Part of History, part of the Future

Washington, DC. A fascinating place, by any standard. I've visited Washington several times in my life, for conferences, workshops, family vacations, et cetera. However, after my last visit I felt like this was the first time I actually got a chance to visit the District of Columbia. There is a distinct difference, if you didn't already know, between the two. Washington: the seat of the federal government. The suit-and-tie, stick-up-your-ass, work in a monolithic building part of town. Most people who work in Washington do not actually live in DC. There are plenty of other cities, in other states, around the area for them to commute to and from, and the commute is not bad. Washington is pretty cool, with its museums, its monuments, its federal buildings. However, only visiting Washington leaves out a big part of the area.

The District of Columbia, outside of the federal complex around the Mall, is a very different place. With a population consistency of something like 80% african-american (in terms of permanent residents, at least), a complex mixture of "dangerous" and "safe" neighborhoods, and ridiculously high costs-of-living in areas where you can walk around without feeling like you're going to get mugged, DC is an American city like no other. They say that the population of DC increases something like 3-fold during the business day, and even the vast majority of residents of DC are transitory, constantly looking for a place to live outside of the city, in areas of Maryland or Virginia.

What this ended up meaning for my experience is that pretty much everyone I met while in DC was not from DC, nor did they plan on staying in DC any longer than they had to. The population is always changing, and if I were to go to visit DC in 6 months I'm sure there would be completely different people to visit, different places to stay, different subways and busses to ride. In that sense, the city is always changing, and I have a feeling would always be interesting to visit, with new experiences every time, as long as there are still people in the city worth visiting. So the city is cool, the people I met were cool, and I had a great time.

But you want to hear about the Inauguration. I was there, along with the other 2 million people who descended on the Mall that day. I really did feel like I was a part of an historic moment, even though I couldn't see the capital and had to follow the proceedings on a jumbotron with sound delayed a few seconds from the video. Just being there, among all those people, listening to such a great and inspiring speech, was so powerful I was almost moved to tears. Some say that it was as if the District finally came to Washington, and the makeup of the crowd totally felt like that. Everyone was so joyous and celebratory, the energy was so positive, it was just awesome.

I'm not really sure what else to say about the Inauguration. It was fun, despite the cold, despite the 6 mile walk, the hours of standing around in a big crowd. But you saw it all on TV, so you know what happened. Yes, I booed when Bush came out, yes, I understand that it was somewhat disrespectful, but no, I don't regret it. And when his chopper flew overhead, we all waved and cheered and it was awesome. Saying goodbye has never felt so good.

I am now in the Old South. Charleston, South Carolina, to be exact. I passed through Lynchburg, VA and Charlotte, NC on the way, and it has really been an eye-opening experience. The people I've been staying with (couchsurfers), are all very liberal, so I haven't gotten in any political arguments yet, but it was pretty funny when I got here and my host was like "so...you voted for Obama, right?" Everywhere else I've been so far everyone has just assumed that I'm an Obama supporter, but being asked that question down here made me realize the huge change in culture from the East and North. Democrats are not in the majority down here, and you can totally tell. But to be honest, it really doesn't bother me that much. I'm not a big fan of arguing anyways, so being surrounded by republicans doesn't mean that much, aside from the feeling that I shouldn't bring up political sensitive subjects. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, what I can tell you is that southerners are just generally more friendly people. I've gotten several compliments on my jacket, I think most of them were just because someone wanted to spark conversation. And it felt great! I love that people want to be nice and open to each other down here, I feel better smiling at strangers as I walk down the street, knowing that they'll probably smile back. It's a great feeling, and really makes me feel like I could fit in down here, despite my liberal leanings. It's like Obama said; there is no liberal america or conservative america, there is the United States of America, and I want to put that theory into practice as much as possible.

Charleston itself is a beautiful town. Steeped in history, there are so many old old houses with big big pillars and gardens and fountains and all kinds of stuff, I really do feel like I am in the Old South. Haven't seen any confederate flags flying yet (though I did see an american flag with fewer stars on it), but there's a building in the center of downtown where they used to auction off slaves. And it was restored by a group called "The Daughters of Confederacy". Interesting... But at the same time, there's graffiti on the wall of a construction site that says "Less Ronald McDonald, more Dali Llama". The two cultures seem to be coexisting pretty well down here, which gives me great hope for our future.

So today I drive to Savannah, GA, for another couple days of Old South revelry. Then it's off to Atlanta for a few nights, then New Orleans for a few more, before finally making it to Austin, thereby ending the first leg of this cross-country tour. Let's hope I still have some money by then.....

Until next time!