Shortly after getting back to the U S of A, I had a pressing interview in our nation's capital, the famious Washington, District of Columbia. So, after leaving the red-roofed houses and cobble-stoned houses of sleepy Asuncion, Paraguay, I headed to the bustling metropolis of neo-colonial, modern, post-modern, and neo-classical splendor of Washington D.C. It was only the second time in my long life that I've been in the area, the first being attached to the same organization, but as a graduating high school senior. Only this time I didn't have a welcoming party, the mingling of other scholarship recipients, or the glamour of being escorted around the city. I was being invited to an interview and things were straight down to business. I was to fly in on Sunday and leave on Monday, leaving an all-important decision about a possible graduate school scholarship left for the deciding.
I stayed in an amazingly beautiful (and I can imagine expensive) hotel room that they had reserved for me in the Fairmount Hotel. The luxury burned my eyes as I could hardly believe that I was sleeping on down pillows atop a king size bed in an attractively coordinated business-style suite. 
I made sure to make the best of the hotel stay, using the robe hung in the bathroom after a long and luxurious bubble bath and then sitting down to watch HBO and TBS while finishing my interview question preparations.
Monday morning, I headed down to the conference rooms to face the INTERVIEW. I couldn't help but think about the timeline that that particular day was originally planned to have. In a small corner of the world called Itaugua, Paraguay, preparations were being finished for my book launching...the decorations were to be put on the walls of a small municipal salon seating the 200-250 invited guests as they brought in a stereo system for the antiquated microphone set atop a long foldingn table adorned with a nanduti tablecloth. But, I would see none of it, choosing instead to move forward and reach upward in my life towards graduate school and more formal education to prove to the world that I had skills worth a living wage to keep myself fed, clothed, and adequately 'cultured' with some technology, gadgets, and hobbies to occupy my time.
My fears of not being to articulate myself in English were definitely confirmed though my occasional reverse-translation moments were not as difficult as my circumlocutory ramblings to get around them. But, the 'comittee' that was to interview ended up being just 2 people with big smiles and lots of happy side comments attempting to make me actually feel more comfortable as we were to 'chat' and not 'interview.' I had a good time thinking about each question and passed through the more than 1 hour interview without honestly feeling the time. I had a chance to talk with some of the other interviewees and they were all 2004 graduates, making me one year older, a 2003 grad. I walked out not really knowing how to gauge my success or failure but content to know that at least I could show that I had been dedicated to the interview and, in sacrificing my attendance at the book launching, was certain about where I really wanted to go in life--back to the old grindstone and the reconstruction of long-forgotten realities.
I went around D.C. on a fabulous tram system called the Tourmobile. While I half-expected a cheesy, barbie-faced tour guide prodding me not to stick my arms or legs out of the moving vehicle, I honestly really enjoyed the tour. 
All the trolley-like buses were void of windows for prime no-reflection snapshots of all the federal buildings, memorials, and I even snapped a few of the crazy street signs and traffic signals. I started after taking my first 'metro' from the hotel to downtown by the Smithsonian complex and boarded the tourmobile alongside a mix of tourists from all over the world. As we passed the National Gallery of Art and other museums, I was sad that I didn't have more time to stick around and acutally go through the buildings, but that'll be for another trip. I stopped at Union Station to see the half-station half-commercial center that reminded me a lot of Philadelphia. I stopped to try Godiva chocolates for the first time, snapped my picture in front of life-size cardboard cutouts of Barack Obama and John McCain in a maze of political satire products from playing cards to bobble heads (where all Hillary merchandise was 50% off!),
snatched up some pizza, and then got back on the tourmobile. 
All the trolley-like buses were void of windows for prime no-reflection snapshots of all the federal buildings, memorials, and I even snapped a few of the crazy street signs and traffic signals. I started after taking my first 'metro' from the hotel to downtown by the Smithsonian complex and boarded the tourmobile alongside a mix of tourists from all over the world. As we passed the National Gallery of Art and other museums, I was sad that I didn't have more time to stick around and acutally go through the buildings, but that'll be for another trip. I stopped at Union Station to see the half-station half-commercial center that reminded me a lot of Philadelphia. I stopped to try Godiva chocolates for the first time, snapped my picture in front of life-size cardboard cutouts of Barack Obama and John McCain in a maze of political satire products from playing cards to bobble heads (where all Hillary merchandise was 50% off!),
snatched up some pizza, and then got back on the tourmobile. 
It was amazing to see sights that cited the grandeur of my mother country's history and development after so much time studying another's. Everything from honoring the servicemen and women buried in Arlington National Cemetery 
to the iconic homage to presidents Lincoln and Washington. Tourists were respectful and courteous, no shoving or pushing or even competition to get pictures. They actually waited on the side of road for people to come off the bus until they boarded...something I don't think I'd ever see in Paraguay. The buses came frequently punctually and I literally rode the entire tour around the city. We saw the white house only from a LONG distance, Capitol Hill as well, though I did stop and walk around the Lincoln Memorial, providing a picturesque view of the Washington monument were it not for the construction crews in the foreground.
to the iconic homage to presidents Lincoln and Washington. Tourists were respectful and courteous, no shoving or pushing or even competition to get pictures. They actually waited on the side of road for people to come off the bus until they boarded...something I don't think I'd ever see in Paraguay. The buses came frequently punctually and I literally rode the entire tour around the city. We saw the white house only from a LONG distance, Capitol Hill as well, though I did stop and walk around the Lincoln Memorial, providing a picturesque view of the Washington monument were it not for the construction crews in the foreground. 
I finished the tour and returned to the Smithsonian metro station to return to the hotel and get moving to the airport. Braving another run on the metro, I opted not to take a taxi and arrived with 15 minutes to spare at the Reagan National Airport. Not bad for a day and a half in the nation's capital?
An unmistakable landmark, the Lincoln Memorial.
Silence and Respect mark the tomb of John F. Kennedy, accompanied by his widow Jacky, his brother Robert, and an eternal flame lighted shortly after his assassination.
Saluting all unidentifiable soldiers killed in the line of duty, a constant vigil is kept at the Tomb of the Unknown Soliders, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Here there are 3 Marines, conducting a changing of the guards ceremony.
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