Jordanian Fame, Courtesy of the Jordan Times

I didn't get the chance to mention that our journalistic envoy to the Middle East was famed in the Jordan Times on the second day of our visit. That's right, we made the Jordan Times - Amman's largest daily newspaper. The first day of our visit we made the paper as well, however, we actually got a picture the next day. Woohoo.
I can only read part of this headline - the part that says "American Journalists," but that's all I need to know really. We were featured in a story discussing our trip, specifically our meeting with the Prime Ministry's spokesperson - which is pictured in the paper. You can see the back of my curly head, second person on the left. I am famous.

I feel the strong urge to start singing "King of New York," from Newsies right now, but I feel that only about a 1/3 of my loyal readers (so... three people) will understand my reasons for reciting the song. So, I will refrain.
Well, that's all the exciting news I have at the moment. More info on Jordan will surely be posted in the days to come. Until then, I am back in the U.S. of A., safe and sound. I forgot to mention that I received a scholarship to study Arabic this summer at the U, so keep checking back for more thorough translations of this newspaper story. I may be able to read it by the end of the summer. Salaam!

Chopping Tabbouleh with Brazilian Soap Stars

The thing I like most about traveling is the randomness of it all. You know, finding yourself in strange situations that lead you to inquire, “How is this my life?” Thursday night definitely qualified as one of travel’s strange incidences, as I found myself cooking dinner in the Middle East with Brazilian supermodels. I’m not even kidding.

After hiking through the seriously breathtaking hidden city of Petra, our group headed out to the Petra Kitchen for dinner. Petra Kitchen is a restaurant that gives you the chance to cook Middle Eastern cuisine, and subsequently enjoy the fruit of your culinary efforts. I made tabbouleh, a popular Middle Eastern salad that seems to be consumed at all Jordanian meals. Although it’s relatively tasty, I’m glad to be back in America and exchange it for Chipotle for a while….

Anyway, at the Petra Kitchen, you cook in groups, each group making a different part of the meal. Besides our group, one other group was scheduled to help out with dinner that night—and they were annoyingly late.

We waited for more than an hour after chopping and dicing our part, for the other group to show up. I kept myself busy by sampling Jordanian red wine, but was getting hungrier by the minute. Finally, the group showed up. They were equipped with cameras, lights and really good-looking people. One woman with the group came up to apologize for their lateness, and I began inquiring about their presence in Jordan. They were Brazilians; here to shoot a soap opera in Petra, and tonight they were filming a little “things to do in Jordan,” promo with the soap stars. Apparently, the three really good-looking people talking on camera were big stars in Brazil – actors and supermodels. To us however, they were simply really tardy dinner-mates. Eating dinner with supermodels makes a good story though, plus, I didn’t really mind their lateness because the restaurant gave us a free drink as an apology.

An additional plus is they interviewed one member of our group, and filmed the rest of us in the background. So, if you happen to be in Brazil and find yourself viewing some soap opera named “Viver la Vida (hmm…sounds close to a popular song I know…) with an actor named Thiago cooking up a mad lamb/rice storm; look for a few American faces in the background. From what I heard of the soap opera’s plot, it seems like we may be the most exciting part of the show.

The Promised Land

Today I saw the Promised Land. And no, I’m not talking about Minneapolis, Minn., although that comes in a close second. I’m talking about the Biblical Promised Land — the one Moses led his people too but never actually got to enter himself. Mt. Nebo is located about a half-hour outside of Amman, Jordan. It’s the mountain from which God showed Moses the Promised Land, and where Moses subsequently died. We visited the mountain today and were able to see the breathtaking view of the Promised Land. Back in the day, the land was very green – the land of milk and honey says the Bible. Today however, it’s dried up quite a bit, but is still amazingly beautiful. Looking out atop Mt. Nebo, I could see the Dead Sea, specks of Jerusalem, and the ancient city of Jericho resting on the golden valley that stretched before me. It was amazing. There is an ancient church atop Mt. Nebo as well, which is currently undergoing renovation.

