À la fin

I'm sitting at my desk on the second last day of work, thinking back to my very first day at this office at the end of January. I wore the same suit that wintry Monday morning as I walked into the Longworth House Office Building, hoping this experience would be worth the extra semester in Paris that I had 'sacrificed' for it. Today I can only laugh at my naiveté. Each experience is unique and distinct in itself and though I wouldn't think twice about living in Paris once again, I cannot undermine all that I have learned these past 4 months on the Hill. Therefore, I am convinced that I made the right decision, given the available choices and my circumstances.

Washington, DC has been a gracious host and over the past few weeks, as the weather improved and the greenery spread like an epidemic, I find myself wanting to stay just a little bit longer. This past weekend I had visitors from NYC and we spent most of our time in the sun – lunching on the grounds of the French Embassy, walking around the memorials, napping on the Mall, and window-shopping in Georgetown. We had our TWC commencement ceremony on Monday afternoon with speeches and a slideshow that went on a bit too long (and painfully repeated the same song thrice). I came away with one word – 'connect'.

I took off from work on Tuesday and Wednesday to hit the museums and boy, what a great idea that was! I spent most of Tuesday at the Holocaust Museum, taking in the intense and immense permanent exhibit. I was deeply moved by the images and installations but what almost brought me to tears was the small room at the end dedicated to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. It is hard to stomach that after the world has seen such horrors during the Holocaust and other ethnic cleansing campaigns, something like this continues to unfold. While we continue to mourn those who were brutally murdered some 60 years ago, the casualties of genocide grow every minute of everyday. The following quote by Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran Minister and early supporter of the Nazi regime who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler, captures the consequences of looking the other way while discrimination and racism prevail in society:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist,
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist,
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew,
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.

With a heavy heart, and the gruesome images of the Holocaust fresh on my mind, I wandered through the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It certainly had a lot on offer, but at the time, it did not quite help my mood or the weak but persistent headache that had begun to nag me. On Wednesday I visited the National Gallery of Art, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Archives. Owing to the mid-week, mid-day lack of crowds at the National Gallery, I actually ended up getting a private walk through the collection highlights with a museum guide. We talked about the architecture of the building, Calder's installations, and all the major works by artists from Picasso to Matisse, Rothko to Pollock. At the National Portrait Gallery they had a special exhibit on Katherine Hepburn, with all four of her "Best Actress" Oscars on display (she still holds the record for most Oscars won by an actor in a leading role). The National Archives was a quick walk through but you see [very faded] originals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and a surprisingly dark and clear Magna Carta from 1296. So that was it for sightseeing!

Tomorrow is my last day at work and the evening will see some sad goodbyes and frenzied packing. I know I will look back on my time in DC as a rich learning experience, having discovered things about myself and the working world that I probably would never have been exposed to till much after my graduation from college. I have made new friends and professional acquaintances, I have learned to speak new words in new languages, I have surveyed the artistic and cultural offerings of the Capital and sampled its culinary hotspots, I have led tours and taken a couple too, I have worked hard but also taken the time to think, explore, discover, and enjoy, but most importantly, I have grown. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey.

Till we meet again,

DC Diaries

Penultimate

Week 14 has arrived and though I always knew it was coming, now that it's finally here I'm in a state of panic! Of the 3 P's my life is supposed to revolve around (portfolio, proposal, paper), in reality it's revolving around a fourth – procrastination! But I am confident that everything will be in order by this coming weekend so I can fully enjoy Week 15, spending time in museums that I still have to visit and restaurants I still need to sample. Of course I shall also go to work, but only on Thursday and Friday ;) My supervisors thought it only reasonable for me to want to take a couple of days off to pack up and do last minute DC things, and there was no reason for me to reject their suggestion!

This whole deal with Reverend Wright hogging headlines is so (as New York magazine would say) lowbrow. The controversy has undoubtedly hurt Obama even though the Reverend's behavior this past weekend should convince anyone in their right mind that this man is suffering from a severe case of mediatitis.

Last evening we had a great time in class playing a game of imaginary international geopolitics. I was the King of Saudi Arabia, who fell victim to a nuclear trigger happy Iran, while the Americans (led by none other than President Obama, House Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott) lame ducked their way through the unfolding chaos in the Middle East. That was our last "academic" class of the semester since we're going to dinner next Tuesday.

All else is ça va. Its 12:57 a.m. and I think I will end right here. I promise to be doubly entertaining next week!