...

I don't know how to start this...

These past couple days... I've never experienced ANYthing like this.
The excitement, the hope, the passion, the anticipation.
Being surrounded by Americans waiting to hear Obama to speak in Virginia, just feeling the electricity sparking through the crowd.
Hanging out in a bar in D.C with my hostel buddies, surrounded by locals going crazy (with a girl who works for a political organization at the next table exlplaining the ins and outs of everything that was happening. And after the win...

The streets of DC erupted. It was like a sports win, but even more so. Cars racing, honking through the streets, people running and jumping up and down and cheering. We went to the street in front of the white house, and it was just packed. Every age, every ethnicity, every sociala class just coming together and celebrating. People were hugging me and jumping into my arms. People were shaking each others hands, almost in tears, just thanking them for having voted. People were singing. It was like a protest, but instead of everyone being angry, everyone was overjoyed. We sang Goodbye to Bush, we were chanting 'Yes We Did'. It was overwhelming. It was amazing. It was everything and more of what I was hoping for in coming to DC during the election.

I know Obama ain't perfect. I know he's no Messiah figure, and things aren't going to change as much as I'm hoping as fast as I'd want.

But.

But. The way this election brought people together astounds me. Everyone I've talked to here is so proud to have voted, so happy, so on fire for being a part of the process. I saw men in suits debating politics with a homeless man, I saw... man, it was awesome.

In other news, I've discovered I really don't care all that much for the history of Air and Space... (that museum was a bit of a dud for me.) But the 'Newseum' absolutely fascinated me. The Newseum is probably my favourite place in DC now. I'll write more about it another time.

DC - day one.

This is gonna be a CRAZY week.

New York was for the culture and people of the city.

Pennsylvania was for family.

DC is gonna be hanging out with crazy travellers.

My first night in, I'm hanging out with this guy who's an amazing spraypaint artist. He's selling his art on the streets of DC - I might be his assistant for a day. He's absolutely off his rocker, but we've really hit it off. I also make friends with this guy who's absolutely obsessed with ADD. He has it himself, and is... well, I won't go into details, but he's fascinating.

I spent most of today at various monuments and the Holocaust memorial, but the real highlight was this evening, going to a free concert in the National Art Gallery with a bunch of other people from my hostel. The concert was nuts. 16th century chamber music, with quite graphically sexual songs mixed in with the praise songs. "I want to make love to you all night. I'll thrust you like a ram" "If we had 45 beds, we'd use them all up. We'd destroy them with the force of our lovemaking" All in Italian and Dutch and French of course.

A bunch of us went for a couple drinks afterwards. I convinced everyone to go to a local brewpub. It was no C'est What, that's for sure. D.C's supposed to have some great beer hidden away somewhere in the city. Hopefully I'll find it before I go.

Tomorrow, I'll be tagging along with the painter. The day after that is election day. Apparently Georgetown University will be a great place to watch election results, so a bunch of us from the hostel are going to head down there. Pictures soon!

Update.... NYC through Penn

Whoo.... s'been a while.

Rest of New York: Highlight - spending a couple hours talking to a Hare Krishna monk. Awesome guy, and I hope I run into him again some day.

Pennsylvania: Wow, I'd forgotten how awesome my extended family was. I had an absolutely fantastic week catching up with Aunts and Uncles and cousins. I spent most of my time with my uncle Dan and aunt Mim in suburban Lancaster, a couple days with my aunt Lois and uncle Tom - who brews his own beer. I biked through beautiful farmland, startled a couple cows, ate the best pretzel of my life, hiked up a small mountain, spent more time with a house cat than ever before, volunteered for the Obama campaign, saw the church my grandpa preached at, saw the motel my grandpa built, watched a ballet, and visited a life size model of a wilderness tabernacle.

I also really felt part of a bloodline. Everyone I met out there told me I looked just like a Wert - and everyone compared me to my cousin Doug. I also got to see my cousins Doug, Cindy and Heidi - it's been years and years since I've seen any of them. I sat down and chatted with Cindy for an hour... I don't think I've ever spent that sort of one on one time with her before.

I also got to meet Heidi's kids. One for the first time, the other for the first time since she was... only a couple months old, I think... Maybe a year...

All in all, it was an amazing week. NYC was fun and memorable... this was family, and important.