Spring break came and went and I had a great time. My host family took me to Washington, D.C. and we had an adventure. It was almost as busy as Disney. We walked A LOT and saw a lot. We drove there and stayed for about three days (stopping for lunch at the Cabela’s which was highly interesting as well). We stayed at a hotel a bit outside of D.C. so we took the metro into the city. And of course, by the time we figured out how to find the right trains, we left for home again.

    My favorite place in D.C. was the Library of Congress. I love to read, so there is something about it that fascinated me a lot. My favorite thing inside the Jefferson building (there are three buildings) was that I saw Thomas Jefferson’s original books which survived the fire that occurred during the war with Britain. He had a lot of books, and it was awesome!

    It’s so interesting to visit the capital of the U.S. from the eyes of a Norwegian because of the patriotism that runs through the city. I learned a great deal about American culture and history. Visiting Arlington National Cemetery was especially interesting. It was haunting and beautiful at the same time. Americans have a big respect for the military and its job, and even though we respect our military it is nothing like what Americans feel. I am personally very anti-violence no matter what form it takes, so I got kind of shocked by the sheer size of the cemetery, the never ending field of gravestones and by how much veterans are idolized (sort of). How can I express that I felt awed and slightly disgusted without offending anyone? When I left though, I found it more beautiful than anything else. Is it not an odd thought to have about a place that celebrates death?

    On to a more cheerful theme, we visited all the good touristy spots like the memorials and took pictures/selfies at the White House. My favorite memorial was the Lincoln Memorial, possibly because I saw it in the movie Night At The Museum, and I thought it was really cool to see it in real life. And of course let’s not forget about the museums. We did not have a lot of time, and we were all tired so we did not see as much of the museums as I would have liked but we saw all the cool stuff like the Hope Diamond and the first ladies’ dresses.

    It was a fun break, and I always love an adventure! A bit cold but we persevered. It’s time for summer to come!