Halloween Weekend

So Halloween weekend.  It was very eventful.  On Friday I went to a costume party.  I was a M&M.  I made my costume myself and I must say for no sewing machine and being forced to hand stitch the whole thing in two day it looked pretty good. 

Good for all of you to know: want a cheap costume?  Go for the M&M.  The fabric was $3. (But no I am not counting the backbreaking hours put into the sewing the processed or all the needle pricks, or the fear that the hand stitch would come apart in the middle of the night.)

Anyway, then Saturday morning I went to the Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart rallies.  That is the beauty of DC.  I wasn’t that dead set on going to the rallies, but they were literally three blocks from my house, so I went with a group.  We walked around, saw all the crazy signs and the mass amounts of people. I must say, for an effort to restore sanity, it was not to sane.  There was so many people and there was no order. 

By the time we got to the actual really, which took us half and hour to get to (yup that’s right, 30 minutes for 3 blocks), we couldn’t see a thing.  We stayed for a while, then walked down to Good Stuff to eat burgers and watch the really from a better view: a television set. 

Saturday night, I must say, people in DC do celebrate Halloween.  I rode the metro and it was an interesting sight.  I didn’t realize how many “where’s Waldos,” Snookies, or peacocks there are in the DC area.

But it is Sunday and all my fun is over.  Now it’s time to do all that homework that I put off.  Oh, what a fun night.   

Oktoberfest

So Oktoberfest was really fun.  That was the International Week event we did yesterday.  And I’m not only saying it because I was in charge of it.  We had pumpkin carving that anyone who wanted to could participate in.  I made an elephant.  It was awesome and looked super cool.  It was really messy, but it’s not pumpkin carving if you don’t dirty.  I'm still washing the pumpkin feeling off my hands.    

We also had music, a popcorn machine (with delicious popcorn), and candy apples.  I had an apple with dark chocolate and it was so good.  Sorry, I just needed to add that.  

And then we had a pie-eating contest.  Of course I was participated.  I didn’t win though, I came in second.  My roommate won, so I can accept defeat.  However, let me explain the loss.  I had an entire meal, including fruit, salad, meat, two side dishes, and two desserts (I like to eat).  She however, hadn’t had anything to eat. But she did dominate, I can’t take that away from her. 

I must also say, I have seen pie-eating contests, but I didn’t realize how messy they were.  I had pie all over my face and I couldn’t breath because it was going in my nose.  It was not pleasant, not that I expected consuming an entire pie would be. 

And of course, I must comment, the food was good.  Our event was Oktoberfest, but the caf made European food with different counties featured.  They had the most amazing crepes.  I had to remind myself I entered into a pie-eating contest to refrain from consuming more.      

Ok, so writing a blog about how much I ate yesterday makes me realize that I need to go for a run, so I’m going to go be active.  National mall here I come.  Maybe a few times.  

Latin/South American Day

So International week started today.  Today’s theme was Latin/South America.  And of course I am going to lead off with this comment.  The food was really good.  Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “Laurel, this is cafeteria food.  Come on.”  But I must say, they make good black bean tacos.  And I don’t know what they were, but the little corn muffin things=delicious. 

We originally wanted to have salsa dancing for our activity, but a change in the dates created a conflict and we ended up doing piñatas instead.  Which I must say works well on multiple levels. 1) It’s that time of year when all you papers are getting due and the semester’s winding down and you must decide you future.  Or in other words, it’s a perfect time to whack inanimate objects for entertainment.  2) Once you whack to your hearts content, you are rewarded with candy.  And anyone who has been keeping up with this blog should know, I’m not about to snub candy.   

We also put up a map, so students could mark where they are from and at the end of the week we can see all the different countries represented on our campus.  I marked my spot, right in Illinois.   

The cafeteria wasn’t quite set up the way we planed it because none of the decorations we ordered came in yet.  But they should be here by tomorrow and we can make it look like the United Nations on steroids.  (Not that I encourage drug use, that was strictly metaphorical.)

But I should go now, and prepare myself for more WASSA filled international fun.   

International Week

So WASSA is preparing for international week.  It will be the last week of October and we have a lot of really fun things planned.  I know this sounds silly, but I am pretty excited about what we have lined up, even though it will take a lot of time, but oh well, I can sleep when I’m back home.

