To my precious fellow travelers,
As my time here in
Washington D.C draws to an end it is time to reflect upon the wonderful
adventure this has been. I have never felt such pride to be an American until I
visited our nation’s capitol. A good friend of mine, who currently resides in
the city, said that D.C. is the center of the western world. That was no
exaggeration. From a single plaza you can look forward and see Capitol Hill, look
to your left and you can see the largest library in the world – The library of
Congress. Look over your shoulder and you can see the Supreme Court,
which is every bit as grand as the name suggests. In one spot you see, law, the
seat of those who protect the law and the largest collection of human knowledge
in the world. Even without the Greco-Roman inspired architecture you would
easily feel as if you stood in a modern day Greece. I made jokes on my journey
here that I was taking a pilgrimage to the capitol of my nation. What began as
a joke, concreted into a reality as I was swept up in the splendor of the city.
This really has been a powerful, inspirational and life-changing pilgrimage to
one of the most important places in the world. Although I am sad to go, I
believe that even in my short amount of time here I have gained something that
is unique and quite special.
Deep reflections aside I was able
to enjoy observing the people who live here, the armor they wear and the
buildings they reside in, and as always, it was a pleasure to share their
culture, if only for a few days.
The people:
I know better than to travel with
expectations, but it couldn’t quite be helped this time. We constantly see
images, videos and footage from our nation’s capitol in the news. It is nearly
impossible not to have some idea of what the city is like. As is characteristic
of the clash between expectation and reality, my expectations were far from
reality. With so many important organizations being housed in D.C. the people
that tend to live here are usually very motivated and driven individuals.
Because of that, I expected the culture to be very similar to New York City
where everyone has a slightly bloated sense of importance that is hardly subtle.
This did not characterize my experience in D.C., if anything quite the
opposite.
One of the
evenings that I had free to venture out of the convention center into the heart
of the city, I was taking a Lift to Dupont Circle to enjoy some native D.C.
cuisine. For those of you who do not know, Lift is a transportation service
similar to Uber. The Lift driver decided to pick up another rider along the way
to the circle. Unfortunately the driver was having difficulty navigating the
city, and with it being my first time there I was far from helpful. When we
finally got to the location to pick up the other rider she had every reason to
be very frustrated and entitled about the situation. However, when she got into
the car she actually apologized to the driver if her address had been unclear.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t actually a bit stunned by this. I almost had to
pinch myself and make sure I wasn’t back in the good-natured Midwest. A quick
look around at the magnanimous stone buildings served to remind me that I was
surely not in Madison anymore. Along the ride my friend and I struck up a
conversation with this woman and discovered that she worked at the
International Monetary Fund as a district director. This was the second time on
the car ride that I was stunned silent. I couldn’t help but be slightly
uncomfortable by the prestige of this woman’s job. In my head I was hoping not
to make a fool of myself and reveal that I’m from the Midwest, because my experience
in the past has proven that many people feel Midwesterners are all simpletons
and therefore treat them as such. As I unconsciously groomed myself, as we
often do when feeling the need to impress another, I began to feel a bit
foolish. To my pleasant surprise the
woman continued to converse as if we were equals. In that moment I realized how
my expectations had warped my perception of the people and the city. Because I
expected them to be bloated with superiority I had braced myself for all the
rudeness they could muster but in the end I just ended up looking foolish
trying to defend myself from nothing.
As Americans we
often define ourselves by the jobs that we hold, and hers was a very important
one. But that did not give her a sense of superiority over me, and if it did,
she didn’t show it. That car ride was one of the most pleasant experiences of
my trip and I believe it gave me a great insight into the culture of D.C. If
everyone you meet at bars, restaurants and in taxis is working at the White
House, the IMF, the world bank and many other central places of power then that
level of success becomes the cultural norm. It would be the equivalent of
saying I work at Epic in Madison, WI. It denotes success but also room to grow.
When working for international finance organizations is the norm of a culture
then what is the measure of excellence? I can only imagine how wonderfully
thrilling it would be to live in a culture surrounded by such expectations of
success.
