Jared  Graber '11 - As we get settled in for a week in our country’s capital, I find myself eagerly anticipating all that we have planned.  During our first day, it was great getting to know the guys in my class and I look forward to becoming great friends with all of them during the upcoming week.  Today we walked around the city, explored a few museums, and went out for a classy dinner at Bombay Palace.   

This morning was a little hectic.  We left Wabash College at around 6:30 a.m., and I have to admit I was incredibly tired. I spent the drive to the airport trying to overcome my sleepiness by talking politics with George and Steve. I absolutely love flying and really looked forward flight itself. Our plane was the smallest plane I had ever been on, two rows on one side and one on the other. I am a little claustrophobic, but I was still able to find the flight enjoyable. However, when it was time to get off the plan, I was definitely ready. We got to our hotel, the Double Tree Hotel, and it was shocking how close we were to the historic Watergate Plaza. We actually went to lunch at a Chinese place inside Watergate which was really cool. It was unreal being at such an incredibly historic place.  

We used the Metro to get from place to place all day. I was shocked at the cleanliness of the city’s mass transit system. Actually, the entire city was surprisingly very clean. The weather was great. It was nothing but blue skies as we walked around today. The strong winds were a bit of a hassle, but ultimately no big deal. 

I am a big fan of modern art, and I really enjoyed the National Art Gallery. The visiting exhibit was French Impressionism which is practically the same thing over and over again; however, they had great sculptures and some really cool modern art as well. By the end of the day, I could tell the rest of the guys and myself were getting a little tired. It was an action-packed day, and I believe it is fair to say everyone was in need of a decent catnap. So, we went back to the hotel and chilled for awhile before going out to dinner.  Dinner was great and now I am sitting in our hotel room just hanging out with my fellow aspiring political scientists.   

Picture - Kyle O'Keefe '08 on the Metro, trying to find our next stop.