We are making everyday a different continent or country and we are doing events like salsa dancing, international trivia, Oktoberfest, and an awareness movie.  We are also working with the caf and they are making menus with food that coincides with that country’s dish.    

I am in charge of the day we are doing Oktoberfest.  We are mixing it with fall and Halloween, so we actually have a lot planed for that day.  We are doing pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, and a pie-eating contest.  We are actually giving a prize for the best pumpkin carved.  The prize is a $20 metro pass, which trust me, everyone wants.  Metro credit is like gold.

Ok, so I have to go plan, but I’m getting ready for some awesome international excitement. 

FALL

Fall is in the air.  Being from the Midwest fall is my favorite time of year.  It is the time for hayrack rides, corn mazes, and HALLOWEEN!  Of course, corn mazes and bonfires are not an option here in DC, but I discovered a different kind of fall (one that still includes Halloween, I’m not giving that one up). 

In DC, fall is different.  You can walk down brick sidewalks and check out small little shops selling hot chocolate and warm pie.  You can walk down the national mall and see the beautiful view of the leaves turning colors in front of Capital Hill.  And you can still enjoy the pleasant, crisp air when you go for a morning run.  I know I sound cheesy, but fall is my favorite season, and I love that I can enjoy it, just in different ways. 

Fall in DC is all about the end of one time and the beginning of another.  Maybe that is why I love it so much, because it’s much like what I am going through now.  It is only October, but I know that in a few weeks my time here will be done and I will be moving on to something else.  I have felt like I have been here so long, but now, the time is changing and my experience here is winding down.  I have greatly enjoyed it, but I am equally loving the time now.  Now, when I know my roommates, understand the metro, and am used to DC grocery shopping. 

Fall is the time for change, to move onto new things.  I’m really excited to see what those things are, but don’t worry, I’m not calling it quits yet.  I still plan to fully enjoy my next month and a half here.  And I will fully celebrate Halloween, so get ready for that.  

Sudan Freedom Walk

So, as I have mentioned, I am a member of WASSA and I have talked about how the group does events and organizes the student community.  However, WASSA also does philanthropic work as well.  Last week WASSA was a sponsor of a Sudan Freedom walk.

The Sudan freedom walk was a metaphorical walk for freedom that represented a walk that Sudanese men and women have been doing all their lives throughout the 55 year war.

This walk was a two-day event.  The first night included a panel discussion and the second night was the walk itself.  The walk reached from American’s Tenley campus to Capitol Hill, a distance of almost 7 miles.  Those part of the walk made their way though Massachusetts Ave, by the Embassies, down through Dupont Circle, and even stopped in front of the White House.  Once arriving on Capital Hill, there was a greeting of the people who participated in the walk.  There was also music, including a freedom song.

This freedom walk was truly inspirational and even resulted in onlookers spontaneously joining the walk, abandoning their schedules for the day and participating in the cause.  Sonia Groff, a Washington Semester student and one of my fellow WASSA members participated in the walk.  She said it was an amazing experience and she only wished others could have had to chance to participate like she was able to.      

I know I write a lot about the fun stuff to do in DC and how I like getting to be part of the action, but I think I forget sometimes that the action can be meaningful as well.  That is the great thing about DC; you can keep yourself busy no matter what you are interested in.  If you love history, it's here.  If you want to be a part of government, check.  If you want to be a part of something amazing and spend a day walking for the freedom of every man and women in the world, well, there is a chance for that as well.   

Fall Break

So, American University provides a fall break for all its students and it just so happened that that fall break was today. It is kind of cool, because a lot of my roommates are taking advantage of that break and invited some friends from their home schools to come visit them, because conveniently for them it was their fall break too.

Now, I know what you're thinking, or at least what I was thinking when my roommates mentioned they were coming.  Where are they staying?  But no, luckily, they all got hotel rooms.  My sanity and the sanity of my oppressive compulsive side thanks you.

It is pretty cool though, because while I do not know them it is always nice to see new people.  And I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but about half my house is from the same school, so I kind of feel like I do them from how much I hear about them.

And the best part of it all?  They are pi phis, just like me.  Pi Beta Phi is my sorority, and one of my housemates is one to.  (It's cool to see how we are all connected.)  So when her friends come to visit her, that means I get to meet even more pi phis.  I'm really excited to hear about what different things they do in their chapter and what we all do the same.

