Parallels between DC and Honduras...

So you may read the title of this blog and wonder how DC could remind me of Honduras, which is what I will share with you. It is kinda crazy and I really want to go back to Honduras. Over the summer I just have noticed little things here in DC that make me miss Honduras. First of all, all house/buildings in Honduras have bars covering the windows, the same is true for the neighborhood I live in. Next, there are crazy drivers here, impatient as well, likewise in Honduras ha. The shopping center where the grocery store and home depot are, there are many Hispanics hanging out in groups just waiting for work. (I avoid this area by myself) Also, at the bank they have security officers standing outside, at least they don't have huge guns like they do in Honduras. Last, we had a summer camp here this summer and it reminded me of those kids in Honduras. Realizing that most of the kids don't come from the best backgrounds, 95 percent are supported through scholarships for the camp and that they need as much love as those kids in Honduras do. The thing I love here at Dance Place is the community and family feel. I have found the staff very supportive and willing to help people out in any circumstance. They really do their best to provide quality and affordable programs to the DC community. I just wish that the Lord had a place here. It is hard to explain how there is so much love given here but realizing that the Lord is not being glorified. These kids are learning great life skills, discipline, respect, receiving care and love but ultimately, eternally they are not learning what true love from the Lord can be. I have found that hard to deal with this summer working here and knowing the Spirit of the Lord isn't here. Thankfully, I have found a wonderful church here that has taught me so much and gave me refreshment and renewing every Sunday. I really will miss it. Luckily, they always put the videos of their sermons online :) You can check it out www.theaterchurch.com Also, the lead pastor has written a few books, once of which I got for free and I highly recommend. It is one of my favorite books I have ever read. It is called In a Pit with a Lion On a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.

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Approaching my last week..

So my time here in D.C. is coming to a close, which I am excited to get back south and see my family and friends. I haven't been as homesick these past couple weeks so that has been good and I have been enjoying myself. I really have met and worked with some great people here this summer and I have enjoyed getting to know the other interns and hanging out with them as well. This past week has really flown by, I haven't been able to keep track of my days. Last weekend I helped working with tech last minute for a company that performed this weekend here in which I really enjoyed their show. So I was busy this weekend doing that, I worked Monday in the office all day. Tuesday I went to the National Gallery of Art which was huge and I got some artwork as well! (just a print) I got a ballet scene from Edgar Degas, it was on sale too! So I only spent about 3 bucks :) Wednesday I was able to go to the Holocaust Museum which I thought was done very well. It was very real and it is hard to believe something like that could have happened. I think the three things that made it so real to me were being able to walk into an actual wagon they shoved the victims into, it wasn't too big and it said they put 100 people in it, I can't imagine. Also, there was a room of all their shoes, it didn't smell that great either..Towards the end they had a video playing of survivors of the Holocaust talking about what they saw, how they were separated from their families, how they were treated, rescue stories, etc. It was very touching and moving. Thursday I worked in the office again all day and then went to see the end of summer camp show which was good. I loved seeing the kids having fun and dancing. This weekend I am going to my first Nationals baseball game so I am excited for that. I am going to tour the Pentagon this coming week and I plan to visit the zoo and National Cathedral as well. So that's what is new here..only 8 days until Nashville :)

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A busy fun filled week!

So this past week has been full of activities and happenings so it has gone by really fast! I will start with last friday, I went on a tour to the White House and then I was able to go to the Capitol and sit in on the House of Representatives discussing a bill and in the Senate Gallery, not much was going on in there. I was there for maybe 5 minutes until they announced the court was adjourned until Monday ha. On Saturday, I had to studio manage in the morning and in the afternoon I head over to the National Mall for National Dance Day! Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton presented it to Nigel Lythgoe (judge and executive producer on so you think you can dance) and they had various dance performances throughout the day. There was also a flashmob for the dance Nappytabs created for dance day and fox was there filming it! So I got some pics of Nigel and with season 6 winner of So you think you can dance, Russell. I will try to put those up on facebook soon. On Sunday, I went to church which was great as usual. That night I went to a performance at Dance Place, it was a new and upcoming choreographer show featuring different works. Monday I had to work in the office. Tuesday I finally took class for the 1st time since my back injury, I was careful and didn't do any jumps and it went pretty well :) I hate that I still feel a little restricted because I am afraid to go all out and risk injuring it again. Then we had our intern meeting and that afternoon I went down to look at the Museum of Natural History again. I had only seen the 1st floor before, the 2nd floor is really big, there is so much in there! But I really enjoy it! It is definitely one of my favorite museums here. Wednesday I went to the grocery store and then to the National Archives to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence! It was cool to see the originals, although the Declaration of Ind. is really rough looking, you can't really see what was wrote and who signed it. On Wednesday night, one of roomies, Maddie and I had preview tickets for Step Up 3d which we got for free through work :) It was a predictable movie but the dancing was really good (lots of it too compared to the other 2) and it was a fun movie to see. Thursday I worked in the office all day and helped focus some lights. Today (Friday) I went with the summer camp to Six Flags! I'm pretty sure I rode every roller coaster they have, which I love but somehow I don't think I do as much anymore because my body is actually feelings the effects ha. They gave me a headache from banging my head around, the wooden ones were fun but they were really rough to ride ha! So all in all, a great week. I only have 2 weeks left here! I have more stuff on my list to do before I leave so I will report those when I start my adventures again.

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back problems, tornados, heat, no power.

