to Senegal's Agriculture to a relaxing hot tub

I attended a Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Institute today on Iran's Nuclear Program. The speakers included Martin Briens, Counselor, Embassy of France; Shahram Chubin, Director of Research, Geneva Centre for Security Policy; Shai Feldman, Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University. A lot of it went over my head, but it was still interesting to hear from experts their opinions on what is going on in Iran and what should be done about it. Also, the event was off the record so each speaker was able to be a lot more honest about what he actually thought than if it could have been quoted.

There are so many things to be concerned about in this distorted world of ours. It's hard to know which ones to take priorities in and which ones to let slide. Is it important to spend money and energy on ensuring that Iran and North Korea are not nuclear threats? Or is it important to make sure that Africa has the correct agriculture equipment and economic structure so to decrease the starvation? Or is educating Africans on AIDS so to stop the pandemic more important? Each of these issues costs money, people's time and energy. All of them are vital to people's lives. It's hard for me to sit down and realize what I care most about and where my priorities lie.

Everyone has priorities. It's why a senator runs for office. It's the reasons that certain people are democrats while others are independents or republicans. Most of us think poverty is bad and needs to be stopped. Most of us believe that everyone deserves a good education. Most of us believe that the individual has rights. However, what becomes the forefront? What's the motivation? the most important?

hot tubs are from heaven.

Dinner at the Mall

Our class had dinner on the Mall tonight during sundown... gorgeous. Fall is coming!

Here's Ashley and I in front of the Capitol...


Our entire class and professors (or as they like to call us - junior and senior members..heh, it's funny to me).


Some of us ended the evening with a kickbutt game of Ultimate Frisbee on the Lawn. Good times had by all.

information overload

The War Protest March

The Support the Troops Rally

We completed our first unit this last Friday. I analyzed the issue of Human Rights and my beliefs about why humans are even worthy of rights of any kind. Supposedly they grade pretty hard, so we'll see what I end up with.

Sensory overload.
Over the weekend, I explored more of the city and what was occurring at this time. After a rush week getting our papers turned in, my roommate and I wanted a chill evening so we just walked around nearby our apartments. We ended up going into a European style cocktail lounge with a live Bosnian band playing.

After a relaxing Saturday morning, four of us headed to the National Book Fair on the Mall. However, we got side-tracked for a little bit at the National Archives Museum. From seeing the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Constitution, we walked through the Book Fair and found our way to the Washington Monument... well... to near it at least. Thousands of people gathered for the protest march past the White House against the war. The overload of seeing our founding documents that gave the people the right to voice their opinions and then seeing thousands screaming and chanting was almost unbelievable. So many time while I'm here I wonder if I'm living in reality. Then to add to the chaos going on in my head about right and wrong and the mix of opinions. I attended the Support the Troops rally yesterday.

No one wants war. No one supports war. Everyone wants freedom to live, to believe, to act, to dream... yet these things cost. Who should pay? When is enough? Have the people protesting the war really lost anything compared to those who's sons and daughters have died in it and still stand up supporting it?

Today, we began our Domestic Policy unit on the issue of Immigration. I would think that I would know more about this issue coming from LA, but I don't. It's far more complicated than I could even begin to think of, but now I have the next 4 weeks to explore the questions that it asks.

books, pancakes, flowers, art

Riding to the Chesapeak Bay to find the "beach"...
we had a convertible, so it felt like Disneyland.

My new favorite flower - spotted at the Botanical Gardens
An Dark Star Orchid

The Saturday Crew exploring the town... from the used books store at the library to world famous pancakes at the open market to the Library of Congress and the story continued...

i was gonna post... lots of pictures... but then i realized that i should actually do homework.

so yea. my weekend rocked. but reality hits that the weekend ends in about 19 minutes....esh.

spicy salsa...

So after a long week of classes and internships, we headed out to relieve some of the stress with some salsa dancing! The Kennedy center offered lessons and then a couple hours of open dance for free. There were both experts and beginners so it made for just an exciting evening.

the paradox

After being within 20 feet of a lion with nothing inbetween, the glamour of a "stuffed" real lion in a charging position is lost. Today, I wandered around the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, which has a mammals section displaying the various animals from around the world. It felt too fake for me to enjoy it... I guess the memories of Africa are still to near to me. The animals' majesty faded as they stood frozen in the position we we had placed them.