Mt. Nebo is located in Madaba, Jordan’s city of mosaics. There are beautiful mosaics found in the church located atop Mt. Nebo, and in a 6th Century church located at the bottom. The mosaic in St. George’s – the church below the mountain – dates back to the 500s and depicts an ancient map of the Holy Land. It’s crazy to think of how long these lands have been around. Even back in the 500s, the map shows the city of Gaza and Jerusalem, both still standing today (although sadly, we all know Gaza is not in such good shape). We get to learn so much cool stuff about the sites we see, and the lands we pass because the embassy hired a really good guide who has been traveling with us and explaining a lot of history and culture the entire time.

Right now I’m in our trusty van heading to Petra, where we’ll be staying for a couple of days. It’s so funny, I feel like I’m in one of those made-for-TV Jesus videos, or the Bible videos they used to show you in Sunday school. The land looks just like the scenes in those programs; the rocks, the fig trees, the olive trees, the deserts – not to mention the sheep and the camels roaming randomly throughout. The gas stations and coke signs everywhere don’t really fit in however, neither do the King Abdullah pictures that pop up randomly by the roadside. Oh well, close enough.

So like I said we’re heading to Petra. Petra is three hours away from Amman in the south of Jordan. If you haven’t heard of it, google it right now. It’s amazing. It’s an ancient city carved into the side of cliffs – and it was lost for more than a thousand years before being discovered in the 1800s. It’s probably Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction. I am pumped to see it. Today started the laid-back portion of our trip. No more meetings with important people. I’m really excited about that because even though the meetings are interested, I really don’t think I can handle anymore. This morning, before we left, we met with a Greek Orthodox priest to talk about interfaith initiatives in Jordan and Christianity. He heads an interfaith organization, and it was really encouraging to hear from him. People over here consider America to be a Christian nation – thus they believe that everyone in America is Christian. That is so far from the truth. So I asked him if American media or policies tainted Arabs perception of Christianity. I mean, Madonna dancing half naked in front of a crucifix could very easily give people the wrong idea. He got excited and said, “Yes! You Americans make it so hard for me! I have to tell people that’s not Christianity!” I laughed at his reaction, even though it’s somewhat sad. He went on to say that slowly however, people in the Arab world are beginning to realize not all Americans represent Christianity. Godspeed that process.

One more thing before I end another long post. Everyone over here is obsessed with Obama’s speech in Cairo June 4th. It’s a really big deal, and its impact will be huge – either in a negative or positive way— so watch the speech if you get a chance. It’s important to be in the know, America, more than ever, is not isolated. One thing I’ve realized during my brief visit to the Middle East is that what happens in this far away land impacts American communities more than we really know.

Day Two: Flutes, Lamb and Government Officials

Today was packed. I’m exhausted. There’s no way I could capture everything I experienced/learned today in one post – but for my pleasure I’ll provide a summary.

Morning: Bringin’ it to the Prime Ministry
The day began with a 9:30 a.m. meeting at Jordan’s Prime Ministry with the country’s official government spokesperson. This was probably the most interesting meeting of the day. The spokesperson, Dr. Nabil Al Sharif gave us an overview of current issues facing Jordan today, and initiatives the country is currently prioritizing. We then had the opportunity to ask questions. A major focus of both our discussion was the Palestinian/Israeli peace plan. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to directly ask questions to a government spokesperson regarding Hamas and Gaza and the whole Palestinian plight in general. I’ve only thus far been able to read responses in the news. Anyway – too much info to talk more about that subject. We also discussed Palestinian and Iraqi refugees living in Jordan. Jordan’s been great about taking in refugees. I found a couple of things about this discussion interesting.

