Fireflies!

I had forgotten these existed, having not been on the East Coast for years, but while we were walking back to the apartment on my first night in D.C. they were lighting up the bushes with their twinkling bottoms. That was my first reminder that I had left the West Coast behind for a while. The next was the weather. Although I thankfully avoided the hot and sticky East Coast summer, the air here is still heavier than Davis, and the fantastic lightning show I got to see on my first night is nothing new here. Apparently, it is common for the day to be absolutely beautiful, a big storm to roll in at night, and then the next day to be blue skies with random spouts of rain. I, myself, did not experience very crazy weather while here, but I'm sure Europe will make up for that.

D.C. is definitely a city. Erin has graciously given me a crash course in city living these past few days, seeing as I'm still a small town gal from California. I learned that you always take your umbrella, that metro cards will de-magnatize if you put them by cell phones, that you are branded a tourist if you stand still on the left side of the escalator (left is for walking, right is for standing), and many other things that kept me from being run over by the speed-walking, nicely dressed locals.

My first night we just enjoyed some homemade spaghetti and went out with a few of Erin's friends. I was reminded of the time not so long ago when I thought college students were the coolest thing out there. Now I'm hanging out with contractors and consultants who work on Capitol Hill! (honestly, I don't think many of us have changed much since graduating...) The emapanads from a whole-in-the-wall place were the perfect crowning to a fun night out, and we returned to the apartment exhausted and ready for bed.

Sunday was one of the best days I've had in a long time. Erin woke me up in time to make it to the last game of her Kickball season with "Team Bicycle". (I thought that was very appropriate for an ex-Davisite) The game was fun to watch, although the Ref definitely made some bad calls that lost them the game. Never fear, Team Bicycle knows how to lose with style! After the game we headed over to their favorite brunch place and enjoyed a lieasurely brunch with much singing and dancing to the jukebox music. It was so fun that Erin and I almost missed our chance to get our nails done, but not quite. Sunday afternoon was filled with the most amazing pedicure I've ever received! The wait was long, but it was so worth it for what followed. The pedicure chairs were massage chairs that you could set to your liking, so not only were my feet clipped, massaged, scrubbed, and painted, my neck and back were being pampered at the same time! Honestly, I'd come back to D.C. for this pedicure. That evening we made some amazing fajitas (I had to get Mexican food in because Sara says that the Europeans just don't know how to do good Mexican food) and I prepped myself for a day at the museums.

After the White House, Washington D.C. may be best known for the Smithsonian museums. I had forgotten that they are free to enter (thank you tax dollars!) so that was a nice surprise today. I started in the American History Museum and spent so much time there that I wasn't sure I'd make it to many more. I chose the Natural History Museum as my second stop because I recalled loving it during my 8th grade trip to DC nearly 9 years ago! I was right, it is one of the best museums I've ever been to. The Dinosaur exhibit is awe-inspiring, but my favorite one was a special collection they had this time entitled "African Voices", and specifically a section on Rastafari. Ever since I had a class on the subject, the religion and culture of this movement has fascinated me. I spent a good 20 minutes in this room, soaking up the history of the movement, and watching a great video. In fact, I spent so much time here that I didn't have time to get to the art museum, but I figured that I will be seeing many many art museums in Europe, so I wasn't crushed. After I met Erin at her building we came back, changed, and went to Ethiopian food for dinner. (this was rather ironic, considering that the Rastafari movement hails Ethiopia as "zion", or the promised land) The food was interesting, rather similar to Indian (although in my opinion, not quite as good). The really different part was the sponge bread you use to soak up the curries and pick up the larger chunks of meat. It had a really fantastic consistency, almost like a thick, wheat, swedish pancake. The bread, with the spicy lamb curry, was the highlight of the meal.

That brings us to the present, where I fly to Paris tomorrow to begin my European adventure. (Hopefully, the beginning will not be quite the adventure it could be if my friend isn't able to make it to the airport to pick me up. I like adventure, but not on the first day right after a red-eye flight at 6:55 in the morning, French time.) Cross your fingers for me!

A bientot (French for "until later")

Karissa