Week 9: So Many Things To Do, So Little Time
Nine weeks down and one to go. I sure will miss all the amazing (free!) things there are to do in D.C., but I tried to make the most of them while I've been here. My favorite place so far? The U.S. Botanic Garden, of course! I went there last weekend and felt like I had died and gone to heaven! The garden has a conservatory on the inside that is separated into climate-controlled regional rooms. The effect was very immersive; I felt like I took a whole world tour in the span of an hour.
Being from Texas, the desert region was my favorite, followed closely by the whole room dedicated to orchids, which felt very otherworldly. Going to the botanical garden (almost) makes up for not being able to work on my own garden.
I also went to the National Portrait Gallery to peep the portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Both of their portraits were well-worth the lines I stood in to snap their pictures. Plus, I got to see some other interesting portraits along the way. My favorites were these portraits by Titus Kaphar, whose works seek to draw attention to the underrepresentation of minorities in portraiture and in history.
Up next week: a close-out of all my research for the summer as well as some of my analysis and key takeaways from my time at USIP.