Ok, I'm going to let you go now, because I have to go enjoy my FALL BREAK!  Have fun.

Transformers Fans?

So, I know I just wrote a post, but that is the beauty of DC, you never know when something new is going to happen.

So, I'm chilling in my room.  Typical Tuesday night.  Then my roommate comes in and asks me if I want to go walk to the capital because Transformers 3 is being filmed there.  Yeah, no big deal, I just live a few blocks from a movie set.  So I throw on a pair of jeans and we walk the two blocks to the capital and wonder to the bright lights.

I have never seen a movie being made before so that was pretty cool.  A huge section of the road was closed down and there were about four cranes with huge overhead lights in the air, projecting lights for the scene.

But I must say there is a lot of standing around.  Maybe not for those involved, but definitely for those watching.  What was really cool was when this guy on the film crew came up to me and said, "you should be in film" and he let me and my friend go past the gate into the actual filming area.  (Ok, no that last part was total lie, but the rest was totally true.  I actually just stood on the outside, with all the rest of the onlookers, barricaded by a fence on my tiptoes trying to get a glimpse of the action.  

Spoiler alert: there is a scene with four cars driving down a street and at least one cop car gets dented.  I mean, I hope I didn't spoil the ending for anyone, but just thought I should throw that out there.

I Love Globalization

So I am an American Politics student here at American, but that does not mean that is all I care about.  I actually always knew I loved international culture.  I have traveled to Europe and Asia.  And I even spent a summer in Eastern Europe, studying in Estonia, Ukraine, and Russia.  What I'm really saying is this program is pretty diverse, even if you pick a topic such as American Politics.

While globalization does sometimes get a negative connotation, I cannot hate it, because it is because of globalization that I have been exposed to more than I ever could be before.  And I personally believe that my culture has been enhanced, not lessened because of it.  I am basically saying this because the past few days I have been talking more to international students and I love them.  My roommate for one.  Ok, so I always talk to her, but she is the sweetest person I have ever met.  And I am not bias because she's my roommate, everyone who knows her says that.  (Disclaimer: I love my other roommate to, especially when she can't get out of her top bunk.)

So I always knew she was awesome, but then this weekend I was hanging out with people from my housemates' classes and they are the funniest people I have ever met.  At least, in the past few weeks.  One boy was from Germany and he and my roommate were debating which part of Germany is better: Berlin or Hamburg.  If you are ever privy to this debate, pay attention, it will create much entertainment.

Then yesterday, I was sitting outside my professor's office waiting to meet with him and I started talking to an international student from my class.  She was so funny and open.  I'm actually disappointed with myself for not talking more to her before.  We were discussing simple differences between our countries, and she started telling me about how different exams are in the United States than her country.  Apparently, we have to know more details.  She said, "back where I'm from you have to know concepts, but dates and number?  Oh now, this is ridiculous."  

I know it may seem silly, but do you know how simple interactions can just make you think.  I was actually debating studying international relations, but I love campaigning and knew I just couldn't stop myself from learning more about it while in DC.  (Yeah, I'm a nerd.)  But the program you are in should be focused on what you are interested in because you will be able to have all the interactions you want.

Like I said, or should have said if I haven't already, you get out of DC what you put into it.  If you stay in every day and don't explore, you will get an education.  But if you explore, talk to people who have different ideas or cultures from you, go to the extra conference on a Friday, or merely ears-drop on an international debate, you will so much more of an education that any school could give you.

Best Thing I Ever Consumed

Ok, I have accepted it.  I am OBSESSED with food.  Now I am sorry if you get bored with these rants, but READ THIS.  It will be well worth your while.

So we all know how midterms are.  You're super stressed out.  You're tired.  And you just want junk food. Well I had my midterm yesterday and today was the day to be fat and lazy.  I of course needed to feed my sweet-tooth.  Now, I have been craving M&Ms for a week, so my roommates and I decided to walk to the super market down the block, buy candy, then walk to the Washington Monument to work off the fattiness we were consuming.

