Super busy, busy 2-3 weeks! To add into this mix, the weekend right before the IAC 2012, I had a weekend excursion with Yami and our friend Caylen. Upshire Girl had some other commitments so she couldn't go with us :(
Prior to this trip, I had never seen NYC except in the movies and on Gossip Girl. NYC was just as glorious as Hollywood makes it seem in movies and television. Just as my coworker jokingly warned me not to do, I stared up in awe at the towering skyscrapers and smiled at the scowls of busy New Yorkers. Okay, they didn't scowl at me--I decided to add that for dramatic effect. Anyway, we arrived in NYC around 12PM after a 4-hour bus ride on the Megabus. Unfortunately, check-in wasn't till 3PM, and the hotel was under Yami, who wouldn't arrive until later in the afternoon. Wanting to drop off some luggage, we trekked over to Penn Station to see if we could put our stuff on hold at the Amtrak Station. Note to those that plan on doing this--don't. Unlike Union Station in Washington DC, Penn Station requires you to have an Amtrak ticket in order to have your baggage put on hold. SAD FACE. So we decided (and by that, I mean me because I was the one with the ridiculously heavy bag) to just lug around the baggage and explore until Yami got here. Caylen and I stopped by a cute little diner for a bite to eat and walked around.
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| I know I look gross. Sorry. It rained AND I hadn't slept all night because I was working on work projects + midterms. However, I'm sure my meal looks lovely :) |
We visited Century 21, the lovely discount department store, so Caylen could buy some cute shoes. Alas, I did not find any cute shoes myself, and even if I did, I'm not sure I'd be willing to add another item to the load on my back. The straps were kinda cutting into my shoulders at this point...
After a little shopping, we took the subway (because the cute policeman told us walking would take quite some time) down to the World Trade Center. Initially, we meant to just go to Soho to check that out, but while on the subway, we saw the last stop was the World Trade Center so we figured we could just go all the way down and then head back up later. Once off the subway, we got a little lost trying to find the place to get tickets to go see the 9/11 memorial. The tickets were in the memorial store, which, of course, prompted me to buy a souvenir. I do not understand what my fascination is with gift shops, but they somehow always end up being so interesting and fun. After combing through all the pretty things and clever souvenirs, I chose to go with the I <3 NY magnet.
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| It looks like this, except magnet-form. Picture courtesy of the 9/11 Memorial website. |
Before I go on, I must tell you, I'm not much of a crier. Well. I tear up during Pixar movies and when I cut onions, but that's only because Pixar knows how to tug at my heart strings (Damn you, Toy Story 3!) and I can't really help that onions have propanethiol S-oxide. The point is, I don't cry very often at the mere sight of things (unlike my sister). However, seeing the World Trade Center memorial and reading the pieces written about the event really affects you. I feel that living on West Coast has shielded me from really feeling anything about 9/11. Yes, I felt it was a travesty to my country, but I didn't really FEEL anything personally. I didn't lose any family members or friends to the event, and I was only 12 at the time it happened. I feel like I didn't fully understand the repercussions of what those attacks on the Twin Towers meant. But when I stood there at that memorial site and at St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero, I suddenly felt like the event became more personal and more... real. No, I didn't know these people then and that didn't change when I visited the site. However, seeing firsthand the site where it all happened and listening to the stories of people that were there that day had a really strong impact on me. If there is one thing you must see in NYC, I would suggest here. There's just something about this place that's very moving, especially St. Paul's Chapel nearby.
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| See the duffel? The straps that hold it = straps of doom |
Curious about what happened during the evening in New York? Day 2? Day 3? Chat with me about it! Lots of adventures that is much more fun to listen (and tell) to than for me to type out lol.
The NY trip was my last crazy trip. Why, you ask? Because I blew over $350 there. I'll post a NY guide/travel tips later so you can make sure your NY trip is affordable XD However, just because I didn't take any more crazy trips didn't mean I didn't have any fun! One sunny Wednesday afternoon, I joined my Spies! class (the class is really called Spies! The Politics of Intelligence, it's not something I made up to sound cool LOL) for a field trip the Edgar J. Hoover FBI Headquarters building. I don't have pictures for you, for obvious reasons. I could've risked it but I didn't want to be taken down by agents... Of course, as any government building, we had to go through some extensive security to make sure we weren't crazy. Once cleared, we received our badges (which we got to keep!) and were escorted by an agent inside the building. We didn't get to see much other than the education section, which used to be open to the public before 9/11.