First, apparently Jordan does not call Iraqis “refugees,” because of the implication of that word. They are labeled “guests,” as they are expected to be returning somewhat soon. Second, Palestinian refugees here are given full citizenship. They are given Jordanian passports, access to the country’s health care benefits and public education. Additionally, there are not really Palestinian refugee “camps,” per say. Rather, the Palestinians live in particular settlements throughout the city. This is really unusual, particularly the fact that Palestinian refugees are given full citizenship. That never happens.

News: Amman Style
Enough about the PM, this is going to get too long. After the ministry we visited a local newspaper – Al Dustour. The assistant editor-in-chief discussed media in Jordan, and issues such as freedom of the press, etc… It was a great meeting, although I wish I could have asked more questions because I found some of their stances on things hypocritical. For instance, they said you know, they wouldn’t publish things like demeaning their prophet, or Christ – anything that would incite religious violence. However, I feel like I’ve seen plenty of things in the Arab press that seem less than loving and objective towards Jews. I don’t know though, I guess I’d need to talk to them more before making a judgment.

Lamb and More Lamb
From Al Dustour we went to lunch at another ridiculous restaurant. Our guide says, “Jordanians eat with their eyes.” He’s not kidding. The display of food here is eye candy. It’s beautiful. We had hummus and lamb and chicken and pitas and lots of stuff I forgot the name of. Yum. I think in the following week, I will eat more lamb than I have eaten, or will eat, in my entire life.

Roman Ruins and Dead Sea Scrolls
When we had stuffed ourselves yet again (I didn’t even mention the amazing breakfast), we piled back into our convenient van and drove up to the Citadel in Amman. The Citadel is an ancient Roman ruin overlooking a gorgeous view of Amman – a city made almost entirely of ivory limestone. Next to the Citadel was an archeology museum, which housed some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Crazy.

Jet-lagged Diplomacy
By the afternoon, I was being seriously weighed down by jet lag. There was no time to rest though, for we had a meeting scheduled at the U.S. embassy here in Amman. We met with the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stephen Beecroft. Though he was really interesting, I had to fight to keep from rudely yawning mid-meetings. It had been a long day. You know, a typical day in my life, no big deal (yes, that was obviously sarcastic). The ambassador was the third person and final person we met with today - a good end to a series of unique meetings.

Obama, and Other Funny Tales:
Two particularly funny things happened today. At the Roman Citadel, some Arab visitors spotted us Americans roaming about and got really exicted. I believe they were Palestinians because they asked if I knew Abbas (Fatah’s president). When the spotted us, they came running up yelling, “Obama, Obama!” I gave them a fist-pump in the air while laughing. Then, they gathered around us and had us take a picture with them. Ha! The only one who wouldn’t was a woman with them and one of their sons – who at age eight was ridiculously embarrassed of his parents. His father, however, was ridiculously proud of him. He kept telling his son to come talk to us, while at the same time, telling us about his son. “My son, he is in American international school! Please talk to him so he can practice. His textbook was made in 2003, in California!” What? Ha. The man continued, “He gets good marks, (to his son), come over here!” I spoke to his son in English, “you get good grades?” I asked. Embarrassed he was like, “yeah….” And trekked forward with his head down. Poor guy. Hilarious dad.

Funny incident number two was receiving a free flute today after dinner. We went to this restaurant Kan Zaman, which means “Once Upon a Time,” for dinner, and went to some surrounding shops after. One of the men running the shops gave me a free wood flute because he said I “had the most beautiful smile.” I feel bad, he disappeared and I went to the bathroom and didn’t thank him. Oh well, at least I have a free wooden flute from Amman… I’ve always wanted one of those. Ha. It was a nice gesture.

Oh, another thing – I’ve never seen so many pictures of a leader in my life. The people here love their king. There are pictures of him up everywhere and the government installs pretty much none of them. Private citizens pay to put King Abdullah on billboards. Funny.

The End. Finally
Welp, it may be 4:00 p.m. in MN, but it’s 11:00 p.m. here and tomorrow is another jam-packed today. Sleep is intensely calling my name. Ciao.

