Maybe I should have done this sooner. Then again how much sooner can I do this if I just got back today? Anywho, I got back this afternoon from Washington DC (otherwise known as the capitol of the US). It was fun...I mostly when to check out a college but was probably the least significant part of the time.
# 1. Signifcant Part:
wolves The DC zoo had wolves; now what was amazing (surprings?) about this was that I actually saw them quite well. Normally if a zoo has wolves you generally don't see them unless the viewing is really close, its somewhat new or maybe if they've being fed (I have no idea). This is because wolves aren't active during most of the day- they just sleep so when people actually go to the zoo there
shouldn't be any wolves out. Now the first time (this was Mon) I went to the zoo I saw one of the wolves raise his head a few times and shift in his position, with a little tail movement. ^-^* Later (on Thurs) I went back, and at first I didn't think I'd see any wolves because there was a blockade due to some kind of timber/tree construction (stuff?). So the way to the wolves was blocked. But it turned out that the noise had agitated them, because they were walking all around the enclosure. I can't say I was happy about
that but seeing them clearly was...nice. I had to wait until they both calmed down enough to settle down. One looked like she was resting, the other like he was busy licking himself. ^-^. Then they got up again and I had to wait. Later when I was leaving, I saw one of the wolves
again through the fencing near the top of the enclosure. ^-^* I will say there was something...about...it. Sometimes it seemed like they were looking right at me and...hm...It was probably the top part of my trip.
Other Highlights: the various animals at the zoo. So many of them were so
close it was amazing. Though it also made me feel really bad about it. *sigh* Zoos - the contraband of my life. Anyway, there was an awesome octopus feeding...I saw two beavers really up close I felt like I could bend over and touch them. I suppose what made it so extraordinary for me was that it felt like the animals were physically
right there- their fur, texture, skin, eyes...it could all be seen as easily as a human standing nearby you in a crowd. And there was very little glass actually...just low guard rails.
Aaah, there was the Museum of the American Indian which was mind-boggling-ly amazing. There was
so much there. I was there for about 4 hours and I got about a 1/3 way done. I gotta go back and check out more of it. There's not that much if you compare it to other museums (in regard to exhibits) but, MAN! is there information. I swear my mind started freezing out. It was excellent. And so different. On the tour (yeah I had a tour- it was fun ^-^) our guide said that all museums on the Simthsonian "line" all have to have their entrances facing the same direction: north. But for the American Indian one they have the doors on the east side because that's where they great the world. (East = sunrise obviously). So the fact that they got their way in that regard was amazing. (They had to have large windows at the north side). I can't stressed the beautiful, unique, pleasant style of the architecture. Very rounded, natural...even the outside was very...well pleasant. There was water, lots of rocks...one one side there was the Sister crops (maize, squash...for some reason I'm drawing a big blank on the third one...). I got a little stuffed buffalo. :p
OH! At the restaurent they had, you could pick from different areas (Northwest Coast, Plains, Woodlands, Southwest...) to get food. :D I got salmon from the Northwest Coast. ^-^
What else? Ah the college was...nice. The city it was in turned out to be a major shopping/dinner area. I suppose that's good. Dunno. I kept thinking
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kamelot_amhran would like it. It reminded me a lot of England (specifically Cambridge or Oxford; the only two universities in England I've been too - geez I've been to that island a lot...). It even rained randomly while there. The trees were gorgeous everywhere. The college was big...a little...squarish...seemed shafted...dunno.
Finally saw the Lincoln Memorial (didn't see it the first time I was done there 'cos there was a freak snowstorm and they didn't shovel the steps). It was...big. It made me realize giant architecture doesn't impress me. I found myself wondering about Lincoln as a man, just as a person. What would
he think of having that giant statue? It was something like...history versus the humanity of the person...combined with a person's greatness through history creating relevance. (For some reason I'm thinking Paul- heck Jesus could count too).
Speaking of that, since I've been reading the Gospels for my class (apparently I had never actually read them. :p) I'm noticing that they're incredibly
unfriendly. Geez. Not pleasant at all. Makes me wonder how people who sincerely believe those words can live happily. It's mostly based around the concept of: if you believe (in God/Jesus/etc) & give up everything you have and give selflessly to others so much that they could beat you then you'll go to heaven. If you don't you're going straight to hell. Rrright. <--note the sarcasm. -_- Also there's seems to be these weird distictions- like rich people are bad, poor people are good, sick people are good as well. Well, I've only gotten through the first two (Mark, Matthew). Actually it was just Matthew I disliked. ~>(
Oh- went to the Archives building- saw a bunch of old documents, including the Declaration of Independence. It wasn't really all that amazing- you could barely read it. I was hoping they'd have some documents out in regard to the native american policies. Nope. It was the first time I found my countries message hollow. Recently I've become disconcerted with my national roots, since this land (the North American continent) was just an invaded land, regardless of how one phrases it. It makes it seem a lot more shaky. But then again...aaah I don't know. All right so there's no real "then again" but if you look at various other histories there's a process of no one really being from anywhere they claim as home.
I'll leave that as something to chew on.
crazy
chipper
blank
silly
busy
weird
ditzy
confused
ecstatic
aggravated
irritated
happy
thoughtful
amused