The trip to Washington D.C. started with a
5am bus ride to Columbus, which Theresa perceived as unnecessary and decided to
sleep until 7am in order to wake up with a heart and panic attack. Eventually,
she made it with squealing tires and a successful ignorance of speed limits to
the airport. Therefore, this vacation started perfectly organized and very
relaxed. The
city is very beautiful and offers architecture that was build in the 19th
century, which is very unique in this country, as we all know. Since the
National Museum of African American History and Culture did not have any
tickets until May, we spent a lot of time in others such as the National Museum
of Women in the Arts, which was my absolute favorite. With self-portraits from
Frida Kahlo, paintings from Marlene Dumas and a whole exhibition of Laura
Gilpin’s photographs of American Indians and southwestern landscapes, it
satisfied my inner feminist for a few minutes. I would further suggest everyone
to visit the National Museum of the American Indian where they currently have a
wonderful exhibition of Horace Poolaw, who was an incredible talented Kiowa
photographer. We also attended free, guided tours through the Library of
Congress as well as through the capitol. The latter one was essentially a twenty
minute tour through two halls – but still very interesting. In one of the halls
every state had placed a statue of a person, who represents the state.
Mississippi chose a statue (and still has not changed it) of Jefferson Davis –
the first and only President of the Confederate States of America – and it is
positioned just across a statue of Rosa Parks…
While
walking through D.C. one can observe a subtle attempt of protest against the
current administration. Everywhere one looks are Clinton/Kaine, Refugees are Welcome or signs that call
for rallies and actions to overthrow the government. And I was actively
searching for Paul Ryan to ask him how it is to live without a spine? As
always, the hostel life is the part of the trip that fundamentally shapes and
impacts the whole experience of the city. One morning, I observed a super cool
guy attempting to make pancakes and ending up with what looked like burned
scramble eggs – he enjoyed every bite. Another guy, who actually worked as a
lobbyist on Capitol Hill, had to leave the place where he lived with his
girlfriend for the weekend. He had literally packed all of his stuff and suits
and now lived for the three days in this dorm room. When asked why he had to do
that, he answered that the conservative mother of his girlfriend was visiting
and could not know that she lives together with a man/boyfriend/Democrat – I
just love human beings. Someone else I talked to studies Medicine at Georgetown
but did not know Queen, Slade or David Bowie – thus I am now advocating for a
revision of enrollment requirements and definitely make their music part of it.
I expect the university to have that changed in a couple of years when I either
study or teach there and live around the corner in one of the most beautiful and
expensive houses with a poodle, a library, folding doors, and a piano.
And last but not least, I was able to develop my 6 films and it cost a fortune! Some of the results:
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