Day One: Arab Luxury

I may have taken a year of Arabic, but as I arrive in Jordan, one thing is now clear: I do not know a lick of that language. I seriously cannot understand an Arabic word out of people’s mouths here and it’s super disappointing. I can read like, three or four written words on the signs, but other than that I may as well be illiterate. A year of flashcards for nothing!!! Thankfully, everyone speaks English here – for the most part – and most signs are written in Arabic and English. The proliferation of English in the world is both a privilege and a handicap, in my opinion anyway. While it’s nice to be able to get around on one language globally, it also prevents native English speakers from ever really learning another language. Consequently, most Americans are hopelessly monolingual – while our friends in other nations have two, three languages under their belts.

Anyway, after waking up and eating breakfast on the flight to Amman, we touched down in the country, and walked outside to see that it was evening. That was a strange time-lapse experience. Even though I’ve only been up for like, five hours, I’m still exhausted. So far, we are getting the royal treatment. I feel extrememly unqualified to be here. You should see the hotel room I’m writing in right now. I get an entire room to my self at the Royal Jordanian Hotel – one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed at, hands down. I was fairly taken aback by the amount of security we had to go through upon arriving at the hotel; metal detectors, baggage scan, just like an airport. I thought it was pretty strange – considering Amman’s not even that dangerous. I mean, can you imagine having to go through a metal detector before entering a U.S. Hilton? No.

As I swung through my hotel’s bold glass doors, I caught a glimpse of the Hyatt looming next door. The Hyatt triggered my memory, and suddenly, the security made sense. Back in 2005, terrorists attacked three hotels here in Jordan – including the Hyatt across the street. Around 50 (I think) people were killed. The Jordanians called the incident “their Sept. 11.” Undoubtedly, intense security procedures at Amman hotels are a direct response to the 2005 bombings; the hoteliers here aren’t just baselessly paranoid. I’m happy their security procedures are preventing another such attack from taking place while I’m in the country. Terrorists: don’t mess with me.

After I freshened up in my (awesome) hotel room, we went down to eat at this ridiculous buffet. Lots of stuff I had never seen before – most of it really good. I only choked once after consuming this beef-like food and mentioning that it was good. “What is this?” I asked, “Oh,” replied one of trip-mates, “that’s liver or kidney I believe.” All of a sudden, it did not taste so good anymore. I pushed it aside and went for the tiramisu.

Ok, time for bed on day one, or two, I don’t know my timing is messed. I gotta get up early to go meet Jordan’s foreign minister at its prime ministry five minutes down the road. Until later, masalaama.

Arabian Nights

I leave for Jordan in two days. I am SO excited you have no idea. I'm going to Jordan on this "Sixty Years of Friendship Press Trip" sponsored by the Jordanian embassy here in the U.S. It's kind of like a public relations stint; the embassy wants U.S. journalists writing about Jordan so Americans don't continue to think it's full of Jihadist bombers, etc... There are ten of us going - six are undergrad kids - but the other four are adults so that's good. We are totally getting the royal tour - the itinerary for the trip is amazing! I will share a few highlights from the trip, out of my own personal excitement:

Day 2: 10:00 AM Meeting with Government Spokesperson

11:30 AM Meeting with Editorial Board with Ad Dustour Newspaper

Afternoon Tour of the city of Amman, with a trip to the Citadel and the Archeology Museum, which houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Dinner will be at Kan Zaman restaurant perched on a hilltop in the outskirts of Amman. Be entertained by talented musicians and singers and enjoy the best “hubbly-bubbly” water pipes in the city! After dinner, visit the artisans at work on the grounds of the restaurant. Painters, silversmith, wood carvers, carpet weavers, sand bottle makers and potters are all there to show off their craft to you.