On our first stop, we watched agents qualifying for their firearm exam. All agents have the privilege of carrying a firearm with them at all times, but in order to do so, they have to pass qualifying exams on a regular basis to make sure they meet the standards set by the Bureau. The glass we sat behind was not only bulletproof but had the ability to turn opaque at the flip of a switch. I know, this is not new technology at all but I still think it's pretty nifty. Some agents were incredibly accurate (must be Jack Bauer's protégés) and pass their exam in one try, but some had to retest after the first test. Agents are allowed to retest as many times as they want, given that it falls within the time that the Bureau gives the test. While we watched the agents take the test, we were introduced to several agents from all over the country that were either working short-term assignments or staying there for a longer period of time. From their descriptions, you can tell each agent was clearly part of the best and the brightest.
Next on our tour was the educational center where display cases held history about the FBI, references in popular culture and the media, a large section devoted to 9/11, and various tidbits about each division of the FBI. During our walkthrough, we got the opportunity to chat with each agent and learn more about any specific division we had an interest in - foreign affairs, counterintelligence, etc. I wish I could've spent more time in there to read all the interesting historical facts about everything, but alas, our tour could only last an hour. Unfortunately for me, we didn't even have time to go to the gift shop. After that tour, everyone headed back home, and I headed back to the office--it was time to Rock the TPP :) Check out the official webpage for that here.
The following weekend, our group headed out to Mount Vernon. Warning to UCDC folk - if you plan on going on a trip where a bus is not taking you directly to the location (i.e. you're taking the Metro rail + bus), you might want to have someone in your group have a smartphone or plan ahead of time. Our CA was new to the program and didn't plan ahead so she almost got the whole group lost. Luckily, because of my obsessive planning and Chen's iPhone (to double check directions), we got to the port at Old Alexandria on time and ready to head off to the home of the great George Washington.
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| Our boat! |
Now, I usually would tell you about how the boat ride was and how awesome the tour guide on the boat was, but I can't. Mainly because I fell asleep after the first 10 minutes on the boat ride XD Once we reached the estate, we hopped aboard the free shuttle that took up directly to the mansion. Tip for UCDC students that are as lazy as we were--take the free shuttle bus that comes once every 15(? I think.) minutes up to the mansion if you don't want to walk the long distance. Before I came to Mount Vernon, my friend Wendy told me how magnificent the mansion was. Perhaps because I came with such high expectations, I left rather disappointed. According to the introduction video we watched before heading through the place, the mansion was HUGE. It could house up to 200 guests at a time. The place we walked through didn't look very massive at all--it looked like a modern-day fancy house found in Palo Alto. I do assume though that what we see today isn't all of the mansion, despite their efforts to restore and keep everything the way it was before. I refuse to believe 200 guests could fit in the mansion that stands there now.
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| 200 in THERE? No way. |
After an hour or so of the scorching sun and ridiculous East Coast humidity, we decided to head back into the education center like sensible people. Definitely check the education center out if you're there at Mount Vernon. One of the best and most entertaining educational tools at the center is the interactive movies. One movie (I cannot recall the name) that depicted the story of George Washington's early life and military career not only included amusing historical narration but also special effects like moving seats (which is really nice after a long day because it shakes like a massage chair lol) and "snow" that falls down from the ceiling. Honestly though, Mount Vernon was a bit of a disappointment. I expected a larger more magnificent place (i.e. Library of Congress status) but we only got to see a couple of rooms that didn't seem as glamorous as I imagined. However, I did enjoy the trip...especially when my two naps on the boat LOL.
And we now come to the last and most important part of this blog--D.C. Restaurant Week. As you know, food is an incredibly important part of my life. Thus, it is only fitting that this is the most important part of this blog post. In case you're unfamiliar with the event, let's fill you in. Restaurant Week is an event that is hosted in various cities at different times. During this week, participating restaurants will offer a prix fixe lunch and/or dinner menu at a set cost--this year was $20.12 for lunch and $35.12 for dinner. Restaurant Week usually comes twice a year, once during the winter and once during the summer. We had the good fortune of being here in D.C. when they hosted it because my, oh my, did we eat like fancy folk that week! For our goodbye lunch with our lovely AMSA Fellow Reshma, PC Access to Meds team dined at La Taberna del Alabadero, a Spanish fine-dining establishment. For $20.12, we enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal that included a light appetizer, an entreé, and a decadent dessert.
