Jumpstart and George Washington

Well folks, it was a crazy week! I barely have time to rest or sleep! It has been really great though! Thursday I got to go to the Preschool that I will work at all summer. It was a decent place, but the kids were so cute! I will work with 16 four year olds! They are so cute. The place that I work is in an area that is more inner city, and all of the kids come from low income families. Most are black, with a couple hispanic or mixed races. I'm working with one of my roommates in one classroom. As soon as we walked in the room we were being hugged. All the kids wanted to give us a hug or hold our hands. We sat down and joined in their circle time. I had kids fighting to sit on my lap, or hold my hand. These kids are so starved for positive attention. I can't believe I get to work with them for the next couple months! I have so much to learn from them. I start officially tomorrow.
Training lasted all week, but is finally done. I met some fun people from Howard University however so training wasn't as bad the last few days. We were invited to go to parties on U St. or to their dorm parties from a few of the guys haha. Too bad that isn't our scene. U Street by the way was the only street that blacks could go to restaurants, movie theaters etc. It has a lot of historical value. The parties however are different than at BYU.
Thursday night we joined up with some friends and went to the National History Museum. We saw many different things there, such as
We then journeyed over to the Jefferson Memorial. It took us almost an hour to find it. It was a long walk, but very pretty and definitely worth it! I loved the quotes that are there. They are on my facebook album if you want to see them. :) I loved them though because they mentioned God. It is incredible to me how much all the founding fathers and early leaders of the USA all turned to God, knew his power and influence and loved him. I love hearing their thoughts on it. I wish everyone could be reminded as to where we should be turning, just as they did. Our wonderful country would be in a much better position.
Friday night we went to Old Town Alexandria. It was AMAZING!!! I loved every moment we were there. We rode a street trolley through the town to the water front. We then went to a Christmas shop that was super cute! Then we found cobble street roads! They were the original streets and were lined with old colonial townhomes. It was perfect. We enjoyed walking along the water front. We then walked back along King street not wanting to be out too late. That's when we had a terrifying moment. It doesn't sound as scary, but it was. We were on the Metro heading back, there were only a few of us on the train. One man however was not happy with us for whatever reason. He sat there glaring at us. The face he was giving us was a look that I have never seen anyone give me before. It was pure hate. He flipped us off for a good couple minutes as well, never looking away. We didn't feel safe and needed to leave. The next stop was not ours but we decided to get off anyway. He was right by the door so we had to run. He called after us but never got off. We ran as fast as we could towards the metro kiosk. The man working was out as fast as he could to make sure we were okay, which was very nice. I'm sure we were all white in the face, and kept looking behind us. We got on the next train and hurried home. It scared us all pretty bad. I couldn't stop seeing his face all night. We were kept protected though, and I don't know what his issue was, but I'm glad that we didn't find out.
On Saturday I got up, went to the gym, then layed by the pool. It was great. We then went to Mt. Vernon. It was a perfect day as far as the weather, so it was great to be out in the sun. Mt. Vernon was really interesting. I think George Washington was inspired, and born at that time to lead our country. There are very few men who hold all the characteristics that he did. We had a lot of fun!
I am thoroughly enjoying every moment in D.C. It has been a great adventure so far, and I can't wait for the rest!