Something that my sister Heidi has been working about in her free time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQSCt1GyEcg
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A weekend to remember
Rebecca and I decided to escape some of the craziness of the inauguration and head to Maine for the weekend, to soak up the cold and solitude. It was very cold on Friday: -14F at one point, but the rest of the weekend wasn't too bad, and we had snow Sunday. It was a restful, relaxing weekend. Rebecca, Carol, Jackie, and our two snow people illustrate below.
After the relaxing visit to my dear aunts, Rebecca and I returned to Washington. The contrast was abrupt: People were streaming from the airport with us, headed downtown to watch the swearing in. Our plane was packed, and so were the buses and trains from the airport. At 7am, walking towards the mall, the streets were already busier than any workday, and all the coffee shops had long lines. We were on the mall by 8, and the ceremony didn't really start until 10. It was cold, but all the folks down there were in good spirits, and nobody seemed to mind the waiting. Some of our friends looked miserable, having stayed up all night the night before, which made me feel much better about my own decision-making ability. :)
By the time the show started, people were packed in, as far as the eye could see. I was hesitant to go stand in the cold, in a crowded bunch of strangers, especially because I feel that big events are usually a disappointment. But today, I didn't want to miss the history. The musical piece by Yo-yo ma et al. was really amazing to see. I've never seen such a large group in person before, and to see a calm quiet suddenly fall over them was eerie, but as the beautiful music settled over the crowd, it became thrilling. A similar thing happened when Obama started speaking - just attentive, appreciative, silence. From 1 million people. Crazy.
I was moved by the speech despite myself. It had all the vague promises typical of a political speech, but perhaps it was just the crowd and the sense of history that made it hard not to be moved. The mood on the mall was cathartic. Lots of applause for mentions of restoring humility and responsibility to the nation, and (to put it mildly) decidedly unenthusiastic reception of anything Bush-related. After the speech, a lot of people exchanged hugs, even with strangers, or wiped tears from their eyes, or both. Then, the herd walked calmly back to their lives, alone with their thoughts or chatting amicably with friends. Really, a powerful and special morning.
the location was on the east side of the washington monument, looking towards the capitol (behind the tree in the background)...this doesn't fully capture it, but this is when the music started:
And this was the swearing in, after 5 hours of standing in the cold:
After the relaxing visit to my dear aunts, Rebecca and I returned to Washington. The contrast was abrupt: People were streaming from the airport with us, headed downtown to watch the swearing in. Our plane was packed, and so were the buses and trains from the airport. At 7am, walking towards the mall, the streets were already busier than any workday, and all the coffee shops had long lines. We were on the mall by 8, and the ceremony didn't really start until 10. It was cold, but all the folks down there were in good spirits, and nobody seemed to mind the waiting. Some of our friends looked miserable, having stayed up all night the night before, which made me feel much better about my own decision-making ability. :)
By the time the show started, people were packed in, as far as the eye could see. I was hesitant to go stand in the cold, in a crowded bunch of strangers, especially because I feel that big events are usually a disappointment. But today, I didn't want to miss the history. The musical piece by Yo-yo ma et al. was really amazing to see. I've never seen such a large group in person before, and to see a calm quiet suddenly fall over them was eerie, but as the beautiful music settled over the crowd, it became thrilling. A similar thing happened when Obama started speaking - just attentive, appreciative, silence. From 1 million people. Crazy.
I was moved by the speech despite myself. It had all the vague promises typical of a political speech, but perhaps it was just the crowd and the sense of history that made it hard not to be moved. The mood on the mall was cathartic. Lots of applause for mentions of restoring humility and responsibility to the nation, and (to put it mildly) decidedly unenthusiastic reception of anything Bush-related. After the speech, a lot of people exchanged hugs, even with strangers, or wiped tears from their eyes, or both. Then, the herd walked calmly back to their lives, alone with their thoughts or chatting amicably with friends. Really, a powerful and special morning.
the location was on the east side of the washington monument, looking towards the capitol (behind the tree in the background)...this doesn't fully capture it, but this is when the music started:
And this was the swearing in, after 5 hours of standing in the cold:
Sunday, January 04, 2009
The thrill is back!
..from latin america, that is. After a 10 days in Ecuador and a week in Costa Rica, it is nice to be back in DC (I can say that because it wasn't too cold today and I haven't been to work yet). I'm learning that Rebecca can be a determined woman - after they insisted we gate check our bags during a stopover in El Salvador, and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise, we agreed, but took our time getting our books etc out of them before handing them over. Except, instead of handing them over, Rebecca charged right on the plane with hers. I of course, had to do the same. :)
Costa Rica was very touristy, but beautiful, warm, and friendly, and easy to get around. I would go back definitely, but probably plan things a little better. Rebecca and I went to Puerto Viejo, on the Carribean coast, which was charming in a frat boy kinda way (fortunately our lodgings were on the outskirts and were lovely). The beaches were absolutely beautiful, the waves were good, the food was tasty...but we were bored after awhile, and we learned we're not ready to sit on the beach for a week and be satisfied. Fortunately, our last day we took a jungle tour with our PhD Biologist/hotel proprietor, a very interesting guy, and it was so fun! All-in-all, a relaxing way to spend a week, and it provided a lot of insight into how Costa Ricans live and take their holiday (preferably with fireworks, it turns out).
The 10 days in Galapagos on a Mtn Travel Sobek tour were amazing. Really, it was the trip of a lifetime. I can go on and on about how amazing it was (and probably will, if you ask me about it), but I would highly recommend the trip to anybody interested in wildlife, even if you know nothing previously about Galapagos. MTS were awesome as well, definitely worth the premium after observing how the other groups were guided and lodged. Anyway, photos are being downloaded and organized, but I did find this video that our guide shot of one of our snorkeling highlights: being surrounded by white-tipped reef sharks!
Costa Rica was very touristy, but beautiful, warm, and friendly, and easy to get around. I would go back definitely, but probably plan things a little better. Rebecca and I went to Puerto Viejo, on the Carribean coast, which was charming in a frat boy kinda way (fortunately our lodgings were on the outskirts and were lovely). The beaches were absolutely beautiful, the waves were good, the food was tasty...but we were bored after awhile, and we learned we're not ready to sit on the beach for a week and be satisfied. Fortunately, our last day we took a jungle tour with our PhD Biologist/hotel proprietor, a very interesting guy, and it was so fun! All-in-all, a relaxing way to spend a week, and it provided a lot of insight into how Costa Ricans live and take their holiday (preferably with fireworks, it turns out).
The 10 days in Galapagos on a Mtn Travel Sobek tour were amazing. Really, it was the trip of a lifetime. I can go on and on about how amazing it was (and probably will, if you ask me about it), but I would highly recommend the trip to anybody interested in wildlife, even if you know nothing previously about Galapagos. MTS were awesome as well, definitely worth the premium after observing how the other groups were guided and lodged. Anyway, photos are being downloaded and organized, but I did find this video that our guide shot of one of our snorkeling highlights: being surrounded by white-tipped reef sharks!
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