Today was two days away from departing home. Even though I was really tired, but I was still full of excitement to discover new stuff that I've never seen before.

Our first stop was the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park. I haven't been to the zoo for like a year already, and this park was a real deal because it was a national park. The first thing that jumped into my head was, you have to pay for the tickets to go in to the zoo. But this time, I was wrong. There weren't any ticket centers, or entry like the other zoos I visited, especially the one in Oklahoma. Our tour director told us that the zoo is free for all, and that blew my mind. This is a National Park! And they could make a huge money on that! But why they don't charge people for anything like the other parks! I first thought they were stupid, but when I think back, in the other hand, the zoo created a better environment for people. I saw people jogging around the park to exercise, and also studying the animals by comparing animals to the information. People got a better opportunity to be closer to nature, and also study the interactions in between for free at the same time. The zoo was born to benefit the people, not some kind of tools that the government make money off.

We ran around the park tried to see everything in the park, but it was impossible just like our tour director said. But I saw animals from all around the world. What does that mean? For me, was the communications between the countries around the world. The zoo symbolizes our communities today, but used by both people and animals. Also it showed the interactions between people and animals, and how we couldn't live without them.

Our next stop is Jamestown Settlement. It was where the colonies first settles. There were churches, houses, and cannons. Out tour director had told us that when the colonies first started settling in America, they were afraid of the Spain. So there were lots of cannons used to protect themselves. Also, there was a symbolic church. It was a church built in 1700s after the colonies started settling in. It was symbolic for me because that the church represents culture. When they first settled in, they brought their culture with them, and the church was one of the most important thing of their life. Today I can still visit the church like they did in the 1700s. Who said time travelling is impossible? From what I experienced in Jamestown, I felt like I time travelled to 1700s, which was really cool for me.

And the best part of the day, joining the Continental Army. We had to say either "Yes, Sargent" or "No, Sargent" just like soldiers did in the 1700s. It was really fun to experience how they joined the Continental Army and what their life feels like. And most importantly, they still have it going on today. People can experience what happened in the past, without time travelling. This culture was saved perfectly, and for me it was my pleasure to experience how the volunteers joined the Continental Army.