Washington Trip Overall Chantal

This trip has truly been an amazing, exciting, and overall life changing experience.

We're truly lucky to have had the opportunity to get a sense of the physical, spiritual, and metaphorical feel of this wonderful capital city. Starting with an early flight, we were all tired yet filled with excitement at the prospect of arriving in Washington. Although we were slightly exhausted, this feeling soon disappeared when we began the "Washington by night bus tour". We had a chance to view many of the city's beautiful memorials and sites. We saw numerous memorials, buildings, statues and sites, there were a couple that truly stood out to me. The Vietnam war memorial was extremely touching, and the number of names etched into the stone was a staggering and shocking number. Although this is not our country we still felt a wave of respect and gratitude for those who have laid down their lives to protect millions of people. I personally really enjoyed walking along the streetlight lit road, in front of the twinkling capital building which really gave us a sense of where we were. One of the things that also really stood out to me that night was the protester on the road during the night tour. He's been there for 33 continuous years, protesting for a nuclear war and the use of nuclear weapons, in a peaceful yet seemingly effective way. Taking the night tour made you notice all the important things in the monuments that you may have overlooked in any other circumstances. The next day we woke up to go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We recognized the severity and meaningful nature of the museum and its various exhibits. The layout was clever, and it took you through a story starting on the top floor. As you made your way done it took you through the process of how Hitler rose to become the chancellor of Germany, and how he had managed to convince nearly an entire nation of people of racial superiority. It was an extremely touching and heavy museum, of an experience I'll never forget. It serves as a constant and life long reminder of how hate is gateway can destroy the foundations of humanity. After an emotional day at the Holocaust Museum we went to the Kennedy Center theatre to watch "Shear Madness". It was a hilarious show which lifted our spirits, and cheered us up considerably. I truly enjoyed how interactive it was, and how everybody collectively found it funny. The next day we visited two Smithsonian museums; the Museum of Natural history, the Air and Space Museum, as well as the museum of art. Although packed with information, they were extremely interesting, informative, well thought out, and they were overall amazing museums. After an exhausting day on our feet, we were happy to go back to our rooms and sleep. The next day, first thing in the morning, we visited the Canadian embassy. A representative who worked there delivered a presentation about the inter workings of the transaction between Canada and the U.S that took place in the embassy, and answered the many questions we had. We then visited the Newseum. It didn't sound like the most appealing of museums at first, but I was quickly proven wrong upon entering. After the great 4-D movie about the evolution of new reporting (complete with the feeling of rats tickling your feet), we toured the huge museum which featured news articles dating back to the Middle Ages. The two things that stood out to me the most, was the 9/11 exhibit which was extremely touching, and the Pulitzer Prize winning photos. After the Newseum we toured many of the famous Washington monuments during the day, which gave it a different aura than our tour at night. My personal favorite was the memorial dedicated to Franklin Roosevelt. He served the longest as president with four terms, and the memorial walked you through the different parts of his life. I personally really enjoyed this memorial because it showed Franklin Roosevelt with his disability, showing that a figure of power can still conduct properly although lacking in physical bravado, and not "sugar-coating" the truth of his apparent struggle. It was filled with inquisitive and inspiring quotes said by the famous president. The walk around the city although tiring, was worth it with its amazing view, and the chance to appreciate all its components. On our last day, we visited the Arlington Cemetery early in the morning, and had a chance to solemnly walk through and appreciate the severity and singinificance of what all the headstones meant. We then attended a ceremony to honor the unknown soldiers, and what they had done to serve the country. After the heavy morning we visited the towering Iwo Jima memorial, which was based off the famous war photo taken in Japan. We then visited the Art Museum in which we were fortunate enough to view the only Da Vinci painting in North America, and artwork by Van Gogh. After a tiring week, I think it is safe to say that we were all disappointed to be packing to leave for Calgary. 

Overall it was an amazing experience that we were fortunate enough to have with our class. It gave us an opportunity to really understand all the significant things we saw, and appreciate what they mean,

and take the memories and thoughts we experienced through life. It was great!

Chantal