The other
individuals I encountered mirrored the levels of hospitality and excellence I
witnessed in that taxi. Even one of my Uber drivers used to be an incredibly
successful photographer back when there was an art to the development of the
photo. The same driver also proceeded to
give me a 20-minute lecture (in the good sense) about how poverty is a mindset.
At 5:00 in the morning as I clutched tightly onto my coffee, he was animated
and excitably explaining to me that if
you refrain from having a poverty mindset you will always be rich. That
is the quality of even the taxi drivers there! What a wonderful place to say
the least, to have such high standards of success is nothing short of
exhilarating. My visit to Washington D.C. left no doubt in my mind that is
deserves to be the center of the Western world.
The clothing:
Two days before I
was due to fly out of the Madison Airport I stood in my room, half my wardrobe
strewn across pieces of furniture, and a frustrated grimace on my face as I
realized I had been trying to pack for 2 hours. Usually packing for a trip is a
breeze for me, I know exactly what I need to bring and it usually boils down to
whatever the hell is comfiest and built for the long haul. However, this trip
presented a whole new challenge to me. I had gone shopping for a couple new
professional outfits the week before and had felt very confident with my
clothing selections. However, as I went to actually begin rolling the pants and
stuffing the duffle bag I realized I had no idea what the style in D.C. was
like and more importantly I realized that I had to be stylish. At that point I
realized I was in over my head and so I decided it was time to consult with my
fashion expert. “Simple, straightforward business,” that is what he told me to
expect of the style in D.C. I am sure to his fashion oriented brain this
painted a clear picture, but it didn’t leave me with much. Against all odds, I
did finally get my bag packed and I met my goal of only bringing 1 carry on,
which I consider an adventurer achievement. After two flights and a taxi we
finally arrived in D.C. It took only a few moments before I understood what
simple, straight-forward business looked like. After seeing it first-hand I
realized, that really was the only way to describe the style. Everyone is
working all of the time doing important things in D.C. so they need clothes
that are fashionable, practical and
high-end professional. Some key themes were; blazers (usually black) with
jeans, short thick high heels, designer sunglasses, the all-business ponytail
and for men much the same design but replace the heels with leather dress shoes
and the jeans with khakis. I also noticed the people literally wear the quality
of their work. The simple style could easily look rather cheap, but what makes
it elegant is the apparent quality of the materials. You may be wearing jeans
and a black blazer but each article is made from the nicest and most durable fabric.
This is what gives the essence of simplicity while maintaining the high level
of professionalism. In the end, with the help of my personal style consultant I
was able to blend in successfully with the high class working people of our
nation’s capitol.
The architecture:
Where do I even
begin here! In one of my Vlogs I mentioned that I could write an entire essay
on the architecture and that was no over exaggeration. But I will spare all of
you my obsession and just present some of the defining characteristics. I find
that being driven on highways that skirt around the border of in-town and
out-town often allows the viewer to get an overall picture of the city’s
architecture. When I did so, two distinctive styles stuck out to me. First, was
the traditional colonial architecture, whites and blues combined with archways
and columns, often with some kind of intricate design. Along with the whites
and blues there were also the traditional red and brown brick buildings that
did not hide their age. In contrast to the traditional styles that clearly
represented the older parts of the city, there was also new construction all
throughout the city. The new construction boasted of bright colors and townhouse
style buildings that were slightly reminiscent of a 1990’s San Francisco. As
you work your way in closer to the heart of the city the architecture grows
increasingly more Greco-Roman in style with large monuments, columns and stone
reliefs. The biggest shock to me was that the White House was actually quite
small. When my tour guide and friend took me there I couldn’t believe the size
matched the name, it was less of a mansion and literally more of a house. I
suppose it isn’t too surprising after all, things always look bigger on TV.
In
conclusion, Washington D.C. is definitely a more-than-one-trip kind of city.
The architecture alone requires astute and careful examination. Before I journeyed
to D.C. I had never considered it that important as an American to visit.
However, after my visit that opinion has drastically changed. I would encourage
not only all Americans, but all those who claim to be citizens of the world to
make their own pilgrimage to the capitol city. I guarantee you will learn more
about who you are and where you come from; and that knowledge is priceless.
-Styx-
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