Day 6: Mount Nebo, Where Moses Saw the Promised Land. Sixty years of excavation on the hilltop of Mount Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land and is said to be buried, revealed a basilica church and one of the most magnificent mosaic floors in the world. From the platform in front of the church, you will have an inspiring, breath-taking view across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea to the rooftops of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. You will see what Moses saw and what Pope John Paul II saw most recently: The Promised Land!

Day 7: Petra. This is the day that you will never forget. As you thread your way between the cliff walls that soar to 650 feet on your way through the narrow gorge to the Treasury, you will pass inscriptions in ancient languages and rock-cut chambers carved into the whorls of sandstone. Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade” charged through this desert gorge to the Treasury in search of the Holy Grail. Jordan abounds in archeological riches, but few sites in the world can rival the Nabataean city of Petra, carved out of these rose-red rock cliffs!

And this is just some of my itinerary. Plus the biggest bonus: they pay for everything (well, minus alcohol - but that's to be expected:). I can't even think about it because I have two more days before I get to go. I should start packing. I will do that now - time to get ready for some Arabian nights...

Live from Atlanta: The Callahan's Dominate Trivia

Move over auto parts, the Callahan Family now has a new claim to fame: Trivia. That's right, tonight, the Callahan Family dominated bar trivia at the Blue Moon in Atlanta. We won second place - but it was a close fight to the finish. We lost to the first-place team in an overtime tie-breaker, with the question: "According to the Illinois Transportation Department, Lakeshore Drive is how many miles long?" Please! We said 52, the other team said 48. The answer? 15.2. We were both off, but alas, we were more off.

Now, when I say the Callahan Family won second place at trivia, what I really mean is my dad, the waiter and the table next to us won second place at trivia. Granted, I did contribute to like, one question, but only in part (The question was: what actor was nominated for an oscar for best actor for playing an actor previously nominated for best actor. My dad says "oh! The guy from Ironman played Charlie Chaplin!" I chimed in "Robert Downey Jr.!" Score). Yep, my dad is pretty much the trivia king. I think that I will be good at trivia once they stop aiming everuy trivia question at the 40-and-over crowd. My mom... she's not so good. Her contribution to our second place win was (illegally!) calling her friends to find answers. I guess they make a good match - the brain and the socialite, together forever.

As mentioned, another contributor to our silver medal was our waiter. The question asked what rapper was in Above the Rim and Poetic Justice. Of course, we had no idea, so my mom shouts to the waiter "Do you know the answer!?" He kind of stares for a second and is like, "Tupac." My mom asks, "Are you sure?" He gives a polite "are-you-kidding-me" look and nods, "yeah, I'm sure." Ha. He probably thought we were ridiculous - a white family from the north asking him who was in Poetic Justice. To make matters worse, my mom was like "Who's Tupac Shaaaacckeerr?" Uh.... embarassing!

Anyway, the waiter's insight, my mom's cheating, my dad's knowledge and my pop-culture awareness won us a $25 gift certificate to the Blue Moon pizzaria tonight. Too bad my dad is the only one with any use for that. Well, I suppose possibly my mom too - since his company flies her down here all the time (spoiled!). I am going to abruptly end this blog post now, because my sister is tempting me with what sounds like a hilarious youtube video. Ma Saalama!

Of Balls

I am talking about Inaugural Balls here folks. Get your mind into high culture. Last week at this time I was heading to an Inaugural Ball, one of two I would be trying to make that night. Our first stop was to be the Neighborhood Ball; the most-coveted ball tickets of the inauguaral celebration. Unfortunately, due to a set of circumstances beyond our control, we were late and missed most of it. The circumstances beyond our control included a van that took a long time to get us there because it had to pick up a few "important" people (i.e., the President of the Washington Bar (Law) Association, a couple other high-powered attorneys and a writer for Glamour Magazine) before dropping us off. I am not sure how I got myself in this van. Actually, I do, Sarah's connections got us a ride downtown.

