First Impressions

Greetings from Washington DC! I have been in the capital for a few days now, and I already have more than enough to talk about. I moved in Saturday into a penthouse apartment in the River Place complex in Rosslyn, VA. It is a really nice apartment, and is definitely much better than I expected before I arrived. It is equipped with two bedrooms (two roommates to a room), two bathrooms, a full stocked kitchen (stove, oven, fridge, toaster, microwave, dishwasher, pots, and utensils), computer, printer, washing machine, dryer, and ample living space topped off with a flat screen TV. The patio is huge and wraps around two sides of our apartment. It is a great place to come back to after a long day in the city.

Through part of our orientation on Monday, we took a tour of the capital. Our first stop was the National Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in.

The construction of the cathedral took over 80 years, and was completed in 1990. It also houses the remains of President Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller. Coincidentally, Wilson is the only president whose remains reside within the borders of Washington DC.

From the Cathedral, we drove through Georgetown and past many of the embassies in DC. After lunch at Union Station, we visited the memorials on the National Mall.

The World War II Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The FDR Memorial

Overall, it was a beautiful day and a great introduction to the city. There is so much to see and do in DC, and so much of it is free to the public. Dean Joyner said that one of her favorite words is “free,” and “free” is something I plan on taking advantage of as much as I can while I’m here.