So many other thoughts and reactions...

the life of an intern

I've survived through three days at my internship. The good thing is that each day it becomes slightly easier and less intimidating. True to form, the first thing I was asked to do on the first day was to make coffee for a meeting. hah. i couldn't help snickering about how ironic it was. However, that is the only time I've done it.

Besides answering phone, filing, and other basic secretarial work, I research various things for the different people at the company. For example, I looked up all of the casinos in the Mississippi Gulf area and who owned them. I also researched what different organizations in the Department of Labor did, such as the Women's Bureau and 21st Century Workforce. Anyone know who the Minister of Agriculture is in Senegal? Oh no worries, I can answer that now... it's Habib Sy.... come on... who wouldn't know that.

Each day the forty ASP students head out all over the city to serve in their various internships - everything for on the Hill to the Holocaust Museum to World Vision. I can either ride the bus or walk to my internship - depending on how much time I have. I find that when I walk I realize how much more is going on in this city. Today, I passed by the Capitol as people queued up for Robert's hearing and the rush of people in suits came off the Metro. Oh, but take a second to notice the line of homeless people throughout the streets as well.... ahh yes, this is DC.

prettier at night

The Reflecting Pool with WWII Memorial and George Washington Memorial...

World War II Memorial..

WWII Memorial with Lincoln Memorial in the background

Monument Tour

The Washington Memorial

The Capital reflecting

My apartment-mates during our evening Monument Tour: Megan, Brianna, Janine and me.

the rallies begin

Standing in the blazing sun while listening to speakers, I began to have second thoughts about coming to the rally... then the chanting began with Jim Wallis leading the crowd: "Not on our watch!" In Darfur, Sudan, over 400,000 people have died due rebel forces. A year ago tomorrow marks the date that President Bush called the actions a "genocide." After the previous genocides during the last century, our country has declared "Never again"... yet it continues today. Fairly uneducated about the situation in Sudan, I attended the rally today to see the environment. The group putting on the rally, Africa Action (www.africaaction.org), believes that the US government has failed to respond to the situation even after acknowledging that it is a genocide, which goes against international rights policies. We rolled out sheets of paper that contained over 100,000 signatures from all over the states requesting that Bush take action.

While I am devestated to hear the corruption and death occuring in Sudan, I also am unsure if it's Bush's responsibility to respond. How much should the US step into "monitor" other countries? Is it more valuable to stand with posters chanting in front of the White House or to go to Sudan and serve among the people? There are challenges both ways.

As we moved from the back of the lawn upcloser to the gates of the White House, we ran into another rally that was being held. About 50 people stood with signs condemning Bush' s response to Katrina. Martin Luther changed the world with speeches and rallies... but where is the line between ridiculous emotional energy and serious action?

More questions than answers....

Poverty. Picture a child sitting by his mother, however, his body looks more like a skelton than the shape of boy. What does this bring to mind? Famine? Starvation? Disease? War?

What or who caused it?

These questions struck me today as I heard people come up with all different reasons to the answer of who is responsible. Everyone has the person or cause that they feel is to blame for the problem. Maybe every area of the world, maybe even every impoverished person, has a different reason for why they are trapped in poverty. Who then is responsible to fix it? the church? the government? Me?

liberty

There's a certain amount of freedom that comes from being surrounded by complete strangers yet knowing they'll be your good friends in the weeks to come. Today we began orientation, which basically meant trying to get to know the other students and staff here.

While we all come from Christian colleges, it's amazing how there's so much diversity in ideas and backgrounds here. Considering I'm undecided in much of where I stand politically, I know that this semester's discussions and research will stir various opinions within me as we have people from the far left and far right.

A group of us walked into explore part of Georgetown this evening. Here's us on the metro coming home. The other girls in the picture are two of my roommates... so far it's been great with them.

topping the hill

After 6 amazing days relaxing in New Haven, I've travelled on the Greyhound to D.C. Our apartment is still bare and seems like a dormroom in a way, but it's comfortable. There's four of us in the one-bedroom.... it's like freshman year again. We don't know each other or where we are or what we are doing.... wonder if we really have any more maturity though?

There's 42 students altogether in the program coming from all different schools across the nation with all sorts of majors and backgrounds. I'll post pictures of the area and apartment in a while, but for now here's one of Genae and I last night when she dropped me off at the bus station. (I don't normally where a cute dress on a bus, but we'd just come from a wedding :).... so i just changed on the bus.)