Anyway, but once we got there it was sweet. Besides the high-priced drinks, it was the coolest event I've ever been to; equipped with acrobats, Stevie Wonder, glitter and all. The Neighborhood Ball ended early though; at 10:30. At that point, we headed to our "late-night" destination: The Youth Ball.

Let me tell you, that was a stressful experience. The last hour or so ended up being fun. Even though we missed Obama and the performers, which consequently made it like a glorified prom. With beer. I liked prom though, so it was a good time. Just not super awesome like the first one. See, they wouldn't let us in at first because they said it was overcrowded. Everyone had bought tickets though, so we were not happy. Fortunately, we got in eventually, but it took aggression and perseverance on our parts.

I'm pretty beat. I have been thrust head-first into the school year. So I'm going to stop writing about balls right now, and start digging into my globalization theories reading. What a pleasant alternative.

A New President. Part II.

Ok, continuing on from my last post...

Crowds and arrivals.

The crowd at the inauguration was crazy. In fact, although it created problems, it was also probably the part I liked most. Hearing that many people cheer is just incredible. I was a bit perturbed at some reactions though, such as the crowd's booing when George W. Bush was announced. Seriously people. I know pretty much no one likes the job he has done, but have some respect. Come on. After booing, some began singing, "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye." Not classy. Get a grip. It bothered me. Joy erupted moments after however, as Biden walked onto the stage following Bush. Finally, Obama's arrival was announced and I felt the earth move under my feet as millions erupted in laud.

Onto the taking of the oath.

Thanks to annoying and really loud police sirens, I did not get to hear much of Obama's actual swearing in. Which apparently he had to do-over anyway. So I guess I didn't miss much. Plus, the cheers following the completion of the oath made up for anything I may have missed. As soon as Obama was sworn in, 21 gun shots were fired - as the tradition goes. Many of us up front near the gunman kind of forgot about this tradition.

A simple equation for our feelings during this brief moment of forgetfulness:
A country under the threat of terrorism + the biggest event of the nation + unexpected gunshots = many people slightly scared. Including me.

After like, the fifth shot though everyone relaxed. We remembered the tradition and figured that if it were a terrorist shooting those guns, security would have shot them dead by at least the third shot. Comfort.

Speaking of security it was a bit ridiculous but that's to be expected. I was glad they were there. The coolest things I saw at the ceremony were Obama's car driving into the Capitol and George Bush's plane leaving. We were in very close proximity to both events.

My final thoughts:).

So yeah, essentially, being at the Inauguration was awesome. Spirits were high, and the vibe was exhilarating, for the most part. There was one vibe running through the air, however, that kind of weirded me out. This was the vibe of Obama worship. It seemed like some people, actually worship Obama; like he had become this idol, this savior to them. I guess people are just looking to worship something huh. I thought Obama subtly spoke to that worship-vibe in his speech - inferring that it wasn't him that was going to save the world. It was up to all of us working together.

Obama is just a man. He is definitely, definitely not divine. I really, really hope most people realize his fallible humanity. I think they do. President Obama is going to screw up. If we don't realize that, we will be disappointed when it happens. In the meantime, he has done a great job inspiring people to actually take part in the improvement of their country. Creating a "more perfect union," if you will :).

When the Obama phenomenon has worn off, and it will, I hope his message leaves this nation with a lasting understanding. An understanding that what we do makes a difference and of the power of hope. For while Obama is far from divine, the hope he speaks about is divine. Through hope, people can experience a leader far greater than Obama. They can experience The Leader who rules the world, never fails and has a kingdom that never ends.

Madness, Excitement and a New President

Welp, it looks like we here in the U. S. of A. have a new president. The Inauguration was crazy. Wow. In fact, in the words of Biggie Smalls, I feel like “it was all a dream.” I have not read news of the Inauguration, so I am not aware of the event's details. I only know what I saw; millions of Obama-fans on steroids, the decorated face of the Capitol, policemen and members of the FBI, caravans of black cars, and slight glimpses of politicians, musicians, poets and preachers on the Capitol stairs welcoming in a new political era.

