I landed in DC last Friday after having said goodbye to everyone in London and made my way to my friend Kelly's before getting dressed up for my visit to the West Wing (not the TV show). I felt awesome. It was a privilege for me to be able to visit the White House in a way that very few Americans and even fewer foreigners are able to do. I arrived quite early so Kelly showed me around her own office (internal affairs) and the general West Wing area. Then when the time of the appointment came she gave me a full guided tour with a few other friends of hers. I saw the White House cafetaria, the Rose Garden, Oval Office, the entrance to the situation room, the press room, the lobby and all the other really cool corridors covered with pictures of Obama on the road. Seriously awesome experience which I highly recommend if you get the chance to do it one day.
White House press room - I felt uber special
We then followed up with a fantastic dinner at Rogue 24. The 24 course meal with wine pairing was possibly one of the most elaborate in my life. Before booking this restaurant Kelly had asked me if I was still on a backpacker budget to which I replied "I'm on an MBA budget but I'm not sure what that means yet" - she assumed that meant I could spend freely, I hope that won't be my MBA budget or I will forever be in debt.
Hungry? This was a little ridiculous over the top even for a Frenchman
The rest of my time in DC was spent walking around, catching up with friends and going to see a Nationals game. While I do like American sports in general, watching baseball for 3 hours was kind of boring. There were no big inflexion points and the highlights were drinking beer and relaxing in the summer sun.
At the Nationals game but I guess I'm supposed to be a Dodgers fan now? (I don't really enjoy baseball that much)
On Monday I finally arrived in LA and things have picked up very fast since then. I went out that very night to a bar/restaurant which had a large selection of beer which was a welcome sight. Having grown up in Belgium I'm used to lagers and ales but I guess I'm going to have to get used to hoppy IPAs while in California as that seems to be the standard. I don't know if I can convert to be honest.
The next few days were spent meeting plenty of people and getting settled with the thousands of things that need to be done. Tonight I'm going to be going to my first sundowners which I'm very looking forward to and tomorrow will be my big pre-O trip to Hetch Hetchy which I'll write about when I get back. This has been a fantastic week and I'm looking forward to starting orientation and classes, I was assigned to the A-team yesterday which makes me feel really cool. I know Kyle said there was no trash talking between the groups yet but I'm pretty sure he was envious of group A and their early morning schedule.
-Chris Varin, 14'
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