So these past couple weeks have been really crazy. So to recap, I had went to the doctor for my back, got muscle relaxers and pain medicine, does me no good. I find a chiropractor to go to, got xrays, they showed that my hips were unleveled, my sacrum and spine are out of alignment, leaning more to the left than center. also my right leg is longer than my left. All these are previous problems I have had this year, I just haven't been to get an adjustment in almost 3 months I would say. Also, the facets (muscles and nerves surrounding veterbrae) are inflammed. So I get one adjustment, but they tell me I need to come 3 times a week, which it is much more expensive here, like everything else, really not feasible. So my directors here at work recommended me to a physical therapist that works with dancers. They offered to help me cover the costs because it is very expensive. So I finally went to the physical therapist yesterday, I was there for 2 hours. It was very relaxing and she was able to release some of the tension and pain I was having. So far, my body has felt much better and I finally feel more relaxed and comfortable. Today I finally got to move, I went to a 3 mile run/walk on a bike trail that follows the metro, I am only like 2 miles from the Capitol, which I could see on the trail. so that is the short version, it has been a very frustrating and overwhelming process.

Now, this weekend I had a show to dance in. The concept was situations and things you would see at a club/concert so the audience stood around us, like an actual club. It was really fun, unfortunately, our show on Sunday got canceled because of the storm that came through. or tornado really..I was at my house and I walk outside and see the sky is dark and cloudy, so it will rain..no big deal. I walk across the street to Dance Place and about 5 min. later there is tons of rain, wind, and things flying everywhere. It didn't last very long at all, but afterwards, there were tons of trees down, powerline down, trash cans flew everywhere, fences down, and so sunday night we had no power and it was really hot...over 200,000 people lost power so we had heard we may not get power back until the end of the week but luckily the next day we got it back, our food was saved, and we had ac again! Last night I went to eat at Chipotle with some of my roommates and staff, got a massive burrito which was so good then we got frozenyo! (frozen yogurt but like soft serve ice cream, tastes the same really, just fat free) which is really amazing, I love that you can pick as many flavors as you want and put what toppings you want. your cost just depends on how much it weighs, and the hot fudge is free. I highly recommend it. so that is the latest update, I only have 3 and half weeks left which is exciting, I am also touring the White House Friday ;)

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Address

So I have been asked by a couple people for my address here so I shall give it you! If you feel led to write or send something. It is 3220 8th St. NE Washington, DC 20017 (this address is for letters only) If you want to send a package, the address is 3225 8th st NE Washington, DC 20017.

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Halfway point.

So I feel like a lot has happened since I last wrote. I will start with 4th of July weekend. My mom and grandma got to come visit and see me which was a lot of fun. We spent as much time as we could in 3 days to see all the sights in DC. It was really tiring and exhausting, but we did a lot. I experienced my first Independence day parade and DC fireworks, which actually we thought we kinda disappointing and thought Nashville is actually better. I am still working on getting all those pics up on facebook. Since then I have been just doing my intern hours mainly and hanging around at home. This week has been the hardest week to say the least. I have reached the point where I hate being in the city, I am desperate for a change of scenery, ready to see some land and animals and not just buildings! I haven't had sweet tea since I've been here, the one time I did have "sweet tea" I could barely drink it was so bad. All the mexican places here are tex mex, which is okay but I miss the mexican back home. Gotta have my queso dip! I really miss being home in the south. Things were getting better on Monday when 2 of my roommates and I went to take a hip-hop class at a dance studio across town. It was really fun and we just had a good time. I discovered some classes I would like to take and even some free ones this upcoming week that would be free. However, yesterday I unfortunately I hurt my lower back really bad in dance class. It is frustrating, I was warm and we had been dancing for an hour and 15 min. We were doing improv and I went to bend over, then I felt a sudden charge of sharp pain everywhere in my lower back. It was a displacing feeling, I had never felt so much pain to the point I was crying it hurt so bad. I laid on the floor the rest of class, managed to get back across to my house after class, took advil and called my chiropractor from home. I basically strained my back really bad, I have been resting and icing it and feeling miserable. I hate being stuck inside laying around and it has made doing things very difficult. I can't really bend at all so it is frustrating. I am hoping it heals quickly, I am supposed to be dancing in a show next weekend even though my chiropractor told me not to dance for awhile..it is a frustrating time but all I can do at this point is seek the Lord.

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2 and 1/2 weeks down

So not a whole has been going on since I wrote last, pretty much just been working in the office Mondays and Thursday and on Saturdays I studio manage. This past weekend I went to the Freer Gallery which has some artwork and stuff on Buddhism, Egypt, Japan, and culture stuff like that. Then I went to the Air and Space museum which was totally awesome. It had so much information in it that it was a little much to take in. It is 2 stories and it took about 2 and 1/2 hours to go through, probably could have stayed longer but my brain had all it could handle. It was really hot outside and of course lots of walking so I was really tired once I got back to my house. I ushered for a performance that night as well. Word dance theater was in town and did work based off Isadora Duncan's life which was pretty good and interesting. Sundays are quickly becoming my favorite days, they are so refreshing and God continually reminds me of the reasons I am here and that He is faithful. I went to church, this time I didn't have to walk 7 blocks out of the way! The sermon was exactly what I needed to hear and it was really encouraging. After service, they had a connection cafe for newcomers and provided us with pizza, fruit, salad, and cookies which were very good! I also met some people in the church as well as some of the staff. The best way to get to know people is through small groups and ironically enough, there is small group for dance and they will be doing some outreach to kids at a dance studio on National Dance Day so hopefully I will be able to do that. I also took a visit to the postal museum that day which was nice.
Last night, I went with some of the staff and interns to Georgetown cupcake, I had a salted caramel cupcake, man it was good :) TLC is actually about to premiere a show about them, called DC Cupcakes. I am excited for this weekend, mom and grandma will be arriving tomorrow night and we have plans to see a bunch of sights of course! I actually got us in for a tour at the Capitol so excited about that. I can't wait to see the fireworks either :) Good times ahead!

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