I'm here! AND SO IS OBAMA!

Hello friends! I have arrived, and so far it has been fabulous! My trip here was of course eventful, because let's be honest, with me there is always a story to tell! First of all, when I woke up there was so much snow that Bart (my little brother)'s school had a delayed opening. Then, my cab didn't show up and 10 minutes before my train to NYC left I had to call my neighbor to drive me. I thought in the end it was meant for her to drive me because she kept referring to my time in DC as an adventure and talking about how exciting it was. And I realized that she was right and there was no reason for me to be nervous! But then I was a little overwhelmed with positive energy to the point I almost started to talk to strangers (Grandma Shirley style for those of you who know the stories!) and tell them that I was on an adventure to DC! Ok so Amtrak was relatively uneventful, so I get to DC and I'm in a cab finally at Union Station and I give the driver the address of my apartment and he doesn't know where it is. So I proceed to get into an argument with him (the new yorker in me of course!) which results in me ditching the cab and roughing the metro with my huge bag (the blue one that I actually fit into), my backpack, and my laptop! It took me like ten minutes to figure out how to buy a metro ticket (but I had directions so besides that it was okay)! And this is the best part: in DC when you leave the metro you have to re-enter your ticket (it charges you when you leave the metro), and NO ONE TOLD ME THIS. So I'm like trying to buy ANOTHER ticket to exit the metro and I really stood there forever just watching other people and trying to figure it out. I'm sure if you don't know the DC metro this means nothing to you, but I'm trying to amuse my good friend Alyssa who is abroad in Denmark and goes to GW. So Alyssa, how pathetic? Please tell me. But I think we all know my city smarts anyway.

Alright, so one last thing about the commute: I get off the metro and it is POURING and I have to walk with all my stuff in the rain to my apartment building which was not as close to the metro stop as they made it sound! But once I did the walk sans my suitcase and the rain it was actually quite pleasant and through a nice little park, which should be nice when it gets warmer. So I'm living in Bethesda, right outside of the actual city. It takes about 30 mins to get places in the city, but I think I'll get used to it. Besides that the apartment is AMAZING. I am seriously living in a hotel, you all need to come and visit there is plenty of room! My room is a good size and my roommate and I have our own bathroom and our own walk-in closet! It is crazy! And the whole apartment came with dishes and furniture, etc. We even have a huge window in our living room that gives beautiful natural light and a very nice view. I am really very lucky! Andrea, my roommate, and I arrived at the apartment at exactly the same time and we decided on a room and hit it off right away. She is really nice and down to earth, I'm excited to get to know her. She and her boyfriend are really big rock climbers! She is from Massachusetts and goes to UMass Amherst. There are two other roommates, one is also from Mass and one is from Dickinson! Tonight we went grocery shopping, set up the wireless in our apartment, and bonded over a macaroni&cheese and wine dinner (I cooked... hah!). It was a great way to relax after a tiring day, and tomorrow is also another early start.

Briefly, because I realize this is getting long... today we had orientation in the morning for my program Advocacy, Service, and Arts. I took the metro with a bunch of people but it still wound up being an ordeal getting metro tickets... I really need to get used to that! In the afternoon we were given a "scavenger hunt" to roam the city. My roommate is in my program so we went around with three other girls and roamed around Dupont Circle and somewhere close to the National Mall... ending with viewing the white house and swooning over the possibilty of running into Obama during our semester here. It was so awesome, all day we talked about politics and Obama! Obama's face is EVERYWHERE. It is so funny, and the city has a great vibe of positive energy after the inauguration. Highlight of the day: We attempted to go to Ben's Chilli Bowl (a historic fast food restaurant?) and we got interviewed by ABC7 news about the bill Obama signed today granting women the right to sue their employers if they aren't recieving pay that is equal to their male co-workers. It was very exciting, and I talked in my interview about how it is unfair that women are behind men in the workforce today, and how a lot of it has to do with the fact that women take off more time than men to raise children, etc. I mean, did you know that women only make 77 cents to the male dollar? How and why is that fair? It isn't! Unfortunately, our interviews didn't wind up airing (we were so dissappointed!) but how exciting to be stopped in the city and asked about Obama and his policies! Well friends, needless to say it is all very exciting so far, and I hope it doesn't die down any time soon... please comment, I miss you all so much!