The ticket I had was purple, so it got me onto the Capitol’s lawn which was really close. I am grateful I got in - as two minutes after we showed our tickets and thrust ourselves through the gates security closed them off. This was not cool, because our section was ticketed. Everyone with tickets was supposed to have a spot. My section, the purple section, was closed off first. Right now on facebook there is a group called "The Purple Tunnel of Death," which is made up of purple ticket holders who didn’t get through the gates. They are noooot happy. In fact, right now, there is an investigation underway trying to figure out why they didn’t get in. Purple tickets were great tickets. So the people who did not get in were like state campaign managers, delegates, etc...; people who worked hard and deserved to see the day's spectacle.

Anyway. Back to my experience.

Rumor has it that there were millions of people on Washington Mall that morning. I wouldn’t know. I could only see the crowds in front of me, which were significantly smaller than what was supposedly behind me. Though I was close, my view of the Inauguration stars was pretty blocked by the bleachers hugging both sides of the stage.Thankfully, my other senses took in what my eyes could not. I could hear the cermony’s speakers for sure. More importantly though, I could practically taste unity while sandwiched between strangers, feel the vibrations of the crowd's excitement and hear the cheers of millions who came out to witness history.

To be continued… as I have to go to class for the first day.

Obama-Mania Day 1

Today has been fun. It has consisted of a series of random events that make me love my life - and thank God. So I wake up late, but make my plane anyway. I end up in Charlotte, NC. At Charlotte I discover that I will be in Baltimore, MD 4 hours earlier than expected. This means I can make the inaugural opening ceremonies. Yeah! On the plane from Charlotte to Baltimore, I initiate conversation with a nice couple next to me. They offer to drive me from Baltimore airport to DC. This is amazing. Especially considering I had no idea how I was going to get to DC from Baltimore. So this same couple gave me their address and phone number in case I needed anything - including a place to stay. Holler. She was a minister for a Unitarian Universalist Church. Very nice woman.

So I arrive in DC. Sarah meets me, and we go to the concert on the mall. My mouth seriously drops open as I step out onto the Washington Mall for the first time. It's like all those things I've seen in the movies become real. There, in front of me were thousands of people, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, The Capitol, and Jefferson Memorial. A couple of steps later, I see the White House. I have never seen these before. They are freaking awesome. Plus, the vibe in the city is ridiculous! Everyone is so excited, and everyone is from everywhere! I already met some sweet peeps - one who is down here training for the foreign service, which I totally want to be in someday.

Anyway, we went to the opening concert but were really far away. EVERYONE and their mother performed; Bon Jovi, Bono, Beyonce, John Mellencamp, Usher, uh... Samuel L. Jackson, Garth Brooks, and of course, a speech from the man of the moment: Obama. So the locals here are capitalizing on the prolific influx of visitors by selling everything and anything "Obama." The best product I've seen so far were Obama essential oils. Ha. Which basically, were these little bottles of sweet-smelling oils plastered with Obama's face. Sarah literally turned to them and was like, "Good luck!"

Now, we are going out on the tizz-own. I am pumped! There are people here from everywhere! Ok time to go. Thought I'd provide an update!

Amazing. Inauguration, Here I Come

After literally an entire day of searching and thoroughly working my connections, I have found somewhere to stay in Washington, D.C. What this means, is that I am actually going to attend Obama's Inauguration on Tuesday. HOOLLLYY CRAP. I am so excited. It seems to good to be true. Additionally, I get to go to one of the inaugural balls. I would like to give Sarah K. a shout out for making my dreams a reality. Thank you Sarah. And God, of course.

