D.C. Day 10

Before I talk about today, I wanna write about something that happened last week that I forgot to write about. My second day of work, I was still feeling pretty discouraged about everything. I was having troubles adjusting, and I had taken the half hour metro ride to the church for institute, but it didn't start until the next week, so no one was there. It took me 45 minutes to get home, so it was over an hour round trip for nothing. I had also been searching for days for an allergy clinic to administer my shots and have been unsuccessful. All this together and I was fed up. I was in the depths of an extreme pity party, so I figured I should get a blessing.

I asked the dad of the family who is renting me a room. I sat around and talked to both parents, Peter and Michelle, for a while. They gave me some pretty good advice about everything. When Peter started the blessing, I immediately felt better. I won't go into too much detail, but he said Heavenly Father knew me and knew my troubles and was with me throughout them. He also said God wants me to know he is happy I'm in D.C. learning and growing. Other things were said, and it was such an encouragement. From there, things have gone uphill.
I've still had a few bumps in the road, like not being too able to socialize on Sunday because of my anxiety about the sheer amount of people there. Trying to find someone to talk to is quite scary when you're surrounded by 250 suits and pencil skirts who all seem to already have someone to talk to. But yesterday we had family home evening for the YSA ward, and it was so fun. We had a scavenger hunt at the U.S. History Museum. I haven't been there yet, so that was pretty cool. While I was there, I saw the first Washington memorial, which they apparently took down because it was inappropriate:

 

I also saw the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. I would have taken a picture, but we probably weren't supposed to. It was in a dark room to protect it. It was so inspiring though. It was frayed and worn, but the huge flag (30 something feet by 30 something feet) was still preserved, even after hundreds of years. There is also an exhibit with original dresses of first ladies over the years, including Mrs. Lincoln and I think Mrs. Washington.
After the museum, we headed back to a church education facility and prepared food for a homeless shelter. We had pizza and played games,etc. I met some quite interesting people, from political interns to a guy who works for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. It was much easier to get to know people in a smaller group, and I enjoyed meeting various personalities. Around 6 p.m., a group of us headed down to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, suiting considering it was MLK day. We walked along, reading the inspirational quotes. The memorial consists of a large stone, split with a path running through it. The path leads to a bigger piece of granite. A depiction of MLK is carved out of the front of the stone. It looks like this:

 

We listened to a ranger talk for about an hour about MLK and his life. I remembered when I visited MLK's grave when I was a kid, and I felt so proud to be there on that day. There's always a special spirit when you visit history and look back on the amazing people who shaped the freedoms that we enjoy today. It was so cold at the memorial though. It was dark, and we were by the waterfront. I had my russian mafia hat and a scarf, coat and gloves, but I was still freezing. All I had on my feet were thin socks and converse, and I was sure I was going to get frostbite on my toes. It was worth it though. I loved walking past the water on the way there and the way back. It reminded me of home when I looked out on the wind-blown bulges of the sea, felt the misty billows and tasted the salty air. I've missed Tacoma's waterfront, and this was very similar. This coast is a bit colder and harsher though. The air in Tacoma kind of sinks into you, but the atmosphere here stabs and cuts through you. I like the weather here though. Even though it's constantly cold and windy, I like the humidity and sunshine.