I've been in DC now for 2 full weeks and I've already gotten to spend time with 4 great ladies that I went to high school with. Unfortunately, going to school 3000 miles from home keeps me pretty far from the people that I spent so much time with for the first 18 years of my life. Thankfully though, 2 awesome ladies, Julie and Alyxie go to school in DC and 2 others, Hayley and Madeline have come to visit. Even though Hayley came by accident due to weather, its been great to see all of these wonderful people.
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| Not such a great picture; Madeline and I and, of course, Lincoln. |
Speaking of wonderful people, the other students participating in the Washington Semester Program are all incredibly interesting and friendly. This past weekend I got to meet a lot of students from outside my particular class and get to know some from my class much better. It is definitely going to be a fun semester.
Now I realize that the title of this post might sound a bit odd, but last week we began to go on our field trips. (I feel like calling something a field trip makes it sound like elementary school but I do get to go to really awesome places all the time with my class). So last week we went to the Library of Congress which was a much more interesting and beautiful building than I was expecting it to be. Then on Friday we went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Now, I have been to 2 genocide museums in the past 8ish months--this this one in DC and the Tuol Sleng Museum in Cambodia. I've been talking with one of the girls in my class about how my favorite thing about museums and really old buildings is the history of them and the fact that the object I'm viewing or the place I'm standing experienced that history. I was much more emotionally moved by the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum in Cambodia as it was the actual site of Khmer Rouge violence. Conversely, the Holocaust Museum, which has every kind of media imaginable and was obviously well thought and planned out. The most affecting part of the museum tour for me was our afternoon meeting with a Holocaust survivor.
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| My class and Professor with Henry, a Holocaust Survivor |
[between that last sentence and the next I had class]
I just had my first class of the week and it was wonderful. I love when I do things or meet people and feel an immediate and deep connection to the project or person. Today, Dr. Abdul Aziz Said, who pretty much brought Peace education to the US and is all around an amazing person, came and spoke with us. He has a really interesting way of teaching--through story telling and metaphors. I wanted to write down every single word that he said because it all resonated so strongly with me. I will share two things that he shared with us. 1) He said that the ecological function of humans is LOVE. think about it. 2) He gave us a few poems/prayers and I want to share this one with you...
Prayer of Remembrance
Let us remember
the children, women and men everywhere
who live with injustice and disease
as their constant companions.
Let us connect with our sisters and brothers,
who spend their lives
establishing equal protection of the law,
and equal opportunity for all.
Let us celebrate all the people
who have spent their lives
helping make the world
a community of justice and peace.
Let us do what we can
that all creatures
may enjoy a fair portion
of the riches of our planet earth.
Let us honor our humanity
and ourselves.
-Abdul Aziz Said
So go and be peaceful today please!
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