Wow. This is ridiculous! I have to buy a ball gown. My ball gown will be subsidized by the government of course - thank you federal loans. So far, the government has helped fund the following purchases:

1) Britney Spears tickets

2) Plane tickets to Portland, Seattle & Phoenix

3) Tickets to an Inaugural Ball

4) A ball gown

5) Christmas presents

6) Oh yeah, and of course, student service fees:)

Thank you government. I will pay you back when I can. I would also like to thank my professors for so generously giving me the opportunity to miss classes the first week of school. Wow. I still feel like this is too good to be true. Ok. Onto buying plane tickets. Obamanos baby.

DISCLAIMER: I am joking about the government money thing so do not take me seriously and take away my student loans. Thank you.

Sun, Guns and Fun

Sun sure does revive. Unfortunately for me this revival comes at the cost of hearing my sister and her boyfriend banter for hours. I just got back from a 35-minute car ride during which they seriously argued about what hair cut my sister should have. Now, apparently they have forgiven each other because she's back to sitting on his lap and they are calling each other bunny. Seriously.

Back to the sun. It's so freaking amazing here because it is sunny and warm. Today, we went horseback riding in the desert. It was beautiful. The cacti in AZ are huge! Apparently the big ones are like 500-hundred years old and every square foot weighs 75 lbs. They are gorg, just gorg... The name of my horse was Plum Darling. She was a pretty good horse - no sudden, schizo moves were made so I was happy. My sister Megan had a horse named Baby.

When she was handing Baby's reigns over to Megan the woman who took us on the trail says, "yeah, just be careful with this one, sometimes she has problems." Megan's like "Ok, well what problems?" "Oh," the woman replied, "she just startles sometimes."

Ha. Startles sometimes? That will get your imagination running. Especially in a desert equipped with rattlesnakes.

Don't worry though ('cause I know you totally were), we all made it back safe - Megan's horse did not gallop off into the sunset thanks to any surprise snake attacks. Whew.

There are lots of strange animal behaviors in AZ I've found. In addition to the horse with the "startling problem," there is my sister's cat. The cat's name is Tuna (don't ask. I don't know), and it is manic and co-dependent. It seriously will not leave a human alone. It has to be around you at all times. The only times it can walk away from you, are the instances in which it randomly sprints off around the room bouncing off walls and other items like its tail was on fire. However, its tail is always perfectly fine.

I think I'm done writing for the day. Tomorrow, I am off to shoot guns in the AZ desert. I am not kidding.

Airplanes and Cookies

I wrote this on the plane about five days ago. Just now getting around to posting it, as I have been in Portland. Tomorrow morning, I am heading to Seattle. Holler.
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Ho ho ho merry belated Christmas! I am currently hovering 15,000 feet above the earth in an NWA airplane heading to the glorious land of Portland, OR. My sisters gave me these noise-canceling headphones for Christmas and they are sweet. Seriously, they make huge difference on an airplane.

Considering I am confined to a two by two area armed only with this computer I thought now would be the perfect time to recap my holiday adventures. Well actually there’s not much to report on – my most eventful feat during break was heading into the Mall of America (MOA) the day after Christmas. Believe me, this was not my idea. The place was crazy busy. Yet, my sister who lives in AZ demanded we go. I survived, and came out with some killer deals from J.Crew so perhaps it was worth the insanity. Otherwise, I spent most of the holiday (up until now) on my mom’s couch reading, watching movies and inhaling cookies. I am not kidding, inhaling. I do not think I have eaten so much, ever. Oh and of course a good portion of my pre-Christmas break was spent organizing my room and the kitchen. It is a whole new world now. Well, maybe not but I sure breath easier

Man the sky is beautiful at 15,000 feet. I am in a wedding Saturday – my college roommate’s. On Monday I am journeying to Seattle via Amtrak. From there, I do not really know what I am going to do, I have only bought the one-way ticket that is currently flying me above the clouds. I should really get on buying another ticket. I think I might go to Arizona. If anyone wants to come with me somewhere else, let me know. I am all up for an adventure. So tonight is NYE. Exciting. I think Anne’s taking me to a dinner party. I have nothing interesting to say right now so I’m going to sign off. Ten—Four.