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| Mussels steamed in a herb tomato sauce |
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| Strip steak with garlic potatoes and dressed salad |
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| Suckling pig with smashed garlic potatoes |
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| Roasted sea bream on a bed of... Spanish rice? |
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| Flan with sweetened strawberries |
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| Cappuccino to end our delicious meal |
I apologize for the quality of the pictures! I didn't bring my regular camera with me to the restaurant and thus was stuck taking photos with my phone. Anyway, quick restaurant review! Overall rating: 3.5 stars. My steak was cooked to the wrong temp (too cooked!), but everything else was quite delicious. Great flavors, though I did expect a little more of a punch in the flavors--it wasn't bland, but it wasn't mind-blowing. Also, my salad was over... salted? It was incredibly salty for some strange reason. Service here is impeccable though. Despite being over 40 minutes late for our reservation, they still happily seated us and served us well until the very last minute. We all left incredibly full and very happy indeed.
But Restaurant Week did not stop there for me! The girls made a reservation at the Brazilian restaurant Fogo de Chao for our fancy group dinner we planned to have before we left D.C. So prior to this moment, I had never heard of Fogo de Chao, nor had I ever learned anything about Brazilian food (despite having 3 Brazilian housemates lol). Well, Fogo de Chao was a lovely place to get introduced to this cuisine. So this is how the restaurant works: when you sit down at the table, you are given a card: one side is red (for stop) and one side is green (for go). When you want more meat served to you, you flip the card over to green.
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| Go go go! Feed me more food! |
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| Stop, please! |
For $35.12, you get as much meat + salad + side dishes as you want! You can imagine how happy this made me :) Servers walk around with platters of meat, waiting for you to just flip over that card. They're incredibly fast! The girls and I started playing a game to see who could get the longest time before a waiter rushed over to offer us more food. I won with 45 seconds :D
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| Nom nom! Sirloin steak and bacon-wrapped chicken! Picture courtesy of Gigi :) |
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| Delicious cheese breads! |
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| Mashed potatoes! |
After about 2 hours of eating, we were absolutely stuffed. But it didn't stop there! The waiter informed us that dessert was included in our meal, so we couldn't say no! We had a choice of key lime pie, chocolate mousse cake, or strawberry cheesecake. Who would say no?
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| I could probably eat an entire cake like this. By myself. |
Completely stuffed, we left joyful and sleepy to take a final group picture outside. Definitely, if you get a chance, visit Fogo de Chao--there are multiple locations throughout the US.
Alas, it is time for me to end this blog post. As you can tell, I'm starting to ramble and things are starting to sound rather boring. Well, readers, the end is near. I'll post my last blog post (already written, but not edited!) by tomorrow morning, so look out for it. Toodles :)
-Agent 24
One of our big events at the IAC was our "Rock the TPP" concert, where activists from all over the world gathered to learn more about why the TPP will have negative effects on their countries. Public Citizen and APN+ put on a great show, filling the Global Village with sounds of our musical resistance against the tyranny of the TPP. In addition to this fun event, we had a couple more serious events, like the International Med Students teach-in at PC with AMSA. I was working on website building + video editing + graphic designing so I only popped down a bit for a sandwich (I was hungry!) before going back upstairs to the Penthouse. However, the med students gave us positive feedback on the event, so I'm sure it was excellent :) We also participated in the "We Can End AIDS" march with the AIDS Mobilization team and many other groups.
Curious about what happened during the evening in New York? Day 2? Day 3? Chat with me about it! Lots of adventures that is much more fun to listen (and tell) to than for me to type out lol.
Alas, it is time for me to end this blog post. As you can tell, I'm starting to ramble and things are starting to sound rather boring. Well, readers, the end is near. I'll post my last blog post (already written, but not edited!) by tomorrow morning, so look out for it. Toodles :)
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