HOWEVER, on the way to the market I had the best idea of my life, and that was to skip the walk and instead make cookies.  I wanted to make M&M cookies (of course, my craving).  My roommate though cannot eat chocolate (I know, her life sucks).  So we made peanut butter cookies and after we made plain ones for her, I threw in M&Ms and made the best peanut butter M&M cookies ever.

*Disclaimer: the market only had dark chocolate M&Ms (I know, who doesn't have original?) so we had even richer chocolatiness.  

I am not saying this to toot my own horn, but they were perfect and so hit the spot.  I mean, just out of the oven, still hot, chocolate peanut buttery goodness.

Now I am not blogging about cookies to brag.  I am simply doing so to spread the word to all because I know that I am not the only person in this world who sits at home, writing paper after paper, studying for midterms and needs a pick me up.  I'm telling you, cookies defiantly the way to go.  You kill two birds with one stone.  You get a break from homework.  Get to socialize while baking.  And are left with a delicious, rich treat that you can share with everyone.

All you have to do is go online and find a good peanut butter cookie recipe that you like (Joey's peanut butter cookies on Allrecipes.com) and throw some M&Ms in there.  Totally worth it.

Oh, and you should mad share them because you don't want these cookies sitting in your house.  Make sure you can give them away.  Or hope you have more will power than me.  I don't even want to disclose how many cookies I consumed in the last two hours.

Wow, I can't believe I just wrote a blog about cookies.  I am such a fatty.  Oh well, you only live once, might as well live large!

MIDTERMS!!!!!

Break time.  From what you ask?  No, of course you don't have to ask, just look at the title.  So it is midterm week.  For me at least because my midterms are a week earlier than everyone else.  I have a midterm on Wednesday and then I get to spend the weekend writing a paper, which is due on Tuesday.

But I think it might be worst for some other people, people who don't have time to take breaks.  I, in all my years at institutions of higher education will never understand how people can cram for exams and papers the day before.  My brain does not work that way.  I must take my time.  Studying for short periods of time, plenty of time in advance.

This is one of those times when I will send out my advice to all of you.  Do NOT procrastinate.  This is DC you are going to want to go out and do things.  So you do not want to be stuck inside for two days studying and miss the first two days when the weather cools down and the leaves start to change colors.  I suggest taking an hour during the week to organize yourself and go over your notes.  I know this sounds lame, but trust me, you don't want to be like me.  Stuck inside studying on a perfectly good Tuesday night, or Friday night or next Friday night.  I may not have been miss Susie on the ball, but I have learned my lesson and now I am warning you.  And I'm not even as bad as some other people I know.  Trust me stress levels are high (myself included) and that is never fun during midterms.

Advice: be smart, have fun, and manage your time wisely.  You will thank yourself when you can sit on your couch watching Mad Men and eating ice cream and your roommates are reading three books in one day.

Ok, now I will take my superior advice and get back to studying.  FUN TIMES!!!!! (Ok, I know, excessive, but I need to have some excitement in my life and shift 1 is that excitement tonight.)

Flag Football

So WASSA had its flag football event yesterday.  It was pretty fun; however I expected it to be a fun, carefree game of flag football.  This was not the same idea that the team of marines had when they showed up and found out that they had to have at least one girl on their team.  That team of course won, but I like to think that my playing gave them some opposition.  There was that one time when I blocked them. (And yes by block I mean accidentally aimlessly wander in front of them and then screaming at the fact that they were running towards me.)

The game was fun though and for those who actually knew how to play football it probably was more so.  For me it included running around the field acting like I had an idea of what I was suppose to do.  I got to play quarterback once, but after I threw the ball to the wrong team, which resulted in the other team scoring a touchdown, I was demoted to center and my only job was to hike the ball to the quarterback and just stand there afterwards.

We ended up playing two games and I lost both times.  Oh, well.  Not that surprised, although I do think that my team deserved a handicap for having me on it.  The winning team ended up getting bags, which is fine by me because I already have several of those.  Speaking of which were was mine?

Oh, that's right, I left my bag in the office of our advisor who left and thus locked my bag away, with my ID, wallet, and money in it.  Actually it wasn't too bad though.  I just called pubic safety, verified that I was indeed who I said I was and they let me in within half an hour.  I was actually surprised at how fast they were and they totally helped me out because otherwise I would have been chilling at Tenley until Monday.