Ah, now here we are on our 4th blog entry. We are almost halfway through our internship experience. I cannot believe how fast it is going. Here in Washington DC, a center of government, I seem to be paying more attention to national news. You often see people in front of the White House with signs or groups making points about matters they feel are important. And I find myself checking CNN on line a lot to read about what's happening in the country.
This past weekend was finally the first weekend I felt settled in D.C. The AAPD group went on a tour of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial on a beautiful Saturday morning. The tour was quite interesting. I really like this quote:
"Franklin's illness gave him strength and courage he had not had before. He had to think out the fundamentals of living and learn the greatest of all lessons- infinite patience and never-ending persistence" - Eleanor Roosevelt
I can see that Eleanor was really supportive of her husband after he got polio which caused him to be disabled. He could not walk but that did not stop him from being a hardoworking and devoted President. It was an inspiration to hear that he was the only President that was able to hold the position for four terms (although he died during the 4th term). I wonder if FDR had focused on his disability, would people vote for him back then? I don't know. It was interesting to see that water was a prominent part of the Memorial, which apparently represents different major events in FDR's experience. I remember seeing the Memorial when I was a young girl, but now I understand more about FDR, especially from the tour guide who was able to explain clearly about his history. It was also interesting to know that out of all pictures of FDR as President, there were only two pictures of him in wheelchair, and how this statue reflects him has a meaning behind it. Although he is seated in the statue, it is not clear that he is sitting in a wheelchair.
I was also able to catch up with an old friend of mine this weekend, and it was nice. I finally went to the Pentagon for the first time. It was interesting and it was pretty. You can see from the colors of the wall how there are older and a newer parts of the Pentagon. I discovered that I don’t really like the metro on the weekends because it’s a longer wait but I guess that I just need to be more patient. J I do have a bunch of other sites in the District that I want to visit this summer My next goal is to attend Arlington Cemetery.
I am definitely looking forward to next weekend. One of my good friends is coming to visit and I know it will be a fun weekend for sure. Why? Because 4th of July is a fun day, especially since I will be in D.C. to witness the fireworks.
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