Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:17 AM
Updated Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:18 AM

 

A cool week in Washington

I spent my spring break in Washington, D.C. with the People to People Ambassador Program.

This was no doubt the most amazing thing I have done. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My trip started by flying to Washington, where we stayed at the Hyatt hotel. When all of the students arrived we were divided into different groups. We had dinner in the ballroom of the hotel and had a chance to meet the other students in our group.

During the dinner we had a guest speaker, Roger Crouch, who was a former astronaut who went into orbit twice.

My roommates were from Arizona and California.

My second day started at 6 a.m. as we loaded our buses and headed to the heart of DC.

We walked to the Supreme Court where they were just starting a case on gun control, and we had a chance to walk around the bottom floor of the building.

Then we went to the Capitol Building for a tour. We had lunch at the Smithsonian and toured the air and space museum. It was humongous!

After we left the Smithsonian we headed to the Native American Museum where we watched a video on the traditions of the Native Americans.

We saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Monument, Korean Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. We ended the day by having dinner at the Saudi Arabian Embassy where we learned about that unique country.  It was interesting and the food was good even though I’m not exactly sure what I ate.

I had never been through so many security metal detectors in my life.

My third day began with another speaker, Matt McHugh, a Congressmen from New York. When we left the hotel we laid a commemorative wreath at the Iwo Jima Memorial (aka Marine Corps Memorial). We visited the World War II Memorial and the Newsuem.

The Newsuem was really cool because they had the antenna off the Twin Towers, all the states, and some countries’ front-page stories of when 9/11 took place. They also had parts of the Berlin Wall and watchtower in the Newsuem. We watched a 4-D movie on different historical events.

We proceeded to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which had four parts because he served four terms as president. We went to the Holocaust Museum … it was interesting, but also very sad.

We were not able to go inside the White House, but were able to go in the front gate and take pictures. There were a lot of people protesting, because it was the fifth anniversary of when President Bush sent our troops to Iraq.

My fourth day started by going to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where we watched the movie “Fields of Freedom” about the Civil War. Then we headed to a Civil War Memorial and saw the spot where Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg Address.

We toured Eisenhower’s farm, which consisted of his home and his barn. It was sad to think that’s where hundreds of slaves used to hide.

We then took a very detailed tour of Pickett’s Charge, which was a battle that took place during the Civil War at Gettysburg and was the turning point.  

Next we headed to Colonial Williamsburg. We picked up our tour guide and he took us on a tour of the Colonial Williamsburg. We got to go inside the House of Burgesses, an old jail cell, a cooper’s (barrel maker) store, and a brick maker’s place.

Everything there was just like or really close to how it was in the old days. Everyone was dressed like they would long ago and there were even horse and buggies.

The sixth day meant a trip to the Albert Einstein monument. and the most exciting museum ever, the International Spy Museum.

We all got to pick an alternate identity. It was interesting inside the museum because you learned all about different spy techniques and tools. We got to crawl through air vents and even see James Bond’s car.

Later, we went to Arlington National Cemetery. We saw the spot where thousands lay dead marked by small white stones. No matter which way you looked small white stones surrounded you. We got to see the Eternal Flame, which marked the grave of John F. Kennedy and his family.

Then we hurriedly walked to the site of the tomb of the unknown soldiers so we could witness the changing of the guards. It was about a nine-minute ceremony that was amazing to watch.

This trip was life changing for me. I have made so many lifelong friends I will never lose touch with. I had an amazing time and would do it over and over again if I could.

I want to thank my parents for encouraging me and supporting me throughout this experience. I would also like to thank all my grandparents and people that donated money for me going on this trip. I want to also thank my friends and church family for praying and encouraging me.

Finally, I would like to thank the person that nominated me, Mrs. Modica. Thank You!