I am in a hoarde of rabid journalists shoved into a small, ornate room in the Capitol battling for Nancy Pelosi's attention. "Madame Speaker! Madame Speaker!" These eager cries, paried with a polite raise of the hand, follow an invisible code of law, an underlying and seemingly inpenetrable system to a newbie like me. By the end of this 10 weeks, I want to ask a question at one of these conferences!
My transition from tree-hugger to city-dweller, while only temporary, is going smoothly. (I guess I can be both, though I think I would get in trouble for climbing the trees around here...) Kimbo loaned me some of her nice work clothes so I feel like a member of the professional work force. I'm starting to feel less like a hairy-legged hippie wandering through the streets of Washington DC. Under the black tights and pencil skirt, thats what I am!
So after the Press Conference, I fought my way through the swarm of tourists and shoppers and grabbed a lunch to-go from
Union Station. (It's so weird how the population here is half-professionals half-tourist here. I can still belong to either group depending on what I'm doing!) I sat and looked at the Capitol Building while I consumed my veggie wrap, and headed to the Library of Congress for my tour! It is the most beautiful library I have ever seen, and the tour was excellent - there is so much symbolism in the architecture and statues that I never would have noticed on my own. And the best part is - I got a readers card! Now I have access to all the
reading rooms! They are SO AWESOME. Yay!
Pictures to come soon. Still need an ethernet cable for my room, writing from the 3rd floor computer lab with lame-o PCs. Thanks for reading!
