Adventures in DC Continued #2

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Continued

It's taken me a long time to get the old journal back out to continue writing this all down, but here I am- chuggin along and working at it bit by bit. So here we go! Starting after the Library of Congress-

Jello With Senator Mike Lee: How cool is this!!?!? Now I can say I've met a Senator too! We rushed into the hallway of the Senate Office Building and sat, exhausted and sweaty, on the floor to await el senator. When he arrived, we were served red and blue Jello with white whipped cream on top. After devouring the little cups, I naturally wished it was like the pot luck dinners at home with jello to spare, but this was no time for food! It was picture time! We gathered round Senator Lee and cheesily grinned, inviting his family to get in the shot as well- what a hoot! Once the picture was taken, everyone jumped in for a chance to meet Mr. Lee. It was hilarious (and kinda embarrassing) when kids would jump up and say: "Do you remember me? I was the kid who jumped out of a blue Honda to get your autograph in Magna!" or "I remember when you gave us this one speech- man, that was great" or "You're just the best, I love you!" or "You know my dad!" and of course the list goes on. I shook his hand and thanked him for his time, but honestly, I had no idea what else to say!  Surely, if I'd had some experience about Senator Lee before, I'd be doing the same thing. :) I ashamedly didn't even know who this guy was until I looked at my schedule- what a despicable American I was, but am no longer! Cause after this experience, I can probably tell you WAY more then you'd ever want to know about this or that in the world of politics. Not that I'm a genius in any way, but now I am more aware and better able to understand things that previously would have left me baffled. The Senator and his family and crew were very kind and we had fun!

Senator Orrin Hatch: Although we didn't actually get to meet Senator Hatch, we got to meet all of his crew and interns and see inside his offices! He was scheduled to return from campaigning the night we got here, but he must have gotten held up. But that in no way means that we didn't learn a ton and still have the opportunity of a lifetime! One of his head crew members got to talk to us and we asked him questions. He was extremely smart and I felt that he did a great job at answering even the toughest of questions! He better explained to us the processes that Congress uses to examine bills and other federal cases. He taught us in a well planned, educational, interesting way the differences between most liberal and conservative ways to examine these bills. I was really grateful to be able to learn in this setting, where learning was brought by discussion, instead of by debate. I also don't think, and even my liberal friends would agree with this, that he was biased in any of the things that he said. He did a good job of giving us straight up facts. :) THAT, was greatly appreciated.  We got to walk around Senator Hatch's office- sit in his chairs, look at his pictures. I loved the bits of personality he brought into the room and the way he displayed things that are important to him. I could tell that he is the kind of person that wants everyone to be sure of his beliefs on different topics. He had model air planes from Hill Air Force Base (he supports and seeks funding for it), he has books and model rockets from NASA, he has a statue of Lincoln, a Yamakah (Jewish head covering- I have no idea how to spell it) from Israel and a bit of the bible in his doorway (this, I learned, is also a Jewish tradition. He holds the Jewish people close to his heart and quite the celebrity in Israel.), he had pictures of his family, and art from around the USA. My favorite, was the riffle above his doorway- he is a believer in gun rights and definitely supports those who, like my family, have permits to have weapons. His secretary pointed out his favorite chair, and the seat where famous people like Bono from U2 sit when they come to visit him. Because he's one of the Senators with more seniority in the Senate, many people from all around the world know who he is. We sat and took pictures in his chairs and learned a lot more about him as a person and as a Senator. What a neat day!

Dinner at Union Station: Holy crowdedness. There were SO many people! It took me a while to make it through the food court with Katelyn, and we couldn't find the smoothies we wanted, but I settled for some delicious Chineese. After, Katelyn and I walked around through some shops! I still hadn't spent the 50$ my grandpa had given me (along with the instructions: "This is NOT for cheeseburgers"). So, we went into Ann Taylor, a store that is usually (and is) WAY out of my price range, but, brought in by the huge 50% off SALE sign in the front, I ended up finding an adorable shirt for the amazing low price of $40 dollars (and yes, that WAS sarcasm people). But it was half off! And my grandpa had given me money- so, I bought it! It's pretty darn fancy, so I've decided to reserve it only for fancy dates, interviews, or other classy things. I have to admit, it did feel pretty good to splurge on something nice for myself- which I hardly ever do. I'm  pretty money savvy and tend to be a penny pincher- which is good! I'm not perfect at it, and it's a roller coaster, but anyway, you get the point it was fun, okay? We barely made it onto the bus on time- but it was fun 'cause then everyone had to see the shirt that had almost caused us all to be late- and they ooed and awed and we all joked that I would spend so much on a stupid shirt. It was great. :)

Le Bus Transfer to Williamsburg: Okay, for a bus transfer, this one was worth writing about! Ever sense Georgetown, our leaders have had us in the "Budy System". We had, of course, heard of this system before, but we had no idea there was an inside joke about it! We were finally enlightened. There's a 90's Disney movie out there called "Heavyweights", ever heard of it? Me neither. Turns out, it's a HILARIOUS movie about a kid that gets sent to "fat camp" by his parents! Isn't that terrible!?! haha! But wait, there's more! This camp is  supposed to be all about having fun and accepting yourself and maybe loosing a few pounds on the way. But when he gets to camp, he, and everyone else, are shocked to find that the previous, kind owners have become bankrupt, and there's a new warden in town- Ben Stiller. That's right, you heard me. Already made the movie that much better right? Well, Stiller's character is a work-out-aholic and is determined to make these kids lose every ounce of fat on their body. He hires a German body builder/model to take them to their activities. Here's where the "Budy" joke comes in. The German guy is flirting with a girl when he should be watching the kids swimming in the lake. When she asks him about this, he repies in his ever German accent: "I have them on the Body System" (He says body but means buddy) she's like "What?" he's like "the BODY SYSTEM"  and she's like "What?" and on for a few more times until finally he calls out "BODY!!!!!" and the kids hold up their hands together and yell back "BUDDY!!!!!!" "BODY!!!" BUDDY!!!!" "BODY!!!" "BUDDY!!!" It's hilarious!!!! THAT, is where we got our "Body System" from, and isn't it hilarious? haha, we now embrace the Body System full heartedly and shout BUDDY at the top of our lungs whenever we hear the call. After, we were all like: "So is this a fat joke?" haha and man what fun we've had ever sence!
After a 3 hr bus ride, we finally arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia. :) We stayed with our same rooms, and were delighted to discover that some of our rooms connected! THAT was a TON of fun for a while, untill the lady who does the room checks told us it wasn't allowed. It was okay by that point though, cause we had just finished watching our episodes of Big Bang Theory and Connan. What a fun day!